Basic Studies in the Field of High-temperature Engineering

Basic Studies in the Field of High-temperature Engineering
Author: Nihon Genshiryoku Kenkyūjo
Publisher: Paris, France : Nuclear Energy Agency, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2002
Genre: Science
ISBN:

In response to increasing interest in high-temperature, gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) in many countries and the need for improved materials for nuclear applications in high-temperature environments, the NEA organised a Second Information Exchange Meeting on Basic Studies in the Field of High-temperature Engineering. These proceedings provide an overview of the activities being carried out in eight countries, the improvement of material properties for HTGR application, in-core monitoring methods and properties of irradiated graphite, and HTGR fuel fabrication and performance.

BENCHMARK EVALUATION OF THE START-UP CORE REACTOR PHYSICS MEASUREMENTS OF THE HIGH TEMPERATURE ENGINEERING TEST REACTOR.

BENCHMARK EVALUATION OF THE START-UP CORE REACTOR PHYSICS MEASUREMENTS OF THE HIGH TEMPERATURE ENGINEERING TEST REACTOR.
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2010
Genre:
ISBN:

The benchmark evaluation of the start-up core reactor physics measurements performed with Japan's High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor, in support of the Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project and Very High Temperature Reactor Program activities at the Idaho National Laboratory, has been completed. The evaluation was performed using MCNP5 with ENDF/B-VII.0 nuclear data libraries and according to guidelines provided for inclusion in the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project Handbook. Results provided include updated evaluation of the initial six critical core configurations (five annular and one fully-loaded). The calculated keff eigenvalues agree within 1s of the benchmark values. Reactor physics measurements that were evaluated include reactivity effects measurements such as excess reactivity during the core loading process and shutdown margins for the fully-loaded core, four isothermal temperature reactivity coefficient measurements for the fully-loaded core, and axial reaction rate measurements in the instrumentation columns of three core configurations. The calculated values agree well with the benchmark experiment measurements. Fully subcritical and warm critical configurations of the fully-loaded core were also assessed. The calculated keff eigenvalues for these two configurations also agree within 1s of the benchmark values. The reactor physics measurement data can be used in the validation and design development of future High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor systems.

Physics of High-Temperature Reactors

Physics of High-Temperature Reactors
Author: Luigi Massimo
Publisher: Elsevier
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1483280284

Physics of High-Temperature Reactors focuses on the physics of high-temperature reactors (HTRs) and covers topics ranging from fuel cycles and refueling strategies to neutron cross-sections, transport and diffusion theory, and resonance absorption. Spectrum calculations and cross-section averaging are also discussed, along with the temperature coefficient and reactor control. Comprised of 16 chapters, this book begins with a general description of the HTR core as well as its performance limitations. The next chapter deals with general considerations about HTR physics, including quantities to be determined and optimized in the design of nuclear reactors. Potential scattering and resonance reactions between neutrons and atomic nuclei are then considered, together with basic aspects of transport and diffusion theory. Subsequent chapters explore methods for solving the diffusion equation; slowing-down and neutron thermalization in graphite; HTR core design, fuel management, and cost calculations; and core dynamics and accident analysis. The final chapter describes the sequence of reactor design calculations. This monograph is written primarily for students of HTR physics who are preparing to enter the field as well as technologists of other disciplines who are working on the system.

Deterministic Modeling of the High Temperature Test Reactor

Deterministic Modeling of the High Temperature Test Reactor
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2010
Genre:
ISBN:

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is tasked with the development of reactor physics analysis capability of the Next Generation Nuclear Power (NGNP) project. In order to examine INL's current prismatic reactor deterministic analysis tools, the project is conducting a benchmark exercise based on modeling the High Temperature Test Reactor (HTTR). This exercise entails the development of a model for the initial criticality, a 19 column thin annular core, and the fully loaded core critical condition with 30 columns. Special emphasis is devoted to the annular core modeling, which shares more characteristics with the NGNP base design. The DRAGON code is used in this study because it offers significant ease and versatility in modeling prismatic designs. Despite some geometric limitations, the code performs quite well compared to other lattice physics codes. DRAGON can generate transport solutions via collision probability (CP), method of characteristics (MOC), and discrete ordinates (Sn). A fine group cross section library based on the SHEM 281 energy structure is used in the DRAGON calculations. HEXPEDITE is the hexagonal z full core solver used in this study and is based on the Green's Function solution of the transverse integrated equations. In addition, two Monte Carlo (MC) based codes, MCNP5 and PSG2/SERPENT, provide benchmarking capability for the DRAGON and the nodal diffusion solver codes. The results from this study show a consistent bias of 2-3% for the core multiplication factor. This systematic error has also been observed in other HTTR benchmark efforts and is well documented in the literature. The ENDF/B VII graphite and U235 cross sections appear to be the main source of the error. The isothermal temperature coefficients calculated with the fully loaded core configuration agree well with other benchmark participants but are 40% higher than the experimental values. This discrepancy with the measurement stems from the fact that during the experiments the control rods were adjusted to maintain criticality, whereas in the model, the rod positions were fixed. In addition, this work includes a brief study of a cross section generation approach that seeks to decouple the domain in order to account for neighbor effects. This spectral interpenetration is a dominant effect in annular HTR physics. This analysis methodology should be further explored in order to reduce the error that is systematically propagated in the traditional generation of cross sections.

Advances in High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor Fuel Technology

Advances in High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor Fuel Technology
Author: International Atomic Energy Agency
Publisher:
Total Pages: 639
Release: 2012-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9789201253101

This publication reports on the results of a coordinated research project on advances in high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) fuel technology and describes the findings of research activities on coated particle developments. These comprise two specific benchmark exercises with the application of HTGR fuel performance and fission product release codes, which helped compare the quality and validity of the computer models against experimental data. The project participants also examined techniques for fuel characterization and advanced quality assessment/quality control. The key exercise included a round-robin experimental study on the measurements of fuel kernel and particle coating properties of recent Korean, South African and US coated particle productions applying the respective qualification measures of each participating Member State. The summary report documents the results and conclusions achieved by the project and underlines the added value to contemporary knowledge on HTGR fuel.