Prototype fast breeder reactor Research Papers (original) (raw)

The Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor that is being built in Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu has the potential to undergo severe accidents that involve the disassembly of the reactor core. Such accidents could release sufficient energy to fracture the protective barriers around the core, including the containment building, and release large fractions of the radioactive material in the reactor into the surroundings. The designers of the PFBR have made choices aimed at making the reactor cheaper rather than safer. The safety assessment of the PFBR points to some fundamental problems with how nuclear technology is regulated.

- by and +1
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- Safety Engineering, High Reliability Organisation, Nuclear Power Plants Safety, Prototype fast breeder reactor

This paper aims to compare three Monte Carlo (MC) burnup based codes, i.e. MCNP6, Monteburns and Serpent on a future prototype reactor, named ALLEGRO, based on Gas cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) technology. GFR reactors are one of the proposed Generation-IV fast reactors; ALLEGRO facility is scheduled to be built in Europe as a GFR demonstrator, so its deepened simulation can help in its future development. The present study follows other researches already performed and aims to exhibit the different approaches in burnup calculations applied to a gas cooled fast reactors, i.e. this paper would like to show and to compare some results concerning nuclear parameters as keff and flux spectra, as well as the mass inventories versus burnup for some nuclides evaluated with different Monte Carlo codes. From obtained results, it seems to exist some differences in evaluation of nuclear parameters, mainly in effective multiplication factor and in mass inventories. The remaining differences are mainly related to calculation time: indeed between the fastest, that is SERPENT, and the slowest, that are MCNP6 and MONTEBURNS, the differences are about one order of magnitude. As far as precision is concerned, it was considered the standard only for effective multiplication factor and it seems that all codes are in good agreement.

- by prashant sharma
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- Computer Simulation, Flow measurement, High Temperature, Eddy Current
- by Arnaud Lefevre
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- Nuclear Engineering, Russian Studies, Chinese Studies, China

Based on a retrospective study of the French Fast-breeder Reactor (FBR) programme, this paper aims to show the dynamics of FBR demonstrator evaluation, with methodological inputs from the “Science and Technology Studies” branch of sociology. Such a reactor has to demonstrate the feasibility - including safety, technical and economic viability - of a promising technology regarded as a potentially inexhaustible energy source for the future. Until the mid-seventies, the need for an FBR fleet was regarded as urgent, entailing a focus on demonstration reactors to prove “technical” feasibility. But after the mid-seventies, the purpose of evaluating FBR projects was to prove the technical and economic viability of the programme, as well as its safety. The analysis of the Superphénix case is used to illustrate the difficulty of reconciling the three elements of assessment in a changing context, where the respective weights of the various criteria evolve in a dynamic fashion: it calls for an examination of the implicit specifications of demonstrators.

In this work, we report studies on a fast low power accelerator driven system model as a possible experimental facility, focusing on its capabilities in terms of measurement of relevant integral nuclear quantities. In particular, we performed Monte Carlo simulations of minor actinides and fission products irradiation and estimated the fission rate within fission chambers in the reactor core and the reflector, in order to evaluate the transmutation rates and the measurement sensitivity. We also performed a photo-peak analysis of available experimental data from a research reactor, in order to estimate the expected sensitivity of this analysis method on the irradiation of samples in the ADS considered.

We welcome the response from S C Chetal and P Chellapandi of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to concerns we have raised about the safety of the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) in a core disruptive accident (CDA) (Kumar and Ramana 2011). However, there are persistent disagreements that we outline below. It is important to take into account the consequences of a CDA because safety systems, including multiple ones, can fail.

- by Ashwin K Seshadri and +1
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- Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Safety, Severe accident analysis, FAST BREEDER REACTORS

This article contributes a case study of regulation of the design of India’s Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR). This reactor is the first of its kind in India, and perceived by the nuclear establishment as critical to its future ambitions. Because fast breeder reactors can experience explosive accidents called core disruptive accidents whose maximum severity is difficult to contain, it is difficult to assure the safety of the reactor’s design. Despite the regulatory agency’s apparent misgivings about the adequacy of the PFBR’s design, it eventually came to approve construction of the reactor. We argue that the approval process should be considered a case of regulatory failure, and examine three potential factors that contributed to this failure: institutional negligence, regulatory capture, and dependence on developers and proponents for esoteric knowledge. This case holds lessons for nuclear safety regulation and more generally in situations where specialized, highly technical, knowledge essential for ensuring safety is narrowly held.

- by Ashwin K Seshadri and +1
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- Organizational Behavior, Regulation And Governance, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Safety
- by john arul
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- Software Development, System Analysis, Natural Convection, Reliability Analysis
- by Ashwin kumar
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- Nuclear Engineering, Political Science, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Safety

Studies have been performed on plutonium burning in the Japanese prototype fast breeder reactor Monju. The main aims of these studies were to illustrate the plutonium-burning capabilities of fast reactors and to investigate the consequences of the related core design measures on the main core characteristics of Monju. Burner cores with diluting pins, with diluting subassemblies (also called diluents), and with an internal slice of inert material have been investigated; these require an increased average plutonium enrichment and thus offer an enhanced plutonium-burning rate. On the other hand, the consequences of the elimination of the radial and/or axial blanket have been investigated.Among the burner concepts, the BâC containing diluents have been found to be preferable because they cause the smallest maximum linear rating increase and offer the largest flexibility to adapt their reactivity via a modification of the BâC content. They also do not require a new fuel subassembly conce...

- by perumal chellapandi
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- Geology, Power, Power and Energy Systems Engineering, Seismic Analysis

In fast reactor safety post accident heat removal assessment assumes importance to ensure integrity of the structural components. It is essential to demonstrate the passive built-in heat removal capabilities of the reactor in the event of a core disruptive accident. This paper details the commissioning aspect of Post Accident Thermal Hydraulics (PATH) experimental facility that is a scaled 1:4 water

- by Hemanth Rao
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- Engineering, Heat Transfer, Natural Convection, Interdisciplinary Engineering
- by MD Mathew
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- Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Stainless Steel
- by john arul
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- Engineering, Engineering Design, Heat Exchanger, New Technology

The paper describes the design and development of Virtual Panels for Handing Control Room in full scope replica PFBR operator training simulator. Handling Control Room panels and consoles are used for Fuel Handling operations viz control and monitoring of fuel handling system. Handling Control Room consists of four control panels and four consoles. Virtual panels are used to emulate the real Handling Control Room panels/consoles and have the same layout as that of the actual plant. The hardware indicators, digital recorders, lamps, control switches, annunciation windows etc of hardware panels are replaced using software modules and they are graphically represented in 2D screen. The virtual panels are used for testing the process and logic models of fuel handling system in simulator.

- by Co. SEP
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- Prototype fast breeder reactor

Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) is a mixed oxide fuelled, sodium cooled, 500 MWe, pool type fast breeder reactor under construction at Kalpakkam, India. The reactor core consists of fuel pins assembled in a number of hexagonal shaped, vertically stacked SubAssemblies (SA). Sodium flows from the bottom of the SAs, takes heat from the fission reaction, comes out through the

- by john arul
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- Engineering, Failure probability, Fault Tree Analysis, Prototype fast breeder reactor
- by john arul
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- Computer Science, System Reliability, Reliability Analysis, Classical Mechanics

Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) has two independent fast acting diverse shutdown systems. The absorber rod of the first system is called Control & Safety Rod (CSR). CSR and its Drive Mechanism (CSRDM) are used for reactor control and for safe shutdown of the reactor by scram action. In view of the safety role, the qualification of CSRDM is one