Development of a Secondary SCRAM System for Fast Reactors and ADS Systems

One important safety aspect of any reactor is the ability to shutdown the reactor. A shutdown in an ADS can be done by stopping the accelerator or by lowering the multiplication factor of the reactor and thus by inserting negative reactivity. In current designs of liquid-metal-cooled GEN IV and ADS...

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Main Authors: Simon Vanmaercke, Gert Van den Eynde, Engelbert Tijskens, Yann Bartosiewicz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/351985
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author Simon Vanmaercke
Gert Van den Eynde
Engelbert Tijskens
Yann Bartosiewicz
author_facet Simon Vanmaercke
Gert Van den Eynde
Engelbert Tijskens
Yann Bartosiewicz
author_sort Simon Vanmaercke
collection DOAJ
description One important safety aspect of any reactor is the ability to shutdown the reactor. A shutdown in an ADS can be done by stopping the accelerator or by lowering the multiplication factor of the reactor and thus by inserting negative reactivity. In current designs of liquid-metal-cooled GEN IV and ADS reactors reactivity insertion is based on absorber rods. Although these rod-based systems are duplicated to provide redundancy, they all have a common failure mode as a consequence of their identical operating mechanism, possible causes being a largely deformed core or blockage of the rod guidance channel. In this paper an overview of existing solutions for a complementary shut down system is given and a new concept is proposed. A tube is divided into two sections by means of aluminum seal. In the upper region, above the active core, spherical neutron-absorbing boron carbide particles are placed. In case of overpower and loss of coolant transients, the seal will melt. The absorber balls are then no longer supported and fall down into the active core region inserting a large negative reactivity. This system, which is not rod based, is under investigation, and its feasibility is verified both by experiments and simulations.
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spelling doaj-art-dd2d172103c9416fa53ff9b0c435d0452025-08-20T02:21:33ZengWileyScience and Technology of Nuclear Installations1687-60751687-60832012-01-01201210.1155/2012/351985351985Development of a Secondary SCRAM System for Fast Reactors and ADS SystemsSimon Vanmaercke0Gert Van den Eynde1Engelbert Tijskens2Yann Bartosiewicz3Institute for Advanced Nuclear Systems, SCK.CEN, 200 Boeretang, 2400 Mol, BelgiumInstitute for Advanced Nuclear Systems, SCK.CEN, 200 Boeretang, 2400 Mol, BelgiumLaboratory for Agricultural Machinery and Processing, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 30 Kasteelpark Arenberg, 3001 Heverlee, BelgiumInstitute of Mechanics, Materials and Civil Engineering, Catholic University of Leuven, 2 Place du Levant, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumOne important safety aspect of any reactor is the ability to shutdown the reactor. A shutdown in an ADS can be done by stopping the accelerator or by lowering the multiplication factor of the reactor and thus by inserting negative reactivity. In current designs of liquid-metal-cooled GEN IV and ADS reactors reactivity insertion is based on absorber rods. Although these rod-based systems are duplicated to provide redundancy, they all have a common failure mode as a consequence of their identical operating mechanism, possible causes being a largely deformed core or blockage of the rod guidance channel. In this paper an overview of existing solutions for a complementary shut down system is given and a new concept is proposed. A tube is divided into two sections by means of aluminum seal. In the upper region, above the active core, spherical neutron-absorbing boron carbide particles are placed. In case of overpower and loss of coolant transients, the seal will melt. The absorber balls are then no longer supported and fall down into the active core region inserting a large negative reactivity. This system, which is not rod based, is under investigation, and its feasibility is verified both by experiments and simulations.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/351985
spellingShingle Simon Vanmaercke
Gert Van den Eynde
Engelbert Tijskens
Yann Bartosiewicz
Development of a Secondary SCRAM System for Fast Reactors and ADS Systems
Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations
title Development of a Secondary SCRAM System for Fast Reactors and ADS Systems
title_full Development of a Secondary SCRAM System for Fast Reactors and ADS Systems
title_fullStr Development of a Secondary SCRAM System for Fast Reactors and ADS Systems
title_full_unstemmed Development of a Secondary SCRAM System for Fast Reactors and ADS Systems
title_short Development of a Secondary SCRAM System for Fast Reactors and ADS Systems
title_sort development of a secondary scram system for fast reactors and ads systems
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/351985
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AT gertvandeneynde developmentofasecondaryscramsystemforfastreactorsandadssystems
AT engelberttijskens developmentofasecondaryscramsystemforfastreactorsandadssystems
AT yannbartosiewicz developmentofasecondaryscramsystemforfastreactorsandadssystems