Black technology starts from the steel suit

Chapter 239 239 Strong electricity unification?

It does not need to be controlled artificially, it can be automatically controlled by the internal substances, and these nuclear materials are made into small particles, so that there will be no serious problems such as ultra-high temperature or material leakage before remediation, which will prevent A major nuclear power plant accident occurred.

The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor has been optimized from the fuel to the reactor structure. It has also been verified that its safety exceeds that of other reactors through safety tests under various extreme conditions.

The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor has the characteristics of good safety and high outlet temperature, and is recognized by the international nuclear energy community as one of the advanced reactor types with the most development potential.

As the first country in the world to use high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology to build a 20-kilowatt fourth-generation nuclear power plant, in order to maintain my country's leading position in the field of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology and applications, high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology will continue to innovate in the future. and improvements.

According to reports, my country has completed the scheme design of the improved version of the 60-kilowatt high-temperature gas-cooled reactor project, and the technology research and development is expected to be completed in 2023.

Of course, there are not without problems, such as the problem of low power, low economy, certain problems in engineering design, etc.

Of course, the most important thing is that it is only an experimental reactor at present, that is to say, it does not have the ability to multiply. In fact, the fourth-generation reactors developed by countries around the world are all known for their safety.

As for the multiplication ratio that can exceed 1, basically none of them.

To a certain extent, fourth-generation reactors, like controllable nuclear fusion, are far-off projects and will always be in the next few decades.

"So, you always plan to let me lead this project?" Wang Feng asked after reading the materials.

"That's not true. I don't have such great rights yet. I just want to talk to you first. I hope you can give me some advice, at least for the time being. Do you understand what I mean?"

"To be honest, I'm not really interested in it." Wang Feng said.

"Whether it is controllable nuclear fusion or fourth-generation nuclear technology is actually an engineering problem, not an academic problem, can you understand?"

"If it's an academic question, then I'm willing to define it, but if it's an engineering question, I can't help it." Wang Feng refused.

"You also know that I have graduated for a long time, and I am mainly busy with chemistry and physics, and I have put down a lot of other things."

"In your opinion, if you want to solve this problem, what do you plan to do?" The other party was not angry because of Wang Feng's refusal.

After all, everyone has their own way of doing things, not everyone is willing to accept the tasks that are only photographed above, some people prefer to do things according to their own way.

This is not impossible, but the premise is that you can solve the problem, not fool around.

"If it were me, I would not be inclined to solve a certain problem, but more inclined to solve a certain type of problem. Can you understand what I mean?"

"Uh, can you explain it a little bit more clearly? I mean, how should I put it? I have graduated for decades, and I have already returned my things to the school and teachers."

"It's very simple, the unified theory of strong electricity!"

"We have unified the weak interaction and electromagnetic interaction. At present, this section is still lacking in strong interaction and electromagnetic interaction."

"If we can do the latter, it means that we are one step closer to unifying the four basic interaction forces, which means that we will be able to maximize the development of nuclear energy in a limited time, including fission energy and Fusion energy, do you understand what I mean?"

hiss.
He took a deep breath and felt that he didn't know what to say. He just wanted Professor Wang to help solve the problem of fourth-generation nuclear technology.

Who knew that this boss was not aiming at this kind of "pediatrics" at all, his ambitions were beyond imagination!This is probably the difference between the boss and ordinary people like them. His heart is a little bit bitter.

At present, the nuclear power units in operation are mainly the second generation and the third generation.These two generations of nuclear power technology began in the 60s and [-]s, and gradually developed and matured in half a century.

In June 1999, the U.S. Department of Energy first proposed the fourth-generation nuclear power plant initiative.It sounds tall, right? At least it should be more advanced than the second-generation and third-generation nuclear power technology.However, there are six types of reactors in the fourth-generation nuclear power plants, all of which are concepts proposed by scientists decades ago, and have basically stagnated for so many years.

The development of new nuclear reactor types generally goes through multiple stages: experimental reactors, prototype reactors, demonstration reactors and commercial reactors.As of now, most plans are still in the paper or prototype stage, and it is basically impossible to put them into commercial operation before 2040.

The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor was proposed by engineers of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the United States in 1947.

At present, the United States, Japan, and Germany are all in the demonstration power plant stage, and the Mizuki HTR10 is a prototype reactor.

China currently has only one high-temperature gas-cooled reactor commercial demonstration project (Shidaowan project) that has been approved, but it has not yet been built, let alone actually operated.

The molten salt reactor was used in the aircraft reactor experiment by the United States in 1954, but it is still in the test reactor stage.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory built a liquid fuel molten salt experimental reactor (MSRE) in 1965; China, led by the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, restarted research on thorium-based molten salt reactors in 2011; many foreign organizations have also introduced various designs.

The concept of supercritical water reactor was proposed by the United States in the 50s, and Westinghouse (yes, the one that went bankrupt a few years ago) subsequently carried out related research and development.

It is still in the conceptual design stage.

Then there is the sodium-cooled reactor. At present, Russia has completed the construction of the commercial demonstration reactor BN-800, which is the fastest progress among the six reactor types, but there are still a lot of problems, such as poor circulation and unreliable design that cause coolant leakage and corrosion. , and problems such as low value-added rate
Then it is constantly pushed back, constantly pushed back, from 10 years to 21 years.

A small branch of the sodium-cooled reactor is the traveling wave reactor, because Bill Gates was elected as an academician, it became a little hot, but just like that, the traveling wave reactor is not hot, and the hottest is the richest man.

Then there is the lead-cooled reactor, ELSY, the European Lead-cooled System (European Lead-cooled System), which is a "specific target research or innovation project" in the field of "radioactive waste management" in Europe's sixth research framework plan (FP6).

The LSY project has been brewing for a long time, with sufficient internal preparations, and careful coordination with the GEN-IV LFR development goals of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). It is an organized, planned, and targeted international nuclear energy development research. project.

The ELSY project ended in February 2010.The lead-cooled fast reactor project is continued under the framework of FP2 by the LEADER project (Lead-cooled European Advanced Demonstration Reactor).The main design reactor type is ELFR (European Lead-cooled Fast Reactor)

At the beginning, the plan was to start building demonstration reactors in 2020, because everyone felt that this thing should not be difficult, and the technical route was clear.

Then they encountered a series of problems, such as material problems, technical process problems, and the most important economic problems, as well as safety problems. At present, this project has been pushed to 2040.
Then there is the old Maozi's lead-cooled reactor. For a long time, the development of nuclear energy in Russia seems to be a bit stagnant from the outside world. The latest time it made headlines was because the new HBO drama brought out the Chernobyl accident to start a big discussion.

In fact, as a nuclear power, the level of the polar bear's nuclear industry should not be underestimated.

Official introduction Brest-OD-300 is a demonstration lead-cooled fast neutron reactor installation with an on-site nuclear fuel cycle, which is part of the experimental demonstration electric complex (ODEC), which belongs to the Proryv project for the development of closed fuel cycle technology.

In 2017, the Russian Federation government allocated 11 billion rubles ($1660 million) for the research and development of this integrated nuclear device system.

The complex contains fabrication and remanufacturing modules for the production of dense uranium-plutonium (nitride) fuel, as well as a fuel recovery module.As an important part of the complex, the start date of the Brest-OD-300 reactor has been postponed several times due to the need for additional testing of key structural elements of the reactor.

Recently, everyone should know that the construction period has been postponed again.
Then there is the gas-cooled reactor. The application of this thing is the earliest. From the 50s to the present, from the development of the first graphite gas-cooled reactor in the Great Empire until now, we still have not stopped exploring it.

Gas-cooled fast reactor is one of the candidates for the fourth generation of advanced nuclear energy system in the future. It can meet the requirements of nuclear energy sustainability, safety reliability and economy.From the perspective of reactor physics and thermal hydraulics, a pebble bed air-cooled fast reactor with a thermal power of 300 MW was designed, and carbide fuel was selected as the fuel for the air-cooled fast reactor.The equilibrium state of the uranium fuel cycle of the deep burn-up gas-cooled fast reactor was simulated by the coupled burnup calculation program COUPLE2.0.

Gas-cooled fast reactors generally use the inert gas helium as the coolant. Helium has good chemical stability and does not undergo phase transitions, so it can be used at very high temperatures and low neutron absorption capacity.

Like thermal neutron spectrum helium cooled reactors, the high temperature of the helium coolant makes it possible to generate electricity, produce hydrogen or process heat with high efficiency.Gas-cooled fast reactors can use direct Brayton cycle helium turbines to generate electricity, which can achieve the highest thermal efficiency (>45%), and can also use their process heat for thermochemical production of hydrogen, reducing middlemen and improving efficiency.

Gas-cooled fast reactors can use a closed fuel cycle. The two major characteristics of gas-cooled fast reactors are that they produce less radioactive waste and effectively utilize nuclear resources.

The development of new nuclear reactors generally goes through four stages: experimental reactors, prototype reactors, demonstration reactors, and commercial reactors (some reactor types skip prototype reactors).

For example, both are high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. The 10-megawatt high-temperature gas-cooled reactor of Tsinghua University is an experimental reactor. It was critical in 2000 and achieved full power grid-connected power generation in 2003; Shidaowan Nuclear Power High-temperature gas-cooled reactor is a demonstration reactor. In 2014 Construction started and is still under construction.

China Nuclear Construction said it will be commercially available in 2015 (Shandong Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant_China Nuclear Construction).
Another example is the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor. It is too early to discuss its commercial reactor. Scientists and engineers must build a demonstration reactor and operate it for several years, and then confirm that the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor is excellent in terms of safety and economy before discussing commercial reactors. Heap of construction.

From experimental piles to commercial piles, it takes as little as seven or eight years, as long as three to 40 years, and often even nothing happens.For example, in 1956, the UK built the Calder Hall A graphite gas-cooled reactor prototype nuclear power plant.

Then there is no more.

Therefore, the grandparents of the audience see that a fourth-generation reactor is to be built in a certain place, and they have to take a look first. Is it decided to build a new reactor or has construction started?Is it an experimental pile or a demonstration pile?The difference between these is probably hundreds of billions.

Then there is controllable nuclear fusion. The physical and engineering difficulties of controllable fusion are well known, and "the application of fusion and ionization will always be 50 years" is a bridge widely circulated on the Chinese Internet.

But in the final analysis, fusion energy is a serious scientific and engineering problem, which is far from being summed up by this kind of joke that is far more entertaining than practical.

Tokamak is the first project to stand out, and the current international controllable nuclear fusion is also developing along this route.

After the four major tokamaks were built one after another, the pre-research on the next generation of tokamaks began immediately. The two superpowers jointly advocated, and then the developed countries all over the world paid together. Under the valuation at the time, this device would cost 50 billion US dollars, spent ten years of pre-research and ten years of construction.After it is completed, it will take another ten years to carry out plasma physics experiments. In the last ten years, it will continue to carry out deuterium-tritium fusion to achieve the goal of Q=5 and output fusion power of 500MW.

That is to say, if all goes well, ITER should have been built around 2005 to replace the four aging tokamaks at that time, and the myth of continuing exponential growth on the comparison chart between the triple product and Moore's Law will make human beings lead to fusion energy.

This was the full-bodied ideal at the time, but the reality was another matter. There were many problems that led to delays.

At that time, however, optimistic voices were still prevalent in the field of fusion.If funding remains adequate, ITER will begin construction after the fundamental physics and engineering questions are finalized, and be operational by 2010.

The engineering design doesn't seem to be a problem - the original design was done in 2001.

In 2007, it was expected that the ITER device, which faced many problems beyond physics and engineering, would be completed in 2016.

In 2009, that expectation changed to 2018.

In 2012, that expectation changed to 2019.

In 2016, that expectation changed to 2021.

By 2017, there is finally a time, and the completion time is planned for December 2025.The good news is that this plan has not changed until today, and it is hoped that ITER will be completed as scheduled by 12.

"Fusion is always 50 years away from practical application" may be just a self-deprecating joke of scientists, and a joke widely spread by netizens; but "ITER is always ten years away from being completed and put into use" is real, based on a series of physics and Engineering has nothing to do with the reason, the helpless and bitter reality.

So if this project is really so difficult, can we solve this problem from other aspects?
This is a very challenging problem. Only by breaking the design of the predecessors and stepping on the shoulders of the predecessors can you see further and go further.

(End of this chapter)