Accession Number:

AD1069627

Title:

Analysis Of Autonomous Load Following (ALF) In Advanced Fast Reactors

Descriptive Note:

[Technical Report, Master's Thesis]

Corporate Author:

Naval Postgraduate School

Personal Author(s):

• Kinnamon, Brad W.

Report Date:

2018-12-01

Pagination or Media Count:

73

Abstract:

The autonomous load following ALF properties of fast-spectrum nuclear reactors offer great potential for increased electric grid stability, reduction in control rod mechanism wear, and less operator action for small power transients experienced on a daily basis. These features can result in design simplification and enhanced safety of such reactor systems. Thermal-hydraulic transients result in reactivity feedback from the coolant to curb power transients and return the reactor to a stable, critical condition. The speed of the reactivity feedback and the resulting limits on how large a transient can be controlled through autonomous load following are based to a great extent on the intrinsic properties of the coolant and its effects on the associated reactor kinetics. Lead, lead bismuth eutectic LBE, and sodium are coolants that have properties amenable to ALF, and these primary coolant types are among the promising options for advanced fast reactors under the Generation IV program. This paper reviews the relevant properties of each coolant type and presents the heat-transfer modeling results of analyses using evaluated nuclear data files ENDF data and MATLAB to simulate their respective reactivity responses for a simplified fast reactor design. The results provide insight into comparison of coolant types based on reactivity feedback and autonomous load following capability in future fast reactor designs.

Descriptors:

• nuclear reactors
• heat transfer
• nuclear energy
• nuclear physics
• energy transfer
• specific heat
• energy storage
• neutron cross sections
• nuclear reactions
• reactor operation
• fast reactors
• heat capacity
• nuclear properties
• reactor kinetics
• thermal conductivity
• chemical reactions
• inelastic scattering
• nuclear power plants
• physical properties
• physics

Subject Categories:

• Nuclear Fission Reactors (Power)

Distribution Statement:

[A, Approved For Public Release]