RELIABLE, COST-EFFICIENT AND CUSTOMER-ORIENTED ADVANCED FUEL POOL COOLING SOLUTIONS AND DESIGN METHODOLOGY

Abstract

A selection of advanced fuel pool cooling solutions, developed over the past years for light water reactor types, are presented and evaluated with respect to their individual applicability to CANDU reactors and Small Modular Reactors. The development aims at safety, reliability and technical and economic efficiency. Different tailor-made, robust and cost-efficient solutions use adapted and re-engineered types of heat exchangers. They cover a variety of requirements and boundary conditions (passive/active, new-builds/retrofit, investment/performance optimized, etc.). Common characteristics are the use of immersed heat exchangers, a modular setup and a specifically developed design thinking concept for development, design, production and implementation. Immersed heat exchangers feature reliable indirect cooling solutions with additional safety barriers and an enhanced robustness, especially in abnormal operation and accident scenarios.

The design thinking concept divides development and potentially implementation and operation into several steps. For each step, economic and technical risks are minimized by tailoring solutions to step-specific requirements. The concept includes balancing of adequate, well-coordinated numerical analyses and experimental tests, with continuous feedback and reassessment. Several successful first-of-a-kind projects have been realized during the past years and several innovations are under development, currently mainly in the scope of economic post-operational and decommissioning activities.