Pages: 107-121

Authors: Vitaly Uzikov and Irina Uzikova

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an analysis of a universal cooling system for the core of research reactors built on the passive principle of natural convection. A 3-D model, technological and design diagrams of the reactor installation are provided, along with examples of numerical evaluation of transients during the operation of the cooling circuit in normal and emergency modes to substantiate the possibility of using such a cooling system in research reactors of small and medium power. The principal feature of the described passive system is the absence of not only active elements, such as circulation pumps and shut-off and control valves from the cooling circuit, but also of passive elements with moving parts, such as a check valve. The cooling circuit includes only vessels, piping and a heat exchanger. The absence of elements with mechanical moving parts can significantly reduce the likelihood of equipment failures and improve the reliability of such a cooling system while also reducing its cost. The versatility of the proposed system allows it to be used for a wide range of research reactor plants with various capacities, which are nowadays being developed designed to carry out programs in various areas of research and applied usages related to nuclear technologies.

Key words: research reactor, passive system, reactor cooling system, safety of nuclear reactor, natural convection

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