Simulation-based analysis of phase-change cooling mechanisms for integral molten salt reactors

熔盐反应堆(MSR)发电技术与传统的水冷核裂变反应堆相比具有显著的优势。这些优势涵盖了围绕用于发电的核裂变的一系列问题，包括安全、效率、环境影响和可扩展性。MSR使用熔盐作为主冷却剂运行，因此其运行温度(~700摄氏度)可能比水冷(~300摄氏度)高得多。这意味着MSR的热力学效率比水冷的高，因此不需要大量的冷却剂，而冷却剂必须从环境中抽出和排放到环境中。 建议的研究集中在反应堆关闭后MSR运行的阶段。在这个过程中，反应堆的衰变热必须被送出反应堆，容错方法之一是使用相变冷却反应堆护套。使用功能材料来冷却结果是一种固有的安全和坚固的方法来吸收反应堆衰变热，然后这些热可能会通过传导到环境中逐渐消散。由于所涉及的温度非常高，这种情景的直接实验设计将是昂贵和具有挑战性的。使用模拟工具来设计和测试原型是指导以后的实验研究的一种安全且经济高效的方法。

Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) technology has significant advantages over traditional water-cooled nuclear fission reactors for power generation. These advantages span the gamut of issues surrounding nuclear fission for power generation including safety, efficiency, environmental impact, and scalability. MSRs operate using molten salt as the primary coolant and may thus operate at much higher temperatures (~700C) than their water-cooled counterparts (~300C). This means that MSRs run at a higher thermodynamic efficiency than water-cooled counterparts and therefore do not require large amounts of coolant which must be both drawn from and discharged into the environment. The proposed research focuses on the phase of MSR operation that occurs following shutdown of the reactor. During this process reactor decay heat must be transported out of the reactor and one fault-tolerant approach is through the use of a phase-change cooling reactor jacket. Using functional materials for cooling results is an inherently safe and robust approach to absorb reactor decay heat, which may then be gradually dissipated through conduction into the environment. Direct experimental design of this scenario would be costly and challenging with respect to the very high temperatures involved. The use of simulation tools to design and test prototypes is a safe and cost-effective approach to guide later experimental research.