Modular plant with sodium cooled fast reactor (BMN-170)

The BMN-170 is a modular nuclear power plant (NPP) with a sodium cooled fast reactor. The name reflects the main engineering bases of the concept: a fast spectrum of neutrons, metallic (sodium) coolant, NPP mounting from factory-built equipment modules and a nominal value of electric power. The BMN-170 preliminary design is based upon documents of a modular NPP conceptual design produced using the national experience in design and operation of sodium cooled fast reactors and documented accounts of the world tendencies in nuclear power development. The BMN-170 preliminary design was developed in the 1990s by Russian design and scientific organizations, such as OKB Mechanical Engineering (OKBM), Sankt Peterburg (SPb), Atomenergoproekt (AEP) and Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE); the concept was shaped up based on experience in the development and operation of BOR-60, BN-350, BN-600, and BN-800 NPPs. The main goal was to establish a design for multi-purpose NPPs based on a modular sodium cooled fast reactor in support of economic, reliable and safe solutions to the issue of supply of power and heat to consumers. The BMN-170 design is based on the following technical solutions experimentally validated and proven during the operation of NPPs with fast sodium cooled reactors BOR-60, BN-350, BN-600 and during development of the NPP design for the BN-800 reactor: - Coolant technology and structural materials developed for fast sodium cooled reactors. - Integral design of the primary circuit. - Three-circuit thermal diagram of the NPP. - Design of fuel elements, fuel assemblies and control rods. - Passive means of reactor emergency shutdown. - Refuelling technology. At the stage of BMN-170 conceptual design development, several options of core arrangement and reactor module design were considered to enhance safety and economic effectiveness and to search for optimum solutions. One of main factors addressed during development was the use of reactor vessel and main NPP equipment transport by water and trailers. A number of measures were considered to minimize void reactivity effects, including the insertion of sodium interlayers between the core and the upper axial blanket. This document specifies data for the modular concept of an NPP (defined as BMN-170) for which some proven methods of optimizing safety effectiveness of fast sodium cooled reactors are implemented