CLEAR-S: an integrated non-nuclear test facility for China lead-based research reactor

Abstract

A project to develop the Accelerator Driven System (ADS) for nuclear waste transmutation has been launched by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) since 2011 through three stages. China LEAd-based Reactor (CLEAR) was selected as the reference reactor for CASADS project, which means lead or lead-bismuth will be used as the primary coolant for reactor. Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology (INEST), CAS, is one of the leading teams being involved in ADS project, and taking charge of the design and R&D activities of CLEAR series reactors. According to the research and development roadmap of CLEAR, a 10MWth lead-bismuth cooled pool-type research reactor named CLEAR-I coupled with a proton accelerator will be constructed at the first stage. In the second stage, China LEAd-based Engineering Demonstration Reactor (CLEAR-II) with 100MWth will be constructed. In the third stage, China LEAd-based Commercial Prototype Reactor (CLEAR-III) with 1000MWth will be constructed. In order to verify the key components and investigate the thermal-hydraulics phenomena for CLEAR-I and even for pool type lead-based reactor, an integrated multifunctional non-nuclear test facility named CLEAR-S will be built and commissioning before the end of 2016. Note that CLEAR-S will be used to test the 1:1 prototype components for CLEAR-I, such as primary pump, heat exchanger, control rod driven system and in-vessel refueling system, and to verify the design and safety analysis codes. In this paper, the design description and latest progress have been presented for CLEAR-S. © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Energy Research Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.