Innovative Nuclear Reactors: Historical Overview and Future...

Innovative Nuclear Reactors: Historical

Overview and Future Challenges

Chirayu BatraFast Reactor Technology Development Team

Nuclear Power Technology Development Section (NPTDS)

c.batra@iaea.org

Joint ICTP-IAEA Workshop on Physics and Technology of Innovative Nuclear Energy Systems

20 – 24 August 2018,

ICTP Miramare-Trieste, Italy

About Me

• Working as a nuclear engineer at the IAEA for last 3 years, and

involved in

– Advanced Technology for fast reactors (TM, CM, CRPs etc.)

– PC based basic principle nuclear power plant simulators (design specifications,

acceptance tests, lectures)

Presentation Overview

• Dive into history, and start from the beginning

• Understand the current scenario and what innovative reactors are

• Then lead to how we will become sustainable with the help of innovative nuclear

energy systems/technology

• And eventually discuss what are the future challenges that we (will) face.

LET’S START WITH THE

HISTORY

From the beginning, the very beginning…

Democritus (400 BC)

• All matter consists of invisible particles

called atoms.

• Atoms are indestructible.

• Atoms are solid but invisible.

• Atoms are homogenous.

• Atoms differ in size, shape, mass,

position, and arrangement.

• Solids are made of small, pointy atoms.

• Liquids are made of large, round atoms.

• Oils are made of very fine, small atoms

that can easily slip past each other

ATOMIC THEORY

This did not change much for many centuries

Dalton – 1803

• All matter was composed

of atoms, indivisible and

indestructible building blocks.

While all atoms of an element

were identical, different elements

had atoms of differing size and

mass.

English chemist, physicist, and meteorologist

J.J. Thomson – 1897

• Discovered electron

• Cathode ray tube experiment

Ernest Rutherford – 1920

• Proton

• Gold foil experiment

• Most of the mass concentrated

at the center.

• First artificial transmutation –

changed nitrogen to oxygen

• The word proton is Greek for

"first", and this name was given

to the hydrogen nucleus by

Ernest Rutherford in 1920

James Chadwick – 1932

• Rutherford's colleague at Cambridge, identified a third particle, the neutron

• He was the head of the British team that worked on the Manhattan Project during the Second World War

• He studied under Ernest Rutherford

• The groundwork was also done by Frederik Joliot in France and Walter Bothe in Germany

By the early 1930s the atom was

thought to consist of a positively

charged nucleus, containing both

protons and neutrons, circled by

negatively charged electrons equal in

number to the protons in the nucleus.

Scientists understood that the weight

discrepancy between atoms of the same

element resulted because they contained

different numbers of neutrons.

Cockroft & Walton – 1932

• The year 1932 produced other

notable events in atomic physics

• The Englishman J. D. Cockroft

and the Irishman E. T. S. Walton,

working jointly at the Cavendish

Laboratory

• They were the first to split the

atom when they bombarded

lithium with protons generated by

a particle accelerator and

changed the resulting lithium

nucleus into two helium nuclei

1933 – “Moonshine”

“The energy produced by breaking down the atom is a very poor kind of thing. Anyone who expects a source of power from the transformations of these atoms is talking moonshine.”

– Ernest Rutherford, 1933.

Einstein compared particle bombardment with shooting in the dark at scarce birds.

Bohr agreed that the chances of taming atomic energy were remote.

Fermi – 1934

• Italian physicist Enrico Fermi began bombarding elements with neutrons instead of

protons

• Like other scientists at the time, Fermi paid little attention to the possibility that

matter might disappear during bombardment and result in the release of huge

amounts of energy in accordance with Einstein's formula, E= mc2, he did fission but did

not realize what it was

• It was also found that carbon and hydrogen proved useful as moderators in slowing the bombarding neutrons and that

slow neutrons produced the best results since neutrons moving more slowly remained in the vicinity of the nucleus longer

and were therefore more likely to be captured.

• Fermi was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1938 for his work on transuranic elements. He and his family went to Sweden to

receive the prize, and then to USA from there.

1939 – “Fission”

• The radiochemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann were bombarding elements with neutrons in their

Berlin laboratory when they made an unexpected discovery. They found that while the nuclei of most

elements changed somewhat during neutron bombardment, uranium nuclei changed greatly and broke

into two roughly equal pieces.

• Importantly, the products of the Hahn-Strassmann experiment weighed less than that of the original uranium

nucleus, and herein lay the primary significance of their findings.

• Calculations made by Hahn's former colleague, Lise Meitner, and Otto Frisch, led to the conclusion that so

much energy had been released that a previously undiscovered kind of process was at work.

1939 – “Fission” reaches Fermi

• Meitner and Frisch communicated their results to Niels Bohr, who was in Copenhagen preparing to depart for the United

States via Sweden and England. Bohr confirmed the validity of the findings while sailing to New York City, arriving on

January 16, 1939

• Fermi and Szilard collaborated with Walter H. Zinn and Herbert L. Anderson at Columbia University in investigating the

possibility of producing a nuclear chain reaction.

• March 1940 John R. Dunning and his colleagues at Columbia University, collaborating with Alfred Nier of the University of

Minnesota, had demonstrated conclusively that uranium-235, present in only 1 in 140 parts of natural uranium, was

the isotope that fissioned with slow neutrons, not the more abundant uranium-238 as Fermi had guessed.

Chain Reaction

• It soon became clear that the process of fission discovered by Hahn and Strassmann had another important characteristic

besides the immediate release of enormous amounts of energy. This was the emission of neutrons. Given the right set

of circumstances, perhaps these secondary neutrons might collide with other atoms and release more neutrons, in turn

smashing into other atoms and, at the same time, continuously emitting energy.

• A controlled self-sustaining reaction could make it possible to generate a large amount of energy for heat and

power, while an unchecked reaction could create an explosion of huge force.

2 December 1942 – Chicago Pile 1

• Precisely at 3:36 p.m., Chicago time

• First controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction

• 1942 – 1943

1932 (discovery of Neutron

to

1942 (Chain reaction)

A particle unknown to humankind became the most powerful source of energy within 10 Years!

20 December 1951 – EBR I

• Electricity first generated from nuclear power

The very first reactor, as per today’s definition was innovative

Clementine (25kWt), was

the first fast neutron

reactor which achieved

criticality in 1946. Mercury

cooled and plutonium

fueled.

LAMPRE-I, achieved

criticality in 1961. Sodium

cooled and plutonium

fueled.

1954 – Obninsk

• In May, 5 MW(e) graphite moderated, light water cooled,

enriched uranium reactor at Obninsk, USSR reached

criticality,

• 26 June 1954 it was connected to the Mosenergo grid

Marked the beginning of civilian nuclear

power plant programmes

1954 – Nautilus “sailor”

• SSN-571, December, the first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus in the USA, began

operation under nuclear power

• PWR produced by Westinghouse

• 1954 – 1980

Two parallel programmes

were happening, the

other was to develop

Submarines

Other milestones

• 1956 – Calder Hall-1, a 50 MW(e) GCR, came on line in the UK (and operated

until March 2003).

• 1957 - ShippingPort in the USA was next, a 60 MW(e) PWR connected to the grid

• 1959 – G-2 (Marcoule) a 38 MW(e) GCR in France.

• 1959 – the world’s first nonmilitary nuclear powered ship, the icebreaker Lenin,

was launched in the USSR, also first nuclear powered surface ship, PWR

They were

all

innovative

nuclear

energy

systems at

that time

Current Reactor Statistics Interactive display

On Average, 10 reactors are getting connected to the grid every year

CEFRBN-800

Interactive display

Status of the nuclear power plants Interactive display

Reactor Connected to the grid

Highest number of reactors connected to grid Since 1990!

~30 reactors connected to the grid since 2014

10,

1990

10,

2015

10,

2016

Grid Connections China

Operational

Source: IAEA PRIS Data Base

Under Construction + Planned

Source: IAEA PRIS Data Base

Status of Current Operating NPPs

• Operating Nuclear Power Plants: 453

• Nuclear Power Plants under construction: 57

• Power Plants recently connected to grid

– LENINGRAD 2-1 (1085 MW(e), PWR, RUSSIA) on 9 March

– ROSTOV-4 (1011 MW(e), PWR, RUSSIA) on 2 February

– TAISHAN-1 (1660 MW(e), PWR, CHINA) on 29 June

– YANGJIANG-5 (1000 MW(e), PWR, CHINA) on 23 May

– BELOYARSK-4: BN800 – December 2015

• Construction Starts:

– AKKUYU-1 (1014 MW(e), PWR, TURKEY) on 3 April

– KURSK 2-1 (1115 MW(e), PWR, RUSSIA) on 29 April

– ROOPPUR-2 (1080 MW(e), PWR, BANGLADESH) on 14 July

Source: IAEA PRIS Data Base

Under Construction

Total Electricity Generation (TWh)

11% of GLOBAL

ELECTRICITY

Total number of operating

reactors today is 453 reactor

with total net electrical capacity

of 397,651 MWe

Second low carbon

power source

Status & Outlook on Nuclear Power Plants

Current Status

IAEA PRIS databases

Questions we

should be

asking

ourselves

Role in Climate Change Mitigation

Source: OECD, Environmental Outlook Baseline, 2011

~ 40%

Glo

bal

CO

2em

issio

ns b

y s

ou

rce

Questions we

should be

asking

ourselves

LET’S TAKE A LOOK INTO THE

FUTURE

New Age of Nuclear Reactors…

Reactor Technology Evolution

• Generation I: 1950s – 1960s (now probably only in UK)

• Generation II: 1970s – ~2040 – mainly present US and French operating Reactors

• Generation III/III+: 1996 – Evolutionary designs

– Simpler design, reduced cost, efficient, safer

– Higher availability, longer operating life, reduced CDF, higher burnup, better load following capabilities,

modular designs Wesstinghouse AP600 – 1999

• Generation IV: Innovative Designs

– Safe, Secure, Sustainable, Competitive, Versatile

Gen I Gen II Gen III/III+ Gen IV

We need both technical and

institutional innovation

Advanced Designs

IAEA defines two kinds of advanced designs:

✓ Evolutionary designs to achieve improvements over existing designs through small to moderate modifications;

✓ Innovative designs to incorporate radical conceptual changes in design approaches or system configuration.

Engineering

Confirmatory

testing

+

Engineering Co

st

of

De

ve

lop

me

nt

Departure from Existing Designs

Prototype and/orDemonstration plant

+Confirmatory testing

+Engineering

Substantial R&D

Ref: IAEA TECDOC 936

Technical

Innovation

Innovation in:

• Coolant

• Fuel

• Structural material

• Design

• Safety Features

• Fuel Cycle options

Characteristics of Innovative reactors

The key factors characterizing the development and deployment of nuclear power

reactors:

• Safety

• Economic Competitiveness

• Proliferation Resistance and safeguards

• Waste Management

• Efficiency of resource use – higher burnup, recycling, increased efficiency

• Flexibility of applications – cogeneration, process heat

Ref: OECD-NEA report on Innovative nuclear reactor development

In order to make nuclear sustainable

Example – BREST OD-300

Ref: OECD-NEA report on Innovative nuclear reactor development

Passive

Systems

High efficiency

Small size

Closed

fuel cycle

Breed &

Burn

Less

Uranium

Co-

generation

Innovative NES and inherent safety

• A major focus of the design of modern innovative NES is on inherent

safety

• For example: The modular HTGRs, have large negative temperature

coefficient and several other inherent safety features

[Ref] Concept of an Inherently-safe High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor

Hirofumi Ohashi, Hiroyuki Sato, Yukio Tachibana, Kazuhiko Kunitomi and Masuro Ogawa

Nuclear Hydrogen and Heat Application Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Oarai-machi, Ibaraki-ken, 311-1394, Japan

Innovative NES and neutron economy

• A good neutron economy is required for breeding as well as

transmutation

• Fast spectrum reactors can provide a good neutron economy as the

reproduction factor is high (for hard spectrum)

– η = ν𝜎𝑓/𝜎𝑎(neutrons produced/absorptions))

• As the leakage could be higher for a small core, proper design of

blanket and shielding is required.

Corresponding problems addressed by

Innovative NES

• Experts identify five significant problem areas associated with nuclear energy

development:

– nuclear safety,

– risks of unauthorized proliferation of fissile materials and technologies,

– radioactive waste management,

– economic efficiency and

– limited natural fuel resources,

• Above challenges are presumably the deterrents to large-scale development.

Challenges

[Ref] Innovative Nuclear Energy Systems: State-of-the Art Survey on Evaluation and Aggregation Judgment Measures Applied to Performance Comparison

Vladimir Kuznetsov 1, Galina Fesenko 1, Aleksandra Schwenk-Ferrero 2,*, Andrei Andrianov 3 and Ilya Kuptsov 3

Institutional Innovation

• Licensing reforms

• Entrepreneurial Approach

• Public private partnerships

• Targeted public funding for R&D

• Private sector investment

Current Structure:

• Utilities owned by the State

• Vendors supported by the State

• R&D supported by National Lab (public money)

This top down archaic approach is not very

conducive to innovation and the goals of new

nuclear which aims at sustainable fuel cycle, load

following, industrial process heat, distributed

generation, waste disposal etc.

It restricts the state to a particular design and then

forces the whole state funded system to work in

that direction.

The bottom-up approach to innovation

• Countries with liberalized market allow designers to work on radical ideas and

secure private funding

• A growth in public-private partnership and project financing approach will also aid

innovators (UAE is an example of a partial project funding approach)

• Bringing modular approach to the industry

• Off grid applications/non electrical applications could also boost innovation (eg

Deep pool heating reactor, China)

Innovative nuclear reactor Companies

MSR SFR SMR

Innovative SMRs

Source: Image used with permission of Mr M. H. Subki, IAEA

• As per IAEA definition:

“Advanced Reactors

that produce electric

power up to 300 MW,

built in factories and

transported as modules

to utilities and sites for

installation as demand

arises.”

Benefits/advantages

Economies of Scale

vs

Economies of Volume

• Integration of major components of nuclear steam supply system into one unit.– Eliminates Large LOCA

• Eliminates loop piping and external components, thus making the plant size smaller and arrangement compact

• Modularization – Factory manufactured, faster construction time, easy to transport.

• Enable multi-module plant arrangement

• Enhanced engineered safety features:– Natural Circulation, eliminates LOFA

– Passive features : Automatic Depressurization System, Gravity Injection System, Pressure Injection System, Passive Decay Heat Removal System

– Containment: Passive containment cooling (some designs), spray system, pressure suppression pool

Integral type PWR

Can this reduce EPZ? And related regulatory requirements?

Integral Pressurized Water Reactor

Integration of components

Integral SMRs

NuScale

(NuScale Power)

50 MWe

KLT 40 S

(OKBM)

35 MWe

ACP 100

(CNNC)

100 MWe

CAREM

(CNEA)

30 MWe

Several SMRs adopt “integral design” in which the whole reactor system is enclosed in the reactor vessel.

SMART

(KAERI)

100 MWe

IAEAs iPWR simulator available now!

And many other under development…

Source: Image used with permission of Mr M. H. Subki, IAEA

Design Development

Conceptual

Design

• Basic idea and goal described

• A few calculations/sketches/data

• Development and test needs identified

• Rough estimates of costs and schedules

• Key components and layout drawings

• Single line diagrams

• Brief description of key components and systems

• Identification and preliminary analysis of concept

relevant incidents and accidents

• System descriptions for all plant systems

• Safety analyses needed for a design approval completed

• Licensing documents for certification

• Procurement specifications and documentation for major

components, systems, and structures

• Itemized cost estimate and master schedule prepared

• Largely completed design, complete construction schedule

• Manufacturing, procurement specs

• Commissioning specifications

• Control of infrastructure (transportation routes, etc.)

• Local cooling arrangement

• Adjustments to adapt to site conditions

• Final safety analysis

Basic Design

Detailed Design

Site-specific Design & Engineering

Concept

Description

Phases and

corresponding

activities during

design developmentI

II

III

IV

V

Ref: IAEA TECDOC 936

Generation IV designs

SCWR

LFR

GFR

VHTR

MSR

SFR

Status of Innovative reactors

20 août 2018

GIF name(Generation IV International Forum)

CoolantNeutronspectrum

Reactorsalready built

Reactors in operation at

present

Existingprojects

SFR Sodium cooled Fast Reactor Sodium Fast Yes Yes Yes

LFR Lead cooled Fast ReactorLead or Lead-

BismuthFast

Yes(submarines)

No Yes

GFR Gas cooled Fast Reactor Gas Fast No No Yes

SCWR Super Critical Water Reactor Water Thermal or Fast No No Yes

MSR Molten Salt Reactor Salt Thermal or Fast Yes No Yes

VHTR Very High Temperature Reactor Gas Thermal No No Yes

Courtesy: Presentation of Mr A. Vasile, IAEA training course, 2015, Mexico

SFR – most mature innovative

technology

• More than 480 reactor years of experience – maximum amongst all designs

• Several advanced SFR concepts are under development such as PRISM, JSFR,

ASTRID, PGSFR, BN-1200, and CFR-600.

Operational history

MWe MWth Operating years

USA

EBR 1 0.2 1.4 1951-63

EBR II (E) 20 62.5 1963-94

Fermi 1 (E) 66 200 1963-72

SEFOR 20 1969-72

Fast Flux Test Facility (E) 400 1980-93

UK

Dounreay FR (E) 15 65 1959-77

Protoype FR (D) 270 650 1974-94

France

Rapsodie (E) 40 1966-82

Phenix* (D) 250 563 1973-2009

Superphenix (C) 1240 3000 1985-98

Germany

KNK 2 (E) 21 58 1977-91

Operational history

MWe MWth Operating yearsIndia

FBTR (E) 40 1985-

Japan

Joyo (E) 140 1978-

Monju (D) 280 714 1994-96, 2010-

Kazakhstan

BN-350* (D) 135 750 1972-99

Russia

BN 1/2 1/0.1 1950s

BR 5/10 Obninsk (E) 5/8 1959-71, 1973-

Currently operating Fast Reactors

Reactor Type, coolant Power Th/E (MW) Fuel type Country operation year

BOR-60 Experimental, loop, sodium 55/10 oxide Russia 1969-

BN-600 Demonstration, pool, sodium 1470/600 oxide Russia 1980-

BN-800 Experimental, pool, sodium 2100/864 oxide Russia 2014-

FBTR Experimental, pool, sodium 40/-oxide & carbide

(metal)India 1985-2030

PFBR Demonstration, pool, sodium 1250/500 oxide (metal) India 2017?

CEFR Experimental, pool, sodium 65/20 oxide China 2010-

Joyo Experimental, loop, sodium 140/- oxide Japan 1978-2007, ??

Monju Prototype, loop, sodium 714/280 oxide Japan 1994-96, 2010- ?

Designs under development

Reactor Type, coolant Power Th/E (MW) Fuel type Country operation year

PRISMDemonstration, pool,

sodium840/311 metal USA From 2020s

AstridDemonstration, pool,

sodium1500/600 oxide France, with Japan From 2024

Allegro Experimental, loop?, gas 50-100 MWt oxide France About 2025

MYRRHA Experimental, Pb-Bi 57/- oxide? Belgium, with China Early 2020s

ALFRED Prototype, lead 300/120 oxide Romania, with Italy & EU From 2025

BN-1200 Commercial, pool, sodium 2900/1220 oxide, nitride Russia From mid-2020s

BREST-300 Demonstration, loop, lead 700/300 nitride Russia From 2020

SVBR-100 Demonstration, pool, Pb-Bi 280/100 oxide (variety) Russia From 2019

MBIRExperimental, loop, sodium

(Pb-Bi, gas)100-150 MWt oxide Russia From 2020

CDFR-1000Demonstration, pool,

sodium/1000 oxide China From 2023

CDFBR-1200 Commercial, pool, sodium /1200 metal China From 2028

PGSFR Prototype, pool, sodium 400/150 metal South Korea From 2028

JSFR??Demonstration, loop,

sodium3750/1500 oxide Japan From 2025?

TWR Prototype, sodium 1475/600 metal China, with USA From 2023?

FBR-1,2 Commercial, sodium 1250/500 India 2025?

Lead Cooled FRs

Pb-Bi setup (1951)

Nuclear submarine-705

demo (1971)

Nuclear submarine-705 serial(1976-1996)

Prototype nuclear submarineProject 645(1963)

The acquired experience

base for HLMCs in the Soviet

Union amounts to 80 reactor

years.

Courtesy: Presentation of Mr A. Vasile, IAEA training course, 2015, Mexico

Only experience is with

Submarines

Lead Cooled FRs

• Russia - Mid 1960's to present– 2 submarine prototypes with 2 reactors each

– 7 “Alpha Class” Submarines (155 MWe)

– Total 15 reactors including 3 land system reactors; plus one replacement reactor for submarines

– 80 reactor-years experience

– Reactor systems (SVBR-75/100; BREST)

• U.S. Programs - 1997 to present– LANL, ANL and UNLV – Lead corrosion and thermal-hydraulics testing

– UC-B Encapsulated Nuclear Heat Source (ENHS) and related studies

– Small, Secure Transportable Autonomous Reactor (STAR-SSTAR)

– MIT - alloy studies to mitigate corrosion; G4M, SUPERSTAR; E-SSTAR

• Asia - 2000 to present– Japan: 750 MWe LBE-cooled FR design, PBWFR; SLPLFR; CANDLE, Toshiba concept of a Pb-Bi cooled 4-S reactor

– Korea: PEACER, PASCAR, URANUS

• Europe - 2000 to present– ADS efforts (EFIT, MYRRHA)

– Numerous experimental initiatives using Lead and Pb-Bi

– European Lead-cooled System (ELSY), LEADER, and MYRRHA

– HELIMNET and technological projects

– ALFRED

20 août 2018

Other Designs

• Very High Temperature Gas Reactor

– Chinese HTR-PM

• Molten Salt Cooled Reactor

– Demonstration reactor planned in China

• Gas Cooled Fast Reactor

– ALLEGRO to be made as demonstrator

• Super Critical Water Reactor

– ??

Conclusion

• Atom as we understand now is much different from what it was

perceived. The nuclear industry as we understand now could be much

different than what we see.

• There is a need for innovation and the future of nuclear industry

depends on how and what we work today

• The market and industry dynamics is changing and this can bring with

itself a new age of nuclear

• It is important to understand the physics and technology behind these

new designs, which will then lead to new generation of designers

Thank you for your attention!

“I have been driven by the conviction that much

more than 1 percent of the energy contained in

uranium must be utilized if nuclear power is to

achieve its real long-term potential.”

- Enrico Fermi

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