Hussein S' Khalil

1
Nuclear Power Generation and Modern Reactor
Design
Presented at Deane Conference on the Future
of Nuclear Power Lake Forest CollegeMarch 27,
2008

• by
• Hussein S. Khalil
• Director, Nuclear Engineering Division
• Argonne National Laboratory

2
Overview

• Nuclear power use in the U.S. and worldwide
• Basic principles of nuclear power generation
• Current reactor designs (Gen II)
• Future designs
• Evolutionary improvements (Gen III)
• Next generation systems (Gen IV)
• Directions for the nuclear fuel cycle
• Recent emphasis of Argonnes nuclear energy RD

3
Nuclear Energy Retrospective Summary

• Key early events
• Nuclear fission first discovered in 1939
• First controlled chain reaction took place in
  Chicago in 1942
• Electricity first generated form a nuclear
  reactor in 1951 (from EBR-I in Idaho)
• A nuclear power plant was first connected to an
  electricity grid in 1954, in Obninsk, Russia
• Nuclear power was actively developed in the
  1950s and 60s and grew rapidly in the 1970s
  and early 80s
• From 1970 to 1975 growth averaged 30 per year
• By 1986, nuclear was generating about 16 of the
  worlds electricity
• Expansion slowed starting in the 1980s
• High interest rates
• Energy conservation prompted by the 1973 and 1979
  oil shocks
• The accidents at TMI (1979, USA) and Chernobyl
  (1986, Ukraine, USSR)
• Opposition from environmentalists and activist
  organizations

4
Growth of World Nuclear Generation Capacity
5
Nuclear Share of Electricity Generation (2004)
6
Planned Expansion of Nuclear Power
http//www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518
,460011,00.html
7

• One Size Doesnt Fit All
• Countries differ with respect to
• Energy demand its growth
• Energy supply options
• Weighing/preferences
• Electricity cost
• Accident risks
• Air pollution, climate change
• Import dependence
• All countries use a mix
• Rising Expectations for Nuclear?
• A good and lengthening track record
• New environmental constraints
• The Economics
• Nuclear plants expensive to build, cheap to run
• New nuclear most attractive where
• Energy demand growth in rapid

8
In the US
Sources of Emission-Free Electricity(2006)

• 103 operating reactors, 20 of electricity
• Last construction start 1977
• Dramatically improved operation
• 20-yr license extension approved or targeted for
  75 of operating plants
• EPAct of 2005 included provisions to encourage
  investment in new nuclear plants
• 4 COL applications submitted to NRC for 7
  reactors (as of 2/5/08)
• 20 expected for 31 new reactors by 17 generation
  companies

U.S. Nuclear IndustryCapacity Factors(1971
2006)
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Harnessing Fission to Create Useful Energy

• In a nuclear reactor, the chain reaction occurs
  within uranium fuel pellets sleeved in metal
  tubes. These fuel rods are bundled together into
  fuel assemblies and arranged to form the
  reactor core.

Fuel assembly
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How a Typical Nuclear Power Plant Works

• Control rods made of neutron absorbing material
  are inserted in the reactor core to control the
  chain reaction
• Withdrawing CR increases the chain reaction
  inserting the rods reduces the chain reaction
• Water flowing over the assemblies of fuel rods
  carries away the heat from fission reactions
• This heat generates steam used to power a turbine
  generator and make electricity

Note The fuel cladding, steel pressure vessel,
steel containment shell, and reinforced concrete
containment structure provide multiple layers of
defense against accidental radiation release
11
Generations of Nuclear Reactors
Generation IV
Generation III
Generation III
Generation II
Future Generation Designs
Evolutionary Designs
Advanced LWRs
Commercial Power Reactors
Technology Goals

• Safe
• Sustainable
• Economical
• Proliferation Resistant
• Physically secure

• ESBWR
• AP1000
• ACR

• ABWR
• EPR
• System 80

• PWR, BWR
• CANDU
• VVER, RBMK
• AGR

Gen I
Gen II
Gen III
Gen III
Gen IV
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
12
Most CommonReactor Types in Use

• Pressurized Water Reactor
• (PWR)

Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
13
Other Reactor Types in Use for Electricity
Generation

• CANDU Canadian designed power reactor
• Heavy water (D2O) used as neutron moderator and
  coolant
• Natural or slightly enriched uranium fuel online
  re-fueling
• VVER Russian designed PWR
• Two major variants (440 and 1000 MWe sizes)
• Different from Western LWRs in specific choices
  of materials, technical/design features, and
  construction
• RBMK Russian designed channel-type BWR
• Graphite provides the neutron moderation
  (slowing down)
• No plans to build more post Chernobyl
• AGR Second generation gas-cooled reactor
• Graphite moderated, CO2 cooled reactors
• SFR Sodium cooled fast reactor
• One reactor currently operating for power
  generation (BN-600 in Russia)
• Runs on fast neutrons no water or graphite
  moderator
• Intermediate sodium circuit to transfer heat to
  water/steam circuit

14
Generation III/III Reactors Goals and Basic
Approaches

• Improved economic competitiveness
• Reduced capital cost via decreased commodities,
  simplification, standardization
• Faster construction via standardization,
  modularization and improved planning management
  
• Increased reliability service lifetime,
  including fuel, materials components
• Improved operability maintainability
• Better surveillance and diagnosis of operating
  conditions
• Further enhancement of safety
• Increased reliability to minimize accident
  precursors
• Greater use of passive means and natural
  phenomena to assure cooling
• Gravity, heat capacity, thermal expansion,
  natural circulation, evaporation and condensation
• rather than
• AC power supplies and motor-driven components
• Enhanced diversity and redundancy of safety
  systems
• Severe accident mitigation, should prevention
  measures fail

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Generation III/III Reactors, contd

• Standardization embraced to allow more
  streamlined regulatory process
• Design certification (DC)
• Early site permit (ESP)
• Combined construction and operating license (COL)
• Also key better management and QA of processes
  for plant design, construction, licensing,
  operations maintenance
• Aided with vastly improved IT and PM tools

16
Generation III/III Designs
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ABWR

• 1370 MWe
• Built and operating in Japan
• Reviewed and certified by NRC in 1996
• Based on proven BWR features
• Advances
• Increased modularization
• In-vessel recirculation system
• Fine-motion control rod drives
• State-of-art digital, multiplexed, fiber-optic
  IC system
• High performance fuel
• Improved water chemistry
• Integrated containment reactor building
• 42 month construction

18
ESBWR

• 1550 MWe evolutionary improvement of ABWR
• Currently in certification process

• Advances include
• Natural circulation cooling (no recirculation
  pumps or piping)
• Simplified design (e.g., 25 fewer pumps, valves
  motors)
• Enhanced emergency cooling of fuel with Isolation
  condensers and gravity-driven cooling system
• Passive containment cooling
• Mitigation of severe (core melt) accident with
  piping system below vessel

19
EPR

• 1600 MWe evolutionary upgrade of French and
  German PWRs
• Designed for increased reliability, improved
  safety margins and reduced need for operator
  actions
• Two units under construction in Finland and
  France
• In pre-certification stage with NRC
• Relies mainly on active safety features with
  increased redundancy
• Larger vessels for increased safety margins
• Fully computerized IC system
• Provision for ex-vessel spreading and cooling of
  core melt
• Robust containment to withstand aircraft impact
  and internal overpressure

20
AP 1000

• 1110 MWe PWR design
• Certified by NRC early in 2006
• Safety functions achieved with passive means
• Passive safety injection
• Residual heat removal
• Passive containment cooling
• Design simplification examples
• 60 fewer safety-related valves
• 75 less piping
• 80 less control cable
• 35 fewer pumps
• 50 less seismic building volume
• Canned rotor primary pumps enhance reliability
• Digital instrumentation and control systems
• Targeted construction time is 36 months
• Modular construction techniques

21
Other Reactors Potentially Availablefor Near
Term Use

• HTGRs High temperature gas-cooled reactors
• High-temperature materials (helium gas coolant,
  graphite moderator)
• Coated particle fuel coating provides main
  barrier to fission product release

• Direct Brayton cycle yields energy conversion
  efficiency approaching 50
• High degree of passive safety
• Two main HTGR design variants
• PMR Fuel particles in graphite compacts
  arranged in hexagonal graphite blocks
• PBR Fuel particles in graphite pebbles that are
  circulated in core

22
Other Reactors Potentially Availablefor Near
Term Use, contd

• ACR 7001200 MWe advanced CANDU reactor
• Employs pressurized light water as coolant (heavy
  water moderator)
• Targets high performance, low cost and short
  construction period
• IRIS 360 MWe integral light water reactor
• Primary cooling circuit components and piping
  inside reactor vessel
• Precludes loss of coolant accident due to break
  of coolant piping
• 4S 1050 MWe sodium cooled transportable reactor
• 30 y core life
• For application in remote regions

23
Nuclear Fuel and Fuel Cycle

• Trends for nuclear fuel
• Longer operating cycles and greater flexibility
  for load following
• Higher fuel burnup at discharge (60,000 MWd/MtU)
• Enhanced thermal and mechanical margins
• Spent fuel is currently stored at the reactor
  sites
• The U.S. is proceeding with a license application
  for the geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, in
  Nevada

• Repository design and licensing case
• assume direct disposal of spent fuel
• assemblies
• Advanced fuel cycle involving recycle of
  actinides is main avenue for improving waste
  management and maximizing utilization of
  repository space

24
Future Use of Nuclear Energy

• Extended lifetime and optimized operation of
  existing plants
• Construction of new plants (evolutionary designs
  in near term)
• Closure of fuel cycle to improve waste management
• Strengthened international safeguards regime
• Sustainable generation of electricity, hydrogen
  and other energy products

25
The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) is a
Strategy to Support Nuclear Power Expansion
Worldwide

• Establish reliable fuel services
• Employ grid-appropriate exportable reactors
• Enhance nuclear safeguards
• Develop and deploy recycle technology
• Develop and deploy advanced recycle reactors
• Minimize nuclear waste

GNEP
GNEP
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GNEP Reference Fuel Cycle
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Actinide Recycle Reactor

• The GNEP closed fuel cycle requires development
  and demonstration of an actinide recycle reactor
• Fast reactor needed to realize major benefit from
  the closed fuel cycle
• Sodium-cooled reactor technology available for
  near- to mid-term application

• A prototype sodium-cooled fast reactor has been
  proposed to prepare for future commercialization
• Demonstrate consumption of TRU actinides
• Demonstrate cost reduction design features
• Demonstrate fast reactor safety
• Enable qualification of advanced fuels and
  materials

28
Generation IV Systems Technology Goals

• Economics
• Sustainability
• Safety Reliability
• Proliferation Resistance Physical Protection

• Clear life-cycle cost advantage over other energy
  sources
• Level of financial risk comparable to other
  energy projects
• Sustainable energy generation through long-term
  availability of systems and effective fuel
  utilization
• Minimize and manage nuclear waste and notably
  reduce the stewardship burden in the future
• Excel in safety and reliability
• Low likelihood and degree of reactor core damage
• Eliminate the need for offsite emergency response
• Very unattractive route for diversion or theft of
  weapons-usable materials increased physical
  protection

29
Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems
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Examples ofGeneration IVReactors
Pool type SFR
Very High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (VHTR)
Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR)
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Reactor Characteristics
32
A New Approach to Development of Nuclear Energy
Systems

• Argonne is advancing a new science- and
  simulation-based approach to improve the
  performance and enhance acceptance of future
  systems
• Competitive economics
• Reactor safety validation
• Effective nuclear waste isolation
• Key elements of approach
• Increased understanding of the full range of
  phenomena underlying reactor behavior
• Science-based, validated modeling at both the
  detailed and systems-levels
• Increased ability to predict (hence optimize)
  behavior for operating and off-normal situations
• High fidelity, integrated simulations underpin
  the development and design and support rapid
  prototyping
• Partnerships with industry to translate present
  and future advances to commercial practice

33
High Fidelity Coupled Simulation ofNeutronics,
Thermo-Fluid Dynamics , Structural Mechanics,
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Summary

• Nuclear energy is an important energy source
  today and its use is likely to increase in the
  future
• There is renewed interest in construction of new
  evolutionary plants in the U.S. and elsewhere
• High reliability and strong performance of
  nuclear plants
• Low operating and fuel cost
• Clean air benefits of nuclear generation
• Recycle of actinides in spent fuel is needed to
  improve waste management and realize the
  potential of nuclear energy
• Substantial advances in performance and
  non-electricity applications are targeted with
  Generation IV reactors and advanced fuel cycles
• Argonne is advancing the science and technology
  underpinning future reactors and fuel cycles
• Spent fuel separations
• Fast reactors for actinide recycle
• Durable waste forms