Réacteur nucléaire à eau supercritique

The supercritical water reactor (SCWR) is a concept Generation IV reactor, designed as a light water reactor (LWR) that operates at supercritical pressure (i.e. greater than 22.1 MPa). The term critical in this context refers to the critical point of water, and must not be confused with the concept of criticality of the nuclear reactor. The water heated in the reactor core becomes a supercritical fluid above the critical temperature of 374 °C, transitioning from a fluid more resembling liquid water to a fluid more resembling saturated steam (which can be used in a steam turbine), without going through the distinct phase transition of boiling. In contrast, the well-established pressurized water reactors (PWR) have a primary cooling loop of liquid water at a subcritical pressure, transporting heat from the reactor core to a secondary cooling loop, where the steam for driving the turbines is produced in a boiler (called the steam generator). Boiling water reactors (BWR) operate at even lower pressures, with the boiling process to generate the steam happening in the reactor core. The supercritical steam generator is a proven technology. The development of SCWR systems is considered a promising advancement for nuclear power plants because of its high thermal efficiency (~45 % vs. ~33 % for current LWRs) and simpler design. As of 2012 the concept was being investigated by 32 organizations in 13 countries. The super-heated steam cooled reactors operating at subcritical-pressure were experimented with in both Soviet Union and in the United States as early as the 1950s and 1960s such as Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station, Pathfinder and Bonus of GE's Operation Sunrise program. These are not SCWRs. SCWRs were developed from the 1990s onwards. Both a LWR-type SCWR with a reactor pressure vessel and a CANDU-type SCWR with pressure tubes are being developed. A 2010 book includes conceptual design and analysis methods such as core design, plant system, plant dynamics and control, plant startup and stability, safety, fast reactor design etc.

À propos de ce résultat

Cette page est générée automatiquement et peut contenir des informations qui ne sont pas correctes, complètes, à jour ou pertinentes par rapport à votre recherche. Il en va de même pour toutes les autres pages de ce site. Veillez à vérifier les informations auprès des sources officielles de l'EPFL.

Publications associées (6)

Personnes associées (2)

Concepts associés (19)

Cours associés (6)

Séances de cours associées (107)

PHYS-443: Physics of nuclear reactors

In this course, one acquires an understanding of the basic neutronics interactions occurring in a nuclear fission reactor as well as the conditions for establishing and controlling a nuclear chain rea

ME-464: Introduction to nuclear engineering

This course is intended to understand the engineering design of nuclear power plants using the basic principles of reactor physics, fluid flow and heat transfer. This course includes the following: Re

ChE-340: The engineering of chemical reactions

This course applies concepts from chemical kinetics and mass and energy balances to address chemical reaction engineering problems, with a focus on industrial applications. Students develop the abilit

Generation IV reactor

Generation IV reactors (Gen IV) are nuclear reactor design technologies that are envisioned as successors of generation III reactors. The Generation IV International Forum (GIF) - an international organization that coordinates the development of generation IV reactors - specifically selected six reactor technologies as candidates for generation IV reactors. The designs target improved safety, sustainability, efficiency, and cost.

Liquid metal cooled reactor

A liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor, or LMR is a type of nuclear reactor where the primary coolant is a liquid metal. Liquid metal cooled reactors were first adapted for breeder reactor power generation. They have also been used to power nuclear submarines. Due to their high thermal conductivity, metal coolants remove heat effectively, enabling high power density. This makes them attractive in situations where size and weight are at a premium, like on ships and submarines.

Réacteur nucléaire à eau supercritique

thumb|Schéma d'un réacteur nucléaire à eau supercritique. Le réacteur nucléaire à eau supercritique (RESC) (en anglais, SuperCritical Water Reactor : SCWR) est un concept de réacteur nucléaire avec un caloporteur à base d'eau mais dans un état supercritique. Il est évalué puis retenu dans le cadre du Forum International Génération IV. L'eau permettant le refroidissement du réacteur est dans un état supercritique (à la fois gazeux et liquide), c’est-à-dire à une température supérieure à 374 °C et sous une pression supérieure à 221 bar.

Technologie des réacteurs : variations de réactivité

Explore les variations de réactivité dans la technologie des réacteurs, couvrant les changements à court, moyen et long terme, ainsi que les moyens de contrôle et les coefficients importants.

Sans titre

Débit biphasé et transfert de chaleur: principes fondamentaux

Couvre les bases du flux diphasique et du transfert de chaleur dans diverses applications.

Supported ruthenium nanoparticles for supercritical water gasification - synthesis, activity and stability

Christopher Marc Hunston

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is a promising and versatile technology for the conversion of a variety of wet biomass streams into renewable natural gas. In this work, the focus was set on me

EPFL2021

Extension of the nodal code DYN3D to SFR applications

Evgeny Nikitin

DYN3D is a well-established Light Water Reactor (LWR) simulation tool and is being extended for safety analyses of Sodium cooled Fast Reactors (SFRs) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. This

EPFL2019

The formation and growth of cracks by irradiation assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) in light water reactor internals is a critical issue for a safe long-term operation of nuclear power plants

EPFL2018