A conceptual design study of pool-type sodium-cooled fast reactor with enhanced anti-seismic capability

The authors are developing the design concept of the pool-type sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) that addresses Japan’s specific siting conditions such as earthquakes and meets safety design criteria (SDC) and safety design guidelines (SDG) for Generation IV SFRs. The development of this concept will broaden not only options for reactor types in Japan but also the range and depth of international cooperation. A design concept of 1,500 MWt (650 MWe) class pool-type SFR was thought up by applying design technology obtained from the design of advanced loop-type SFR, named JSFR, equipped with safety measures that reflect results from the feasibility study on commercialized fast reactor cycle systems and fast reactor cycle technology development, improved maintainability and repairability, and lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants accident. The design concepts of a reactor vessel (RV) and its internal structures have been investigated whether they could withstand severe seismic conditions in Japan and thermal loads. The design adopted enhanced RV support structure, enhanced conical-shaped core support structure, a thickened knuckle part of the RV, and a flat plenum separator with ribs. A three-dimensional steady-state thermal hydraulic analysis of the RV revealed that the temperature difference of the upper and lower surfaces of the flat plenum separator could be effectively reduced by installing layers of thermal insulation plates. The authors have also conducted a transient analysis of loss of flow type anticipated transients without scram events to evaluate the feasibility of a self-actuated shutdown system. Moreover, the configuration of the decay heat removal system has been investigated considering sufficient utilization of natural circulation capability of sodium coolant, heat removal capacity of each cooling system, conformance with design requirements, and recommendations of SDC and SDG such as diversity and redundancy of components.