Several gfr fuel design concepts such as plates, rod pins, and pebbles are currently being investigated. A gascooled reactor gcr is a nuclear reactor that uses graphite as a neutron moderator and carbon dioxide as coolant. The next step was an experimental fast breeder reactor, ebri, designed by the argonne national laboratory. Gascooled reactor how is gascooled reactor abbreviated.
Sodiumcooled fast reactor design principles and approach ii. Significant efforts are underway in several member states to develop high temperature gas cooled reactors htgr based on either pebble bed or prismatic designs. Fuel development for gascooled fast reactors request pdf. The gfr uses a directcycle helium turbine for electricity generation, or can optionally use its process heat for production of hydrogen. Evaluation of gascooled fast xesctors, wash1089, april 1969, along these revfews were needed to help provide guidance with a companion report an evaluacion of alternate coolant fast breeder reactors, wash1090, april 1969. The original idea for the gas cooled fast reactor originated in the us.
The research is directed towards developing the gfr as an economic electricity generator, with good safety and sustainability characteristics. This directdrive gascooled reactor ddg is designed to be subcritical under water or wet. Advances in small modular reactor technology developments. Training course on seismic protection of leadcooled reactors palazzo camozzini, verona, may 2125, 2012 strategy for sustainability of nuclear energy 12 present known resources of uranium represent about 100 years of consumption with the existing reactor fleet fast neutron reactors with closed fuel cycle have the potential.
Classed as a generation iv reactor, it features a fastneutron spectrum and closed fuel cycle for efficient conversion of fertile uranium and management of actinides. Sodiumcooled fast reactor design principles and approach ii seminar at kaist april 24, 20. Sodium cooled fast reactor technology is suitable for reviving an industrial capability for their construction at home and internationally we have a legacy of sfr design and construction experience no large high pressure components are require except for steam generator watersteam headers. The reactor contains uranium fuel elements which are surrounded by graphite moderators and topped by charge tubes for loading fuel elements, and boron control rods. The gcfr designs evaluated in wash1089 were based, in large measure, on. Pdf gas cooled fast reactor research and development in the. Historical gfr concepts as well as the generation iv gfrs represent an alternative to liquid metalcooled fast reactors lmfrs. With oxide fuel and helium, co2, and so2 coolant at pressures of to 1500 psia, the reactors have slightly higher breeding ratios than comparable sodiumcooled reactors. In europe a number of players in the nuclear field joined forces to develop a gascooled fast reactor. The closed nuclear fuel cycle for the gas cooled fast reactor. Gascooled fast reactor fuel fabrication sciencedirect. The european commission ec gas cooled fast reactor gcfr project was initiated in 2000. On the gas fast reactor gfr development roadmap, the experimental and technology demonstration reactor allegro is the first necessary step towards an electricity generating prototype. The gascooled fast reactor is a high temperature heliumcooled generation iv reactor concept.
The european unions gas cooled fast reactor project. Designs for a gascooled fast reactor, originally referred to as the gcfr, were developed in the united states and europe as an alternative to liquid metal reactors during the 1960s through 1980s. Gascooled fast reactor gfr idaho national laboratory. Gascooled fast reactor gfr the gfr system is a hightemperature heliumcooled fastspectrum reactor with a closed fuel cycle.
Generation iv fast reactors university of cambridge. Larger mass flow rate of precooling water injection will accelerate the precooling process, but the temperature descending rate of the structures should also be limited to avoid the. High temperature gascooled reactor htgr, which is a graphite moderated, helium cooled reactor, is particularly attractive due to capability of producing high temperature helium gas and its inherent safety characteristics, as well as an option to efficiently burn weaponsgrade plutonium for energy production. One fuel concept calls for uc particles dispersed throughout an sic matrix. The gascooled fast reactor gfr system is a nuclear reactor design which is currently in development. Description of the advanced gas cooled type of reactor agr which currently can be downloaded free from more than one source on the internet. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. Williams massachusetts institute of technology canes center for advanced nuclear energy systems doe support through ineel ldrd and ineri program is acknowledged. Gas cooled fast reactors is one of the important candidate of 4th generation nuclear power plant and in this paper the safety analysis related to unprotected loss of flow in small long life gas cooled fast reactors has been performed. Gas cooled fast reactor research in europe request pdf.
The tru inventory requirement for a fast reactor including 23 reloads is of the order of 1015 tonsgwe. Gascooled fast reactor gfr research is directed towards fulfilling the ambitious goals of. The gascooled fast reactor gfr offers the advantage of building on the hightemperature fuel technology. A compact gascooled fast reactor with an ultralong fuel cycle hangbokchoi,robertw. Gascooled reactor definition of gascooled reactor by. Belovskyparticipates in the development of the helium cooled demonstration fast reactor allegro in the frame of the international association v4g4 centre of excellence in the following areas. A historical overview and future outlook article pdf available in science and technology of nuclear installations 20092. Operating parameters for this type of reactor are well beyond those of current fuels so a novel fuel must be developed.
Research article a compact gascooled fast reactor with an. The nuclear regulatory commission, protecting people and the environment. Gas cooled fast reactor the choice of coolant is dictated by the desire to introduce the smallest amount of absorption and moderation. Gloucester cumberland ringette association canada gcra. Sodium cooled fast reactor hideki kamide, sodium fast reactor internaonal workshop on advanced reactor systems and future energy market needs apr. This fourth generation system aims to combine the advantage afforded by the use of a fast spectrum. Unprotected loss of flow accident in small long life gas. Without fast reactors, nuclear fission will simply be a interesting footnote in human history. The gascooled fast reactor gfr is one of the reactor concepts selected by the generation iv international forum for the next generation of innovative nuclear energy systems. It is a low power 75 mwt heliumcooled fast reactor including the main objectives qualification of gfr fuel and subassembly concept, demonstration of. This design focused on joining the experience gained in the uk on. In the gener ation iv documents, the concept is commonly refer re d to a s ga s fast rea cto r, abb rev ia ted gf r, an d we.
Description of the advanced gas cooled type of reactor agr. Six reactor types have been selected for further research and evaluation in the generation iv framework, the gas cooled fast reactor being one of the six concepts. It combines the advantages of fastspectrum systems for longterm sustainability of uranium resources and waste minimisation through fuel multiple reprocessing and fission of longlived actinides, with those of hightemperature systems high thermal cycle efficiency. Gas cooled reactor article about gas cooled reactor by. Introduction and background the generation iv international forum gif is currently comprised of 11 organizations, and has. More efficient use of fuel reduced volumes and radiotoxicity of high level waste sodium cooled fast reactors are the shortest route to fr deployment, but. The gfr features a fastneutron spectrum and closed fuel cycle for efficient conversion of fertile uranium and management of actinides.
The gascooled fast reactor gfr was chosen as one of the generation iv nuclear. The use of gases leads to a harder neutron spectrum compared with the fast reactor cores of sodium and leadcooled fast reactors waltar et al. This paper describes the concept and preliminary component testing of a gascooled, unfueled, pintype reactor which uses heme gas that goes directly into a recuperated brayton system to produce electricity for nuclear electric propulsion. The key driving forces of smr development are fulfilling the need for flexible.
A precooling injection is needed to cool down the steam generator, which remains with high pressure and high temperature level after emergency shutdown of high temperature gas cooled reactor. This fourthgeneration system aims to combine the advantage afforded by the use of a fast spectrum. Gas cooled fast reactors have some favorable features. In the generation iv documents, the concept is commonly referred to as gas fast reactor, abbreviated gfr, and we will follow this convention for the remainder of this paper. High temperature gas cooled reactor fuels and materials.
Gascooled fast reactor gfr research is directed towards fulfilling the ambitious goals of generation iv gen iv, that is, to develop a safe, sustainable, reliable, proliferationresistant and economic nuclear energy system. To obtain the highest breeding potential, the amount of parasitic absorption should be minimized. Pete pappano, vice president of fuel development for xenergy. Fuel depletion modeling of a gascooled fast reactor using. The gascooled fast reactor gfr system is one of six generation iv systems selected for cooperative research and development by the generation iv international forum. Part 6 high temperature gas cooled reactors there are various iterations on this concept, most notably the vhtr very high temperature reactor, an iaea proposed generation iv design, the pebble bed reactor or the httr in all cases they share a number of common characteristics, so i shall group them under the umbrella of high temperature. The gfr system is a hightemperature heliumcooled fastspectrum reactor with a closed fuel cycle. Gascooled fast reactor an overview sciencedirect topics. The gascooled fast reactor gfr was chosen as one of the generation iv nuclear reactor systems to be developed based on its excellent potential for sustainability through reduction of the volume and radio toxicity of both its own fuel and other spent nuclear fuel, and for extendingutilizing uranium resources orders of magnitude beyond what the current open fuel.
The gen iv gas cooled fast reactor nuclear energy agency. The reactor employs a convert and burn core design which converts fertile isotopes to fissile and burns them in situ over a 30year core life. The reference reactor design is a helium cooled system operating with an. As described in xenergy introduced its company and first product to virginia chapter of ans, xenergy is a startup company based in maryland that is developing a modular high temperature gas cooled reactor. Gascooled reactor article about gascooled reactor by. The torness agr plant on the lothian coastline of scotland, 60 km east of edinburgh. The first is lead pb itself which has excellent cooling properties and a melting temperature of 327. Although there are many other types of reactor cooled by gas, the terms gcr and to a lesser extent gas cooled reactor are particularly used to refer to this type of reactor. Gas cooled reactor natural uranium, graphitemoderated reactors were developed in the united states during world war ii for the conversion of 238u to 239pu for military purposes. Gif symposium 2012 slide 4 motivation for gas cooled fast reactors fast reactors are important for the sustainability of nuclear power.
The whole reactor is contained in a pressure vessel surrounded by a. Pdf gascooled fast reactor gfr research is directed towards fulfilling the ambitious goals of. Gas cooled fast reactors gfrs share the positive attributes of fast reactors. Improving fuel cycle design and safety characteristics of. The most common choices for gascooled fast reactors are helium. The concept of the gascooled fast reactor has been around since the 1960s but has recently enjoyed renewed interest owing to its flexibility for plutonium and minor actinide management and its favourable safety characteristics compared to liquidmetal cooled fast reactors. Most first generation gascooled power plants were designed and built in the uk the magnox series and in france the nugg. Gas cooled fast reactor research and development in the. The term leadcooled fast reactor lfr usually applies to a fast reactor utilizing either of two heavy liquid metal coolant materials. Report describing the performance characteristics of gascooled fast reactors, which compare well with those of sodiumcooled fast reactors.
This group proposed a first design gbr1 in 1970, a mwe reactor featuring helium coolant, pintype fuel, conventional outlet temperature, and a secondary steam cycle. Jiang, high temperature gascooled reactor project in tsinghua university, in proceedings of 21stcenturycoe workshop on energy and environmental issues in asia, kyoto, japan, 2006. Research on the gascooled fast reactor system is directed towards fulfilling the ambitious long term goals of generation iv gen iv, i. The concept was revisited in 2002 through the generation iv international forum gif assessment, and the acronym was changed to gfr. With fast reactors we can generate 4000 years of electricity and other energy forms using a small refinement of 1970s technology. It is designed as a modular, gridcapable power source with a net unit output of 265 mwe. Fokkema, voorzitter van het college voor promoties, in het openbaar te verdedigen op dinsdag 12 december 2006 om 12. A gascooled nuclear reactor consists of the reactor itself and a heat exchanger.
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