Coupled CFD-DEM analysis of molten salt-cooled pebble-bed reactor experiment

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dc.contributor.authorMardus-Hall, Ren_AU
dc.contributor.authorHo, MKMen_AU
dc.contributor.authorYeoh, GHen_AU
dc.contributor.authorTimchenko, Ven_AU
dc.date.accessioned2025-09-18T23:25:49Zen_AU
dc.date.available2025-09-18T23:25:49Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2017-06en_AU
dc.date.statistics2025-09-19en_AU
dc.description.abstractThe development of new nuclear reactor designs is an area of ongoing investigation, and a focus of dedicated work for various laboratories around the world. Despite the steadfast and reliable service of Light Water Reactors (LWR), the ideal power reactor, with a combination of high operational temperature, passive safety, proliferation resistance, economic build and waste minimization remains elusive. One promising design that might address these diverse, and at times contradictory requirements, is the Molten Salt Reactor (MSR). In its most radical form, a liquid fueled (LF) MSR has the nuclear fuel dissolved in the molten-salt primary coolant itself, as demonstrated by Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) in 1965 to 1969. An alternative fuel arrangement is to retain conventional, solid fuel elements. A proposed method is to implement pebble fuel elements, as have been used in previous gas-cooled reactors, with the gas coolant being replaced with a molten salt. This is referred to as pebble-bed, molten-salt reactor (PB-MSR). The spherical fuel pebbles used within PB-MSRs contain TRISO particles dispersed throughout the pebble’s graphite matrix. Many pebbles are constrained to form a porous bed within the core region of a reactor. Coolant molten-salt passes through the pebble bed to remove heat produced due to the nuclear fission taking place within the fuel pebbles’ TRISO particles. Various benefits are apparent with the PB-MSR design. When considering the choice of fuel elements, they are a geometry that has been produced and utilized in a similar way in the past, within gas-cooled reactors. The fuel pebbles are also able to be added to, and removed from, the core during operation, enabling on-line refueling. When considering the coolant choice, molten-salts have much higher boiling points (1703K at 1 atm. for FLiBe) than conventional coolants such as water (630K at 150 atm.), and are capable of reaching these temperatures at atmospheric pressure. This in turn removes the need for high pressure containment that is present in light water reactors and gas cooled reactors. The future implementation of new reactors, and the search for improvements in efficiency and safety in current designs, require the advancement of simulation tools, which this work ultimately aims to address.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationMardus-Hall, R., Ho, M., Yeho, G., & Timchenko, V. (2017). Coupled CFD-DEM analysis of molten salt-cooled pebble-bed reactor experiment. Paper presented to the American Nuclear Society 2017 Annual Meeting, June 11-15, 2017, San Francisco, CA. In Transactions of the Amercian Nuclear Society, Vol. 116,(1), 1506-1509.en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceenddate2017-06-15en_AU
dc.identifier.conferencenameAmerican Nuclear Society 2017 Annual Meetingen_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceplaceSan Francisco, CAen_AU
dc.identifier.conferencestartdate2017-06-11en_AU
dc.identifier.issn0003-018Xen_AU
dc.identifier.issue1en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitleTransactions of the American Nuclear Societyen_AU
dc.identifier.pagination1506-1509en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/handle/10238/16503en_AU
dc.identifier.volume116en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherAmerician Nuclear Associationen_AU
dc.subjectMolten Salt cooled reactorsen_AU
dc.subjectPebble bed reactorsen_AU
dc.subjectReactorsen_AU
dc.subjectTemperature rangeen_AU
dc.subjectAtmospheric pressureen_AU
dc.subjectGas cooled reactorsen_AU
dc.subjectRadioactive waste disposalen_AU
dc.subjectFuel elementsen_AU
dc.subjectFissionen_AU
dc.titleCoupled CFD-DEM analysis of molten salt-cooled pebble-bed reactor experimenten_AU
dc.typeConference Paperen_AU
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