JAEA's efforts to demonstrate high temperature gas-cooled reactors for carbon-neutral

Inaba, Yoshitomo; Sato, Hiroyuki; Sumita, Junya; Ohashi, Hirofumi; Nishihara, Tetsuo; Sakaba, Nariaki

Nihon Kikai Gakkai-Shi, 127(1267), p.25 - 28, 2024/06

https://doi.org/10.1299/jsmemag.127.1267_25

Aiming to contribute to net-zero emissions through early social implementation of HTGRs, JAEA promote five projects: HTTR-Heat Application Test, HTGR Domestic Demonstration Reactor, UK HTGR Demonstration Program, UK HTGR Fuel Development Program, and Poland HTGR Research Reactor Basic Design. In addition to these five projects, this article provides an overview of the safety demonstration tests using HTTR.

High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR)

Noguchi, Hiroki; Sato, Hiroyuki; Nishihara, Tetsuo; Sakaba, Nariaki

Kagaku Kogaku, 88(5), p.211 - 214, 2024/05

High temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), one of the next-generation innovative reactors, has an inherent safety and can generate very high-temperature heat which can be used for various heat application including hydrogen production. In Japan, Green Growth Strategy for Carbon Neutrality in 2050 and Basic Policy for the Realization of GX state the promotion of technology development necessary for mass and low-cost carbon-free hydrogen production and development and construction of next-generation innovative reactors including the HTGR for the decarbonization of industrial sectors. Based on these policies, JAEA has been conducted the world's first hydrogen production test using nuclear heat from an HTGR, in addition to verifying the excellent safety features of HTGR, and has also started to study the construction of an HTGR demonstration reactor in cooperation with the industrial community. This paper shows the current status of R&D of HTGR in Japan.

The Impact of dose rate on responses of human lens epithelial cells to ionizing irradiation

Matsuya, Yusuke; Sato, Tatsuhiko; Yachi, Yoshie*; Date, Hiroyuki*; Hamada, Nobuyuki*

Scientific Reports (Internet), 14, p.12160_1 - 12160_14, 2024/05

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-62679-8

Understand mechanisms of radiation cataracts that are of concern in the field of radiation protection and radiation therapy. However, biological effects in HLEC following protracted exposure have not yet fully been explored. Here, we investigated the temporal kinetics of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and cell survival of HLEC after exposure to photon beams at various dose rates, compared to those of human lung fibroblasts (WI-38). In parallel, we quantified the recovery for DSB and cell survival using a biophysical model. The study revealed that HLEC cells have a lower repair rate than WI-38 cells. There is no significant impact of dose rate on cell survival in both cell lines in the dose-rate range of 0.033-1.82 Gy/min. On the other hand, the experimental residual DSBs showed inverse dose rate effects (IDREs) compared to the model prediction, highlighting the importance of the IDREs in evaluating radiation effects on the ocular lens.

Beam separation experiment with prototype non-destructive electrostatic septum and study for device improvement

Nagayama, Shota; Harada, Hiroyuki; Shimogawa, Tetsushi*; Sato, Atsushi*; Yamada, Ippei; Chimura, Motoki; Kojima, Kunihiro; Yamamoto, Kazami; Kinsho, Michikazu

Proceedings of 20th Annual Meeting of Particle Accelerator Society of Japan (Internet), p.526 - 530, 2023/11

https://www.pasj.jp/web_publish/pasj2023/proceedings/PDF/WEP1/WEP19.pdf

We have been developing "Non-destructive electrostatic septum" for a slow extraction. This septum has multiple electrodes placed around the region without the beam hitting and separate the beam by its electric field. To evaluate its electric field, we have built a prototype septum and a test machine, which consists of an electron gun and monitors. This test machine can measure the electric field indirectly by using a narrow electron beam. The experiment results of prototype septum is good agreement with the calculation one. However, this electric field distribution is not enough to separate the beam. A step function-like electric field distribution is ideal for the beam separation with minimal negative effect on the beam. We have studied to improve the electrode configuration to match the beam shape. In this paper, we present the result of the electric field measurements and the septum improvement. Additionally, we describe the future plan of this development.

Update of Bragg edge analysis software "GUI-RITS"

Oikawa, Kenichi; Sato, Hirotaka*; Watanabe, Kenichi*; Su, Y. H.; Shinohara, Takenao; Kai, Tetsuya; Kiyanagi, Yoshiaki*; Hasemi, Hiroyuki

Journal of Physics; Conference Series, 2605, p.012013_1 - 012013_6, 2023/10

https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2605/1/012013

Numerical simulation method using a Cartesian grid for oxidation of core materials under steam-starved conditions

Yamashita, Susumu; Sato, Takumi; Nagae, Yuji; Kurata, Masaki; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 60(9), p.1029 - 1045, 2023/09

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2162996

Temperature-variable apparatus for measuring Barnett field

Umeda, Maki; Chudo, Hiroyuki; Imai, Masaki; Sato, Nana; Saito, Eiji

Review of Scientific Instruments, 94(6), p.063906_1 - 063906_8, 2023/06

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0142318

Validation of evaluation model for analysis of steam reformer in HTGR hydrogen production plant

Ishii, Katsunori; Aoki, Takeshi; Isaka, Kazuyoshi; Noguchi, Hiroki; Shimizu, Atsushi; Sato, Hiroyuki

Proceedings of 30th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE30) (Internet), 9 Pages, 2023/05

Development of safety design philosophy of HTTR-Heat Application Test Facility

Aoki, Takeshi; Shimizu, Atsushi; Noguchi, Hiroki; Kurahayashi, Kaoru; Yasuda, Takanori; Nomoto, Yasunobu; Iigaki, Kazuhiko; Sato, Hiroyuki; Sakaba, Nariaki

Proceedings of 30th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE30) (Internet), 9 Pages, 2023/05

The safety design philosophy is developed for the HTTR (High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor) heat application test facility connecting high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) and the hydrogen production plant. The philosophy was proposed to apply proven conventional chemical plant standards to the hydrogen production facility for ensuring public safety against anticipated disasters caused by high pressure and combustible gases. The present study also proposed the safety design philosophy to meet specific safety requirements identified to the nuclear facilities with coupling to the hydrogen production facility such as measures to ensure a capability of normal operation of the nuclear facility against a fire and/or explosion of leaked combustible material, and fluctuation of amount of heat removal occurred in the hydrogen production plant. The safety design philosophy will be utilized to establish its basic and detailed designs of the HTTR-heat application test facility.

Development of HCl-free solid phase extraction combined with ICP-MS/MS for rapid assessment of difficult-to-measure radionuclides, 2; Highly sensitive monitoring of Sn in concrete rubble

Do, V. K.; Furuse, Takahiro; Ota, Yuki; Iwahashi, Hiroyuki; Hirosawa, Takashi; Watanabe, Masahisa; Sato, Soichi

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 331(12), p.5631 - 5640, 2022/12

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-022-08612-7

Sn is one of the long-lived fission products that might have been released into the environment after the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan in 2011. The presence of radionuclides must be monitored for the proper treatment of wastes obtained from decommissioning accident-related nuclear facilities and the surrounding environment. In the work, we propose a reliable method for verifying the presence of Sn in construction materials by combining the HCl-free solid phase extraction on TEVA resin and a selective measurement by inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS). The method has been optimized and characterized step by step. More than 95% of chemical recovery was achieved for Sn from typical concrete matrixes. The interference caused by an isobar Te and possible polyatomic interferences from matrixes were effectively suppressed by the developed chemical separation and the tandem MS/MS configuration. The total decontamination factor for the Te interference was of the order of 10. The estimated method detection limit for Sn in concrete as measured at m/z = 160 was 12.1 pg g, which is equivalent to 6.1 mBq g.