Optimization of a small modular lead fast reactor with steam cycle for remote siting.

Parametric thermal-hydraulic studies needed to develop and optimize the design of a small modular 25 MWt lead-bismuth reactor plant have been performed. The starting point was the design of a liquid metal version of the secure transportable autonomous reactor (STAR-LM) plant of 300 to 400 MWt with a steam power cycle.1 The primary flow is driven entirely by natural convection. The new plant is to be extremely small so that its main components can be transported to the reactor site by truck. The analytical model includes the two major components of the primary loop, the reactor and a once-through steam generator, which is a shell-and-tube heat exchanger with straight vertical tubes. The modeling includes the changes between the beginning and the end of plant life due to the gradual buildup of a layer of magnetite on the surfaces of the fuel pins and on the outer surfaces of the steam generator tubes. Three reactor parametric studies were performed-one for each of three sets of reactor geometric parameters. In each study the pin-bundle pressure drop, the vertical height of the primary loop, the hydraulic diameter of the core, the number of fuel pins, and peak fuel and cladding temperatures were determinedmore » for a range of values of fuel pin linear power. Four steam generator parametric studies were performed. The first three have fixed tube inner diameters of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 cm, respectively. In the fourth study the tube inner diameter was allowed to vary and the margin to critical heat flux, CHF, was maintained at 20%. In the steam generator studies the independent parameters include tube length and tube-bundle pitch-to-diameter ratio and the dependent variables include steam generator cross-sectional area, the number of tubes, the vertical height of the primary loop, and the steam generator pressure drop. The results show that an acceptable optimum thermal-hydraulic design for a 25 MWt STAR-LM is feasible. (authors)« less