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Hamamoto, Shimpei; Shimizu, Atsushi; Inoi, Hiroyuki; Tochio, Daisuke; Homma, Fumitaka; Sawahata, Hiroaki; Sekita, Kenji; Watanabe, Shuji; Furusawa, Takayuki; Iigaki, Kazuhiko; et al.
Nuclear Engineering and Design, 388, p.111642_1 - 111642_11, 2022/03
Times Cited Count：3 Percentile：45.58(Nuclear Science & Technology)Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency adapted High-Temperature engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) to meet the new regulatory requirements that began in December 2013. The safety and seismic classifications of the existing structures, systems, and components were discussed to reflect insights regarding High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs) that were acquired through various HTTR safety tests. Structures, systems, and components that are subject to protection have been defined, and countermeasures to manage internal and external hazards that affect safety functions have been strengthened. Additionally, measures are in place to control accidents that may cause large amounts of radioactive material to be released, as a beyond design based accident. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission rigorously and appropriately reviewed this approach for compliance with the new regulatory requirements. After nine amendments, the application to modify the HTTR's installation license that was submitted in November 2014 was approved in June 2020. This response shows that facilities can reasonably be designed to meet the enhanced regulatory requirements, if they reflect the characteristics of HTGRs. We believe that we have established a reference for future development of HTGR.
Ono, Masato; Shimizu, Atsushi; Ohashi, Hirofumi; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Inoi, Hiroyuki; Tokuhara, Kazumi*; Nomoto, Yasunobu*; Shimazaki, Yosuke; Iigaki, Kazuhiko; Shinozaki, Masayuki
Nuclear Engineering and Design, 386, p.111585_1 - 111585_9, 2022/01
Times Cited Count：0 Percentile：0.00(Nuclear Science & Technology)In the late 1980s during the design stage, the seismic classification of the high temperature engineering test reactor (HTTR) was formulated. Owing to the lack of operation experiences of the HTTR to sufficiently understand the safety characteristics of high temperature gas cooled reactors (HTGR) at that time, the seismic classification of commercial light water reactors (LWR) was applied to HTTR. However, the subsequent operation experiences and test results using HTTR made it clear that the seismic classification of commercial LWR was somewhat too conservative for the HTGR. As a result, Class S facilities were downgraded compared to the commercial LWR. Moreover, the validity of the new seismic classification is confirmed. In June 2020, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority approved that the result of the seismic classification conformed to the standard rules of the reactor installation change.
Hamamoto, Shimpei; Ho, H. Q.; Iigaki, Kazuhiko; Goto, Minoru; Shimazaki, Yosuke; Sawahata, Hiroaki; Ishitsuka, Etsuo
Nuclear Engineering and Design, 386, p.111564_1 - 111564_8, 2022/01
Times Cited Count：1 Percentile：16.36(Nuclear Science & Technology)The experience of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident caused by the great earthquake that occurred in eastern Japan in 2011 showed the importance of preparing for the loss of function of the engineered safety features. Increasing the strength of equipment to prevent loss of function in an accident is effective, but the possibility of loss of function remains. Therefore, it is important to have an alternative to lost functions in order to put the accident under control early. Thus, this study designed an alternative shutdown system, namely a portable backup shutdown system (PBSS), to make countermeasures in the event of a loss of shutdown function more robust without impairing economic efficiency of the High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR). The PBSS is portable and capable of being installed manually so that it can operate in a total loss of off-site electricity. Various neutron absorber materials for the PBSS were also considered from the viewpoints of technical and cost-effective properties. As results of optimization, the boron nitride (BN) was selected as it shows a good neutronic property as well as a reasonable cost in comparison with other materials.
Hamamoto, Shimpei; Ohashi, Hirofumi; Iigaki, Kazuhiko; Shimazaki, Yosuke; Ono, Masato; Shimizu, Atsushi; Ishitsuka, Etsuo
Proceedings of 2021 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2021) (USB Flash Drive), 6 Pages, 2021/10
Since the HTGR has a large amount of graphite material in the core, it is necessary to assume an accident in which the reactor pressure boundary is damaged and air flows into the core. It is important to state that at the time of this accident, graphite does not burn and the accident does not develop due to the heat of oxidation reaction. Therefore, in this study, in order to evaluate the combustibility of graphite materials, we propose a method to compare the calorific value and heat removal amount of the material. When calculating the calorific value, the structural material of HTTR, a high-temperature gas reactor in Japan, was used as a reference. The amount of air in contact with the structural material is a value determined from the chimney effect. The amount of heat release is the sum of convection and radiation. As a result of comparing the heat generation amount with the heat removal amount, it was shown that the heat release amount was always larger than the heat generation amount. This result shows that the graphite material does not depend on the state at the time of the air inflow accident, the temperature decreases and does not burn. It is important to clearly explain the non-flammability of graphite materials when deciding how to deal with severe accidents in HTGRs. This quantitative evaluation method based on a simple theory is considered useful.
Hamamoto, Shimpei; Ishitsuka, Etsuo; Nakagawa, Shigeaki; Goto, Minoru; Matsuura, Hideaki*; Katayama, Kazunari*; Otsuka, Teppei*; Tobita, Kenji*
Proceedings of 2021 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2021) (USB Flash Drive), 5 Pages, 2021/10
Impurity concentrations of hydrogen and hydride in the coolant were investigated in detail for the HTTR, a block type high-temperature gas reactor owned by Japan. As a result, it was found that CH
was 1/10 of H
concentration, which was under the conventional detection limit. If the ratio of H to CH in the coolant is the same as the ratio of HT to CH
T, the CHT has a larger dose conversion factor, and this compositional ratio is an important finding for the optimal dose evaluation. Further investigation of the origin of CH suggested that CH was produced as a result of a thermal equilibrium reaction rather than being released as an impurity from the core.
Ishitsuka, Etsuo; Mitsui, Wataru*; Yamamoto, Yudai*; Nakagawa, Kyoichi*; Ho, H. Q.; Ishii, Toshiaki; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Nagasumi, Satoru; Takamatsu, Kuniyoshi; Kenzhina, I.*; et al.
JAEA-Technology 2021-016, 16 Pages, 2021/09
JAEA-Technology-2021-016.pdf:1.8MB
As a summer holiday practical training 2020, the feasibility study for nuclear design of a nuclear battery using HTTR core was carried out, and the downsizing of reactor core were studied by the MVP-BURN. As a result, it is clear that a 1.6 m radius reactor core, containing 54 (18
3 layers) fuel blocks with 20% enrichment of 
U, and BeO neutron reflector, could operate continuously for 30 years with thermal power of 5 MW. Number of fuel blocks of this compact core is 36% of the HTTR core. As a next step, the further downsizing of core by changing materials of the fuel block will be studied.
Ikeda, Reiji*; Ho, H. Q.; Nagasumi, Satoru; Ishii, Toshiaki; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Nakano, Yumi*; Ishitsuka, Etsuo; Fujimoto, Nozomu*
JAEA-Technology 2021-015, 32 Pages, 2021/09
JAEA-Technology-2021-015.pdf:2.74MB
Burnup calculation of the HTTR considering temperature distribution and detailed burning regions was carried out using MVP-BURN code. The results show that the difference in k
, as well as the difference in average density of some main isotopes, is insignificant between the cases of uniform temperature and detailed temperature distribution. However, the difference in local density is noticeable, being 6% and 8% for U and 
Pu, respectively, and even 30% for the burnable poison 
B. Regarding the division of burning regions to more detail, the change of k is also small of 0.6%
k/k or less. The small burning region gives a detailed distribution of isotopes such as U, Pu, and B. As a result, the effect of graphite reflector and the burnup behavior could be evaluated more clearly compared with the previous study.
Tochio, Daisuke; Nagasumi, Satoru; Inoi, Hiroyuki; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Ono, Masato; Kobayashi, Shoichi; Uesaka, Takahiro; Watanabe, Shuji; Saito, Kenji
JAEA-Technology 2021-014, 80 Pages, 2021/09
JAEA-Technology-2021-014.pdf:5.87MB
In response to the new regulatory standards established in response to the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March 2011, measures and impact assessments related to internal flooding at HTTR were carried out. In assessing the impact, considering the characteristics of the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, flooding due to assumed damage to piping and equipment, flooding due to water discharge from the system installed to prevent the spread of fire, and flooding due to damage to piping and equipment due to an earthquake. The effects of submersion, flooding, and flooding due to steam were evaluated for each of them. The impact of the overflow of liquids containing radioactive materials outside the radiation-controlled area was also evaluated. As a result, it was confirmed that flooding generated at HTTR does not affect the safety function of the reactor facility by taking measures.
Fujimoto, Nozomu*; Tada, Kenichi; Ho, H. Q.; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Nagasumi, Satoru; Ishitsuka, Etsuo
Annals of Nuclear Energy, 158, p.108270_1 - 108270_8, 2021/08
Times Cited Count：3 Percentile：33.11(Nuclear Science & Technology)Fujimoto, Nozomu*; Fukuda, Kodai*; Honda, Yuki*; Tochio, Daisuke; Ho, H. Q.; Nagasumi, Satoru; Ishii, Toshiaki; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Nakano, Yumi*; Ishitsuka, Etsuo
JAEA-Technology 2021-008, 23 Pages, 2021/06
JAEA-Technology-2021-008.pdf:2.62MB
The effect of mesh division around the burnable poison rod on the burnup calculation of the HTTR core was investigated using the SRAC code system. As a result, the mesh division inside the burnable poison rod does not have a large effect on the burnup calculation, and the effective multiplication factor is closer to the measured value than the conventional calculation by dividing the graphite region around the burnable poison rod into a mesh. It became clear that the mesh division of the graphite region around the burnable poison rod is important for more appropriately evaluating the burnup behavior of the HTTR core..
Ho, H. Q.; Fujimoto, Nozomu*; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Nagasumi, Satoru; Goto, Minoru; Ishitsuka, Etsuo
Nuclear Engineering and Design, 377, p.111161_1 - 111161_9, 2021/06
Times Cited Count：3 Percentile：33.11(Nuclear Science & Technology)Ishitsuka, Etsuo; Nakashima, Koki*; Nakagawa, Naoki*; Ho, H. Q.; Ishii, Toshiaki; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Takamatsu, Kuniyoshi; Kenzhina, I.*; Chikhray, Y.*; Matsuura, Hideaki*; et al.
JAEA-Technology 2020-008, 16 Pages, 2020/08
JAEA-Technology-2020-008.pdf:2.98MB
As a summer holiday practical training 2019, the feasibility study for nuclear design of a nuclear battery using HTTR core was carried out, and the U enrichment and burnable poison of the fuel, which enables continuous operation for 30 years with thermal power of 5 MW, were studied by the MVP-BURN. As a result, it is clear that a fuel with U enrichment of 12%, radius of burnable poison and natural boron concentration of 1.5 cm and 2wt% are required. As a next step, the downsizing of core will be studied.
Ho, H. Q.; Honda, Yuki*; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Ishii, Toshiaki; Takada, Shoji; Fujimoto, Nozomu*; Ishitsuka, Etsuo
Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science, 6(2), p.021902_1 - 021902_6, 2020/04
Tc production facility at the high temperature engineering test reactorHo, H. Q.; Ishida, Hiroki*; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Ishii, Toshiaki; Fujimoto, Nozomu*; Takaki, Naoyuki*; Ishitsuka, Etsuo
Nuclear Engineering and Design, 352, p.110174_1 - 110174_7, 2019/10
Times Cited Count：2 Percentile：18.04(Nuclear Science & Technology)Ishitsuka, Etsuo; Matsunaka, Kazuaki*; Ishida, Hiroki*; Ho, H. Q.; Ishii, Toshiaki; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Takamatsu, Kuniyoshi; Kenzhina, I.*; Chikhray, Y.*; Kondo, Atsushi*; et al.
JAEA-Technology 2019-008, 12 Pages, 2019/07
JAEA-Technology-2019-008.pdf:2.37MB
As a summer holiday practical training 2018, the feasibility study for nuclear design of a nuclear battery using HTTR core was carried out. As a result, it is become clear that the continuous operations for about 30 years at 2 MW, about 25 years at 3 MW, about 18 years at 4 MW, about 15 years at 5 MW are possible. As an image of thermal design, the image of the nuclear battery consisting a cooling system with natural convection and a power generation system with no moving equipment is proposed. Further feasibility study to confirm the feasibility of nuclear battery will be carried out in training of next fiscal year.
Ho, H. Q.; Honda, Yuki*; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Ishii, Toshiaki; Fujimoto, Nozomu*; Ishitsuka, Etsuo
Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 140, p.209 - 214, 2018/10
Times Cited Count：4 Percentile：33.89(Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear)Ishii, Toshiaki; Shimazaki, Yosuke; Ono, Masato; Fujiwara, Yusuke; Ishitsuka, Etsuo; Hamamoto, Shimpei
Proceedings of 9th International Topical Meeting on High Temperature Reactor Technology (HTR 2018) (USB Flash Drive), 3 Pages, 2018/10
Ho, H. Q.; Honda, Yuki*; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Ishii, Toshiaki; Takada, Shoji; Fujimoto, Nozomu*; Ishitsuka, Etsuo
Proceedings of 9th International Topical Meeting on High Temperature Reactor Technology (HTR 2018) (USB Flash Drive), 6 Pages, 2018/10
Nishihara, Tetsuo; Yan, X.; Tachibana, Yukio; Shibata, Taiju; Ohashi, Hirofumi; Kubo, Shinji; Inaba, Yoshitomo; Nakagawa, Shigeaki; Goto, Minoru; Ueta, Shohei; et al.
JAEA-Technology 2018-004, 182 Pages, 2018/07
JAEA-Technology-2018-004.pdf:18.14MB
Research and development on High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) in Japan started since late 1960s. Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) in cooperation with Japanese industries has researched and developed system design, fuel, graphite, metallic material, reactor engineering, high temperature components, high temperature irradiation and post irradiation test of fuel and graphite, high temperature heat application and so on. Construction of the first Japanese HTGR, High Temperature engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), started in 1990. HTTR achieved first criticality in 1998. After that, various test operations have been carried out to establish the Japanese HTGR technologies and to verify the inherent safety features of HTGR. This report presents several system design of HTGR, the world-highest-level Japanese HTGR technologies, JAEA's knowledge obtained from construction, operation and management of HTTR and heat application technologies for HTGR.
Ho, H. Q.; Honda, Yuki; Motoyama, Mizuki*; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Ishii, Toshiaki; Ishitsuka, Etsuo
Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 135, p.12 - 18, 2018/05
Times Cited Count：8 Percentile：57.70(Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear)