Fast Neutron Reactor

Fast Neutron Reactor
Name	Fast Neutron Reactor
Type	Nuclear reactor

Fast Neutron Reactor

Introduction

A Fast Neutron Reactor is a class of nuclear reactor that sustains fission with high-energy neutrons produced by isotopes such as uranium-235, plutonium-239, uranium-238, and thorium-232; notable programs and institutions associated with these systems include Argonne National Laboratory, CEA (France), Rosatom, BN-800, Soviet Union, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Deployments and research have involved projects like Superphénix, Monju, Phénix, EBR-I, and BOR-60, and have intersected policy decisions by entities such as International Atomic Energy Agency, United States Department of Energy, Euratom, and national ministries including Ministry of Atomic Energy (Russia). Technical and political discourse often references figures and institutions like Enrico Fermi, Sergei Korolev (contextual engineering leadership), Hyman G. Rickover, John von Neumann, Leonid Brezhnev, Charles de Gaulle, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and industrial partners such as Westinghouse, GE-Hitachi, and Siemens.

Design and Operation

Fast reactors omit or minimize moderators like heavy water or graphite and typically use coolants such as liquid sodium exemplified by BN-600, lead-bismuth eutectic used in SVBR-100 research, or gas coolants in designs explored by General Atomics. Core designs and engineering draw on work at laboratories including Cadarache, Idaho National Laboratory, Kurchatov Institute, and corporations such as Rosenergoatom and KEPCO. Neutronics and thermal hydraulics modelling references canonical contributors and methods associated with Los Alamos National Laboratory, MIT, Imperial College London, and computational tools developed in collaboration with vendors like Rolls-Royce and Areva. Reactor types include pool-type reactors influenced by designs at BN-series plants, loop-type systems from projects at Phénix, and fast-spectrum microreactors under study by teams at Terrestrial Energy and TerraPower.

Fuel Cycle and Materials

Fast systems enable closed fuel cycles emphasized by programs like Integral Fast Reactor and policies examined by Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission (South Australia); they can breed fissile material from fertile isotopes such as uranium-238 to plutonium-239 or convert thorium-232 to uranium-233. Fuel forms include metal fuels pioneered at EBR-II, mixed oxide fuels used at Superphénix and Phénix, and carbide or nitride fuels developed in collaborations with CEA and JAEA. Materials science challenges invoke irradiation effects studied at facilities like Oak Ridge, ANL, JET, ITER (materials overlap), and research reactors including HFIR and BR2; cladding and structural alloys leverage steels and advanced materials developed by firms such as Outokumpu and institutes like Fraunhofer Society.

Safety and Containment

Safety strategies reference regulatory frameworks and incident histories involving organizations such as Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Ministry of Energy (Russia), French Nuclear Safety Authority, and international guidance from International Atomic Energy Agency. Passive and active safety features are influenced by analysis methods from Sandia National Laboratories, lessons from Three Mile Island, Chernobyl disaster, and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster regulatory responses, and incorporate design elements like negative reactivity feedbacks modeled using codes from Argonne, Los Alamos, and CEA. Containment and emergency planning interface with civil protection agencies including FEMA, Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, and national utilities such as EDF and TVO.

Applications and Advantages

Fast reactors support objectives advanced by research programs at Department of Energy (United States), CEA (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique), Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, and initiatives like Generation IV International Forum: efficient fuel utilization, transmutation of long-lived actinides from spent fuel inventories of reactors such as PWR and BWR, and production of fissile material for strategic reserves used historically by states like France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States. Commercial and military-relevant applications have been pursued by firms and institutions including Kurchatov Institute, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, China National Nuclear Corporation, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for grid-scale power, isotopes for medicine (linked to IAEA programs), and support for national industrial policy agendas involving partners such as Sumitomo and Toshiba.

Challenges and Limitations

Barriers encountered involve economics, licensing, and public acceptance shaped by events and debates around Superphénix, Monju, and policy shifts in Germany and Italy; cost overruns and schedule delays have affected projects from Fast Flux Test Facility to modern initiatives by TerraPower and GE Hitachi. Technical challenges include coolant chemistry management studied at CEA and JAEA, sodium-fire risks informed by incidents logged by PNNL, material embrittlement under fast-spectrum irradiation researched at INL and ANSTO, and proliferation concerns analyzed by IAEA and policy bodies in contexts like NPT and bilateral agreements involving United Kingdom and United States.

History and Development Timeline

Early experimental work occurred at facilities such as EBR-I and EBR-II under programs at Argonne National Laboratory and collaborations with entities like Battelle Memorial Institute and AWE (United Kingdom). The Soviet program produced prototypes including BN-350 and BOR-60 with commercial follow-ups like BN-600 and BN-800 under Rosatom stewardship. Western programs included Superphénix in France, DFR in United Kingdom, Rapsodie in France, and Monju in Japan with research contributions from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and industrial partners such as Westinghouse and Siemens. Contemporary initiatives are coordinated through international frameworks like Generation IV International Forum and involve companies such as TerraPower, GE-Hitachi, EDF, China General Nuclear Power Group, and national research agencies including CEA, JAEA, and KAERI.

Category:Nuclear reactors