Abstract
This paper mainly focusses on a new dual protection control scheme based on the control annulus and movable radial reflector for a 10kWth space heat pipe reactor. Through the radial reflector, reactive coarse adjustment can be achieved, while reactive fine adjustment can be achieved through B4C control annulus. Both control schemes allow for independent control. Firstly, the steady-state neutron analysis method is conducted to evaluate the critical safety performance of different core control schemes when the reactor falls into sand or water. The first control scheme uses a movable radial reflector, which can still enable the reactor to maintain a keff below 0.85 when the reactor is soaked into the sand or water. The second control scheme uses an independent B4C control annulus, which enables the reactor to maintain a keff below 0.95 when the reactor is soaked into the sand or water. Through the dual protection control scheme, it can ensure the critical safety for the reactor when the launch or drop accident occurs. Moreover, a transient neutronics analysis is conducted to evaluate the operating characteristics and transient neutronics performance for the reactor. The results showed that compared to the control scheme of Kilopower, when the positive reactivity is introduced, the transient neutron dynamics parameters of this dual protection control scheme are superior to that of Kilopower. And it showed that the dual protection control scheme provides an improved control design for the further design and optimization of control scheme for the space reactors.
Published Version
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