PROBLEMS OF ATOMIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Series: Nuclear and Reactor Constants

since 1971

Русский (РФ)

ISSN 2414-1038 (online)

BROND-3.1

ISSUES

2024 Issue 3

HEAT PIPES IN MODERN NUCLEAR ENERGY

HEAT PIPES IN MODERN NUCLEAR ENERGY

EDN: CKTWLK

Authors & Affiliations

Vereshchagina T.N., Loginov N.I.
A.I. Leypunsky Institute of Physics and Power Engineering, Obninsk, Russia

Vereshchagina T.N. – Chief Researcher, Dr. Sci. (Tech.). Contacts: 1, pl. Bondarenko, Obninsk, Kaluga region, Russia, 249033. Tel.: +7 (484) 399-83-60; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Loginov N.I. – Chief Researcher, Dr. Sci. (Tech.).

Abstract

In connection with climate change, today there is a tendency for the world energy sector to transition to carbon-free technologies, including nuclear. Of particular concern is the huge number of diesel and coal-fired stations in settlements remote from centralized energy supplies, including in the most environmentally vulnerable Arctic region. Most of these facilities require powers of the order of 100 MW or less, so in developed countries projects small modular reactors (SMRs) are being actively developed. However, with a decrease in power, the unit cost of the station and its maintenance increases, and accordingly, the price of electricity increases. To make SMR economically acceptable, it is necessary to reduce the specific mass-dimensional characteristics and energy costs for own needs. This requires fundamentally new technical solutions. One such solution is heat pipe reactors Heat pipe operation removes the need for coolant pumps in the primary system. The growing interest in the use of heat pipes in nuclear energy is demonstrated by the fact that over the past five years the number of scientific and technical publications in this area has tripled, and the number of patent documents has doubled.
The purpose of the article is to show the place and role of heat pipes in modern nuclear energy. The work provides an overview of scientific, technical and patent publications for 2019–2023, showing the advantages of using heat pipes. Fundamentally new technical solutions that have appeared in recent years in the field of nuclear microreactors with heat pipes are presented. Examples of projects under development and test results of the world's first heat-pipe nuclear microreactor are given.

Keywords
nuclear power plant, small modular reactors, microreactors, heat pipes, heat pipe reactor, patent search, publications, technical solutions 

Article Text (PDF, in Russian)

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Problems of Atomic Science and Technology. Series: Nuclear and Reactor Constants, 2024, no. 3, 3:16