UNN scientists find ways to improve nuclear reactor safety
Scientists at Lobachevsky University have found a new way to improve the safety system of nuclear reactors. A group of researchers led by Andrei Chistov, Senior Researcher at the Laboratory of Dynamics of Multicomponent Media at the UNN Research Institute for Mechanics, has developed a device based on a shut-off valve, which stops the supply of feed water to the reactor when its pressure drops abnormally.
The invention can be used, in particular, on the world's first BREST-OD-300 lead reactor, which is currently being built at the Siberian Chemical Combine.
In Generation IV nuclear plants, all equipment, including the reactor core, operates in a molten metal. The temperature of the feed water, which reaches more than 340°C at the inlet to the steam generator, allows the metal to be kept in this state due to high pressure. If the pressure drops, there is a risk of lead solidification, which is an emergency. One way of solving the problem is to stop the feedwater supply to the steam generator circuit.
Andrei Chistov’s team has developed a device based on a shut-off valve that registers a drop in water pressure below the critical value and automatically blocks its supply. Heat removal from the primary circuit practically stops, lead temperature rises, and the threat of metal solidification in the steam generator is eliminated.
"Our invention can be used in any nuclear reactor, including the most modern one being built at the Siberian Chemical Combine. This reactor is unparalleled in the world, and improving the safety system is one of the key aspects of modernizing this complex. Most of the processes in the reactor are designed to be autonomous, without active electronics, to implement the principle of natural self-protection. And our device is another step in this direction," said Andrei Chistov, project manager.
At the end of 2021, Lobachevsky University researchers received a patent for the invention. The project was developed within the framework of a grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research.
