HEART, a specific code for thermal-electrical analysis of heat pipe cooled nuclear reactor

Abstract

Heat pipe cooled reactor (HPR) features high power density, compact structure, long operation life and high reliability, which is an excellent candidate for small nuclear power source for deep space or underwater missions. In this paper, a conceptual Nuclear Silent Thermal-Electrical Reactor (NUSTER) is preliminarily designed, using 109 sodium heat pipes for passive cooling. The thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are employed in the reactor to convert fission heat to electric power. Based on the design, a HEat pipe cooled Advanced Reactor Transient analysis code (HEART) is developed, including point reactor kinetics model, multi-channel model, core heat transfer model, heat pipe model, thermoelectric generator model and coolant model. The models proposed in HEART are preliminarily verified against the design value and experiment data, and the maximum deviation is less than 12.3%. Steady-state performance of the NUSTER are successfully predicted by HEART, and results indicate that the solid-state core has good temperature flattening ability. The surface temperature of the heat pipe is less than 1300 K, and the average temperature drop of the TEG module in central channel is 724.1 K, which can produce an electrical power of 301.94 W. The models developed in HEART can also be applied to other heat pipe cooled reactors, providing valuable experience in design and thermal-hydraulic evaluation of HPRs.