#	Pagina
attuale pagina	/open-h2020/projects/210824/results.html

Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ESFR-SMART (European Sodium Fast Reactor Safety Measures Assessment and Research Tools)

Teaser

Summary

The problem addressed is a need for a new safe, reliable, sustainable, economical, and clean technology for generating electricity. The project is important for the society because it proposes such technology based on European Sodium Fast Reactor (ESFR) which is expected to be better compared to existing electricity generation technologies in terms of safety (due to high level of passive self-protection provided by the selected design and materials); reliability (due to simple design and high requirements to manufacturing); sustainability (due to availability of fuel resources for several millennia and waste minimization); economical (due to high availability, high electric power); and environmentally clean (due to absence of CO2 emission).
The project aims at 5 overall objectives:
1) Produce new experimental data to support calibration and validation of computational tools.
2) Test and qualify an advanced concept of the eddy-current flow meter aimed at the channel blockage detection.
3) Perform further calibration and validation of computational tools to support safety assessments of the technology.
4) Select and assess new safety measures for ESFR in accordance with European and international safety frameworks.
5) Strengthen and link together new networks, in particular, of European sodium facilities and of European students.

Work performed

\"WP1 \"\"New safety measures\"\" aims at providing a consistent set of new safety measures for ESFR to be assessed in other Work Packages (WP) and to monitor the consistency of different R&D studies. During the first 18 months, the new reactor and core designs (Figs. 1-3) featuring new safety measures were described in two reports.

WP2 \"\"Normal operation\"\" aims at assessing the impact of new safety measures on normal operation; evaluating safety parameters; and providing neutronics data for other WPs. During the first 18 months, the first objective was fulfilled and reported in a deliverable. The reactivity coefficients at the end of the equilibrium fuel cycle are under preparation. The fuel performance benchmark is ongoing.

WP3 \"\"Measures to prevent sodium boiling\"\" aims at investigating transition from forced to natural circulation in primary pool and evaluating performance of pumps, decay heat removal systems and passive core shutdown system for the selected transients. During the first 18 months, a list of the missing design data and initial list of transients were established. The computer models of the whole reactor system have been under development and steady state simulations and their comparison has started (Figs. 4-5).

WP4 \"\"Measures to prevent severe accidents\"\" aims at assessing the potential for establishing chugging boiling conditions during the unprotected loss of flow accident; assessing the occurrence of pressure waves caused by boiling; estimating the core geometry distortions and corresponding reactivity effects. During the first 18 months, the thermal mechanical model of the reactor core coupled to the neutronics model has been under development in frame of the PhD study.

WP5 \"\"Measures to mitigate severe accidents\"\" aims at evaluating the measures to mitigate severe accidents, in particular the reactor behavior in a hypothetical event of simultaneous failures of all primary pumps and core protection system. During the first 18 months, the work has started on modeling of the core degradation and movement of the molten materials to the core catcher device taking into account the dedicated transfer tubes from the core towards the core catcher.

WP6 \"\"Codes calibration and validation\"\" aims at performing further calibration and verification of computational tools used for SFR safety assessments. During the first 18 months, several benchmarks dedicated to core neutronics (Superphenix start-up tests), sodium thermal hydraulics (KNS-L22 sodium boiling test), molten fuel thermodynamics (SCARABEE BF1 in-pile test of fresh UO2 molten pool) and source term (NALA, FAUST and FANAL tests on fission product release) were launched.

WP7 \"\"New experiments for safety\"\" aims at producing and analysing new safety-related data. During the first 18 months, the KASOLA sodium facility has been under commissioning tests; the CHUG steam-water facility has been built and first experiments on chugging boiling have been done; and the KARIFA sodium facility has been designed; the JIMEC, HanSoLo (Fig. 6) and LIVE tests on modeling of the molten core material interaction with the core catcher have been under preparation.

WP8 \"\"European sodium facilities support\"\" aims at creating a new network for the exchange of information on the sodium technology; defining operating procedures; reviewing activities on sodium technologies ongoing worldwide; analysing synergies with other light liquid metals; studying sodium fire extinguishing means; and supporting safe operation of sodium facilities by favouring human mobility. During the first 18 months, the design guidelines were reported in a deliverable and the work on the review of the worldwide technologies has started.

WP9 \"\"Instrumentation for safety\"\" aims at qualifying eddy-current flow meters (ECFM) with the goal to further develop such sensors for realistic sodium reactor conditions. During the first 18 months, test series with various modifications of such ECFM have been successfully realized, a new pool-\"

Final results

The progress beyond the state of the art was the newly proposed ESFR design. The results expected until the end of the project will include the evaluation of this design from performance and safety viewpoints as well as generation of the new data and completion of the benchmarks aiming at the code calibration and validation. The potential economic and societal impacts are expected, in particular via simplification of the ESFR design as well as dissemination and education activities.