• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.413-426
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• 2009

Nuclear energy plays an important role in world energy production by supplying 6% of the world's current total electricity production. However, 86% of the energy consumed worldwide to produce industrial process heat, to generate electricity and to power the transportation sector still originates in fossil fuels. To cope with dwindling fossil fuels and climate change, it is clear that a clean alternative energy that can replace fossil fuels in these sectors is urgently required. Clean hydrogen energy is one such alternative. Clean hydrogen can play an important role not only in synthetic fuel production but also through powering fuel cells in the anticipated hydrogen economy. With the introduction of the high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) that can produce nuclear heat up to $950^{\circ}C$ without greenhouse gas emissions, nuclear power is poised to broaden its mission beyond electricity generation to the provision of nuclear process heat and the massive production of hydrogen. In this paper, the features and potential of the HTGR as the energy source of the future are addressed. Perspectives on nuclear heat and hydrogen applications using the HTGR are discussed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.401-414
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• 2013

HTR50S is a small modular reactor system based on HTGR. It is designed for a triad of applications to be implemented in successive stages. In the first stage, a base plant for heat and power is constructed of the fuel proven in JAEA's $950^{\circ}C$, 30MWt test reactor HTTR and a conventional steam turbine to minimize development risk. While the outlet temperature is lowered to $750^{\circ}C$ for the steam turbine, thermal power is raised to 50MWt by enabling 40% greater power density in 20% taller core than the HTTR. However the fuel temperature limit and reactor pressure vessel diameter are kept. In second stage, a new fuel that is currently under development at JAEA will allow the core outlet temperature to be raised to $900^{\circ}C$ for the purpose of demonstrating more efficient gas turbine power generation and high temperature heat supply. The third stage adds a demonstration of nuclear-heated hydrogen production by a thermochemical process. A licensing approach to coupling high temperature industrial process to nuclear reactor will be developed. The low initial risk and the high longer-term potential for performance expansion attract development of the HTR50S as a multipurpose industrial or distributed energy source.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2007

Energy supply is increasingly showing up as a major issue for electricity supply, transportation, settlement, and process heat industrial supply including hydrogen production. Nuclear power is part of the solution. For electricity supply, as exemplified in Finland and France, the EPR brings an immediate answer; HTR could bring another solution in some specific cases. For other supply, mostly heat, the HTR brings a solution inaccessible to conventional nuclear power plants for very high or even high temperature. As fossil fuels costs increase and efforts to avoid generation of Greenhouse gases are implemented, a market for nuclear generated process heat will be developed. Following active developments in the 80's, HTR have been put on the back burner up to 5 years ago. Light water reactors are widely dominating the nuclear production field today. However, interest in the HTR technology was renewed in the past few years. Several commercial projects are actively promoted, most of them aiming at electricity production. ANTARES is today AREVA's response to the cogeneration market. It distinguishes itself from other concepts with its indirect cycle design powering a combined cycle power plant. Several reasons support this design choice, one of the most important of which is the design flexibility to adapt readily to combined heat and power applications. From the start, AREVA made the choice of such flexibility with the belief that the HTR market is not so much in competition with LWR in the sole electricity market but in the specific added value market of cogeneration and process heat. In view of the volatility of the costs of fossil fuels, AREVA's choice brings to the large industrial heat applications the fuel cost predictability of nuclear fuel with the efficiency of a high temperature heat source tree of Greenhouse gases emissions. The ANTARES module produces 600 MWth which can be split into the required process heat, the remaining power drives an adapted prorated electric plant. Depending on the process heat temperature and power needs, up to 80% of the nuclear heat is converted into useful power. An important feature of the design is the standardization of the heat source, as independent as possible of the process heat application. This should expedite licensing. The essential conditions for success include: ${\bullet}$ Timely adapted licensing process and regulations, codes and standards for such application and design ${\bullet}$ An industry oriented R&D program to meet the technological challenges making the best use of the international collaboration. Gen IV could be the vector ${\bullet}$ Identification of an end user(or a consortium of) willing to fund a FOAK

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.821-826
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• 2013

In the present study, the effects of various heat treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of dual phase ODS steels were investigated to enhance the high strength at elevated temperature. Dual phase ODS steels have been designed by the control of ferrite and austenite formers, i.e., Cr, W and Ni, C in Fe-based alloys. The ODS steels were fabricated by mechanical alloying and a hot isostatic pressing process. Heat treatments, including hot rolling-tempering and normalizing-tempering with air- and furnace-cooling, were carefully carried out. It was revealed that the grain size and oxide distributions of the ODS steels can be changed by heat treatment, which significantly affected the strengths at elevated temperature. Therefore, the high temperature strength of dual phase ODS steel can be enhanced by a proper heat treatment process with a good combination of ferrite grains, nano-oxide particles, and grain boundary sliding.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.288-296
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• 2005

The corrosion behaviors of Zr-based alloys were very sensitive to their microstructures which were determined by manufacturing process. The specimens of Zr-based alloy named as HANA-4 for nuclear fuel cladding were investigated in order to get the optimized manufacturing process such as the intermediate annealing temperature and cold working steps after the ${\beta}$ quenching. From the microstructural analysis, cold worked microstructure of the samples was changed to the recrystallized microstructure by performed process. The corrosion behaviors of HANA-4 alloy were affected by the different manufacturing process. The ${\beta}$-Zr phase was formed in the matrix and the Nb concentration in the ${\beta}$-Zr phase was increased as progressing the manufacturing process. So, it was found that the corrosion rate of HANA-4 alloy was affected by the Nb concentration in the matrix.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.9-20
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• 2007

Design study on the Gas Turbine High Temperature Reactor 300-Cogeneration (GTHTR300C) aiming at producing both electricity by a gas turbine and hydrogen by a thermochemical water splitting method (IS process method) has been conducted. It is expected to be one of the most attractive systems to provide hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles after 2030. The GTHTR300C employs a block type Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) with thermal power of 600MW and outlet coolant temperature of $950^{\circ}C$. The intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) and the gas turbine are arranged in series in the primary circuit. The IHX transfers the heat of 170MW to the secondary system used for hydrogen production. The balance of the reactor thermal power is used for electricity generation. The GTHTR300C is designed based on the existing technologies of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) and helium turbine power conversion and on the technologies whose development have been well under way for IS hydrogen production process so as to minimize cost and risk of deployment. This paper describes the original design features focusing on the plant layout and plant cycle of the GTHTR300C together with present development status of the GTHTR300, IHX, etc. Also, the advantage of the GTHTR300C is presented.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.85-92
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• 2016

Since the power density of the VHTR(Very High Temperature Reactor) is lower, there is less possibility of core melt. VHTR has no risk of explosion caused by hydrogen generation when the loss of coolant accident occurs, which is another advantage. Along with safety benefit, it can be used as a process heat supplier near demand facilities because coolant temperature is very high enough to be used for industrial purpose. In this paper, we designed the primary system using VHTR and the secondary system providing electricity and process heat. Based on that 350 MW thermal reactor proposed by NGNP(Next Generation Nuclear Part), we developed conceptual model that the IHX(Intermediate Heat Exchanger) loop transports 300 MW thermal energy to the secondary system. In addition, we analyzed thermodynamic behavior and performed the efficiency analysis and optimization study depending on major parameters.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.217-242
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• 2011

A variety of Generation III/III+ water-cooled reactor designs featuring enhanced safety and improved economics are being proposed by nuclear power industries around the world in efforts to solve the future energy supply shortfall. Thermal-hydraulics is recognized as a key scientific subject in the development of innovative reactor systems. Phase change by boiling and condensation in the reverse process is a highly efficient heat transport mechanism that accommodates large heat fluxes with relatively small driving temperature differences. This mode of heat transfer is encountered in a wide spectrum of nuclear systems,and thus it is necessary to determine the thermal limit of water-cooled nuclear energy conversion in terms of economic and safety. Such applications are being advanced with the introduction of new technologies such as nanotechnology. Here, we investigated newly-introduced nanotechnologies relevant to boiling and condensation in general engineering applications. We also evaluated the potential linkage between such new advancements and nuclear applications in terms of advanced nuclear thermal-hydraulics.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.1617-1628
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• 2017

In the passive residual heat removal system of a molten salt reactor, one of the residual heat removal methods is to use the thimble-type heat transfer elements of the drain salt tank to remove the residual heat of fuel salts. An experimental loop is designed and built with a single heat transfer element to analyze the heat transfer and flow characteristics. In this research, the influence of the size of a three-layer thimble-type heat transfer element on the heat transfer rate is analyzed. Two methods are used to obtain the heat transfer rate, and a difference of results between methods is approximately 5%. The gas gap width between the thimble and the bayonet has a large effect on the heat transfer rate. As the gas gap width increases from 1.0 mm to 11.0 mm, the heat transfer rate decreases from 5.2 kW to 1.6 kW. In addition, a natural circulation startup process is described in this paper. Finally, flashing natural circulation instability has been observed in this thimble-type heat transfer element.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.8
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• pp.2464-2476
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• 2021

Direct-contact heat transfer of a single saturated droplet upon colliding with a heated wall in the regime of film boiling was experimentally investigated using high-resolution infrared thermometry technique. This technique provides transient local wall heat flux distributions during the entire collision period. In addition, various physical parameters relevant to the mechanistic modelling of these phenomena can be measured. The obtained results show that when single droplets dynamically collide with a heated surface during film boiling above the Leidenfrost point temperature, typically determined by droplet collision dynamics without considering thermal interactions, small spots of high heat flux due to localized wetting during the collision appear as increasing We_n. A systematic comparison revealed that existing theoretical models do not consider these observed physical phenomena and have lacks in accurately predicting the amount of direct-contact heat transfer. The necessity of developing an improved model to account for the effects of local wetting during the direct-contact heat transfer process is emphasized.