Open Joint-Stock Company N.A. Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering
Seminar: Activities for Lead-cooled Fast Reactors (LFR) in Generation IV International Forum (GIF) Tamachi Campus, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo. November 9, 2012
Natural safety
Accidents that are viewed as public hazards due to their toxic and radioactive releases should be ruled out primarily by the natural safety features of nuclear technologies in use. A reactor facility of a new generation will be naturally safe if it relies in its design on the physics, thermal and hydraulic characteristics of its various components and processes to eliminate the accidents leading eventually to public evacuation.
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BREST-OD-300 Project
A pilot demonstration 700 MWt / 300 MWe fast lead-cooled reactor with U-Pu nitride fuel and a two-circuit heat removal system with subcritical water-steam as secondary fluid. BREST-OD-300 is considered as a prototype of a future commercial innovative reactor to be provided for naturally safe large-scale nuclear power, which will be able to deal with all the above problems.
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BREST design
This pool-type reactor has an integral configuration of the lead circuit components located in the 1 central and 4 peripheral steel-lined sections of the concrete vault. The central section accommodates the reactor core with the reflector, CPS rods, SFA storage, and a structure separating hot and cold lead flows. The 4 hydraulically connected peripheral sections (making 4 loops) contain SG-MCP units, emergency and normal heat exchangers, filters, and other auxiliary components.
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BREST-OD-300
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Fuel regeneration
Waste
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Pu MA FP
Pu MA
Pu MA
Pu MA
FP
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Competitive ability
A plant with a BREST-type reactor is expected to be economically competitive owing to the simpler design of the facility and its safety systems, as well as to efficient utilisation of nuclear fuel and generated heat. Low lead pressure in the circuit allows using an integral configuration of the circuit components in a concrete pool, which was tentatively shown to reduce the construction costs. On-site fuel cycle arrangement is also likely to be economically beneficial owing to the shorter out-of-pile cooling and transportation time, which will eventually lead to a reduction in the recycled fuel quantity one of the greater contributors to the fuel cycle costs. BREST-OD-300 being a prototype of the prospective commercial BREST-1200 plant, both facilities are quite similar in their design and performance as shown by the following table.
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Final objective
2015 detailed design for NPP construction; construction license; 2016-2020 NPP construction and commissioning.
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Conclusion
The BREST-OD-300 development efforts carried out to pave the way for commercial reactors of this type and thereby to lay a foundation for large-scale nuclear power, show that such reactors can provide: radical improvement of safety with elimination of the most hazardous radiation accidents by combining the inherent properties of a fast reactor and its components with features of natural safety; unlimited fuel resources and independence from U mining. reduction of the proliferation risk; conclusive solution of the radwaste problem; ability to compete with other types of power generation.
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