Demonstration of the inherent safety feature of HTGRs through the loss-of-forced-cooling test in the HTTR

Nagasumi, Satoru; Hasegawa, Toshinari; Iigaki, Kazuhiko; Nakagawa, Shigeaki; Kubo, Shinji; Shimazaki, Yosuke; Nakajima, Kunihiro; Sakurai, Yosuke; Shinohara, Masanori; Saito, Kenji; et al.

Nuclear Engineering and Design, 446, p.114542_1 - 114542_14, 2026/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2025.114542

To demonstrate HTGR's safety features, a loss-of-forced-cooling (LOFC) test was conducted using the HTTR. In this test, the forced cooling in the reactor core was intentionally lost by shutting down all helium gas circulators (HGCs) without reactor scram. During steady-state operation at 100% reactor power (30 MW), after the LOFC, the reactor power spontaneously decreased. This power reduction occurred due to the negative reactivity feedback effect triggered by an increase in core temperature. The power stabilized at a lower value of 1.2% after re-criticality. Additionally, the measured radioactivity concentration in the primary coolant remained nearly unchanged during this LOFC operation and during an immediately subsequent HTTR operation. This indicates no failure of the coated particle fuel, even after the increase in core temperature associated with the LOFC event. These results provide experimental evidence of the safety features of HTGRs.

Magnetic and quadrupole coupling emerging in NdB with geometrically frustrated orthogonal antiferromagnetic dimer

Metoki, Naoto; Yamauchi, Hiroki; Hagihara, Masato; Watanuki, Ryuta*; Kawamura, Seiko; Kofu, Maiko*; Nakajima, Kenji; Matsuda, Masaaki*

Physical Review B, 111(10), p.104424_1 - 104424_9, 2025/03

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.111.104424

Inelastic neutron scattering experiments were carried out to understand the unusual successive order in NdB with the frustrated Shatry-Sutherland (SS) lattice. The pseudo-quartet with and splits into four levels in the magnetically ordered states. The spectra can be explained with the on-site magnetic interaction , the coupling of with quadrupole , and the uniaxial crystalline electric field. The -electron states reproduce the temperature dependences of the in-plane moment which is the primary order parameter, and a weakly induced as the secondary order parameter. The magnetic-quadrupole coupling emerges and play essential role under the geometrical frustration, where the Heisenberg interactions are cancelled out.

Tracer diffusion coefficient measurements on NASICON-type Lithium-ion conductor LAGP using neutron radiography between 25C and 500C

Takagi, Honoka*; Yabutsuka, Takeshi*; Hayashida, Hirotoshi*; Song, F.; Kai, Tetsuya; Shinohara, Takenao; Kurita, Keisuke; Iikura, Hiroshi; Yamamoto, Norio*; Nakajima, Minoru*; et al.

Solid State Ionics, 417, p.116716_1 - 116716_7, 2024/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssi.2024.116716

Neutron flux and energy resolution of direct-geometry disk-chopper spectrometer AMATERAS at J-PARC

Nirei, Masami; Kofu, Maiko; Nakajima, Kenji; Kikuchi, Tatsuya*; Kawamura, Seiko; Murai, Naoki; Harada, Masahide; Inamura, Yasuhiro

Journal of Neutron Research, 26(2-3), p.75 - 82, 2024/09

https://doi.org/10.3233/JNR-230013

Spectral evidence for Dirac spinons in a kagome lattice antiferromagnet

Zeng, Z.*; Zhou, C.*; Zhou, H.*; Han, L.*; Chi, R.*; Li, K.*; Kofu, Maiko; Nakajima, Kenji; Wei, Y.*; Zhang, W.*; et al.

Nature Physics, 20(7), p.1097 - 1102, 2024/07

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02495-z

Cohesive/Adhesive strengths of CsOH-chemisorbed SS304 surfaces

Li, N.*; Sun, Y.*; Nakajima, Kunihisa; Kurosaki, Ken*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 61(3), p.343 - 353, 2024/03

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2023.2231447

During the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (1F) accident, an overwhelming amount of the cesium remaining in the pressure vessel could have been deposited onto 304 stainless steel (SS304) steam separators and dryers, both with large surface areas. During 1F's decommissioning, the deposited cesium is a safety hazard as it can generate radioactive dust. However, the cohesive and adhesive strengths of CsOH-chemisorbed oxide scales are yet to be defined. In this study, we investigated how CsOH-chemisorption affects the cohesive and adhesive strengths between oxide scales and SS304 substrates with a scratch tester. The scratch test results revealed that the cohesive strengths of the oxide scales decreased after CsOH-chemisorption, while adhesive failure could not be reached.

Extreme phonon anharmonicity underpins superionic diffusion and ultralow thermal conductivity in argyrodite AgSnSe

Ren, Q.*; Gupta, M. K.*; Jin, M.*; Ding, J.*; Wu, J.*; Chen, Z.*; Lin, S.*; Fabelo, O.*; Rodriguez-Velamazan, J. A.*; Kofu, Maiko; et al.

Nature Materials, 22(8), p.999 - 1006, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01560-x

Experimental evidence for the significance of optical phonons in thermal transport of tin monosulfide

Wu, P.*; Murai, Naoki; Li, T.*; Kajimoto, Ryoichi; Nakamura, Mitsutaka; Kofu, Maiko; Nakajima, Kenji; Xia, K.*; Peng, K.*; Zhang, Y.*; et al.

New Journal of Physics (Internet), 25(1), p.013032_1 - 013032_11, 2023/01

https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/acb3ed

Possible options for efficient wide-band polychromatic measurements using chopper spectrometers at pulsed sources

Nakajima, Kenji; Kikuchi, Tatsuya*; Kawamura, Seiko; Kambara, Wataru*

EPJ Web of Conferences, 272, p.02012_1 - 02012_8, 2022/11

https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202227202012

We will present some of attempts on AMATEAS, a cold-neutron chopper spectrometer at a pulsed source, to increase time-windows at a single-measurement condition. One of ways is that, by allowing interveined trajectories on the time-of-flight diagram, the usable width selectable for is can be increased. Based on our experiences, the conditions of pulse repetition rate multiplication based polychromatic measurements on chopper spectrometers at pulsed sources will be discussed. Optimization of wide-band polychromatic measurements and a generalized formulated condition will be proposed. Application of our idea to existing spectrometers and to the criteria design of an optimized chopper spectrometer will be also discussed with suggesting further possibility to improve efficiency by modifying the pulse shaping chopper.

Reactor physics experiment in a graphite moderation system for HTGR, 3

Fukaya, Yuji; Okita, Shoichiro; Kanda, Shun*; Goto, Masaki*; Nakajima, Kunihiro*; Sakon, Atsushi*; Sano, Tadafumi*; Hashimoto, Kengo*; Takahashi, Yoshiyuki*; Unesaki, Hironobu*

KURNS Progress Report 2021, P. 101, 2022/07

https://www.rri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/PUB/report/PR/ProgRep2021/ProgRep2021.html

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) started the Research and Development (R&D) to improve nuclear prediction techniques for High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs) in 2018. The objectives are to intro-duce the generalized bias factor method to avoid full mock-up experiment for the first commercial HTGR and to improve neutron instrumentation system by virtue of the particular characteristics due to a graphite moderation system. For this end, we composed B7/4"G2/8"p8EU(3)+3/8"p38EU in the B-rack of Kyoto University Critical Assembly (KUCA) in 2021.