High temperature gas-cooled reactors

Takeda, Tetsuaki*; Inagaki, Yoshiyuki; Aihara, Jun; Aoki, Takeshi; Fujiwara, Yusuke; Fukaya, Yuji; Goto, Minoru; Ho, H. Q.; Iigaki, Kazuhiko; Imai, Yoshiyuki; et al.

High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors; JSME Series in Thermal and Nuclear Power Generation, Vol.5, 464 Pages, 2021/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/C2018-0-05383-9

As a general overview of the research and development of a High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) in JAEA, this book describes the achievements by the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) on the designs, key component technologies such as fuel, reactor internals, high temperature components, etc., and operational experience such as rise-to-power tests, high temperature operation at 950C, safety demonstration tests, etc. In addition, based on the knowledge of the HTTR, the development of designs and component technologies such as high performance fuel, helium gas turbine and hydrogen production by IS process for commercial HTGRs are described. These results are very useful for the future development of HTGRs. This book is published as one of a series of technical books on fossil fuel and nuclear energy systems by the Power Energy Systems Division of the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Investigation of countermeasure against local temperature rise in vessel cooling system in loss of core cooling test without nuclear heating

Ono, Masato; Shimizu, Atsushi; Kondo, Makoto; Shimazaki, Yosuke; Shinohara, Masanori; Tochio, Daisuke; Iigaki, Kazuhiko; Nakagawa, Shigeaki; Takada, Shoji; Sawa, Kazuhiro

Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science, 2(4), p.044502_1 - 044502_4, 2016/10

https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4032478

In the loss of forced core cooling test using High Temperature engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), the forced cooling of reactor core is stopped without inserting control rods into the core and cooling by Vessel Cooling System (VCS) to verify safety evaluation codes to investigate the inherent safety of HTGR be secured by natural phenomena to make it possible to design a severe accident free reactor. The VCS passively removes the retained residual heat and the decay heat from the core via the reactor pressure vessel by natural convection and thermal radiation. In the test, the local temperature was supposed to exceed the limit from the viewpoint of long-term use at the uncovered water cooling tube by thermal reflectors in the VCS, although the safety of reactor is kept. Through a cold test, which was carried out by non-nuclear heat input from gas circulators with stopping water flow in the VCS, the local higher temperature position was specified although the temperature was sufficiently lower than the maximum allowable working temperature, and natural circulation of water had insufficient cooling effect on the temperature of water cooling tube below 1C. Then, a new safe and secured procedure for the loss of forced core cooling test was established, which will be carried out soon after the restart of HTTR.

In-vessel tritium

Ueda, Yoshio*; Oya, Kaoru*; Ashikawa, Naoko*; Ito, Atsushi*; Ono, Tadayoshi*; Kato, Daiji*; Kawashima, Hisato; Kawamura, Gakushi*; Kenmotsu, Takahiro*; Saito, Seiki*; et al.

Purazuma, Kaku Yugo Gakkai-Shi, 88(9), p.484 - 502, 2012/09

http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110009518478

no abstracts in English

Evaluation of uncertainties originating from the different modeling approaches applied to analyze regional groundwater flow in the Tono area of Japan

Ijiri, Yuji*; Saegusa, Hiromitsu; Sawada, Atsushi; Ono, Makoto*; Watanabe, Kunio*; Karasaki, Kenji*; Doughty, C.*; Shimo, Michito*; Fumimura, Kenichi*

Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, 103(3-4), p.168 - 181, 2009/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2008.10.010

Qualitative evaluation of the effects of uncertainties originating from scenario development, conceptual models, and parameter values is an important subject in the area of safety assessment for high-level nuclear waste disposal. In this study, regional-scale groundwater flow analyses for the Tono area, Japan were conducted using three continuous models which were designed to handle heterogeneous porous media. We evaluated the simulation results to quantitatively analyze uncertainties originating from conceptual models. We found that uncertainties originating from conceptual models (1) greatly depend on boundary conditions and hydrological structures to be modeled, which are assigned by modelers, and (2) are larger than uncertainties originating from the variance in realizations of the Monte Carlo method in stochastic modeling.

Tokamak and spherical tokamak research in Japan

Takase, Yuichi*; Kikuchi, Mitsuru; Maekawa, Takashi*; Matsukawa, Makoto; Nagata, Masayoshi*; Nishio, Satoshi; Ono, Yasushi*; Sato, Konosuke*; Tobita, Kenji

Fusion Science and Technology, 51(2T), p.46 - 51, 2007/02

https://doi.org/10.13182/FST07-A1311

Japanese tokamak and spherical tokamak (ST) research programs are described. Tokamak research will focus on steady state high( = 3.5-5.5) research on JT-60SA (formerly NCT) in support of ITER and DEMO. JT-60SA will also serve as the Satellite Tokamak under the JA-EU Broader Approach framework. ST research has been reorganized as the All-Japan ST Research Program, aiming for creative and innovative research focused on ultra-high and ultra-long pulse regimes. Results of plasma start-up, RF heating, and plasma merging reconnection experiments are summarized. Prospects of contribution of low aspect ratio tokamaks to fusion energy development, are presented.

R&D on safeguards environmental sample analysis at JAERI

Sakurai, Satoshi; Magara, Masaaki; Usuda, Shigekazu; Watanabe, Kazuo; Esaka, Fumitaka; Hirayama, Fumio; Lee, C. G.; Yasuda, Kenichiro; Kono, Nobuaki; Inagawa, Jun; et al.

Proceedings of International Conference on Nuclear Energy System for Future Generation and Global Sustainability (GLOBAL 2005) (CD-ROM), 6 Pages, 2005/10

no abstracts in English

Positron lifetime measurement on centrifuged BiPb intermetallic compound

Ono, Masao; Huang, X. S.*; Shibata, Yasuhiro*; Iguchi, Yusuke*; Sakai, Seiji; Maekawa, Masaki; Chen, Z. Q.*; Osakabe, Toyotaka; Kawasuso, Atsuo; Naramoto, Hiroshi*; et al.

Proceedings of 1st International Conference on Diffusion in Solids and Liquids (DSL 2005), p.531 - 533, 2005/07

Recently, we formed atomic-scale graded structures in some miscible alloys and observed the decomposition in BiPb intermetallic compound by sedimentation of atoms under strong gravitational field. In this study, we measured positron lifetime of centrifuged BiPb, to which the composition change was very small as it was treated at low temperature. It was found that the positron lifetime became longer than that of starting state. This indicated that the point defects (vacancy or divacancy) increased in the sample by centrifugal treatment. We are now investigating the relationship between increase in point defects and sedimentation of atoms.

Modeling study on geological environment at Horonobe URL site

Shimo, Michito*; Yamamoto, Hajime*; Kumamoto, So*; Fujiwara, Yasushi*; Ono, Makoto*

JNC TJ5400 2004-004, 120 Pages, 2005/02

JNC-TJ5400-2004-004.pdf:78.08MB
JNC-TJ5400-2004-004(errata).pdf:0.08MB

The Horonobe underground research project has been carried out by Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute to study the geological environment of sedimentary rocks in deep underground. The objectives of this study are to develop a geological environment model, which incorporate current findings and latest data obtained through the geological, geophysical, and borehole investigations at Horonobe site, and to predict the hydrological and geochemical impacts caused by the URL shaft excavation to the surrounding area.

Current status and newly introduced analytical techniques for safeguards environmental samples at JAERI

Magara, Masaaki; Usuda, Shigekazu; Sakurai, Satoshi; Watanabe, Kazuo; Esaka, Fumitaka; Hirayama, Fumio; Lee, C. G.; Yasuda, Kenichiro; Kono, Nobuaki; Inagawa, Jun; et al.

Proceedings of INMM 46th Annual Meeting (CD-ROM), 8 Pages, 2005/00

JAERI has been developing analytical techniques for ultra-trace amounts of nuclear materials in the environmental samples in order to contribute to the strengthened safeguards system. Development of essential techniques for bulk and particle analysis of the environmental swipe sample has been established as an ultra-trace analytical method of uranium and plutonium. In January 2003, JAERI was qualified as a member of the IAEA network analytical laboratories for environmental samples. Since then, JAERI has conducted the analysis of domestic and the IAEA samples. From Japanese fiscal year 2003, the second phase of the project was started for the development of advanced techniques, such as analyzing minor actinides and fission products as well as uranium and plutonium, particle analysis using fission-track technique, more efficient particle analysis using ICP-TOFMS and screening by X-ray fluorescent analysis. This paper deals with the progress in the development of the new techniques, applications and future perspective.

Stability of magnesite and its high-pressure form in the lowermost mantle

Isshiki, Maiko*; Irifune, Tetsuo*; Hirose, Kei*; Ono, Shigeaki*; Oishi, Yasuo*; Watanuki, Tetsu; Nishibori, Eiji*; Takata, Masaki*; Sakata, Makoto*

Nature, 427(6969), p.60 - 63, 2004/01

https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02181

no abstracts in English