Meeting with Senior Management and Leading Specialists of N.A Dollezhal Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering.

On May 27, 2016 a meeting with delegation of the Ministry of Energy of RK headed by E.G Batyrbekov, Director General of RSE NNC RK, senior management and leading specialists of N.A Dollezhal RDIPE was held in Moscow. The issues of perspective scientific-technical cooperation in conducting work on substantiating thermotechnical reliability of fuel elements and fuel assemblies for BREST, BN-1200 type reactors were discussed. The chief designer is RDIPE.

The Parties shared information about main activity directions of JSC “RDIPE” and RSE NNC RK. It was emphasized that JSC “RDIPE” and RSE NNC RK have deep historical roots. The JSC “RDIPE” is being General Constructor of IVG.1, IVG.1M and IGR reactor facilities, one of the developer and executor of space program for development of nuclear rocket engines, testing of its elements were carried out at test bench of Joint Expedition SPA “Luch” that is now owned and operated by RSE NNC RK. JSC “RDIPE” was one of the participants in work on substantiation of thermotechnical reliability of power reactors fuel elements and also experiments on threshold rupture load on reactor fuel. The tests of BN-800 fast reactor fuel (primary sodium) and tests of perspective mononitride (UN) high-density fuel in molten lead medium were highlighted among the work conducted in previous years.

Delegation of the Ministry of Energy of RK informed the senior management of JSC “RDIPE” about the progress of its technical and methodological approaches to conduct research of nuclear reactors fuel due to what the National Nuclear Center of RK received the worldwide recognition as an owner of technologies used to conduct in-pile experiments accompanied by destruction of experimental fuel until its melting. Main motivations, objectives and results of EAGLE, Fukushima Debris, CORMIT, and SAIGA projects were summarized as examples.

The delegation of the ME RK provided information not only about the main directions of activity regarding to substantiation of nuclear power engineering safety (nuclear reactor fuel tests) but also about preliminary operations in implementation of NPP construction project in Kazakhstan.

During discussion of main subject matter at the meeting, the senior management of JSC “RDIPE” expressed its interest in conducting in-pile experiments on detecting threshold rupture load of BREST fast reactors with lead coolant on fuel.

As a result of the meeting, the aide-meme was signed. The Parties agreed to develop a program within one month and based on it, it was decided to sign an agreement between NNC RK and JSC “RDIPE” about cooperation in research of nuclear engineering safety (testing new types of core fuel) using RSE NNC RK experimental base.

For reference. BREST is project of fast reactor with lead coolant, dual circuit heat removal system to turbine and supercritical steam parameters which is now being developed in Russia.

At present, the developers concentrated their efforts on RF BREST-OD-300 (“experimental demonstration” reactor facility) that should test many new constructive decisions. The selected power of 300MWe (electrical) and 700 MWe (thermal) is minimum required to provide core breeding ratio close to 1.

Currently, Rosatom representatives consider BREST as a constituent part of “Proryv” (“Breakthrough”) project integrating projects on development of high power fast reactors; closed fuel cycles technologies and also new types of fuel and materials oriented to achieve new quality of nuclear power”.

BREST project developers plan to develop the “on-site fuel cycle” that should close the cycle of nuclear fuel use, solve the problem of radioactive waste and extremely important international problem of nuclear nonproliferation.

In 2010, the Government of the RF approved the Federal Target Program “Nuclear Power Technologies of the New Generation for the period of 2010-2015 and for 2020 perspective” where it was proclaimed to develop the closed fuel cycle and to implement project of commercial fast reactor. In this regard, the program provides development of projects with fast reactors having lead, sodium and lead-bismuth coolant that will lead to BREST project implementation. However, it should be noted that another innovative project: BN-1200 (with sodium coolant) and SVBR (with lead-bismuth coolant) will participate in the program.

BREST reactor has specific characteristics in fuel element construction. The mononitride composition of uranium-plutonium and minor actinides is used as fuel. The reactor can “burn” up to 80 kg of “own” actinides and actinides obtained from irradiated nuclear fuel from other NPP for one campaign.

According to developers, the combination of natural properties of lead coolant, mononitride fuel, fast reactor physical characteristics, engineering solutions of core and coolant circuit will raise BREST to qualitatively new level of safety and ensure its reliability (nuclear safety) without activating active emergency safety systems in severe accidents.

Mononitride fuel operates at rather low temperatures (the maximum temperature comprises less 1150K at melting temperature of 3100K).This should provide small values of irradiation swelling (approximate 1% per 1% fuel burn out) and release of gas fission products(less 10% of the produced one). Thus, the contact action of fuel on fuel element cladding should be excluded as it is loaded only by the end of the campaign with gas excess pressure less 2 MPa.