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

所谓的“小型模块化反应堆”（smr）的商业化越来越被视为民用核工业可持续发展的必要条件，因为加拿大和世界各地的许多反应堆现在正接近其使用寿命的终点。此外，加拿大作为世界上最大的铀生产国之一，需要在核工业中保持竞争力。因此，SMR是替代化石燃料的清洁替代品的有力候选之一。特别是对于加拿大北部的偏远社区和工业，SMR概念提供了许多好处，包括为学校、医院和采矿部门提供清洁的供热和电力供应。然而，在当今不断变化的气候条件下，在永久冻土中实施SMR存在一些挑战。由于SMR产生的热量可能会加速永久冻土的融化，从而导致岩土工程方面的挑战。拟议的项目旨在通过使用高分辨率气候模拟评估SMR站点来解决这个问题。结果将与热-水-力学模型相结合，以实现气候-大气-陆地（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。为了稳定小堆场址融化的多年冻土，将采用混合热虹吸对地面进行人工冻结和加固。热虹吸在冬季被动地从周围的冷空气中提取热量。另一方面，在夏季，SMR的余热将用于吸附制冷，这将与热虹吸相结合。这一概念将保护SMR站点免受永久冻土融化的影响，并确保北方SMR运行的安全性和可靠性。

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.