• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.11
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• pp.2442-2451
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• 2020

The safety level of Sodium Fast Reactors is directly related with the sodium void reactivity. A low-void effect design has been proposed within the Horizon2020 ESFR-SMART project thanks to the introduction of a sodium plenum above the active core. In order to assess the impact of this core conception on transient analysis, a map with the spatial distribution of sodium void worth can be computed and fed into a point-kinetics-based transient code. Due to the spatial correlations between neighboring zones, the global effect of voiding two different axial or radial regions is not necessarily the sum of both individual contributions. Neglecting those correlations in the void worth map and consequently in the transient analysis may lead to an unrealistic prediction of the transient sequences. In this work, a method based on sensitivity analysis and similarity assessment is proposed for predicting those correlations. The method proved to be able to establish correlations between axial slices of a sub-assembly and was checked against realistic sodium void propagation patterns.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.11
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• pp.3517-3527
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• 2021

New 80-MW (electric) ultra-long-life sodium cooled fast reactor core having inherent safety characteristics is designed with heterogeneous fuel assemblies comprised of driver and blanket fuel rods. Several options using upper sodium plenum and SSFZ (Special Sodium Flowing Zone) for reducing sodium void reactivity are neutronically analyzed in this core concept in order to improve the inherent safety of the core. The SSFZ allowing the coolant flow from the peripheral fuel assemblies increases the neutron leakage under coolant expansion or voiding. The Monte Carlo calculations were used to design the cores and analyze their physics characteristics with heterogeneous models. The results of the design and analyses show that the final core design option has a small burnup reactivity swing of 618 pcm over ~54 EFPYs cycle length and a very small sodium void worth of ~35pcm at EOC (End of Cycle), which leads to the satisfaction of all the conditions for inherent safety with large margin based on the quasi-static reactivity balance analysis under ATWS (Anticipated Transient Without Scram).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.286-300
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• 2002

An algorithm for the sodium boiling model has been developed for calculation of the void reactivity feedback as well as the fuel and cladding temperatures in the KALIMER core after onset of sodium boiling. Modeling of sodium boiling in liquid metal reactors using sodium as a coolant is necessary because of phenomenon difference comparing with that observed generally in light water reactor systems. The applied model to the algorithm is the multiple-bubble slug ejection model. It allows a finite number of bubbles in a channel at any time. Voiding is assumed to result from formation of bubbies that (ill the whole cross section of the coolant channel except for the liquid film left on the cladding surface. The vapor pressure, currently, is assumed to be uniform within a bubble The present study is focused on not only demonstration of the vapor bubble behavior predicted by the developed model, but also confirmation of a qualitative acceptance for the model. As a result, the model can represent important phenomena in the sodium boiling, but it is found that further effort is also needed for its completition.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.7
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• pp.1379-1387
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• 2017

This paper presents a comparison of homogenization techniques implemented in the APOLLO3 platform for transport core calculations: standard scalar flux weighting and new flux-moment homogenization, in different combinations with (or without) leakage models. Besides the historical B1-homogeneous model, a new B-heterogeneous one has indeed been implemented recently in the two/three-dimensional-transport solver using the method of characteristics. First analyses have been performed on a very simple Sodium Fast Reactor core with a regular hexagonal lattice. They show that using the heterogeneous leakage model in association with flux-moment homogenization strongly improves the prediction of $k_{eff}$ and void reactivity effects. These good results are confirmed when the application is done to the fissile assemblies of the more complex CFV (Low Void Effect) core of the ASTRID (Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration) project of sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor (Generation IV).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.47-58
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• 2015

Four recycling scenarios involving pyroprocessing of spent fuel (SF) have been investigated for a 600-MWe transmutation sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), KALIMER. Performance evaluation was done with code system REBUS connected with TRANSX and TWODANT. Scenario Number 1 is the pyroprocessing of Canada deuterium uranium (CANDU) SF. Because the recycling of CANDU SF does not have any safety problems, the CANDU-Pyro-SFR system will be possible if the pyroprocessing capacity is large enough. Scenario Number 2 is a feasibility test of feed SF from a pressurized water reactor PWR. Thefsensitivity of cooling time before prior to pyro-processing was studied. As the cooling time sensitivity of cooling time before prior to pyro-processing was studied. As the cooling time increases, excess reactivity at the beginning of the equilibrium cycle (BOEC) decreases, thereby creating advantageous reactivity control and improving the transmutation performance of minor actinides. Scenario Number 3 is a case study for various levels of recovery factors of transuranic isotopes (TRUs). If long-lived fission products can be separated during pyroprocessing, the waste that is not recovered is classified as low- and intermediate-level waste, and it is sufficient to be disposed of in an underground site due to very low-heat-generation rate when the waste cooling time becomes >300 years at a TRU recovery factor of 99.9%. Scenario Number 4 is a case study for the recovery factor of rare earth (RE) isotopes. The RE isotope recovery factor should be lowered to ${\leq}20%$ in order to make sodium void reactivity less than <7$, which is the design limit of a metal fuel.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1998.05a
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• pp.118-123
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• 1998

The neurotics analysis of a liquid metal reactor fur burning minor actinides has shown that uncertainties in the nuclear data of several key minor actinide isotopes can introduce large uncertainties in the predicted performance of the core. A comprehensive sensitivity and uncertainty analysis was performed on a 1200 MWth actinide burner designed for a low burnup reactivity swing, negative doppler coefficient, and low sodium void worth. Sensitivities were generated using depletion perturbaton methods for the equilibrium cycle of the reactor and covariance data was taken ENDF-B/V and other published sources. The relative uncertainties in the burnup swing, doppler coefficient, and void worth were conservatively estimated to be 180%, 91%, and 46%, respectively.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.10
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• pp.3888-3896
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• 2022

Nuclear data is the basis of reactor physics analysis. This paper aim at studying the influence of major evaluated nuclear data libraries, CENDL-3.2, ENDF/B-VIII.0, JEFF-3.3, and JENDL-4.0u, on the neutronics modelling of CEFR start-up tests. Results show these four libraries have a good performance and consistency in the modelling CEFR start-up tests. The JEFF-3.3 results exhibit only an 8 pcm k_eff difference with the measurement. The difference in criticality is decomposed by nuclide, which shows the large overestimation of CENDL-3.2 is mainly from the cross-section of ⁵²Cr. Except for few cases, the calculation results are within 1σ of measurement uncertainty in control rod worth, sodium void reactivity, temperature reactivity, and subassembly swap reactivity. In the evaluation of axial and radial reaction distribution, there are about 65% of relative errors that are less than 5% and 82% of relative errors that are less than 10%.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.10
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• pp.3897-3908
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• 2022

High-fidelity nuclear data libraries and neutronics simulation tools are essential for the development of fast reactors. The IAEA coordinated research project on "Neutronics Benchmark of CEFR Start-Up Tests" offers valuable data for the qualification of nuclear data libraries and neutronics codes. This paper focuses on the verification and validation of the CEFR start-up modelling using OpenMC Monte-Carlo code against the experimental measurements. The OpenMC simulation results agree well with the measurements in criticality, control rod worth, sodium void reactivity, temperature reactivity, subassembly swap reactivity, and reaction distribution. In feedback coefficient evaluations, an additional state method shows high consistency with lower uncertainty. Among 122 relative errors in the benchmark of the distribution of nuclear reaction, 104 errors are less than 10% and 84 errors are less than 5%. The results demonstrate the high reliability of OpenMC for its application in fast reactor simulations. In the companion paper, the influence of cross-section libraries is investigated using neutronics modelling in this paper.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.721-730
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• 2013

Within the framework of the ASTRID project, core design studies are being conducted by the CEA with support from AREVA and EDF. The pre-conceptual design studies are being conducted in accordance with the GEN IV reactor objectives, particularly in terms of improving safety. This involves limiting the consequences of 1) a hypothetical control rod withdrawal accident (by minimizing the core reactivity loss during the irradiation cycle), and 2) an hypothetical loss-of-flow accident (by reducing the sodium void worth). Two types of cores are being studied for the ASTRID project. The first is based on a 'large pin/small spacing wire' concept derived from the SFR V2b, while the other is based on an innovative CFV design. A distinctive feature of the CFV core is its negative sodium void worth. In 2011, the evaluation of a preliminary version (v1) of this CFV core for ASTRID underlined its potential capacity to improve the prevention of severe accidents. An improved version of the ASTRID CFV core (v2) was proposed in 2012 to comply with all the control rod withdrawal criteria, while increasing safety margins for all unprotected-loss-of-flow (ULOF) transients and improving the general design. This paper describes the CFV v2 design options and reports on the progress of the studies at the end of pre-conceptual design phase 1 concerning: - Core performance, - Intrinsic behavior during unprotected transients, - Simulation of severe accident scenarios, - Qualification requirements. The paper also specifies the open options for the materials, sub-assemblies, absorbers, and core monitoring that will continue to be studied during the conceptual design phase.