Stress Analysis and Optimum Design of the Heat Transport System at Molten Salt Reactor

The heat transport system of thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR) consist of the primary and secondary salt loop system, main salt pump system, heat exchanger system and salt drain tanks system. As an innovative reactor, the design temperature can go up to 700°C (1292°F) in TMSR. At first a sufficient flexible system should be considered for the heat transport system to accommodate the movements of the components as they expand under the high temperature. Then pipe supports need to be well designed to transfer the load from piping to the supporting structures. To evaluate the structural integrity, the structural analysis is carried out by using a 3-dimentional structural model. The calculated results provide the theoretical and practical guidance value for the optimum design of pipeline layout in TMSR.