Operating and test experience with EBR-II, the IFR prototype
| Autor: | J.I. Sackett |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1997 |
| Předmět: |
Nuclear fuel cycle
Nuclear fuel Nuclear engineering Energy Engineering and Power Technology Nuclear reactor Scram law.invention Integral fast reactor Nuclear Energy and Engineering Liquid metal cooled reactor law Breeder reactor Environmental science Safety Risk Reliability and Quality Waste Management and Disposal Burnup |
| Zdroj: | Progress in Nuclear Energy. 31:111-129 |
| ISSN: | 0149-1970 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/0149-1970(96)00006-6 |
| Popis: | The Experimental Breeder Reactor number 2 (EBR-II) has operated for 30 years, the longest for any liquid metal cooled reactor (LMR) power plant in the world. Given the scope of what has been developed and demonstrated over those years, it is arguably the most successful test reactor operation ever. Tests have been carried out on virtually every fast reactor fuel type. The reactor itself has been extensively studied. The most dramatic safety tests, conducted on 3 April, 1986, showed that an LMR with metallic fuel could safely accommodate loss of flow or loss of heat-sink without scram. EBR-II operated as the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) prototype, demonstrating important innovations in safety, plant design, fuel design and actinide recycle. The ability to accommodate anticipated transients without scram passively resulted in significant simplification of the reactor plant, primarily through less reliance on emergency power and not having to require the secondary sodium or steam systems to be safety grade. These features have been quantified in a probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) conducted for EBR-II, demonstrating considerable safety advantages over other reactor concepts. Fundamental to the superior safety and operating characteristics of this reactor is the metallic U-Pu-Zr alloy fuel. Performance of the fuel has been fully proven: achieved burnup levels exceed 20 at.% in the lead test assemblies. A complete set of fuel performance and safety limits has been developed and was carried forward in formal safety documents supporting conversion of the core to IFR fuel. The last major demonstration planned was to assess the performance of recycled actinides in the fuel and to confirm that passive safety characteristics are maintained with recycled actinide fuel in the core. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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