Many researchers are investigating the potential of lead-bismuth cooled fast reactors for producing electricity, as well as for the safe transmutation of minor actinides and the nuclear incineration of long-lived fission products.
BelV is a Technical Support Organization to the Belgian Nuclear Regulator, FANC, and has begun a project with the goal to identify and analyze key technical issues in core neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, fuels, and materials associated with the development of a fast nuclear reactor with a lead-bismuth coolant.
The paper presents the results from simulating with the RELAP5-3D code of natural circulation in a generic design of a pool-type nuclear reactor with lead-bismuth eutectic alloy (LBEA) as a primary, and water/steam as a secondary coolant.
The simulation results provide valuable insights in the evolution of key reactor safety-relevant phenomena and support also the qualified use of system analysis codes as RELAP5-3D for the simulation of transients in pool-type reactor systems.
