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Conference Article: Design precautions for coupling interfaces between nuclear heating reactor and heating grid or desalination plant

Abstract

Nuclear heating reactor (NHR) has been developed by INET since the early eighties. To achieve its economic viability and safety goal, the NHR is designed with a number of advanced and innovative features, including integrated arrangement, natural circulation, self-pressurized performance, dynamically hydraulic control rod drive and passive safety systems. As a new promising energy system, the NHR can serve for district heating, air conditioning, sea-water desalination and other industrial processes. For all of these applications, it is vital that the design and performance of the coupling interfaces shall insure protection of user ends against radioactive contamination. Therefore, an intermediate circuit is provided in the NHR as a physical barrier, and the operating pressure in the intermediate circuit is higher than that in the primary system. In addition, the radioactivity in the intermediate circuit is monitored continuously, and there are also other protection measures in the design for isolating the intermediate circuit and the heating grid or desalination plant under some emergency conditions. The excellent performance of the above design precautions for the coupling interfaces has been demonstrated by operational practice from the NHR-5, a 5 MW(thermal) experimental NHR, which was put into operation in 1989. This paper presents the main design features of the NHR as well as the special provisions taken in the design for coupling the NHR to the heating grid or desalination plant and some operating experience from the NHR-5.

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Reference:

Advisory group meeting and consultancy on experience with nuclear heat applications: district heating, process heat and desalination, 13-15 December 1995 and 7-9 February 1996.
Advisory group meeting on technology, design and safety aspects of non-electrical application of nuclear energy, 20-24 October 1997.
Advisory group meeting on operational modes of nuclear desalination plants, 3-5 November 1997.
Advisory group meeting on materials and equipment for the coupling interfaces of nuclear reactors with desalination and district heating plants, 21-23 April 1998.

International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria)

IAEA-TECDOC--1056, pp:85-89