Core thermal-hydraulic evaluation of a heat pipe cooled nuclear reactor

The role of advanced nuclear reactors in non-electrical and strategic applications, producing sustainable energy supplies and reducing the greenhouse gasses

Nowadays, nuclear reactors became extremely fascinating not only for most of the nuclear communities but also for the prominent energy suppliers to fix the global warming effects worldwide. This paper presents a review of the last advances, applications, and challenges of nuclear reactors. Different types and classifications are introduced. Advantages and disadvantages are discussed for best decision-making. Next, nuclear safety is also discussed as the most important challenging subject to develop nuclear reactors worldwide. They are specially mentioned to find the key solution for the future of nuclear energy. A brief review of nuclear roadmaps is compared with other clean green technologies as well. Estimated prospects for projects timelines and progressions of new nuclear reactors are also presented and discussed briefly. Studies confirmed that nuclear reactors are not only required for developing non-electrical applications or even high-tech systems but also they are extremely profitable to restrict global warming effects. Finally, the solution is to enhance the markets of the nuclear reactors, especially the matured Gen III+ Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) to resolve short-term problems as well as advanced futuristic developing Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) for the mid-term and long-term strategies. Moreover, research reactors especially advanced Multi-Purpose Research Reactors (MPRR) are necessary tools to develop both nuclear power plants and other advanced technologies as well as the modern Micro Modular Reactors.

Preliminary Design of a Heat Pipe-Cooled Blanket for CFETR

Blankets are a difficult problem for fusion engineering design. Because of the complex flow channels, the design, production, processing, and accident maintenance of blankets are all huge challenges for traditional water/gas-cooled blankets. Blankets are the bridge for heat transfer and tritium production. A high-performance blanket with simplified structure is obviously beneficial for engineering, safety, and the economy. In this study, gravity heat pipes instead of coolant flow channels are adopted to remove the heat. Compared with coolant-cooled systems, heat pipes may be simpler and more reliable. The in-vessel and in-box loss of coolant accident (LOCA) will not occur because there is no coolant in the blanket. Moreover, a damaged heat pipe may be replaced easily compared to a damaged water-cooled blanket. In this study, a hypothetical heat pipe-cooled blanket for the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) was proposed and one module of the blanket was analyzed by numerical simulation. The results were compared with those of a water-cooled blanket, and the temperature distribution of the heat pipe-cooled blanket is more uniform. This study verified the preliminary feasibility of heat pipe-cooled blankets and provided a fresh idea for blanket design.