Advancing the safety design of heat pipe cooled reactors: a case study of lead liquid bath and monolith stainless steel core

Taiwo Saheed Yinusa; Huaping Mei; Chao Chen; Isaac Kwasi Baidoo; Size Chen; Shuyong Liu; Taosheng Li

doi:10.1515/kern-2024-0149

Article

Advancing the safety design of heat pipe cooled reactors: a case study of lead liquid bath and monolith stainless steel core

Taiwo Saheed Yinusa , Huaping Mei , Chao Chen , Isaac Kwasi Baidoo , Size Chen , Shuyong Liu and Taosheng Li

Published/Copyright: April 9, 2025

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From the journal Kerntechnik Volume 90 Issue 3

Abstract

Driven by the demand for compact, portable, clean, and environmentally friendly energy sources, heat pipe-cooled microreactors have gained increasing popularity and research interest. Over the past five decades, several design alternatives have been proposed. One of the most popular designs is the monolith stainless steel core structure. Others have sought to improve safety and efficiency by introducing liquid metal cores (Na/Pb) with promising superior safety and high energy output advantages. In this work, we advance the development of heat pipe-cooled reactors through a comparative case study of 300 kW monolith stainless steel (solid core) and a lead liquid bath (liquid core). A detailed comparative analysis was conducted to evaluate their neutronic and thermal performance. The Neutronic analysis was conducted using the SuperMC-CAS Monte Carlo code, while ANSYS (CFD) was used for thermal analysis. The results confirmed the feasibility of the stainless steel design and revealed the inherent advantages of the lead liquid core. Both cores exhibit sufficient excess reactivity to sustain reactor operation for 10 years without refueling. The lead liquid core enhances inherent safety, exhibits high negative reactivity feedback, and ensures a more uniform power distribution. Thermal analysis reveals that the lead liquid core maintains lower peak temperatures and gradients during normal operation and heat pipe failure, minimizing thermal stress and enhancing safety margins. This study affirmed the robustness of a proposed lead liquid core as a viable alternative to conventional designs providing enhanced safety and performance for heat pipe microreactors.

Keywords: heat pipe; reactivity; liquid metal; thermal stress; microreactor; thermal expansion

Corresponding author: Huaping Mei, Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology, Hefei Institute of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China, Email: huaping.mei@inest.cas.cn

Funding source: HFIPS Directorâ€™s Fund

Award Identifier / Grant number: YZJJ202305-TS

Award Identifier / Grant number: YZJJ202406-TS

Funding source: Anhui Provincial Key Research and Development Project

Award Identifier / Grant number: 2022107020018

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their gratitude for the support for this work by the Anhui Provincial Key Research and Development Project (No. 2022107020018), and the HFIPS Director’s Fund (No. YZJJ202305-TS, No. YZJJ202406-TS). We acknowledge the joint support of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and World Academy of Science (CAS-TWAS).

Research ethics: Not applicable.
Informed consent: Not applicable.
Author contributions: All authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
Conflict of interest: All other authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: Anhui Provincial Key Research and Development Project (No. 2022107020018) and the HFIPS Director’s Fund (No. YZJJ202305-TS, No. YZJJ202406-TS).
Data availability: Not applicable.

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Received: 2024-12-27

Accepted: 2025-03-10

Published Online: 2025-04-09

Published in Print: 2025-06-26

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https://doi.org/10.1515/kern-2024-0149

Keywords for this article

heat pipe; reactivity; liquid metal; thermal stress; microreactor; thermal expansion