NEM441
Nuclear Reactor Engineering 1
Fall 2023
Dr. Şule Ergün
RBMK, LMFBR, CANDU Systems
Lecture 5
– Introduction to BWRs
– BWR core geometry and thermal-hydraulic
characteristicsBWR/6
– BWR primary flow
• Jet Pump design
– BWR control mechanisms
– BWR vessel
– BWR Fuel and Bundle
– BWR Jet Pump
Outline for Lecture 6
• RBMK
– Geometry and Materials
– Operation Parameters
– Fuel and Operation
• LMFBR
– Design Features
– Fuel and Blanket
– Heat Exchangers
• CANDU
RBMK
• Boiling water reactor
• graphite moderated, boiling light water
cooled
• pressure tube reactors (Chernobyl design)
RBMK
RBMK
• Reactor power, MW:
thermal 3140
electrical 1100
• Coolant flow rate
through reactor, lbm/hr 82.7x106
• Steam pressure in
separator, psia 1015
• Average steam content
at reactor output, percent 14.5
RBMK
• Coolant temperature, OC:
at input 270
at output 284 Maximum
• Height of core, mm 7,000
• Diameter of core, mm 11,800
• Number of fuel channels 1,693
• Fuel enrichment, percent U-235 1.8
• Average extent of burnup
through reactor, GW-day/t 18.5
RBMK
RBMK
Some unique design features of the RBMK
are:
• Reactor operates with a minimum of coolant in
the core since water is a poison
• The loss of coolant, or increased graphite
temperature results in power increases
• Very soft neutron spectrum
• The limit to CHF (dryout) in the channels is
marginal.
• Can reload fuel at 100 percent power.
RBMK
RBMK
RBMK
RBMK
1. Reactor core
2. Steam-to-water pipes
3. Drum Separator
4. Main circulation pumps
5. Group dispensing
headers
6. Water pipelines
7. Upper biological shield
8. Refueling machine
9. Lower biological shield
RBMK Strengths
• The low core power density of RBMKs provides
a unique ability to withstand station blackout and
loss of power events of up to an hour with no
expected core damage.
• Ability to be refueled while operating, permitting
a high level of availability
• The graphite moderator design allows the use of
fuel that is not suitable for use in conventional
water-moderated reactors.
RBMK Weaknesses
• Lack of a massive steel and concrete
containment structure as the final barrier against
large releases of radiation in an accident
• Power increases when cooling water is lost, i.e.
positive void coefficient.
• Accident mitigation systems are limited.
• Flawed separation and redundancy of electrical
and safety systems.
• Limited capability for steam suppression in the
graphite stack
LMFBR
• Liquid (or molten) metals are largely favored as
the best coolants suitable for use in fast
reactors:
– low moderating ratios
– good heat-transfer characteristic.
• In fast reactors, neutrons are not deliberately
slowed down by moderator
• A typical fast-reactor neutron spectrum extends
between about 2 MeV, down to about 0.05 or 0.1
MeV.
LMFBR
• US, UK, Russia, France, Japan, Italy and
Former West Germany have built LMFBRs:
– EBR-I - positive temperature coefficient of reactivity,
steam generator tube vibration and thermal distortion
of the core;
– Dounreay - sodium leak through a defective weld;
– Enrico Fermi - leaking steam generator and meltdown
of two fuel elements due to blocking of coolant
channels by a dislodged piece of the core structure.
LMFBR
– Nuclear and thermal characteristics of the
sodium coolant pose the principal design
problems, e.g., intense thermal and stress
gradients in the associated structure and
containment and core meltdown
LMFBR
LMFBR
LMFBR
• Important design considerations other than those
already noted include:
• Coolant.
– induced radioactivity,
– inflammability,
– reactivity with water.
– Operations of components such as pumps, which are
completely immersed in molten sodium, is a further
problem.
– Heat fluxes as high as 929,000 Btu/hr-ft2 occur in the
core.
• Power Density. power excursion meltdown of the fuel might
cause the formation of a critical mass.
LMFBR
• Primary System:
– Each of the two loops from the pressure vessel
includes a single counterflow heat exchanger and a
centrifugal pump
– The inner and outer core arrangement is used to
improve power distribution.
– The blanket consists of depleted uranium dioxide.
– The inconel shield is for neutron reflection and
thermal shielding of the pressure vessel (in
conjunction with the flow of the cold leg coolant
between the shield and vessel).
– The breeding ratio is 1.325.
LMFBR
– Control rods are cruciform and made of tantalum.
– The fuel is mixed uranium-plutonium carbide and the
cladding is stainless steel. Sufficient gap is provided
between the fuel pellets and the cladding to allow for
pellet swelling and expansion during the life of the
element.
– There are sixty rods per subassembly.
– The maximum centerline temperature is 2622°F and
the maximum cladding surface temperature 1300°F in
order to preclude fuel element material failures.
– The maximum coolant velocity in the core is less than
30 ft/s in order to reduce or prevent erosion of core
material.
LMFBR
• Control.
– The plant dispatcher enters the required load change
into the supervisory controller.
– Control rods are inserted or withdrawn in order to
accommodate the load change.
– The controller adjusts the coolant pump speeds in
order to maintain a constant temperature difference
across the reactor and heat exchangers; the reactor
outlet temperature is the reference temperature.
– The turbine governor maintains constant turbine
speed.
– Feedwater control is programmed for constant steam
generator level control.
LMFBR
• Thermal Output 975 MW(t)
• Core Height 3.0 ft.
• Core Equivalent Diameter 6.2 ft.
• Height/Diameter 0.48
• Core Volume 90.6 ft3
• Average Core Power Density 350 kW/liter
• Peak Burnup 150,000 MWD/MT
• Number Core Assemblies
– 198 Number Radial Blanket Assemblies
– 150 Fuel Assembly Array
• Hexagonal Geometry with Rods on Triangular Lattice
• Number Fuel Rods Per Assembly 217
LMFBR
• Total Number Fuel Rods 42,966
• Fission Gas Plenum Length 48 in.
• Upper Axial Blanket Length 14 in.
• Lower Axial Blanket Length 14 in.
• Fuel Rod O.D. 0.230 in.
• Fuel Rod Pitch 0.290 in.
• Pitch/Diameter 1.26
• Wire Wrap Diameter 0.056 in.
• Wire Wrap Helical Pitch 11.9 in.
LMFBR
• Clad Thickness 0.015 in.
• Fuel Material PuUO2-UO2
• Fuel Pellet Diameter 0.1935 in.
• Pellet-Clad Radial Gap 0.00325 in.
• Sodium Flow Rate 4.15 x 107 lb/hr
• Core Wet Temperature 730°F
• Core Average Exit Temperature 995° F
• Average Linear Heat Rate 7 kW/!t.
• Maximum Linear Heat Rate 14.5 kW/ft
• Average Heat Flux 997,000 Btu/hr-ft2
• Maximum Heat flux 822,000 Btu/hr-ft2
CANDU
• CANada Deuterium Uranium
• Heavy water reactors are pressurized
units that operating on the same basic
conventions as most other PWR’s
• The main difference is the use of
deuterium as moderator and coolant
CANDU - Integrated Use of Heavy
Water
and Light Water
CANDU - Reactor Vessel Assembly
The CANDU reactor
consists of the horizontal
cylinder called the
Calandria
Fuel and coolant tubes
run horizontally
Moderator inlet and outlet
tubes direct the moderator
through the calandria,
then to the external heat
exchanger for cooling
CANDU - System Design
• The control rods enter from the top and control the
distribution of power in the reactor and can be used to
shutdown the reactor
• Reactor's cooling water tubes are pressurized to 1525
psia, lower than pressurized water designs
• The heavy water in the moderator system is normally not
highly pressurized
• Reactor cooling pumps circulate heavy water through the
reactor then to the steam generators in a closed loop
• The moderator heavy water system has a separate heat
exchanger with circulation system for cooling the
moderator
CANDU - Fuel ~ Uranium Dioxide
• The fuel assemblies used in
the reactor
are ~ 1.5 feet (0.5 m)
long, consisting of
individual rods
• Zircaloy cladding
• Fuel pellets consist of
uranium dioxide
• Fuel burnup in a CANDU is
~20% less than that
obtained by many PWR and
BWR reactors
CANDU - Refueling
• PHWR reactors can be
refueled on-line. This
photo shows the refueling
machine. New fuel
assemblies are added
horizontally and the spent
fuel assemblies are
pushed out to the spent
fuel storage area.
CANDU - Plant Layout
CANDU - Safety Systems
• Containment spray system
• Uses pumps to spray down the containment
• Containment fan coolers system
• Uses fan coolers with large radiators cooled by the
ultimate heat sink
• Ice condensers
• Maintain large banks of borated ice stored in special
baskets
• Reduces the size of the containment
CANDU - Safety Systems
• Vacuum building
– Maintained at a vacuum relative to the pressure in
any of the reactor containments
• Pressure relief valves
– Open to direct the high pressure steam to the vacuum
building which includes a spray system to reduce the
pressure both within the affected reactor containment
and the vacuum building
CANDU - Safety Systems
• Containment
– Double shell
– Access hatches for
easy component
replacement
