scholarly journals The Stress and Reliability Analysis of HTR’s Graphite Component

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Fang ◽  
Haitao Wang ◽  
Suyuan Yu

The high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTR) is developing rapidly toward a modular, compact, and integral direction. As the main structure material, graphite plays a very important role in HTR engineering, and the reliability of graphite component has a close relationship with the integrity of reactor core. The graphite components are subjected to high temperature and fast neutron irradiation simultaneously during normal operation of the reactor. With the stress accumulation induced by high temperature and irradiation, the failure risk of graphite components increases constantly. Therefore it is necessary to study and simulate the mechanical behavior of graphite component under in-core working conditions and forecast the internal stress accumulation history and the variation of reliability. The work of this paper focuses on the mechanical analysis of pebble-bed type HTR's graphite brick. The analysis process is comprised of two procedures, stress analysis and reliability analysis. Three different creep models and two different reliability models are reviewed and taken into account in simulation. The stress and failure probability calculation results are obtained and discussed. The results gained with various models are highly consistent, and the discrepancies are acceptable.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2A) ◽  
Author(s):  
Uebert Gonçalves Moreira ◽  
Dany Sanchez Dominguez ◽  
Leorlen Yunier Rojas Mazaira ◽  
Carlos Alberto Brayner de Oliveira Lira ◽  
Carlos Rafael García Henández

The nuclear energy is a good alternative to meet the continuous increase in world energy demand. In this pers-pective, VHTRs (Very High Temperature Reactors) are serious candidates for energy generation due to its   inherently safe performance, low power density and high conversion efficiency. However, the viability of these reactors depends on an efficient safety system in the operation of nuclear plants. The HTR (High Temperature Reactor)-10 model, an experimental reactor of the pebble bed type, is used as a case study in this work to perform the thermohydraulic simulation. Due to the complex patterns flow that appear in the pebble bed reactor core CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) techniques are used to simulate these reactors. A realistic approach is adopted to simulate the central annular column of the reactor core. As geometrical model of the fuel elements was selected the BCC (Body Centered Cubic) arrangement. Parameters considered for reactor design are available in the technical report of benchmark issues by IAEA (TECDOC-1694). We obtain the temperature profile distribution in the core for regimes where the coolant flow rate is smaller than recommended in a normal operation. In general, the temperature distributions calculated are consistent with phenomenological behavior. Even without considering the reactivity changes to reduce the reactor power or other safety mechanisms, the maximum temperatures do not exceed the recommended limits for TRISO fuel elements.


Author(s):  
Cheng Ren ◽  
Xing-Tuan Yang ◽  
Cong-Xin Li ◽  
Zhi-Yong Liu ◽  
Sheng-Yao Jiang

High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) is a typical representation of Generation IV nuclear power system for its advantages like inherent safety, high efficiency, widely application as high-temperature heat source. The first two 250-MWt high temperature reactor pebble bed modules (HTR-PM) have be installing at the Shidaowan plant in Shandong Province, China, which have the cylindrical core structure with thousands of spherical fuel elements randomly packed inside. The values of the effective thermal conductivity of the pebble bed core under different temperatures are essential parameters for the design of HTGR, which are needed to analyze the maximum fuel temperature, temperature distribution and residual heat releasing ability in reactor core. For this purpose, Tsinghua University in China has proposed a full-scale heat transfer experiment to conduct comprehensive thermal transfer tests in packed pebble bed and to determine the effective thermal conductivity through the pebble bed under vacuum condition and helium environment with temperature up to 1600°C. An essential material test equipment is built in advance to provide reliable materials and technical support for the design of the final experimental device aimed at measuring the effective thermal conductivity of pebble bed type reactor core of the high temperature gas-cooled reactor. The design of the essential material test equipment is introduced in detail, including the heat element, the insulation structure, the temperature detector, cooling water system, vacuum system, hydraulic lifting system, data acquisition system and so on. Several key technologies in design are described in detail. Test temperature in the equipment was elevated up to 1600°C, which covers the whole temperature range of the normal operation and accident condition of HTGR and could fully meet the test requirements of materials used in the reactor. The construction and commissioning of the test equipment shows that the test equipment has met the design requirements and verified the feasibility of the related materials and structures.


Author(s):  
Yanhua Zheng ◽  
Fubing Chen ◽  
Lei Shi

Pebble bed modular high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTR), due to their characteristics of low power density, slender structure, large thermal inertia of fuel elements and reactor component materials (graphite), have good inherent safety features. However, the reflectors consisting of large piles of graphite blocks will form huge numbers of certain bypass gaps in the radial, axial and circumferential directions, thus affecting the effective cooling flow into the reactor core, which is one of the concerned issues of HTRs. According to the preliminary design of the Chinese high temperature gas-cooled reactor pebble-bed modular (HTR-PM), the thermal-hydraulic calculation model is established in this paper. Based on this model, considering different bypass flow, that is to say, different core cooling flow, fuel element temperature, outlet helium temperature and the core pressure drop in the normal operation, as well as the maximal fuel temperature during the depressurized loss of forced cooling (DLOFC) accident are analyzed. This study on bypass effects on the steady-state and transient phases can further demonstrate the HTR safety features.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Naphtali M. Mokgalapa ◽  
Tushar K. Ghosh ◽  
Robert V. Tompson ◽  
Sudarshan K. Loyalka

Abstract Silver is generated in the reactor core during normal operation of very high temperature reactors (VHTRs). It may be transported as aerosols in the reactor circuit and plates out at different points in the reactor including the intermitted heat exchanger. The resuspension of particles in high temperature reactors is closely associated with source term analysis including the environment safety assessment. Adhesion force is important in determining resuspension rate used in resuspension calculations. In this work, the atomic force microscope was used to measure the adhesive force between a spherical silver particle and VHTRs structural materials of Hastelloy X and Inconel 617. These forces were also predicted through the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts (JKR) theoretical model. The theoretically calculated values (when the particle size of 15.1 μm diameter was used) are higher than the measured results by a factor of a 1000. However, when surface roughness was taken into account, an improved comparison between the theoretically predicted values and the measured values was observed. In fact, the comparisons between the theoretically predicted values and the measured results show a deviation that ranges from 0.155 to 0.422 in the case of Hastelloy X and from 0.243 to 0.503 in the case of Inconel 617. The data generated provide insight into the significant influence that surface roughness has on the adhesion force. This adhesion force data may be important in understanding the adhesion of silver particles to Hastelloy X and Inconel 617, and may contribute to particle resuspension calculations.


Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Patrice Berthod ◽  
Lionel Aranda ◽  
Jean-Paul Gomis

Nickel is often added to cobalt-based superalloys to stabilize their austenitic structure. In this work the effects of Ni on several high temperature properties of a chromium-rich cobalt-based alloy reinforced by high fraction of TaC carbides are investigated. Different thermal analysis techniques are used: differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA) and thermogravimetry (TG). Results show that the progressive addition of nickel did not induce great modifications of microstructure, refractoriness or thermal expansion. However, minor beneficial effects were noted, including reduction of the melting temperature range and slight decrease in thermal expansion coefficient. The most important improvement induced by Ni addition concerns the hot oxidation behavior. In this way, introducing several tens wt % Ni in this type of cobalt-based alloy may be recommended.


2020 ◽  
Vol 316 ◽  
pp. 02001
Author(s):  
Jing Sheng ◽  
Aamir Sohail ◽  
Mengguang Wang ◽  
Zhimin Wang

In order to realize the need for lightweight automobiles through replacing steel with plastics, the research and development of the plastic clutch pump body based on the friction welding was carried out. For the clutch pump body connected by friction welding process between the upper pump body and the lower pump body, the technical requirements of pressure 14 MPa and durability (high temperature 7.0 × 104 times, room temperature 7.0 × 105) are required. The structure type of the upper and lower pump bodies of the end face welding type was proposed. Through the static analysis of the pump body and weld and the mechanical analysis under the working condition, the structure of the clutch pump body (upper and lower pump body) was determined. According to the established welding process, the pressure of the clutch pump body is more than 15 MPa, and the number of high-temperature durable circulation and the number of room temperature durable circulation also reached 7.2×104 and 7.3×105 times respectively. The results show that the structural design of a clutch pump body meets the design requirements.


2021 ◽  
Vol 156 (A4) ◽  
Author(s):  
N Hifi ◽  
N Barltrop

This paper applies a newly developed methodology to calibrate the corrosion model within a structural reliability analysis. The methodology combines data from experience (measurements and expert judgment) and prediction models to adjust the structural reliability models. Two corrosion models published in the literature have been used to demonstrate the technique used for the model calibration. One model is used as a prediction for a future degradation and a second one to represent the inspection recorded data. The results of the calibration process are presented and discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huan Luo ◽  
Zhengang Shi ◽  
Yan Zhou ◽  
Ni Mo

Abstract High temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTR) is a kind of reactor with inherent safety developed by Institute of Nuclear Energy and New Energy Technology of Tsinghua University. In the first circuit, pure helium is used as coolant and the main helium fan is used to promote the coolant circulation. In order to meet the requirements of service environment and performance, the main helium fan adopts the non-lubricant active magnetic bearing (AMB) system as its support system. For the high-speed rotating equipment supported by AMBs, losing power would lead to bearing failure and cause serious damage to the equipment. In this paper, the power supply system of AMBs is optimized. The power supply of AMB system is connected with the DC-link of the motor converter through DC/DC converter. During normal operation, the AMB system is supplied by external power supply, and the DC/DC converter is used as the backup redundant power supply. In the event of a power failure accident, the DC/DC converter is put into operation, converting the remanet kinetic energy of the motor into stable power to maintain the normal operation of the AMB system. The DC/DC converter adopts two-stage topology structure of the former BUCK converter and the later LLC converter, and completes the voltage stabilization control of the latter LLC converter through the digital signal processor (DSP). Experimental results show that this scheme can realize the power loss protection function of the rotating equipment supported by AMBs.


1992 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 158-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatsuo Iyoku ◽  
Yoshiyuki Inagaki ◽  
Shusaku Shiozawa ◽  
Isoharu Nishiguchi

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