Research status in safety analysis of steam generator tube rupture accident in lead-based fast reactors – A review

Abstract

Apart from the inherent advantages including high thermal efficiency, low operating pressure, stable coolant chemical properties, large heat capacity and easy modularization, Lead-based Fast Reactors (LFRs) are capable of transmuting long-live nuclear wastes while breeding fissile nuclides, therefore it is recognized as one of the most promising Gen-IV reactor concepts. In most existing LFR design schemes, the intermedia loop is not utilized, making the reactor more vulnerable to the risk of Steam Generator Tube Rupture (SGTR) accident. As a result, safety analysis of SGTR accident of LFR has become a major concern over the last decades. In this paper, the key phenomena at different stages of SGTR accident of LFR are categorized, the theoretical and experimental research status are reviewed, and the corresponding countermeasures are suggested. Focused on the four typical development stages of SGTR accident of LFR, namely the pressure wave propagating stage, the multiphase mixture expanding stage, the primary coolant (molten lead) and secondary coolant (usually pressurized water) interacting stage and the steam bubble migration stage, the research methods and recent progress are summarized. Besides, investigations on phenomena like rapid depressurization and two-phase critical flow that simultaneously occur in the secondary side are discussed subsequently. For those issues, the latest research activities, existing problems and future outlooks are demonstrated. This paper could provide useful reference for design and safety analysis issues of LFR SGTR accidents.