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Two steps forward for U.K. advanced nuclear
This week, two significant announcements have emerged from the United Kingdom’s advanced reactor sector.
On June 14, Rolls-Royce, the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory, and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency announced that they had signed two trilateral memorandums of cooperation to collaborate on “advanced modular reactor (AMR) technology, specifically high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR), and the coated particle fuel these reactors will use.”
Separately, on June 16, Bellevue, Wash.–based TerraPower announced that its Natrium reactor design has been formally submitted for U.K. regulatory review. The company also announced the formation of a new subsidiary, TerraPower UK Ltd.
Mauricio Tano, Pablo Rubiolo (Univ of Grenoble-Alpes), Julien Giraud, Veronique Ghetta (LPSC, CNRS/IN2P3)
Proceedings | 2018 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2018) | Charlotte, NC, April 8-11, 2018 | Pages 469-478
The main passive safety system of the Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR) is a cold plug, placed in the bottom of the reactor. In case of an uncontrolled temperature rise in the reactor core, this plug melts, allowing the draining of the molten fuel salt towards a safe configuration. In the present paper, the main physical phenomena occurring in the MSFR during the draining process is presented. Then, a physical model for simulating the draining process is introduced. This model is then used for analyzing different draining scenarios. Finally, the velocity and temperature fields obtained for this scenarios are analyzed in the light of safety considerations.