Achievement of safety demonstration tests using HTTR; Loss of forced cooling test at 100% reactor power (30 MW)

Nagasumi, Satoru; Hasegawa, Toshinari; Nakagawa, Shigeaki; Kubo, Shinji; Iigaki, Kazuhiko; Shinohara, Masanori; Saikusa, Akio; Nojiri, Naoki; Saito, Kenji; Furusawa, Takayuki; et al.

JAEA-Research 2025-005, 23 Pages, 2025/07

JAEA-Research-2025-005.pdf:2.68MB

A safety demonstration test under abnormal operating conditions using the HTTR (High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor) was conducted to demonstrate safety features of the HTGRs (High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors). Under a simulation of a control rod shutdown failure, all primary helium gas circulators were intentionally stopped during a steady-state operation at 100% reactor thermal power (30 MW), temporal changes of the reactor power and temperatures around the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) were obtained after the complete loss of forced heat removal from the reactor core. After the event (primary coolant flow stopped), the reactor power quickly decreased due to the negative reactivity feedback associated with the core temperature rise, and then the reactor power spontaneously shifted to a stable state of low power (about 1.2%) even after a recriticality. Heat dissipation from RPV surface to a surrounding vessel cooling system (water-cooled panels) ensured the amount of heat removal required to maintain the reactor temperature constant in the low power state. In this way, the transition from the event occurrence to the stable and safety state, i.e., inherent safety features of HTGRs, were demonstrated in the case of core forced cooling loss without active shutdown operations.

Development of wide range monitor for HTTR; Improvement for heat resistance performance against heat cycle

Kozawa, Takayuki; Suganuma, Takuro; Homma, Fumitaka; Higashimura, Keisuke*; Ukai, Takayuki*; Saito, Kenji

JAEA-Technology 2023-007, 24 Pages, 2023/06

JAEA-Technology-2023-007.pdf:2.24MB

To improve the reliability of the HTTR wide range monitor in a high-temperature environment, structural changes of the wide range monitor were investigated. It was clear that the structure for directly joins of the MI cable core wire and metal tube instead of the joins with lead wire is the most reliable method with shortest way. From a result of the thermal cycle tests and high temperature endurance tests for a mock-up connecting this connection parts, it was clear that the soundness of the connection part was maintained under the usage conditions of the HTTR.

Core-level photoelectron spectroscopy study of UTe

Fujimori, Shinichi; Kawasaki, Ikuto; Takeda, Yukiharu; Yamagami, Hiroshi; Nakamura, Ai*; Homma, Yoshiya*; Aoki, Dai*

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 90(1), p.015002_1 - 015002_2, 2021/01

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.90.015002

Electronic structure of UTe studied by photoelectron spectroscopy

Fujimori, Shinichi; Kawasaki, Ikuto; Takeda, Yukiharu; Yamagami, Hiroshi; Nakamura, Ai*; Homma, Yoshiya*; Aoki, Dai*

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 88(10), p.103701_1 - 103701_5, 2019/10

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.88.103701

Characterisation of structural similarities of precipitates in Mg-Zn and Al-Zn-Mg alloys systems

Bendo, A.*; Maeda, Tomoyoshi*; Matsuda, Kenji*; Lervik, A.*; Holmestad, R.*; Marioara, C. D.*; Nishimura, Katsuhiko*; Nunomura, Norio*; Toda, Hiroyuki*; Yamaguchi, Masatake; et al.

Philosophical Magazine, 99(21), p.2619 - 2635, 2019/07

https://doi.org/10.1080/14786435.2019.1637032

Effects of magnetic field and pressure on the valence-fluctuating antiferromagnetic compound EuPtSi

Takeuchi, Tetsuya*; Yara, Tomoyuki*; Ashitomi, Yosuke*; Iha, Wataru*; Kakihana, Masashi*; Nakashima, Miho*; Amako, Yasushi*; Honda, Fuminori*; Homma, Yoshiya*; Aoki, Dai*; et al.

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 87(7), p.074709_1 - 074709_14, 2018/07

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.87.074709

Switching of magnetic ground states across the UIrRhGe alloy system

Pospisil, J.; Haga, Yoshinori; Kambe, Shinsaku; Tokunaga, Yo; Tateiwa, Naoyuki; Aoki, Dai*; Honda, Fuminori*; Nakamura, Ai*; Homma, Yoshiya*; Yamamoto, Etsuji; et al.

Physical Review B, 95(15), p.155138_1 - 155138_15, 2017/04

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.95.155138

Investigation of absorption characteristics for thermal-load fluctuation using HTTR

Tochio, Daisuke; Honda, Yuki; Sato, Hiroyuki; Sekita, Kenji; Homma, Fumitaka; Sawahata, Hiroaki; Takada, Shoji; Nakagawa, Shigeaki

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 54(1), p.13 - 21, 2017/01

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2016.1201441

GTHTR300C is designed and developed in JAEA. The reactor system is required to continue a stable and safety operation as well as a stable power supply in the case that thermal-load is fluctuated by the occurrence of abnormal event in the heat utilization system. Then, it is necessary to demonstrate that the thermal-load fluctuation should be absorbed by the reactor system so as to continue the stable and safety operation could be continued. The thermal-load fluctuation absorption tests without nuclear heating were planned and conducted in JAEA to clarify the absorption characteristic of thermal-load fluctuation mainly by the reactor and by the IHX. As the result it was revealed that the reactor has the larger absorption capacity of thermal-load fluctuation than expected one, and the IHX can be contributed to the absorption of the thermal-load fluctuation generated in the heat utilization system in the reactor system. It was confirmed from there result that the reactor and the IHX has effective absorption capacity of the thermal-load fluctuation generated in the heat utilization system. Moreover it was confirmed that the safety estimation code based on RELAP5/MOD3 can represents the thermal-load fluctuation absorption behavior conservatively.

Spin model of O-based magnet in a nanoporous metal complex

Soda, Minoru*; Homma, Yuki*; Takamizawa, Satoshi*; Kawamura, Seiko; Nakajima, Kenji; Masuda, Takatsugu*

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 85(3), p.034717_1 - 034717_9, 2016/03

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSJ.85.034717

Inelastic neutron scattering experiments are performed on the nanoporous metal complex Cu--1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (Cu-CHD) adsorbing O molecules to identify the spin model of the O-based magnet realized in the host complex. It is found that the magnetic excitations of Cu-CHDs adsorbing low- and high-concentration O molecules are explained by different spin models, the former by spin dimers and the latter by spin trimers. By using the obtained parameters and by assuming that the levels of the group of the highest energy states are reduced because of the nonnegligible spin dependence of the molecular potential of oxygen, the magnetization curves are explained quantitatively.

Operation and maintenance experience from the HTTR database

Shimizu, Atsushi; Furusawa, Takayuki; Homma, Fumitaka; Inoi, Hiroyuki; Umeda, Masayuki; Kondo, Masaaki; Isozaki, Minoru; Fujimoto, Nozomu; Iyoku, Tatsuo

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 51(11-12), p.1444 - 1451, 2014/11

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2014.946568

JAEA has kept up a data-base system of operation and maintenance experiences of the HTTR. The objective of this system is to share the information obtained operation and maintenance experiences and to make use of lessons learned and knowledge into a design, construction and operation managements of the future HTGR. More than one thousand records have been registered into the system between 1997 and 2012. This paper describes the status of the data-base system, and provides suggestions for improvement from four experiences: (1) performance degradation of helium compressors; (2) malfunction of reserved shutdown system in reactivity control system; (3) maintenance experiences of emergency gas turbine generators; and (4) experiences of the Great East Japan Earthquake. These experiences are extracted from the system as important lessons learned to be expected to apply for design, construction and operation managements of future HTGR.