Renewable artificial ground freezing for geotechnical support of small and modular reactors (SMR) sites in the north

对于民用核工业的可持续性而言，越来越多的人认为，所谓的“小型模块化反应堆”(SMRS)的商业化是必要的，因为加拿大和世界各地的许多反应堆现在正接近其运行寿命的尽头。此外，加拿大作为世界上最大的铀生产国之一，需要保持在核工业中的竞争力。因此，SMR是替代化石燃料的更清洁替代品的有力候选者之一。特别是对于加拿大北部的偏远社区和行业，SMR概念提供了许多好处，包括为学校、医院和采矿业提供清洁的供暖和电力供应。然而，在当今气候变化的情况下，在多年冻土中实施SMR面临着几个挑战。由于SMR产生的热量会加速多年冻土的融化，这给岩土工程带来了挑战。拟议的项目旨在通过使用高分辨率气候模拟评估SMR地点来解决这个问题。结果将与热-水-力学模型相结合，以实现气候-大气-土地(永久冻土)的相互作用。这将进一步用于分析场地的岩土方面。为了稳定SMR场地融化的多年冻土地基，将引入混合热虹吸管来人工冻结地面并加固地基结构。热虹吸管在冬天会通过从周围的冷空气中提取凉爽来被动运行。另一方面，在夏季，SMR的废热将被用于运行吸附制冷，并与热虹吸管耦合。这一概念将维护SMR场地不受多年冻土融化的影响，并确保北方SMR作业的安全和可靠。

The commercialization of so-called "Small Modular Reactors" (SMRs) is increasingly seen as being necessary for the sustainability of the civil nuclear industry because many reactors in Canada and around the world are now approaching the end of their operational lifespan. Also, Canada as one of the world largest uranium producers needs to be remain competitive in the nuclear industry. Therefore, SMR is one of the strong candidates for cleaner alternatives to replace fossil fuels. Especially for the remote communities and industries of northern Canada, the SMR concept offers a number of benefits, including a clean heat and electricity supply for schools, hospitals, and the mining sector. However, there are several challenges on the implementation of SMR in permafrost in today's changing climate. Permafrost thawing can be accelerated due to heat generation from the SMR which leads to geotechnical challenge. The proposed project aims to tackle this issue by assessing SMR site using high-resolution climate simulations. The results will be integrated with thermo-hydro-mechanical model to enable climate-atmosphere land (permafrost) interactions. This will further be used to analyze geotechnical aspect of the site. To stabilize thawed permafrost ground at SMR site, hybrid thermosiphon will be introduced to artificially freeze the ground and strengthen ground structure. Thermosiphons will operate passively in winter by extracting coolth from ambient cold air. In summer, on the other hand, waste heat from SMR will be used to run adsorption refrigeration which will be coupled with the thermosiphon. This concept will maintain SMR site from permafrost thawing and ensure safety and reliability of the SMR operations in the north.