Lead cooled fast reactor

Lead cooled fast reactor

The lead-cooled fast reactor is a nuclear power Generation IV reactor that features a fast neutron spectrum, molten lead or lead-bismuth eutectic coolant, and a closed fuel cycle. Options include a range of plant ratings, including a number of 50 to 150 MWe (megawatts electric) units featuring long-life, pre-manufactured cores. Plans include modular arrangements rated at 300 to 400 MW, and a large monolithic plant rated at 1,200 MW. The fuel is metal or nitride-based containing fertile uranium and transuranics. The LFR is cooled by natural convection with a reactor outlet coolant temperature of 550 °C, possibly ranging over 800 °C with advanced materials. Temperatures higher than 830 °C are high enough to support thermochemical production of hydrogen.

The reactors are intended for use in nuclear power plants to produce nuclear power from nuclear fuel.

Modular nuclear reactors

The LFR battery is a small factory-built turnkey plant operating on a closed fuel cycle with very long refueling interval (15 to 20 years) cassette cores or replaceable reactor modules. Its features are designed to meet market opportunities for electricity production on small grids, and for developing countries that may not wish to deploy an indigenous fuel cycle infrastructure to support their nuclear energy systems. The modular "battery" system (ie consisting of a number of identical elements, not "battery" in the sense of an electro-chemical energy storage system), is designed for distributed generation of electricity and other energy products, including hydrogen and potable water.

Application

LFR reactors OK-550 and BM-40A, capable of producing 155 MW of power, have been applied on soviet Alfa class submarines. They were significantly lighter than typical water-cooled reactors and had an advantage of being capable to quickly switch between maximum power and minimum noise operation modes, but lacked reliability, as solidifying of lead-bismuth solution turned the reactor inoperable.

See also

*Fast breeder reactor
*Fast neutron reactor
*Sodium-cooled fast reactor
*Integral Fast Reactor
*Gas-cooled fast reactor
*Generation IV reactor

References

* [http://neri.inel.gov/program_plans/pdfs/appendix_4.pdf Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor]
* [http://neri.inel.gov/universities_workshop/proceedings/pdfs/lfr.pdf Advanced reactor, fuel cycle,and energy products workshop for universities]
* [http://www.gen-4.org/Technology/systems/lfr.htm Generation IV International Forum LFR website]

External links

* [http://www.bechtel.com/PDF/BIP/23378.pdf Heavy-Metal Aerosol Transport in a Lead-Bismuth Cooled Fast Reactor with In-Vessel Direct-Contact Steam Generation]
* [http://nuclear.inl.gov/gen4/lfr.shtml INL Lead-Cooled Fast Reactor (LFR)]
* [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V4D-4K2T5D7-5&_user=10&_coverDate=08%2F31%2F2006&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=df85272db6aac0f870d0004ed28d513e Comparison of sodium and lead-cooled fast reactors regarding reactor physics aspects, severe safety and economical issues]
* [http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/ST/NE/NENP/NPTDS/Downloads/SMR_CRP1_SRWOSR/2006/RBEC-M%20Kurchatov%20Final.pdf RBEC-M Lead-Bismuth Cooled Fast Reactor Benchmarking Calculations]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sodium-cooled fast reactor — The Sodium cooled fast reactor or SFR is a Generation IV reactor project to design an advanced fast neutron reactor.It builds on two closely related existing projects, the LMFBR and the Integral Fast Reactor, with the objective of producing a… …   Wikipedia

  • Integral Fast Reactor — The Integral Fast Reactor or Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor is a design for a nuclear fast reactor with a specialized nuclear fuel cycle. A prototype of the reactor was built in the United States, but the project was canceled by the U.S.… …   Wikipedia

  • Lead — (pronEng|ˈlɛd) is a main group element with a symbol Pb ( la. plumbum). Lead has the atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metals. Lead has a bluish white color when freshly cut, but… …   Wikipedia

  • Fast breeder reactor — The fast breeder or fast breeder reactor (FBR) is a fast neutron reactor designed to breed fuel by producing more fissile material than it consumes. The FBR is one possible type of breeder reactor. The reactors are used in nuclear power plants to …   Wikipedia

  • Fast neutron reactor — [ Shevchenko BN350 nuclear fast reactor and desalination plant situated on the shore of the Caspian Sea. The plant generates 135 MWe and provides steam for an associated desalination plant. View of the interior of the reactor hall.] A fast… …   Wikipedia

  • Lead-bismuth eutectic — LBE redirects here. For the U.S. airport, see Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Lead Bismuth Eutectic or LBE is a eutectic alloy of lead (44.5%) and bismuth (55.5%) used as a coolant in some nuclear reactors, and is a proposed coolant for the lead… …   Wikipedia

  • Nuclear reactor — Core of CROCUS, a small nuclear reactor used for research at the EPFL in Switzerland This article is a subarticle of Nuclear power. A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are… …   Wikipedia

  • Nuclear reactor technology — This article is a subarticle of Nuclear power .A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate, as opposed to a nuclear bomb, in which the chain reaction occurs in a… …   Wikipedia

  • Breeder reactor — Assembly of the core of Experimental Breeder Reactor I in Idaho, 1951 A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates more fissile material in fuel than it consumes.[1] These reactors are considered appealing due to their superior fuel… …   Wikipedia

  • Liquid metal cooled reactor — A Liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor, liquid metal fast reactor or LMFR is an advanced type of nuclear reactor where the primary coolant is a liquid metal. Liquid metal cooled reactors were first adapted for nuclear submarine use but have also… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”