Publications related to Dounreay

Experimental study and interpretative modelling of the Power Exhaust in Configurations with Multiple X-Points in TCV

Nuclear fusion presents a promising clean energy source to mitigate future energy crises, with magnetic confinement fusion well-positioned to provide a baseload scenario to power future reactors. The unmitigated power exhaust of such reactors threatens its ...

EPFL2024

Extension, validation, and optimization of Serpent/DYN3D/ATHLET code system for SFR applications

Vincenzo Anthony Di Nora

The sequence of codes Serpent/DYN3D has been developed by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and successfully applied to core static and transient analyses of sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). The successful application of the sequence to SFRs was ...

EPFL2023

Delayed Hydride Cracking in Irradiated and Unirradiated Zircaloy-2 Cladding

Aaron William Colldeweih

Zirconium alloys used in the nuclear industry are exposed to extreme conditions undergoing high levels of irradiation damage and corrosion. Zircaloy-2 is used as nuclear fuel cladding in boiling water reactors and for the encapsulation of the spallation ta ...

EPFL2022

Optimization of multi-group energy structures for diffusion analyses of sodium-cooled fast reactors assisted by simulated annealing - Part I: Methodology demonstration

Konstantin Mikityuk, Vincenzo Anthony Di Nora

This study presents an approach to the selection of optimal energy group structures for multi-group nodal diffusion analyses of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor cores. The goal is to speed up calculations, particularly in transient calculations, while maintainin ...

2021

A Coarse-mesh Methodology for the Analysis of One and Two-phase Nuclear Reactor Thermal-hydraulics in a Multi-physics Context

Stefan Radman

The analysis of nuclear reactors for performance and safety assessment benefits from the use of computational tools. In this context, this work aims at the development and application of a thermal-hydraulics methodology and related software that respond to ...

EPFL2021

SCALE/AMPX multigroup libraries for sodium-cooled fast reactor systems

Andreas Pautz, Winfried Zwermann, Friederike Bostelmann

New multigroup cross section libraries and associated covariance files that are optimized for the analysis of sodium-cooled fast reactors were generated with the AMPX tools distributed with the SCALE code system. These new libraries account for the fast ne ...

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD2020

Systematic Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor Systems

Friederike Bostelmann

Sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) technologies have the potential to guarantee energy supply and to reduce the burden of nuclear waste for future generations. For an adequate simulation of these reactor systems, well-established tools that have so far been ...

EPFL2020

Extension of the nodal code DYN3D to SFR applications

Evgeny Nikitin

DYN3D is a well-established Light Water Reactor (LWR) simulation tool and is being extended for safety analyses of Sodium cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. This thesis focuses on the first stage of the development pro ...

EPFL2019

Breed-and-burn fuel cycle in molten salt reactors

Andreas Pautz, Boris Aviv Hombourger, Jiri Krepel

The operation of a reactor on an open but self-sustainable cycle without actinide separation is known as breed-and-burn. It has mostly been envisioned for use in solid-fueled fast-spectrum reactors such as sodium-cooled fast reactors. In this paper the app ...

EDP Sciences2019

A Simplified Numerical Benchmark For Pool-Type Sodium Fast Reactors

Andreas Pautz, Konstantin Mikityuk, Carlo Fiorina, Stefan Radman

The current work presents a simplified benchmark for a pool-type Sodium Fast Reactor based on a 2D (r-z) geometry for testing tightly-coupled spatial neutron transport, thermal-hydraulics and thermal-mechanics modeling. The new benchmark is motivated by de ...

AMER SOC MECHANICAL ENGINEERS2018

Investigation of the relationships between mechanical properties and microstructure in a Fe-9%Cr ODS steel

Roland Logé

Ferritic-martensitic Oxide Dispersion Strengthened (ODS) steels are potential materials for fuel pin cladding in Sodium Fast Reactor (SFR) and their optimisation is essential for future industrial applications. In this paper, a feasibility study concerning ...

Edp Sciences S A2016

Metal-organic framework with optimally selective xenon adsorption and separation

Berend Smit, Cory Matthew Simon, Jian Liu

Nuclear energy is among the most viable alternatives to our current fossil fuel-based energy economy. The mass deployment of nuclear energy as a low-emissions source requires the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel to recover fissile materials and mitigate r ...

Nature Publishing Group2016

Coupled 3-D Neutronics/Thermal-Hydraulics Optimization Study For Improving The Response Of A 3600 Mw(Thermal) Sfr Core To An Unprotected Loss-Of-Flow Accident

Rakesh Chawla, Aurélia Chenu, Konstantin Mikityuk, Jiri Krepel, Kaichao Sun

The sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), as a fast neutron spectrum system, is characterized by several performance advantages. In particular, the long-term operation of an SFR core in a closed fuel cycle will lead to an equilibrium state, where both reactivi ...

Amer Nuclear Soc2013

Analysis of selected Phenix EOL tests with the FAST code system - Part II: Unprotected phase of the Natural Convection Test

Rakesh Chawla, Aurélia Chenu, Konstantin Mikityuk

Experimental results from the unprotected phase of the Natural Convection (NC) Test performed in the Phenix reactor in the frame of end-of-life (EOL) experiments have been used to qualify the FAST code system for Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) transient ...

Elsevier2012

Analysis of selected Phenix EOL tests with the FAST code system - Part I: Control-rod-shift experiments

Rakesh Chawla, Aurélia Chenu, Konstantin Mikityuk

The end-of-life (EOL) tests recently performed at the Phenix reactor present a unique opportunity to validate computational tools used for Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) static and transient analysis. In the first part of the current study, PSI's FAST co ...

Elsevier2012

Pressure drop modeling and comparisons with experiments for single- and two-phase sodium flow

Rakesh Chawla, Aurélia Chenu, Konstantin Mikityuk

The thermal-hydraulic code TRACE is currently being extended at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) for enabling the study of sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) core behavior during transients in which boiling is anticipated. An accurate prediction of pressure ...

Elsevier2011

Void reactivity decomposition for the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor in equilibrium fuel cycle

Rakesh Chawla, Konstantin Mikityuk, Jiri Krepel, Kaichao Sun

The Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) is one of the most promising Generation IV systems with many advantages, but has one dominating neutronic drawback - a positive sodium void reactivity. The aim of this study is to develop and apply a methodology, which ...

Elsevier2011

Single- and Two-Phase Flow Modeling for Coupled Neutronics/Thermal-Hydraulics Transient Analysis of Advanced Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactors

Aurélia Chenu

Nuclear power is nowadays in the front rank as regards helping to meet the growing worldwide energy demand while avoiding an excessive increase in greenhouse gas emissions. However, the operating nuclear power plants are mainly thermal-neutron reactors and ...

EPFL2011

Improvement of the Decay Heat Removal Characteristics of the Generation IV Gas-cooled Fast Reactor

Aaron Simon Epiney

Gas cooling in nuclear power plants (NPPs) has a long history, the corresponding reactor types developed in France, the UK and the US having been thermal neutron-spectrum systems using graphite as the moderator. The majority of NPPs worldwide, however, are ...

EPFL2010

Present development status of EUROFER and ODS-EUROFER for application in blanket concepts

Nadine Baluc, Cyril Cayron, Robin Schäublin

Within the European Union, the two major breeding blanket concepts presently being developed are the helium cooled pebble bed (HCPB), and the helium cooled lithium lead (HCLL) blankets. For both concepts, different conceptual designs are being discussed wi ...

2005