An Evaluation Of High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactors

Presents the findings of an IAEA coordinated research project focusing on validation of the safety and operational aspects of high temperature gas cooled reactors under projected and actual operating conditions. This guide documents the results of an analysis of the ASTRA critical facility at the Kurchatov Institute in the Russian Federation.

High-Temperature Gas Reactors is the fifth volume in the JSME Series on Thermal and Nuclear Power Generation. Series Editor Yasuo Koizumi and his Volume editors Tetsuaki Takeda and Yoshiyuki Inagaki present the latest research on High-Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) development and utilization, beginning with an analysis of the history of HTGRs. A detailed analysis of HTGR design features, including reactor core design, cooling tower design, pressure vessel design, I&C factors and safety design, provides readers with a solid understanding of how to develop efficient and safe HTGR within a nuclear power plant. The authors combine their knowledge to present a guide on the safety of HTGRs throughout the entire reactor system, drawing on their unique experience to pass on lessons learned and best practices to support professionals and researchers in their design and operation of these advanced reactor types. Case studies of critical testing carried out by the authors provide the reader with firsthand information on how to conduct tests safely and effectively and an understanding of which responses are required in unexpected incidents to achieve their research objectives. An analysis of technologies and systems in development and testing stages offer the reader a look to the future of HTGRs and help to direct and inform their further research in heat transfer, fluid-dynamics, fuel options and advanced reactor facility selection. This volume is of interest for nuclear and thermal energy engineers and researchers focusing on HTGRs, HTGR plant designers and operators, regulators, post graduate students of nuclear engineering, national labs, government officials and agencies in power and energy policy and regulations. Written by the leaders and pioneers in nuclear research at the Japanese Society of Mechanical Engineers and draws upon their combined wealth of knowledge and experience Includes real examples and case studies from Japan, the US and Europe to provide a deeper learning opportunity with practical benefits Considers the societal impact and sustainability concerns and goals throughout the discussion Includes safety factors and considerations, as well as unique results from performance testing of HTGR systems.

High-temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) designs persent special computatioal challenges related to their core physics and thermal-hydraulic charectersitics. Neutron streaming and double heterogeneities are examples of the core physics challenges, while porous gas flow in a high-temperature ceramic core with the interaction of conduction, convection and rediation regimes characterize thermal-hydraulic challenges. In an effort to address such potential calculation uncertainties, computational results made by various international institutes are reported and code-to-code and code-to-experiment comparisons are made. The experimental data are mainly related to the initial testing of teh Japanese HTTR and the Chinese HTR-10. Both are high-temperature gas cooled test reactors.The work is part of an IAEA Co-ordinated Research Project (CRP) with the participation of ten international institutes.