Influence of 235U enrichment on the moderator temperature coefficient of reactivity in a graphite-moderated molten salt reactor

Li, X.X.; Cui, De-Yang; Ma, Yuanwei; Xiang-Zhou, Cai; Chen, Jingen

doi:10.1007/s41365-019-0694-z

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…In terms of safety, a negative TCR is preferable because it helps to avoid reactor excursions. In this work, TCR is defined as the change in reactivity ( ρ ) per degree change in core temperature ( T ) 40 . That is, the TCR is the derivative of the effective multiplication factor ( k eff , shorthand for k ) with respect to T , and it is calculated as follows.

TCR = \frac{d ρ}{d T} \approx \frac{1}{k} \frac{d k}{d T} .

…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of transuranics transmutation in a thorium‐based chloride salt fast reactor

Cui

et al. 2022

Intl J of Energy Research

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A thorium-based chloride salt fast reactor (TCLFR) for transuranics (TRUs) transmutation is proposed to decrease radioactive nuclear waste. The TCLFR core uses two types of fuel: liquid nuclear fuel with TRUs and thorium being dissolved in chloride and solid transmutation rod with only TRUs fuel. The transmutation capability of TCLFR with a core power of 2500 MWth is investigated utilizing three different reactor core configurations, namely ThCore, GdCore, and TcCore, and compared to the standard Molten Chloride Fast Reactor (MCFR) while maintaining most of the geometric parameters. Important burnup parameters such as transmutation rate (TRE) and transmutation ratio (TRO) are extracted and analyzed. Besides, the neutron spectrum shift and the relevant safety parameters, including power peak factor, temperature coefficient of reactivity (TCR) and effective delayed neutron fraction (β eff ) are all explored. The results demonstrate that all the TCLFR cores can transmute TRUs effectively. TRUs have a high online refueling amount of TRUs in TcCore and GdCore due to their low conversion ratio (CR). The TRE in the TcCore and GdCore is 292.77 kg/GWth/year and 258.31 kg/GWth/year, respectively, which is significantly higher than the TRE in the MCFR, which is 171.21 kg/GWth/year. As a result of the production of U-233 compensates for the consumption of TRUs, the refueling amount of TRUs decreases, and the TRE in the ThCore is only 96.29 kg/GWth/year, which is approximately 44% lower than that in the MCFR.

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TCR = \frac{d ρ}{d T} \approx \frac{1}{k} \frac{d k}{d T} .

…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of transuranics transmutation in a thorium‐based chloride salt fast reactor

Cui

et al. 2022

Intl J of Energy Research

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“…The CSAS module of SCALE6.1 has been developed for criticality calculation, while the TRITON module is for depletion calculation. To simulate the characteristics of online refueling and reprocessing in MSR, the molten salt reactor reprocessing system (MSR‐RS) has been developed by our research group, which was verified with other codes and applied for various calculations 33‐37 . In this paper, the MSR‐RS sequence is also used to calculate MA transmutation in TMSR.…”

Section: Tmsr Transmutation Core Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parametric study on minor actinides transmutation in a graphite‐moderated thorium‐based molten salt reactors

Zou

et al. 2021

Int J Energy Res

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Summary Transmutation of minor actinides (MAs) is an effective solution to reduce the long‐term radiotoxicity of nuclear waste. Online refueling and no fuel rod fabrication in thorium‐based molten salt reactors (TMSR) are two remarkable advantages of MA transmutation. However, MA solubility limit of the fuel salt and the neutron spectrum in the core are two key parameters that have a strong impact on MA transmutation capability. In this paper, three types of carrier salt with different MA solubility limits and various salt volume fractions (SVFs) are introduced in a TMSR core to evaluate the MA transmutation characteristics. The results indicate that the Flibe salt with the best neutron economy can obtain the highest MA transmutation rate (TR), while the Flinak salt with the largest MA inventory can achieve the highest specific MA transmutation consumption (STC). STC and TR for the case with the Flibe salt and 5% SVF are about 200 kg/GWth.yr and 82%, respectively, which indicates that it can consume the annual MA yields from about 3.37 typical pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Meanwhile, the STC and TR for the case with the Flinak salt and 40% SVF are about 366 kg/GWth.yr and 75%, respectively, which indicates that it can consume the annual MA yields from about 50 typical PWRs. In addition, the total radiotoxicity of MAs after 50‐year operation in TMSR can be lowered by as high as about 50%. The significant production of Pu isotopes can be reused as nuclear fuel in fast reactors. In particular, Pu‐238, with the mass fraction of more than 60% in Pu isotopes, is a useful material for many nuclear applications. In conclusion, it is feasible to transmute MAs in TMSR and thus achieve the goals of reduction of MA's long‐term radioactive hazards.

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Numerical investigation of natural convection characteristics of a heat pipe-cooled passive residual heat removal system for molten salt reactors

et al. 2020

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Influence of 235U enrichment on the moderator temperature coefficient of reactivity in a graphite-moderated molten salt reactor

Cited by 10 publications

References 22 publications

Potential of transuranics transmutation in a thorium‐based chloride salt fast reactor

Potential of transuranics transmutation in a thorium‐based chloride salt fast reactor

Parametric study on minor actinides transmutation in a graphite‐moderated thorium‐based molten salt reactors

Numerical investigation of natural convection characteristics of a heat pipe-cooled passive residual heat removal system for molten salt reactors

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