COMPLEX OF EXPERIMENTAL FACILITIES FOR DESIGN AND SAFETY JUSTIFICATION OF FAST REACTORS WITH LIQUID METAL COOLANTS

Abstract

To substantiate the safety and characteristics of fast reactors with liquid metal coolants, a complex of more than 20 stands of various profiles and purposes, well equipped with modern measuring instruments, including hydrodynamic, thermohydraulic and technological stands, has been created at SSC RF - IPPE. In addition, JSC “SSC RF - IPPE” has a complex of fast physical stands, including two critical stands - BFS-1 and the world's largest physical stand BFS-2. The article presents the characteristics and the possibility of stands designed for research in the field of hydrodynamics, heat transfer and coolant technology in support of design solutions, safety improvement and testing of equipment elements and assemblies of operating and planned installations with fast reactors with sodium, lead and lead-bismuth coolants, as well as for accelerator-controlled systems and thermonuclear fusion, low-power nuclear power plants for space: - Hydrodynamic stands - “SGDI” (air), “V-2” (air), “SGI” (water), “V-200” (water), “GDK” (air). - Thermal-hydraulic liquid metal stands - “6B” (Na, Na-K), “AR-1” (Na, Na-K), “Pluton” (Na), “SPRUT” (Na, Na-K, Pb, Pb-Bi, water). - Technological liquid metal stands - “Protva-1” (Na), “Protva-2” (Na), “PUSHM” (Na), “Armatura” (Na), “IK-MT” (Na), “SID” (Na), “BTS” (Na), “TT-1M” (Pb), “TT-2M” (Pb-Bi), “LIS-M” (Li). A large-scale sodium test stands “SAZ” is under construction, which allows testing full-scale prototypes of equipment and its elements to substantiate existing and future projects of fast sodium reactors. The BFS complex of physical stands is the world's only experimental tool for full-scale modeling of the cores of nuclear reactors of various types (of any composition, geometry and configuration). The materials and construction of the stands allow simulating the core, breeding zones, reflectors and in-core shielding, as well as elements of fuel cycles and storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. Reactor materials of the stands (metallic plutonium, oxide and metallic highly enriched uranium with enrichment of 36% and 90% in uranium-235, hundreds of tons of fertile materials, construction materials, various coolants) make it possible to assemble both complex full-scale models of fast reactors, and benchmarks, experiments for which are carried out to correct neutron-physical constants and improve computational methods.