Effect of xenon removal rate on load following in high power thermal spectrum Molten-Salt Reactors (MSRs)

Abstract

Load following has traditionally been difficult for nuclear power due to the buildup of fission product poisons (particularly xenon) from lowering reactor power. Molten-salt reactors (MSRs) have the unique potential among nuclear reactor designs to remove gaseous fission product poisons through alternative means. The relationship between fission poison removal rate and the load following characteristics of a generic MSR is investigated in this paper. The simulations presented in this work were performed on the NERTHUS MSR dynamic model; a generic MSR design built in MATLAB-Simulink. The finding of this research is that there are three general behavioral patterns dependent on the poison removal rate being either low, high, or moderate. The results with these varying removal rates and their associated characteristics is presented in this paper.