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FBR-600 India's Next-Gen Commercial fast Breeder Reactor (CFBR)

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FBR-600 - INDIA'S NEXT-GEN COMMERCIAL FAST BREEDER REACTOR (CFBR)

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Left - Reactor Vessel for Commercial Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), L&T delivered the main vessel and safety vessel with highest accuracy level, manufactured from Stainless Steel at Kalpakkam for India’s First commercial FBR on schedule - Right - Another noteworthy achievement is that L&T has manufactured Tokamak Reactor Vessel for the fusion reactor ADITYA, the first indigenously designed and built Tokamak


FBR requires highly sophisticated and extensive analytical capabilities in core physics, radiation shielding, thermal-hydraulics, structural mechanics and safety. Such capabilities have been developed at IGCAR during the last decade

It will signal India’s entry into the next stage of its Nuclear Power program. Though the piece is rather technical in nature it will however make us understand the stupendous strides our nuclear scientists are achieving in this niche area, well, they are not just making nuke bombs for our protection, but they are also working hard ensuring our energy security.



INTRODUCTION

As a part of development of FBR in India, a 40 MWt Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) was commissioned in Oct 1985. Though the design of FBTR was partly obtained from France, the construction was essentially an indigenous effort - the fuel, the sodium coolant and the components. Experience with unique new carbide fuel and sodium systems including steam generator has been very good. Design of 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) has been undertaken at IGCAR as next logical step towards commercial deployment of FBR. PFBR is the forerunner of a series of reactors that are to follow.

Times of India reported in April 2015 that India is set to begin commercial operations of Stage-II Nuclear Program by commissioning a 500-Mw plutonium-based prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR) atKalpakkam in Tamil Nadu.

“We are constructing a reactor, prototype fast breeder reactor, 500-Mw, at Kalpakkam, and this is expected to become operational somewhere this year," SK Malhotra, head of public awareness division, department of Atomic Energy (DAE), told mediapersons at the Nuclear Fuel Complex facility.

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The reactor assembly consists of core, grid plate, Core Support Structure (CSS), main vessel, safety vessel, inner vessel, top shields and absorber rod drive mechanisms. The core is homogeneous with two enrichment zones having radial and axial blankets. The target burn-up is 100 GWd/t with a maximum linear power of 450 W/cm. Adequate diversity and redundancy for reactor shut down are provided in the form of two independent, fast acting, diverse shutdown systems. The Sub Assemblies (SA) are supported on a Grid Plate (GP). The GP forms the inlet plenum for distributing coolant flow from the pumps to the core. It is supported on Core Support Structure (CSS).


The CSS is a box type orthogonally stiffened structure designed for effective use of structural material to withstand various loads. It also supports the in-vessel transfer post through which SA are handled. The CSS is supported on the main vessel, which is closed at the top by top shields and serves as boundary against release of radioactivity under operating and accident conditions. It holds 1150 t of primary sodium, blanketed by argon cover gas. Its shape is designed to enhance the buckling resistance and is suspended by a cylindrical shell supported on the reactor vault. To minimize thermal aging and creep, it is cooled by sodium.


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A safety vessel surrounds the main vessel with a nominal gap of 300 mm. This gap permits in-service inspection of the vessels and ensures that the sodium level in the hot pool does not fall below Intermediate Heat Exchanger (IHX) inlet windows, in the unlikely event of main vessel leak. The SS thermal insulation fixed on its outer surface reduces heat flux to the reactor vault. The safety vessel is supported on reactor vault. Inner vessel separates the sodium in the hot and cold pools and is supported on the grid plate. The shape of the inner vessel is arrived at based on thermal- hydraulic and structural considerations. Top shield consists of roof slab, Large Rotatable Plug (LRP), Small Rotatable Plug (SRP) and Control Plug (CP). It provides biological and thermal shielding in the upper axial direction of the reactor. The roof slab supports the LRP, PSP, IHX and heat exchangers of decay heat removal system. The roof slab, LRP and SRP are of box type structures made of 30 mm thick carbon steel plates. Concrete of density 3,000 kg/m3 is used as the shielding material. Air is used for cooling and inflatable seals are used for sealing. CP provides support for the Absorber Rod Drive Mechanisms (ARDM), core outlet temperature monitoring thermocouple tubes (210 nos.) and failed fuel location modules.


Heat Transport System

The heat transport system consists of primary sodium circuit, secondary sodium circuit and steam-water system. From the considerations of reduced capital cost, construction schedule and outage time due to failure of components, a 2 loop arrangement is adopted for the secondary sodium circuit together with 2 Primary Sodium Pumps (PSP) for the primary sodium circuit. There are 2 Intermediate Heat Exchangers (IHXs), 1 secondary sodium pump and 4 Steam Generators (SG) per loop. The 2 IHX/PSP is selected based on the existing pool type reactor.

Instrumentation and Control


Neutron flux is monitored by fission chambers located in hot sodium above the core. SA outlet sodium temperatures are monitored to detect SA fault events (e.g. under cooling). Failed fuel detection is done by monitoring cover gas fission product activity and delayed neutrons in the primary coolant. Provision is made for continuous monitoring of SG tube integrity by detection of hydrogen in sodium, hydrogen in argon of the surge tank, argon pressure of surge tank etc. For detection of sodium leaks, wire type leak detectors, spark plug leak detectors, sodium ionization detectors and mutual inductance type level probes are provided. Reactor is tripped by dropping the absorber rods once safety parameters such as neutron flux, temperatures, flows cross their threshold values. The power is regulated manually.

Safety

FBR systems are designed with the defence-in-depth approach having redundancy, diversity and independence. The safety measures provided are two diverse reactor shutdown systems, two decay heat removal systems, a core catcher and RCB. Control and safety rod system is used for reactivity compensation, power control and shutdown, while diverse safety rod system is used only for shutdown. Generally, the decay heat is removed by normal heat transport path through SG.

Development of Manufacturing Technology

Several indigenous materials development programmes have been initiated. For example, development of D9 material has been completed and sample clad tubes have been manufactured successfully. The developmental activities for 20% CW D9 material and fuel SA fabrication are in progress. Development regarding manufacture of 8m long 316 LN tubes for IHX has been completed and 23m long SG tubes of 9Cr-1Mo have been manufactured. Manufacturing technology development program for key components was initiated with the participation of Indian industries. The prototype control and safety rod drive mechanism, diverse safety rod drive mechanism, transfer arm and inclined fuel transfer machine, full sized sectors of components like main vessel, inner vessel, roof slab have been manufactured. Providing infrastructure requirements for the site such as site assembly shop, construction office, levelling, roads are being started.

Present Status of PFBR

The Hindu reported in July 2015 that the 500-MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam, near here, is getting ready to be commissioned in September 2015. When the reactor goes critical, it will signal India’s triumphant entry into the second stage of its three-stage nuclear power program.

The PFBR will use plutonium-uranium oxide as fuel and 1,750 tonnes of liquid sodium as coolant. It is called a breeder reactor because it breeds more fuel than it consumes. “We are committed to making the PFBR attain criticality in September,” said P. Chellapandi, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharatiya Nabikhiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI), a public sector undertaking of the Department of Atomic Energy, tasked with building breeder reactors.

The PFBR construction had been completed and equipment energised. “We are awaiting clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for sodium charging, fuel loading, reactor criticality and then stepping up power generation,” Dr. Chellapandi said.

The AERB had sent several safety committees to the PFBR for inspection of design compliance and component specifications. Dr. Chellapandi said: “We have kept the sodium frozen in 10 big tanks.

“All heat transport systems, comprising the pipelines, the heat exchanger components and tanks, have been filled with pure argon to avoid any chemical reaction with sodium and oxygen. We have to melt the sodium and pump it into the reactor circuits.”
After the sodium charging, engineers will perform thermal hydraulics experiments to check the functioning of the pumps and the heat exchanger.

Later, the AERB will give clearance for loading the fuel. In the first stage of the nuclear power programme, a fleet of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors, running on natural uranium, had been built. In the second stage, a series of breeder reactors will come up.
Reactors running on thorium will form the third stage.
 
We need to scale up PFBRs to 1000MW range in order to bring down per unit electricity costs! These 1000MW reactors can then be exported to foreign countries- NPCIL already offers medium ranged reactors of 550-700MW PHWR design,however sadly they havent been able to sell their reactors.
 
@Genghis khan1 hey mate, what were you saying about India's inferior russian technology last day?
Too early to brag about, Bought from France in 1985 and Indian is still taking baby steps. Quite evident either French or someone else has helped India after US-India's Nuclear deal, otherwise it doesn't take 30 years to build a prototype.
 
Too early to brag about, Bought from France in 1985 and Indian is still taking baby steps. Quite evident either French or someone else has helped India after US-India's Nuclear deal, otherwise it doesn't take 30 years to build a prototype.

The construction works only started in 2004!!Where are you getting your facts m8??
 
Too early to brag about, Bought from France in 1985 and Indian is still taking baby steps. Quite evident either French or someone else has helped India after US-India's Nuclear deal, otherwise it doesn't take 30 years to build a prototype.
Busy its the other way around..... As nobody is helping hence the 30 years of painful development..... Otherwise it would have been same as Pak missile or nuclear program... Very fast and without any failures..
 
The construction works only started in 2004!!Where are you getting your facts m8??
Busy its the other way around..... As nobody is helping hence the 30 years of painful development..... Otherwise it would have been same as Pak missile or nuclear program... Very fast and without any failures..
Reread my reply. I already answered you both, if you think critically.
 
We need to scale up PFBRs to 1000MW range in order to bring down per unit electricity costs! These 1000MW reactors can then be exported to foreign countries- NPCIL already offers medium ranged reactors of 550-700MW PHWR design,however sadly they havent been able to sell their reactors.

What is the progress of 900MWe LWR ?? It was a scaled up variant of 83MWt Arihant reactor .
 
Too early to brag about, Bought from France in 1985 and Indian is still taking baby steps. Quite evident either French or someone else has helped India after US-India's Nuclear deal, otherwise it doesn't take 30 years to build a prototype.

Utter BS.Not many countries have such large FBRs

BTW,India has already achieved self-reliance in PHWRs.Inferior technology ?
 
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