GLOBAL NUCLEAR |
New ideas for new reactors
U.K. Government funds research into materials science and digital design techniques
at its Birchwood Park research and development facility in the U.K. Based on breakthrough science, Moltex Energy’s Stable
Salt Reactor is designed to generate low cost electricity by burning processed spent fuel pellets which would otherwise have to be stored as radioactive waste. Jacobs’ chemistry, materials, engineering, instrumentation and modeling teams are creating a technically complex simulation to replicate the heat output of a fuel channel and to validate computational fluid dynamics modeling of the thermal transfer across the fuel assemblies into the coolant. As part of its support for advanced modular reactor
Above: Impression of a Moltex Energy power plant Image courtesy of Moltex Energy
IN THE TEN POINT PLAN for a Green Industrial Revolution, the U.K. Government announced the creation of a $500 million (£385 million) Advanced Nuclear Fund to back the development of small modular reactors (SMRs) and advanced modular reactors (AMRs). Jacobs is deeply involved in pioneering work on
technologies relating to both. On SMRs, as part of a U.K. consortium led by Rolls-Royce, it is playing a lead role in electrical control and instrumentation, and materials and chemistry. It is also supporting technical aspects of reactor island, safety and regulation, and program management as well as cross-cutting activities such as digital implementation and validation and verification. The power station will be a compact design, with
components manufactured in sections in regional U.K. factories before being transported to existing nuclear sites for rapid assembly inside a weatherproof canopy. This accelerates construction, cuts costs and secures gradual efficiency savings by streamlining and standardizing component production. Jacobs’ specialists have a deep understanding of
reactor design and performance based on their work to support U.K. civil reactor designs and operational support, established over many years, and also for the Royal Navy, whose submarines use a similar pressurized water unit. Jacobs has also established itself as a world leader in many areas of analysis for operational power plants including, for example, stress corrosion cracking, which is an important issue for light water reactors. Developers of new reactors rely on the knowledge and
experience of the people who work in Jacobs’ nuclear laboratories, the largest of their kind in the U.K.. Many of them also use Jacobs’ ANSWERS codes, a suite of radiation transport modeling software for reactor physics, radiation shielding, dosimetry, and nuclear criticality. For Moltex Energy’s Stable Salt Reactor, a new design
capable of burning spent nuclear fuel, Jacobs has built an experimental facility for thermal transfer testing
projects, the U.K.’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is funding Jacobs’ work on innovative, technology-enabled mechanical testing methods for advanced manufacturing technologies and materials in future reactors. Michael Greenshields, Operations Manager at Jacobs’
Birchwood Park nuclear laboratories, explains: “In this project we are developing test equipment and methods, moving beyond normal practice to more innovative and technology-enabled test methods. If successful this will reduce the cost – for example by allowing one test rig to undertake a number of tests at one time, which previously would have required several rigs.” Jacobs is also leading a consortium from industry and
academia on the U.K. Government-funded Nuclear Virtual Engineering Capability (NVEC) program, whose aim is to develop a new digital collaborative platform working across the supply chain to help reduce costs and improve safety across the nuclear lifecycle. This integrated digital framework will support
future nuclear reactor build from design through to decommissioning, harnessing big data and virtual engineering techniques such as digital twins, as well as promoting harmonization of codes and standards. This should assist collaboration across the U.K. nuclear
manufacturing and materials supply chain, creating greater opportunities for innovation, cost savings, accuracy, safety and reliability.
Ahmed Aslam, Jacobs’ project lead, said: “NVEC
establishes a framework for further development of nuclear power as a carbon free, low-cost energy option, with the collaborative virtual engineering solution providing a platform for future complex design analyses to support new nuclear projects. This is also a key part of the nuclear sector’s contribution to the economic success of the U.K. and it will push the industry to the forefront of cross-sector adoption of digital technologies and digital twins.” ■
To learn more:
mike.lynch1@
jacobs.com | 17
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