Analysis of load-following operation characteristics of liquid fuel molten salt reactor. (August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Guoyu; Li, Minghai; Zou, Yang; Xu, Hongjie
• Is Part Of: Progress in nuclear energy. Volume 150(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-08
• Subjects: Molten salt reactor -- Power control -- Load-following -- Relap5; Nuclear energy -- Periodicals; Nuclear engineering -- Periodicals; 333.7924
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pnucene.2022.104308
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0149-1970

Abstract

Abstract: As the IEA reports indicated that nuclear power owns a growing market share, which means that nuclear power plants (NPPs) must be able to respond quickly to grid fluctuations. A good load-following capability is the basic requirement for the flexibility and safety of reactor operation. In order to study the load-following capacity of the molten salt reactor, this study took the liquid fuel molten salt reactor (MSR) as the research object. The system model and power control model were established with RELAP5/MOD4.0 program, which has been implanted with relevant physical properties of molten salt and calculation formula. The response characteristics of the control system under step load change, linear load change and typical daily load-following operation were simulated and analyzed. The results show that MSR has a good load-following capacity under the designed control logic, the core power can respond to the load variation quickly, the power overshoot and temperature overshoot are small, and the operating parameters of the reactor are under a reasonable operating range. The simulation analysis provides the reference for subsequent safety analysis and power control of molten salt reactor. Highlights: Inherent characteristics of self-stability and self-regulation of molten salt reactor were reflected. The designed control strategy can meet the performance requirements of load-following. The dynamic response of the system is good; the power overshoot and temperature overshoot are small. The temperature change process is slow and the temperature variation is small during the entire process.