ELFR, The European Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor: L. Mansani Luigi - Mansani@ann - Ansaldo.it

ELFR, the European Lead-
cooled Fast Reactor
L. Mansani
luigi.mansani@ann.ansaldo.it
Training Course on Seismic Protection of Lead-cooled Reactors

Palazzo Camozzini, Verona, May 21-25, 2012
Introduction
GENERATION IV GOALS GENERATION IV SYSTEMS ACRONYM

Sustainability Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor System SFR
Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor System GFR
Safety & Reliability
Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor System LFR
Economics Molten Salt Reactor System MSR
Proliferation Resistance & Physical Protection Supercritical-Water-Cooled Reactor System SCWR
Very-High-Temperature Reactor System VHTR
Training Course on Seismic Protection of Lead-cooled Reactors Palazzo Camozzini, Verona, May 21-25, 2012
Debate on Waste Management Strategy
for Sustainability of Nuclear Energy
P&T is essential for the sustainability of nuclear energy

GD is indispensable for radioactive waste management
Both communities should work together for the future of nuclear energy
Partitioning and Transmutation (P&T)
• The radio-toxicity of the fission products dominates the total radio-toxicity during
the first 100 years and reaches the uranium ore mine level at about 300 years
• The long-term radio-toxicity is dominated by the actinides (mainly by the Pu and
Am isotopes) and the uranium ore mine level is reached only after more than
100,000 years
• By recycling and then ‘burning’ all the MA, the period over which high-level
radioactive waste remains hazardous could theoretically be reduced from
hundreds of thousands of years down to a few hundred years
Strategy for Sustainability of Nuclear Energy (1/2)
 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:
 to multiply by a factor 50 to 100 the energy output from a given amount of
uranium (with a full use of U238),
 To improve the management of high level radioactive waste through the
transmutation of minor actinides
 to provide energy for the next thousand years with the already known uranium
resources
1. once-through fuel cycle

2. plutonium burning strategy
3. transmutation strategy
4. fast reactor strategy
Strategy for Sustainability of Nuclear Energy (2/2)
 Both fast spectrum critical reactors and sub-critical ADS are potential
candidates for dedicated transmutation systems
 Critical reactors, however, loaded with fuel containing large amounts of MAs
pose safety problems caused by unfavourable reactivity coefficients and
small delayed neutron fraction
– Core fuelled with only MA (Uranium free) has no Doppler nor Delayed Neutrons
 Once-through cycle (disposal of spent

fuel as it is) does not appear to be more
sustainable
 Reprocessing of the spent fuel and
transmutation of MAs in dedicated
devices reduces radio-toxic inventory of
the disposed waste in geological
repositories
 Geological disposal of the remaining
waste (separation/transmutation losses)
will be required
Fast Reactors: the Closed Fuel Cycle
MOX first loads FP: 1g/MWD

Fabrication LFR Reprocessing
(U:82.5%; Pu: 17.5%) + losses
Adiabatic
MOX equilibrium
(U: 82%; Pu: 17%; MA: 1%)
Unat/dep: 1g/MWD All Actinides

+ reintegration of losses (Expected MA: 1% of which 20% Cm)
 LFR can be operated as adiabatic:

 Waste only FP, feed only Unat/dep
 Pu vector slowly evolves cycle by cycle
 MA content increases and its composition drift in the time
 LFR is fully sustainable and proliferation resistant (since the start up)
 Pu and MA are constant in quantities and vectors
 Safety - main feedback and kinetic parameters vs MA content
Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform (SNETP)
• European Nuclear research-orientated organisations and

nuclear industry stakeholders (35 at the launch today 97
members) launched in 2007 the Sustainable Nuclear
Energy Technology Platform (SNETP)
• SNETP has the aim of integrating and developing R&D
capabilities
– to maintain the safety and competitiveness of today’s
technologies,
– to develop a new generation of more sustainable reactor
technologies and
– to develop new industrial applications of nuclear power
• SNETP places a high priority on the development of Gen
IV Fast Neutron Reactors (FNRs), amongst which are the
Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) as a proven concept
and the Lead- or Gas-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR, GFR) as
alternative, longer-term technologies.
In a nutshell: from strategy to implementation
Vision Report Strategic Deployment Concept Paper Education &

[ Sept 2007 ] Research Strategy [Oct 2010] Training
Agenda [ May 2010 ] [ Dec 2010 ]
[ June 2009 ]
All documents are available for download on www.snetp.eu

and prints upon request (secretariat@snetp.eu)
Fast Neutron Reactors in the frame of the
European Sustainable Nuclear Industrial Initiative (ESNII)
ESNII* Roadmap from the Concept Paper
ADS are envisaged as

dedicated facilities for
transmuting large amounts of
MA in a concentrated
approach
ADS is not considered as a
potential energy production
system (economic reasons),
but as a fast neutron
irradiation and testing tool
(*) ESNII will address the need for demonstration of Gen-IV Fast
Neutron Reactor technologies, together with the supporting
which can support the
research infrastructures, fuel facilities and R&D work. development of FNRs
Why Lead as the Coolant ?
 Lead does not react with water or air

 Possibility to eliminate the intermediate loop; SGU installed inside the Reactor Vessel
 Need R&D on effects of water-lead interaction in case of SGTR accident
 Less stringent requirements on reactor leak tightness
 Lead has very high boiling point

 Reduced core voiding risk (Lead boiling point is 1745°C )
 Lead has a higher density than the oxide fuel

 No need for core catcher to face core melt (molten clad and fuel float)
 No risk of re-criticality in case of core melt
 Lead is a low moderating medium and has low absorption cross-section.

 No need to have a very compact Fuel Assemblies (FA can have fuel rods spaced
large apart; Core pressure loss drastically reduced in spite of the higher density of
lead resulting in lower pumping power and higher natural circulation capability)
 Lead is compatible with existing clad material 15-15/Ti and T91
 Operation over long irradiation period and under Oxygen control up to 500°C
 More margins with surface coating up to 550-600 °C
Structural Material Issues in Molten Lead Environment
 Selection and qualification of structure and clad materials, for nuclear

reactor systems using lead or lead-alloy as coolant, is a key issue
 Molten lead and lead-alloy are corrosive for structural materials at
high-temperature operation
 They can induce/accelerate material failure:
• under static loading, such as brittle fracture
• under time-dependent loading, such as fatigue and creep
 Main parameters impacting the corrosion rate of steels in lead or lead-
alloy are :
• chemical and metallurgical features of the steel
• temperature
• liquid metal velocity
• dissolved oxygen concentration
 Flowing molten lead and lead-alloy are erosive for structural materials
 Structural material properties can degrade under irradiation of high
energy neutron flux and in contact with liquid metal
Structural Material usable in Molten Lead Environment
• Selected candidate materials for nuclear reactor systems

using lead or lead-alloy as coolant are:
 Austenitic low-carbon steels (e. g. AISI 316L), owing to the
available large database, are candidate for components
operating at relatively low temperatures and low irradiation flux
as is the case of the Reactor Vessel
• Corrosion rate remains negligible up to 400°C for austenitic low-
carbon steels
 Ferritic-martensitic steels (e.g. T91) are candidate materials
for components operating at relatively high temperatures and at
high irradiation flux as in the case of the Fuel Cladding
• Corrosion rate remains acceptable for ferritic-martensitic steels up
to 500 °C with controlled Oxygen environment
 15-15/Ti steel, owing to the available large database, is
candidate for fuel cladding operating at relatively low
temperature
Design Provisions to fulfil
the Structural Material Corrosion Issue (1/2)
 Prevention of corrosion of the structural steels in contact with the molten

lead is made by maintaining a continuous, compact metal oxide film
adherent to the metal substrate of the structures
 This implies the presence of a controlled dissolved oxygen in the melt
 Oxygen concentration, in the pure molten lead, shall be controlled in a
range where the upper limit is the concentration for lead oxide formation
(PbO Saturation) and the lower limit is the concentration for iron oxide
(magnetite) formation
1,E+03
1,E+02
PbO (Gromov)
1,E+01
1,E+00
Domaine large de fonctionnement
1,E-01
[O] (ppm)
1,E-02
Domaine étroit de fonctionnement

1,E-03
1,E-04
1,E-05 Concentration minimale pour former Fe3O4

___ à saturation Fe dans Pb
1,E-06 ----- à 10%saturation Fe dans Pb
1,E-07
1,E-08
300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650
Température (°C)
the Structural Material Corrosion Issue (2/2)
• In the high temperature range (above 500°C), the

corrosion resistance of structural materials can be
enhanced by coating
– Coating is of great interest for the fuel cladding or in general for
heat exchanger tubes for which protective oxide layer thickness
shall be limited so that the heat transfers characteristics are not
significantly affected
– Design approach limits the mean core outlet temperature to less
than 500 °C and protects the construction material of the
unavoidably thermally high loaded fuel cladding tubes with
coating
– Qualification program for the use of the coatings is mandatory in
order to demonstrate their mechanical stability, adhesion to the
substrate etc. under relevant operating conditions
– Promising coating materials: FeAl alloy; Tantalum
the Structural Material Erosion Issue
• Provisions taken in the design to preserve structural material

integrity against erosion phenomena impose an upper limit on the
coolant flow velocity
 Erosion rate remains acceptable for stainless steels in fluent

lead up to velocity of 1 m/s
 Erosion rate remains acceptable for ferritic-martensitic steels in
fluent lead up to velocity of 2 m/s
 Mechanical pumps are exception where the relative flow
velocity cannot be limited below 10 m/s
• Alternative structural materials, for the pump impeller, resistant to
high velocity shall be identified and characterised
• Promising candidate materials for pumps are Silicon Carbide and
Titanium (Ti3SiC2) based alloys
The ELSY project
• In 2006 the EC partially funded, within the FP6 programme, the ELSY project
(European Lead-cooled System)
• The ELSY project has been conducted by a large consortium of European
organizations to demonstrate the feasibility of a competitive and safe Lead Fast
(critical) Reactor using simple engineered features, while fully complying with
Generation IV goals, including the MA burning capability
• ELSY project ended on February 2010, but LFR development continued with the
LEADER project (Lead-cooled European Advanced Demonstration Reactor)
started on April 2010 in the frame of EC FP7
FA Support System
FAs extended to
Steam generator: cover gas space
Safety Vessel B
DHR deep cooler
Reactor Vessel Core

C
The LEADER project
Advanced nuclear systems for increased sustainability

FP7-Fission 2009 2.2.1
Conceptual Design for Lead Cooled Fast Reactor Systems

(LEADER)
 16 European Organization are participating to the project
 Ansaldo Nucleare is the Project Coordinator
 3 year Project (2010-2013), started 1° of April 2010
LEADER Objectives
 Deep analysis of the hard points of the ELSY design in order to identify possible
improvements with the goal to reach an improved European Lead Fast Reactor,
ELFR configuration
 Definition of a new “frozen” ELFR configuration to be used as a reference plant
 Conceptual design of a scaled down facility respect to the reference plant the
Advanced Lead Fast Reactor European Demonstrator - ALFRED (300 MWth)
ELSY - Revisited Critical Issues
Steam generator: FA Support System:

Manufacturability Floating core
FAs extended to cover gas
DHR deep cooler:

Containment boundary
inside Reactor Vessel
Inner Vessel/ Reactor FA / Inner Vessel bottom

Vessel bottom interface: interface: No lateral
No lateral restraints restraints
STRATEGY: Maintain the good solutions, change the rest

 Spiral SG - specific task in LEADER to address manufacturability issue
 Expected advantage of open FA not verified, back to the wrapped option of ELSY, FA
support provided, easy FA continuous monitoring for flow blockage
 Bottom grid introduced, lateral restraint for core and shroud, FAs weighted down by
Tungsten ballast
 Need to develop alternative DHRs, ICs maintained
ELFR - Core Configuration
Starting from the ELSY back-up option

Wrapped fuel elements STRATEGY:
-“Adiabatic” core
power distribution flattened with two zone

different hollow pellets diameters
ELFR - Fuel Assembly, blocked with Tungsten ballast,
connected to Lower and Top Core Plates
ELFR - Inner Vessel, Core support and Fuel Assembly
ELFR - Reactor Vessel
ELFR - Steam Generator
Power MW 187.5
Lead Inlet Temperature °C 480
Lead Outlet temperature °C 400
Water Inlet Temperature °C 335
Steam Outlet temperature °C 471
Steam Outlet Pressure MPa 18

ELFR - Primary Pump
Outside impeller diameter, m 1.1

Hub diameter, m 0.43
Impeller speed, rpm 140
Number of vanes 3
Vane profile NACA 23012
Suction pipe velocity, m/s 1.6
Vanes tip velocity, m/s 8.7
Meridian (at impeller entrance 3.1

and exit) velocity, m/s
Candidate material Ti3SiC2
ELFR - Reactor Configuration
ELFR - Decay Heat Removal Systems
• Several systems for the decay heat removal function have been
conceived and proposed for ELFR
– One non safety-grade system, the secondary system, used for the normal
decay heat removal following the reactor shutdown
– Two independent, diverse, passive, high reliable and redundant safety-
related Decay Heat Removal systems (DHR N1 and DHR N2): in case of
unavailability of the secondary system, the DHR N1 system is called upon
and in the unlike event of unavailability of the first two systems the DHR N2
starts to evacuate the DHR
• DHR N1: Isolation Condenser System (ICS) in the secondary system
• DHR N2: Water Decay Heat Removal System (WDHRS) in the cold pool
• DHR Systems features:
 Independence obtained by means of two different systems with nothing in
common
 Diversity obtained by means of two systems based on different physical
principles
 Redundancy is obtained by means of three out of four loops (of each
system) sufficient to fulfil the DHR safety function even if a single failure
occurs
Isolation Condenser History
In 1992 Ansaldo Nucleare

designed the so called “Isolation
Condenser” as part of the
cooperation for the development
of the SBWR design
Recently GE used the component

developed by Ansaldo for the
ESBWR design
Ansaldo Nucleare successfully

proposed the same type of
arrangement for the IRIS
Westinghouse reactor
The Isolation Condenser has

been already tested in Italy by
Courtesy of GE SIET (ENEA) at full scale SBWR
conditions
ELFR - Decay Heat Removal Systems
DHR N1 – ICS DHR N2 – WDHRS

Close the loop using an
HX inside a pool
No release outside
containment
Water CORE
Helium
Lead
The two system need further

development/improvements
ELFR – Secondary System
Parameters Value
Water Inlet Temperature (ºC) 335
Steam Outlet Temperature (ºC) 464.5
Water Flow kg/s 114.7 x 8
Water Inlet Pressure (bar) 191
Steam Outlet Pressure (bar) 180
Cycle Results
Cycle Efficiency (%) 42.15
Plant net output (MWe) 623.8
ELFR - Overall Plant Layout
Sewage Treatment Plant

Cooling Tower Auxiliary
Services
Electro-chlorination Plant
First Security Barrier
Laboratory
Access Control
Grease & Gases Warehouse
Second Security Barrier
Access Control
Security Patrol Road

Hot Machine Shop & Storage
Electric Building &

Radwaste Building
Technical Support Center
Stack
Lay Down Area Control Building
ALFRED – Design of the LFR Demonstrator
Design strategy of the LFR Demonstrator (ALFRED):

“Being the scope of LEADER the definition of a Demonstration reactor to be realized
in the short term we should strongly rely on presently available technology.
As a consequence, while we should try to design a demonstrator as close as possible
to the reference industrial size LFR , we must switch (where needed) to proven and
available solutions”
Some components of ALFRED will be different from the design proposed for ELFR
- SGs: double wall straight bayonet tubes, continuous monitoring, permits use
of SGs tube bundles as part of DHR system, easy coating and/or
surface treatment: speed-up to construction
-DHRs: Based mainly on Isolation Condenser of ELFR
- Core: MOX
In general other solutions as close as possible to ELFR design
ALFRED - Core Configuration
FAs – Same concept of ELFR
171 Fuel Assembly
4 Safety Rods
12 Control Rods
108 Dummy Element
Control/shutdown system adapted from CDT-MYRRHA:

• 2 diverse, independent and redundant shutdown systems
• 1° System for Control and Shutdown - Buoyancy
Absorbers Rods passively inserted by buoyancy from the
bottom of the core
• 2° Shutdown System - Pneumatic Inserted Absorber Rods
passively inserted by pneumatic from the top of core
ALFRED - Upper and Lower Core Support Plates
Lower core support plate

Upper core support plate
Box structure with two horizontal perforated plates
Box structure as lower grid but more stiff. connected by vertical plates.
It has the function to push down the FAs Plates holes are the housing of FAs foots.
during the reactor operation. The plates distance assures the verticality of FAs
A series of preloaded disk springs presses
each FA on its lower housing
Hole for
Instrume
nts
ALFRED - Inner Vessel
Upper grid
Cylinder
Inner Vessel
assembly
Pin
Lower grid
ALFRED - Steam Generator Bayonet Tube Concept
• Bayonet vertical tube with external safety

tube and internal insulating layer
• The internal insulating layer (delimited by the

Slave tube) has been introduced to ensure
the production of superheated dry steam
• The gap between the outermost and the

outer bayonet tube is filled with pressurized
helium to permit continuous monitoring of
the tube bundle integrity
• High thermal conductivities particles in the

gap to enhance the heat exchange capability
• In case of tube leak this arrangement

guarantees that primary lead does not
interact with the secondary water
ALFRED - Steam Generator Bayonet Tube Geometry
Steam Generator Bayonet

Geometry tube
Number of coaxial tubes 4
Slave tube O.D 9.52 mm
Slave tube thickness 1.07 mm
Inner tube O.D 19.05 mm
Inner tube thickness 1.88 mm
Outer tube O.D 25.4 mm
Outer tube thickness 1.88 mm
Outermost tube O.D 31.73 mm
Outermost tube thickness 2.11 mm
Length of exchange 6m
Number of tubes 510
ALFRED - Steam Generator
Water
Steam
SGs Tubes, forged plates and

Hot Lead
shells are made of
X10CrMoVNb9-1, as per the
RCC-MRx code (equivalent in
ASME code to T91 steel)
Cold Lead
ALFRED - Steam Generator Performances
Steam Generator Performance

Pump casing Removed Power [MW] 37.5
Core outlet Lead Temperature [°C] 480.0
Core inlet Lead Temperature [°C] 401.5
Water Inlet
Third Feedwater Temperature [°C] 335.0
tubesheet Immersed bayonet steam outlet T [°C] 451.5
Steam Plenum Temperature [°C] 450.1
SG steam/water side global ∆p [bar] 3.3
Steam outlet
Tubes
Second
tubesheet
First tubesheet
ALFRED - Reactor Vessel
• The RV is a cylindrical vessel with a torospherical bottom head anchored to the reactor pit from the top
• The reactor vessel is closed by a roof that supports the core and all the primary components.
• The RV upper part is divided in two branches by a “Y” junction: the conical skirt that supports the whole
weight and the cylindrical that supports the Reactor Cover.
• A cone frustum welded to the bottom head has the function of bottom radial restraint of Inner Vessel.
Cover
Support flange
flange
Inner Vessel radial

support
ALFRED - Reactor Block Configuration
ALFRED - Reactor Block Configuration
ALFRED - Decay Heat Removal Systems
• Several systems for the decay heat removal function have been conceived and
designed for ALFRED
– One non safety-grade system, the secondary system, used for the normal decay
heat removal following the reactor shutdown
– Two independent, passive, high reliable and redundant safety-related Decay Heat
Removal systems (DHR N1 and DHR N2): in case of unavailability of the secondary
system, the DHR N1 system is called upon and in the unlike event of unavailability of
the first two systems the DHR N2 starts to evacuate the DHR
• DHR N1:
– Rrelay on the Isolation Condenser system connected to four out of eight SGs
• DHR N2:
– Other four Isolation Condenser to the other four SGs have been added
• Considering that, each SG is continuously monitored, ALFRED is a demonstrator
and a redundancy of 266% is maintained, the Diversity concept could be relaxed
• DHR Systems features:
 Independence obtained by means of two different systems with nothing in common
 Redundancy is obtained by means of three out of four loops (of each system)
sufficient to fulfil the DHR safety function even if a single failure occurs
ALFRED - DHR Systems (Isolation Condenser)
• 8 Independent loops
• DHR N1 4 loops
• DHR N2 the other 4 loops
• Each Isolation Condenser loop is
comprehensive of:
– One heat exchanger (Isolation
Condenser), constituted by a vertical
tube bundle with an upper and lower
header
– One water pool, where the isolation
condenser is immersed (the amount of
water contained in the pool is sufficient
to guarantee 3 days of operation)
1 loop (typical) – One condensate isolation valve (to
meet the single failure criteria this
function shall be performed at least by
two parallel valves)
ALFRED - Isolation Condenser Heat Exchanger
• Upper and lower spherical

header diameter 560 mm
• Tube diameter 38.1 mm
• Number of tubes 16
• Average tube length 2 m
• Material Inconel 600
ALFRED - DHR System Performances
500 550
480
460 500
440
420 450
400
°C
°C
Core inlet temp Core inlet temp
Core outlet temp Core outlet temp
380 400
360
340 350
320 Freezing temperature

Freezing temperature
300
300
0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000
0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000
s
s
4 Loops in operation (Maximum performances) 3 Loops in operation (Minimum performances)

Lead temperature < nominal Lead Peak Temperature  500°C
Time to freeze  4 hours Time to freeze > 8 hours
ALFRED - Secondary System
ALFRED - Overall Plant Lay Out
Selected materials for the main components
of ALFRED and ELFR
Material
Components
ALFRED ELFR
Reactor Vessel AISI316L AISI316L
Vessel Support P295GH P295GH
Safety Vessel (Cavity Liner) AISI316L AISI316L
Reactor Cover AISI316L AISI316L
Inner Vessel AISI316LN AISI316LN
Core Lower Grid AISI316LN AISI316LN
Core Upper Grid AISI316LN AISI316LN
Steam Generator T91 T91
Primary Pump: Duct and Shaft AISI316LN AISI316LN
Primary Pump: Impeller tbd (Maxtal ?) tbd (Maxtal ?)
Deep Cooler na AISI316LN
Fuel Assembly: Cladding 15-15/Ti T91
Fuel Assembly: Grids 15-15/Ti T91
Fuel Assembly: Wrapper T91 T91
ALFRED and ELFR Design Options (Differences)
Items ALFRED Option ELFR Option

Electrical Power (MWe) 120 MWe (300 MWth) 600 MWe (1500 MWth)
Fuel Clad Material 15-15Ti (coated) 15-15Ti or T91 (coated)
Fuel type MOX (max Pu enrich. 30%) MOX for first load
MAs bearing fuel .....
Max discharged burnup (MWd/kg-HM) 90÷100 100
Bayonet type with double walls, Spiral type or alternate solution,
Steam generators Integrated in the reactor vessel, Integrated in the reactor vessel,
Removable Removable
DHR System 2 diverse and redundant systems 2 diverse and redundant
(actively actuated, Passively systems (actively actuated,
operated) Passively operated)
DHR1 Isolation Condenser connected Isolation Condenser connected
to Steam Generators: 4 units to Steam Generator: 4 units
provided on 4 out of 8 SGs provided on 4 out of 8 SGs
DHR2 Duplication of DHR1 Alternate solution to ELSY W-
260% total power removal DHR under investigation
ALFRED and ELFR Design Options (Similarities)
Primary Coolant Pure Lead

Primary System Pool type, Compact
Primary Coolant Circulation: Normal operation Forced
Emergency conditions Natural
Allowed maximum Lead velocity (m/s) 2
Core Inlet Temperature (°C) 400
Steam Generator Inlet Temperature (°C) 480
Secondary Coolant Cycle Water-Superheated Steam
Feed-water Temperature (°C) 335
Steam Pressure (MPa) 18
Secondary system efficiency (%)  41
Reactor vessel Austenitic SS, Hung
Safety Vessel Anchored to reactor pit
Cylindrical, Integral with the core support grid,
Inner Vessel (Core Barrel)
Removable
Primary pumps Mechanical in the hot collector, Removable
ALFRED and ELFR Design Options (Similarities)
Closed (with wrapper), Hexagonal, Weighted down

Fuel Assembly when primary pumps are off, Forced in position by
springs when primary pumps are on
Maximum Clad Temperature in Normal Operation 550
(°C)
Maximum core pressure drop (MPa) 0.1 (30 min grace time for ULOF)
Control/Shutdown System 2 diverse and redundant systems of the same
concept derived from CDT
1st System for Shutdown Buoyancy Absorbers Rods: control/shutdown system
passively inserted by buoyancy from bottom of core
2nd System for Shutdown Pneumatic Inserted Absorber Rods: shutdown

system passively inserted by pneumatic (by
depressurization) from the top of core
Refuelling System No refuelling machine inside the Reactor Vessel
Seismic Dumping Devices 2D isolator below reactor building
GIF LFR Reference Concepts
GIF – LFR Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) :

Signed by JRC, for Euratom and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, for Japan - November 2010
Signed by ROSATOM for Russia – July 2011
US accepted as observer of the GIF-LFR-SC activities
CONTROL
CLOSURE HEAD ROD
DRIVES
CO2 OUTLET NOZZLE
CONTROL
(1 OF 8) ROD GUIDE
CO 2 INLET NOZZLE TUBES AND
(1 OF 4) DRIVELINES
THERMAL
Pb-TO-CO 2 HEAT BAFFLE
EXCHANGER (1 OF 4)
GUARD
FLOW SHROUD VESSEL
RADIAL REFLECTOR REACTOR

VESSEL
ACTIVE CORE AND
FISSION GAS PLENUM
FLOW DISTRIBUTOR
HEAD
SSTAR (10 - 100 MWe) BREST 300 (300 MWe) ELFR (600 MWe)
European LFR Activities
Accelerator Reactor
MYRRHA (600 MeV - 4 mA proton) Subcritical mode - 65 to 100 MWth
project schedule
2010-2014 2016-2018 2020-2022
2015 2019 2023 2024-
Front End Construction of
Tendering & On site Commissioning Progressive Full
Engineering components &
Procurement assembly start-up exploitation
Design civil engineering
MYRRHA (estimated cost - 960 M€)

Accelerator Driven System – ETPP of LFR Technology
FP7 CDT project (Myrrha design) ends March 2012
Front End Engineering Design contract to be awarded by the end of 2012
FEED Pre-selection of 3 consortiums (out of 6) completed in 2011
SCK•CEN entered pre-licensing phase with the Belgian Safety Authorities
GUINEVERE
The Zero-Power facility – solid Lead – critical and sub-critical operation
Lead-Bismuth
Nuclear data, nuclear instrumentation, Keff measurements, code validation coolant
Criticality reached in February 2011
Subcritical coupling performed in October 2011 MYRRHA
Multipurpose
Flexible
GUINEVERE and MYRRHA Irradiation
the first two steps of the EU Road Map for the development of LFR technology Facility
European LFR Activities
The ongoing EU-FP7 LEADER project generated:

The ELFR configuration based on the solution of the main ELSY issues
The configuration of the LFR demonstrator ALFRED (300 MWth)
Passive Safety Systems used extensively for both reactors design
ELFR and ALFRED safety analysis started – Results expected end of 2012
ALFRED is the third step of the EU Road Map for the development of LFR technology
The HeLiMNet project organized an “International Workshop on Liquid Metal Fast
Reactors: respective issues and synergies” in Aix-en-Provence October 2011.
Main result is the number of possible synergies between SFR and LFR.
ANSALDO, ENEA and INR signed on February 22, 2012 a MoU
for the establishment of ALFRED Consortium.
Consortium open to organizations interested in ALFRED
design, experimental activities and construction
Reference site for ALFRED is Pitesti, Romania
Contacts are on going for a technical exchange of information
between LEADER and BREST projects
ALFRED

ELFR, The European Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor: L. Mansani Luigi - Mansani@ann - Ansaldo.it

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ELFR, The European Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor: L. Mansani Luigi - Mansani@ann - Ansaldo.it

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ELFR, the European Lead-

cooled Fast Reactor

Training Course on Seismic Protection of Lead-cooled Reactors

GENERATION IV GOALS GENERATION IV SYSTEMS ACRONYM

P&T is essential for the sustainability of nuclear energy

 Present known resources of Uranium represent about 100 years of

1. once-through fuel cycle

 Once-through cycle (disposal of spent

MOX first loads FP: 1g/MWD

Unat/dep: 1g/MWD All Actinides

 LFR can be operated as adiabatic:

• European Nuclear research-orientated organisations and

Vision Report Strategic Deployment Concept Paper Education &

All documents are available for download on www.snetp.eu

ESNII* Roadmap from the Concept Paper

ADS are envisaged as

 Lead does not react with water or air

 Lead has very high boiling point

 Lead has a higher density than the oxide fuel

 Lead is a low moderating medium and has low absorption cross-section.

 Selection and qualification of structure and clad materials, for nuclear

• Selected candidate materials for nuclear reactor systems

 Prevention of corrosion of the structural steels in contact with the molten

Domaine étroit de fonctionnement

1,E-05 Concentration minimale pour former Fe3O4

• In the high temperature range (above 500°C), the

• Provisions taken in the design to preserve structural material

 Erosion rate remains acceptable for stainless steels in fluent

DHR deep cooler

Reactor Vessel Core

Advanced nuclear systems for increased sustainability

Conceptual Design for Lead Cooled Fast Reactor Systems

Steam generator: FA Support System:

DHR deep cooler:

Inner Vessel/ Reactor FA / Inner Vessel bottom

STRATEGY: Maintain the good solutions, change the rest

Starting from the ELSY back-up option

power distribution flattened with two zone

Lead Inlet Temperature °C 480

Lead Outlet temperature °C 400

Water Inlet Temperature °C 335

Steam Outlet temperature °C 471

Steam Outlet Pressure MPa 18

Outside impeller diameter, m 1.1

Meridian (at impeller entrance 3.1

In 1992 Ansaldo Nucleare

Recently GE used the component

Ansaldo Nucleare successfully

The Isolation Condenser has

DHR N1 – ICS DHR N2 – WDHRS

The two system need further

Sewage Treatment Plant

Grease & Gases Warehouse

Second Security Barrier

Security Patrol Road

Electric Building &

Design strategy of the LFR Demonstrator (ALFRED):

-DHRs: Based mainly on Isolation Condenser of ELFR

In general other solutions as close as possible to ELFR design

FAs – Same concept of ELFR

171 Fuel Assembly

108 Dummy Element

Control/shutdown system adapted from CDT-MYRRHA: