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Innovative Nuclear Reactors: Historical
Overview and Future Challenges
Chirayu BatraFast Reactor Technology Development Team
Nuclear Power Technology Development Section (NPTDS)
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
ARIS Data Base
https://aris.iaea.org/
Managed by NPTDS
IAEA PRIS
Database
https://www.iaea.org/pris/
Source of most updated reactor information
Experimental Facilities – Database
https://nucleus.iaea.org/sites/lmfns/Pages/default.aspxManaged by NPTDS
A comprehensive database for experimental facilities for SFR and
LFR across the world