Multi-physics and technical analysis of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors for hydrogen production

Fairhurst Agosta, Roberto E.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/109439 Copy

Description

Title

Multi-physics and technical analysis of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors for hydrogen production

Author(s)

Fairhurst Agosta, Roberto E.

Issue Date

2020-12-07

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Huff, Kathryn D

Committee Member(s)

Kozlowski, Tomasz

Department of Study

Nuclear, Plasma, & Rad Engr

Discipline

Nuclear, Plasma, Radiolgc Engr

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Multi-physics
• HTGR
• MOOSE
• Moltres
• Serpent
• Hydrogen

Abstract

The future energy needs require the development of clean energy sources to ease the increasing environmental concerns. High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors have several desirable features that make them ideal candidates for the near-future large-scale deployment. Some of these features are a high temperature and high thermal cycle efficiency, which enable a wide range of process heat applications, such as hydrogen production. Implementing hydrogen economies can decarbonize the transport and power sectors, offering an alternative to ease climate change. This work uses Moltres as the primary simulation tool. Although Moltres original development targeted Molten Salt Reactors, this work studies Moltres applicability to multi-physics simulations of prismatic High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors. Multi-physics simulations are necessary for assessing reactor safety characteristics. Ensuring Moltres’ multi-physics modeling capabilities requires assessing the independent modeling capabilities of the different physical phenomena. Therefore, this thesis breaks down the analysis into three parts: stand-alone neutronics, stand-alone thermal-fluids, and coupled neutronics/thermal-fluids. Regarding stand-alone neutronics, several analyses compare the results calculated by Moltres and Serpent on an MHTGR-350 model. The first analysis studies the energy group structure effects on the simulation of a fuel column. The results of the study suggest using a 15-energy group structure for attaining a desirable accuracy. The following analysis focuses on the full-core problem and compares different aspects of the simulations, concluding that Moltres obtains reasonably accurate results. The final study on stand-alone neutronics describes Moltres results of Phase I Exercise 1 of the OECD/NEA MHTGR-350 Benchmark. The benchmark exercise proved to be a modeling challenge, requiring the implementation of several approximations. For the most part, this thesis demonstrates Moltres’ capability to simulate stand-alone neutronics of prismatic High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors. Regarding stand-alone thermal-fluids, several studies compare Moltres results to previously published results. These studies focus on local models such as the unit cell and the fuel column problems, for which Moltres temperature results differ by less than 2% from the published results. Further studies analyze the possibility of extending the thermal-fluids model implemented in the previous problems to a full-core simulation, finding a high memory requirement imposed by the simulations. The full-core simulations focus on Phase I Exercise 2 of the benchmark, for which the implementation of a two-level approach in Moltres was necessary. The study’s temperatures were within an 11.3% difference to the published results, concluding that further analysis is required. Regarding coupled neutronics/thermal-fluids, the analysis describes Phase I Exercise 3 of the benchmark. The exercise uses a simplified model that helps visualize some of the essential aspects of multi-physics simulations in Moltres. This exercise finds some areas of improvement in Moltres’ model and sets a basis for future work. This thesis aligns with the University of Illinois’ goals to reduce carbon emissions from its campus’s electricity generation and transportation sectors. This work focuses on two main analysis by introducing a nuclear reactor coupled to a hydrogen plant as a solution. The first analysis evaluates the conversion of the university fleet and the mass transit transport system in Urbana-Champaign to Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles. The second analysis investigates the duck curve phenomenon in the university’s grid and introduces a mitigation strategy that may reduce the reliance on dispatchable sources. These studies emphasize how nuclear energy and hydrogen production can potentially mitigate climate change.

Graduation Semester

2020-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/109439

Copyright and License Information

2020 Roberto E. Fairhurst Agosta

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