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HTR-PM

Coordinates: 36°58′20″N 122°31′44″E / 36.97222°N 122.52889°E / 36.97222; 122.52889
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HTR-PM demonstration plant
Map
CountryPeople's Republic of China
LocationShidao Bay Nuclear Power Plant, Rongcheng, Weihai, Shandong
Coordinates36°58′20″N 122°31′44″E / 36.97222°N 122.52889°E / 36.97222; 122.52889
StatusOperational
Construction began9 December 2012 (2012-12-09)
Commission date20 December 2021
Nuclear power station
Reactor typepebble-bed reactor HTGR
Power generation
Nameplate capacity
  • 210 MW
  • 500 MWth
[edit on Wikidata]

The HTR-PM (Chinese: 球床模块式高温气冷堆核电站) is a Chinese small modular nuclear reactor. It is a high-temperature gas-cooled (HTGR) pebble-bed generation IV reactor evolved from the HTR-10 prototype. The technology is intended to replace coal-fired power plants in China's interior, in line with the country's plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2060.[1]

The first plant, the world's first for this type of reactor, has an electrical output of 210 MW. It began producing power in December 2021 and started commercial operation in late 2023.

Technology

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The HTR-PM is a high-temperature gas-cooled (HTGR) pebble-bed reactor, the world’s first power plant of this kind. It is a generation IV design. The technology is based on the HTR-10 prototype reactor.[2]

The reactor unit has a thermal capacity of 250 MW. Two reactors are connected to a single steam turbine to generate 210 MW of electricity (210 MWe).[2]

HTR-PM uses a helium coolant and a graphite moderator. Each reactor is loaded with more than 400,000 pebbles.

Each pebble is 60 mm in diameter. They have an outer layer of graphite. Each contains some 12,000 four-layer, ceramic-coated fuel particles of uranium (totaling 7 g) enriched to 8.5% uranium-235 dispersed in a graphite matrix.[3]

The reactor core is 3 m in diameter and 11 m in height. Pressure is maintained at 7 MPa. Steam pressure (for heat transfer) is at 13 MPa and temperature at 567 °C (1,053 °F).[3]

Primary reactor elements are manufactured in a factory and transported to the site.[3]

The reactor is inherently safe, even if the primary loop loses power, it will cool passively and will not suffer a meltdown.[4][5] Even if the coolant pipes of the primary loop rupture and detach from the reactor core (damage beyond baseline design), the core does not melt down and will cool itself through natural convection, without releasing radioactive materials.[6]

History

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The demonstration project for the High-Temperature gas-cooled Reactor Pebble-bed Module (HTR-PM) was launched in 2001.[7] Work on the first demonstration power plant, composed of two reactors driving a single steam turbine, began in December 2012 in Shidao Bay Nuclear Power Plant in Shandong province. The pressure vessels of the two reactors were installed in 2016.

A 2018 paper by Rainer Moormann recommended additional safety measures based on experience with the AVR reactor.[8]

The steam generator shell, hot gas duct shell and reactor pressure vessel shell of the first reactor in the project were successfully paired on 28 April 2020, paving the way for the installation of the main helium fan.[9][10]

Cold functional tests were successfully completed between October and November 2020. The air and helium mixture was pressurized to a maximum of 8.9 MPa in the primary coolant loop.[11] Following the cold functional tests, the hot tests were performed in three stages: vacuum dehumidification, heating and dehumidification and hot functional tests. The hot tests began in December 2020.[12] On 12 September 2021, the first of two reactors achieved criticality.[13] On 11 November 2021, reactor two achieved first criticality.[14] On 20 December 2021, reactor one was connected to the state power grid and began producing power.[15] On 9 December 2022, the HTR-PM project demonstrated it had reached "initial full power".[16] Two world-first safety demonstrations were performed, showing that in the event of a total power supply loss, the decay heat inside the reactor would dissipate and cool down naturally without any human intervention or emergency core cooling. The plant entered commercial operation in December 2023.[17] An updated larger power plant, HTR-PM600, is planned with a capacity of 600 MWe using six HTR-PM reactor units.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "China starts up world's first high-temperature gas-cooled reactor". Global Construction Review. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b Zhang, Zuoyi; Dong, Yujie; Li, Fu; Zhang, Zhengming; Wang, Haitao; Huang, Xiaojin; Li, Hong; Liu, Bing; Wu, Xinxin; Wang, Hong; Diao, Xingzhong; Zhang, Haiquan; Wang, Jinhua (March 2016). "The Shandong Shidao Bay 200 MW e High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Pebble-Bed Module (HTR-PM) Demonstration Power Plant: An Engineering and Technological Innovation". Engineering. 2 (1): 112–118. doi:10.1016/J.ENG.2016.01.020.
  3. ^ a b c Wang, Brian (13 December 2023). "China's Pebble Bed Reactor Finally Starts Commercial Operation | NextBigFuture.com". Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  4. ^ "China tests safety of HTR-PM reactor". Nuclear Engineering International. 31 July 2024.
  5. ^ Zhang, Zuoyi; Dong, Yujie; Li, Fu; Huang, Xiaojin; Zheng, Yanhua; Dong, Zhe; Zhang, Han; Chen, Zhipeng; Li, Xiaowei (July 2024). "Loss-of-cooling tests to verify inherent safety feature in the world's first HTR-PM nuclear power plant". Joule. 8 (7): 2146–2159. doi:10.1016/j.joule.2024.06.014.
  6. ^ Zheng, Yanhua; Shi, Lei (September 2010). "HTR-PM两根一回路连接管断裂的进气事故分析" [Air Ingress Analysis for Two Primary Loop Pipes Rupture of HTR-PM]. 原子能科学技术 [Atomic Energy Science and Technology] (in Chinese). 44 (Suppl): 253–257. doi:10.7538/yzk.2010.44.suppl.0253 (inactive 1 November 2024). OCLC 690168966. OSTI 22552020.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  7. ^ "HTR-PM: Making dreams come true". Nuclear Engineering International. 26 February 2019.
  8. ^ Moormann, Rainer; Kemp, R. Scott; Li, Ju (October 2018). "Caution Is Needed in Operating and Managing the Waste of New Pebble-Bed Nuclear Reactors". Joule. 2 (10): 1911–1914. Bibcode:2018Joule...2.1911M. doi:10.1016/j.joule.2018.07.024.
  9. ^ "Key components of second HTR-PM reactor connected : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News". world-nuclear-news.org. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Progress at China's HTR-PM". Nuclear Engineering International. 26 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Cold testing of HTR-PM reactors completed : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News". www.world-nuclear-news.org. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Hot functional testing of HTR-PM reactors starts : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News". World Nuclear News. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  13. ^ "China's HTR-PM reactor achieves first criticality : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News". www.world-nuclear-news.org. 13 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Dual criticality for Chinese demonstration HTR-PM  : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News". www.world-nuclear-news.org.
  15. ^ "Demonstration HTR-PM connected to grid : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News". www.world-nuclear-news.org.
  16. ^ "China's demonstration HTR-PM reaches full power : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News". www.world-nuclear-news.org.
  17. ^ "China's demonstration HTR-PM enters commercial operation : New Nuclear - World Nuclear News". www.world-nuclear-news.org.
  18. ^ "China plans further high temperature reactor innovation". www.world-nuclear-news.org. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
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