Thermal Hydraulics of the Very High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor

The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) is conducting research on the Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) design concept for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project. The reactor design will be a graphite moderated, thermal neutron spectrum reactor that will produce electricity and hydrogen in a highly efficient manner. The NGNP reactor core will be either a prismatic graphite block type core or a pebble bed core. The NGNP will use very high-burnup, low-enriched uranium, TRISO-coated fuel, and have a projected plant design service life of 60 years. The VHTR concept is considered to be the nearest-term reactor design that has the capability to efficiently produce hydrogen. The plant size, reactor thermal power, and core configuration will ensure passive decay heat removal without fuel damage or radioactive material releases during reactor core-accidents. The objectives of the NGNP Project are to: Demonstrate a full-scale prototype VHTR that is commercially licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Demonstrate safe and economical nuclear-assisted production of hydrogen and electricity. The DOE laboratories, led by the INL, perform research and development (R&D) that will be critical to the success of the NGNP, primarily in the areas of: • High temperature gas reactor fuels behavior • High temperature materials qualification • Design methods development and validation • Hydrogen production technologies • Energy conversion. This paper presents current R&D work that addresses fundamental thermal hydraulics issues that are relevant to a variety of possible NGNP designs.