Operation, test, research and development of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) (FY2018)

Department of HTTR

JAEA-Review 2019-049, 97 Pages, 2020/03

JAEA-Review-2019-049.pdf:4.66MB

The High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), a graphite-moderated and helium gas-cooled reactor being able to get 950C temperature of the outlet coolant with 30 MW of thermal power, constructed at the Oarai Research and Development Institute of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency is the first High- Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) in Japan. The purpose of the HTTR is to establish and upgrade basic technologies for HTGRs. The HTTR has accumulated a lot of experience of HTGRs' operation and maintenance up to the present time throughout rated power operations, safety demonstration tests, long-term high temperature operations and demonstration tests relevant to HTGRs' R&Ds. In the fiscal year 2018, we made effort to pass the inspection of application document for the HTTR licensing to prove conformity with the new regulatory requirements for research reactors that took effect since December 2013 in order to restart operations of the HTTR that stopped since the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake. This report summarizes the activities carried out in the 2018 fiscal year, which were the situation of the new regulatory requirements screening of the HTTR, the operation and maintenance of the HTTR, R&Ds relevant to commercial-scale HTGRs, the international cooperation on HTGRs and so on.

Current status toward the reoperation of JMTR

Kaminaga, Masanori; Kusunoki, Tsuyoshi; Araki, Masanori

no journal, , 

The Japan Materials Testing Reactor (JMTR) is a light water cooled and moderated tank type research reactor with 50MW thermal power. From its first criticality in March 1968, the JMTR has been utilized for the fuel/material irradiation examinations of the LWRs, the HTGR and nuclear fusion research as well as for the RI productions. The JMTR operation was once stopped in order to have a check & review in August 2006, and the refurbishment and restart of the JMTR was finally determined after the national discussion. The refurbishment was started from JFY 2007, and was finished in March 2011. However, at the end of the JFY 2010, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, and the functional tests before the JMTR restart were delayed. On the other hand, based on the safety assessments considering the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, new regulatory requirements for research and test reactors have been established on Dec.18, 2013 by the NRA (Nuclear Regulation Authority). The new regulatory requirements include the satisfaction of integrities for the updated earthquake forces, Tsunami, the consideration of natural phenomena, the provision of manuals for full evacuation, and the management of consideration in the Beyond Design Basis Accidents to protect fuel damage and to mitigate impact of the accidents. Above analyses have intensively been performed, and an application to the NRA was submitted on March 27, 2015. In this presentation, the recent activities for the new regulatory requirements and a training course for foreign young researchers and engineers are introduced.