In the framework of the Generation IV International Forum, six innovative concepts of nuclear reactors have been chosen as suitable for the future challenges of nuclear energy. Among these reactors, a renewed interest has been focused on the Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), due to its unique capabilities for actinide burning and natural resource exploitation, while reducing the waste radiotoxicity. In MSRs, the molten salt serves both as fuel and coolant, leading to a complex and highly coupled physical environment. In this paper, a multi-physics modelling (MPM) approach is developed to study the dynamics of the entire MSR primary circuit, with reference to the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE). As concerns the geometry, a single channel representative of the core average conditions is modelled considering a two-dimensional axial-symmetric domain. A further one-dimensional domain is implemented in order to model the external primary circuit. The proposed MPM approach provides careful estimates of the spatial distribution of the main physical quantities. Moreover, it allows to evaluate the particular dynamic behaviour of this reactor. In the present study, the MPM potentialities are shown analysing the system response under different transient conditions.
A Multi-Physics Numerical Model for the MSR Core Dynamics
GUERRIERI, CLAUDIA RENATA;CAMMI, ANTONIO;FIORINA, CARLO;LUZZI, LELIO
2010-01-01
Abstract
In the framework of the Generation IV International Forum, six innovative concepts of nuclear reactors have been chosen as suitable for the future challenges of nuclear energy. Among these reactors, a renewed interest has been focused on the Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), due to its unique capabilities for actinide burning and natural resource exploitation, while reducing the waste radiotoxicity. In MSRs, the molten salt serves both as fuel and coolant, leading to a complex and highly coupled physical environment. In this paper, a multi-physics modelling (MPM) approach is developed to study the dynamics of the entire MSR primary circuit, with reference to the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE). As concerns the geometry, a single channel representative of the core average conditions is modelled considering a two-dimensional axial-symmetric domain. A further one-dimensional domain is implemented in order to model the external primary circuit. The proposed MPM approach provides careful estimates of the spatial distribution of the main physical quantities. Moreover, it allows to evaluate the particular dynamic behaviour of this reactor. In the present study, the MPM potentialities are shown analysing the system response under different transient conditions.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
