Super Light Water Reactors and Super Fast Reactors: Supercritical-Pressure Light Water Cooled

661 Pages·2010·37.15 MB·English

by  Yoshiaki Oka, Seiichi Koshizuka, Yuki Ishiwatari, Akifumi Yamaji (auth.)

Super Light Water Reactors and Super Fast
Reactors
Yoshiaki Oka l Seiichi Koshizuka l
Yuki Ishiwatari l Akifumi Yamaji
Super Light Water Reactors
and Super Fast Reactors
Supercritical-Pressure Light Water Cooled
Reactors
Yoshiaki Oka Seiichi Koshizuka
Department of Nuclear Energy Department of Systems Innovation
Graduate School of Advanced Science Graduate School of Engineering
and Engineering Building 8, 3FL room 317
Waseda University Hongo-campus, University of Tokyo
Nishi-Waseda campus Building 51 7-3-1 Hongo
11F, room 09B Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656
3-4-1 Ohkubo Japan
Shinjuku-ku
To our wives, Keiko, Yukari, Mayumi, and Satomi, who have continually provided
us with the inspiration and support necessary for carrying out the research and
writing of this book.
Preface
The emerging importance of ground-breaking technologies for nuclear power
plants has been widely recognized. The supercritical pressure light water cooled
reactor (SCWR), a generation IV reactor, has been presented as a reactor concept
for innovative nuclear power plants that have reduced capital expenditures and
increased thermal efficiency. The SCWR concepts that were developed at the
University of Tokyo are referred to as the super light water reactor (Super LWR)
and super fast reactor (Super FR) concepts. This book describes the major design
features of the Super LWR and Super FR concepts and the methods for their design
and analysis.
The foremost objective of this book is to provide a much needed integrated
textbook on design and analysis of water cooled reactors by describing the concep-
tual development of the Super LWR and Super FR. The book is intended for
students at a graduate or an advanced undergraduate level. It is assumed that the
reader is provided with an introduction to the understanding of reactor theory, heat
transfer, fluid flows, and fundamental structural mechanics. This book can be used
in a one-semester course on reactor design in conjunction with textbooks on BWR
and PWR design and safety. In addition, the book can serve as a textbook on reactor
thermal-hydraulic and neutronic analysis.
The defining feature of this textbook is its coverage of major elements of reactor
design and analysis in a single book. These elements include the fuel (rods and
assemblies), the core and structural components, plant control systems, startup
schemes, stability, plant heat balance, safety systems, and safety analyses. The
information is presented in a way that enhances its usefulness to understand the
relationships between various fields in reactor design. The book also provides the
reader with an understanding of the differences in design and analysis of the Super
LWR and the Super FR which distinguish them from LWRs. Though the differ-
ences are slight, the reader needs to grasp them to better understand the fundamen-
tal and essential features of the design and analysis. This knowledge will enhance
in-depth understanding of the design and safety of LWRs and other reactor types.
vii
viii Preface
The second objective of this book is to serve as a reference for researchers and
engineers working or interested in the research and development of the SCWR.
This book is the first comprehensive summary of the reactor conceptual studies of
the SCWR, which were begun initially by researchers at the University of Tokyo
and are continuing to be led by them.
Methodology in SCWR design and analysis, together with physical descriptions
of systems, is emphasized more in the text rather than numerical results. Analytical
and design results will continue to change with the ongoing evolution of the SCWR
design, while many design methods will remain fundamentally unchanged for a
considerable time. The book’s topics are divided into six areas: Overview; Core and
fuel; Plant systems, plant control, startup, and stability; Safety; Fast reactors; and
Research and development.
The first chapter provides an overview of the Super LWR and Super FR reactor
studies. It includes elements of design and analysis that are further described in each
chapter. The reader will also be interested in what ways the new reactor concepts
have been developed and how the analyses have been improved.
Chapter 2 covers design and analysis of the core and fuel. It includes core and
fuel design, coupled neutronic and thermal hydraulic core calculations, subchannel
analysis, statistical thermal design methods, fuel rod design, and fuel rod behavior
and integrity during transients.
Chapters 3–5 treat the plant system and behaviors. They include system compo-
nents and configuration, plant heat balance, the methods of plant control system
design, plant dynamics, plant startup schemes, methods of stability analysis, ther-
mal-hydraulic analyses, and coupled neutronic and thermal-hydraulic stability
analyses.
Chapter 6 covers safety topics. It includes fundamental safety principles of the
Super LWR and Super FR in comparison with that of LWRs, safety features, safety
system design, abnormal transient and accident analyses at supercritical pressure,
analyses of loss of coolant accidents (LOCAs) and anticipated transients without
scram (ATWSs) and simplified probabilistic safety assessment (PSA).
Chapter 7 covers the design and analysis of fast reactors. The features of the
Super LWR and Super FR are that the plant system configuration does not need to
be changed from the thermal reactor to the fast reactor. The analysis of plant
control, stability, and safety of the Super FR as well as core design are provided.
Chapter 8 presents a brief summary worldwide on research and development of
the SCWR.
Reviews of supercritical fossil-fuel fired power plant technologies and high
temperature water and steam cooled reactor concepts in the past are described in
the Appendix.
Tokyo, Japan Yoshiaki Oka
Seiichi Koshizuka
Yuki Ishiwatari
Akifumi Yamaji
Acknowledgements
Numerous people have contributed to the development of the Super LWR and
Super FR concepts. Among the most notable are Yasushi Okano and Satoshi Ikejiri
who collaborated with us as research assistants. Important technical contributions
were provided by graduate students of the University of Tokyo who prepared the
computer codes and carried out the analyses. They are Kazuyoshi Kataoka, Tatjana
Jevremovic, Jong Ho Lee, Kazuaki Kito, Kazuo Dobashi, Toru Nakatsuka, Tami
Mukohara, Tin Tin Yi, Jee Woon Yoo, Tomoko Murakami (Yamasaki), Naoki
Takano, Tadasuke Tanabe, Mikio Tokashiki, Suhan Ji, Kazuhiro Kamei, Yohei
Yasoda, Mitsunori Kadowaki, Isao Hongo, and Shunsuke Sekita. Post doctoral
researchers, Jue Yang, Liangzhi Cao, Jiejin Cai, Haitao Ju, Junli Gou, Haoliang
Lu, and Chi Young Han took part in the study and contributed to its progress.
Helpful information and advice were given by Osamu Yokomizo, Kotaro Inoue,
Michio Yokomi, Takashi Kiguchi, Kumiaki Moriya, Junichi Yamashita, Masanori
Yamakawa, Shinichi Morooka, Takehiko Saito, Shigeaki Tsunoyama, Katsumi
Yamada, Shungo Sakurai, Masakazu Jinbo, Shoji Goto, Takashi Sawada, Hideo
Mori, Yosuke Katsumura, Yusa Muroya, Takayuki Terai, Shinya Nagasaki, Hiroaki
Abe, Yoshio Murao, Keiichiro Tsuchihashi, Keisuke Okumura, Hajime Akimoto,
Masato Akiba, Naoaki Akasaka, and Motoe Suzuki. Discussions with researchers in
the European HPLWR project and researchers in the SCWR project on the Genera-
tion Four International Forum (GIF) were useful.
The text was assembled by Wenxi Tian in collaboration with post doctoral
researchers, Misako Watanabe, and Yuki Munemoto. They also prepared figures,
tables, and indexes. An incalculable debt of gratitude is due them. The authors are
grateful for the editing assistance of Carol Kikuchi.
The most recent part of the work on the Super FR includes the results of the
project “Research and Development of the Super Fast Reactor” entrusted to the
University of Tokyo by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology of Japan (MEXT).
ix
x Acknowledgements
The Super LWR research and the publication of this book were financially
supported by the Global Center of Excellence Program “Nuclear Education and
Research Initiative” entrusted to the University of Tokyo by MEXT.
In the final analysis, however, it was the willing sacrifice and loving support of
four individuals, Keiko Oka, Yukari Koshizuka, Mayumi Ishiwatari, and Satomi
Yamaji, who enabled four over-committed husbands to devote the time and energy
necessary to allow this book to become a reality.
Contents
1 Introduction and Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Industrial Innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Evolution of Boilers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.3 Overview of the Super LWR and Super FR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.1 Concept and Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3.2 Improvement of Thermal Design Criterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.3.3 Core Design Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.3.4 Improvement of Core Design and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.3.5 Fuel Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.3.6 Plant Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.3.7 Startup Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1.3.8 Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
1.3.9 Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
1.3.10 Super FR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
1.3.11 Computer Codes and Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
1.4 Past Concepts of High Temperature Water and Steam Cooled
Reactors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
1.5 Research and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
1.5.1 Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
1.5.2 Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
1.5.3 GIF and SCWR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
1.5.4 Korea, China, US, Russia and IAEA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
2 Core Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
2.1.1 Supercritical Water Thermophysical Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
2.1.2 Heat Transfer Deterioration in Supercritical Water . . . . . . . . . . . 82
2.1.3 Design Considerations with Heat Transfer Deterioration . . . . . 90
2.2 Core Design Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
2.2.1 Design Margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
xi