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To address the efficiency bottleneck encountered in reactor design calculations for the newly developed lead-based reactor neutronics analysis code system MOSASAUR, we recently developed acceleration functions based on various coarse-mesh finite difference (CMFD) methods and spatial domain decomposition parallel algorithm. However, the applicability of these improvements to different lead-based reactors remains to be analyzed. This work collected and established core models for various types of lead-based reactor. Based on different SN nodal transport solvers, we analyzed the acceleration performance of different CMFD methods, different CPU cores, and the combination of CMFD and parallel calculation. The results indicated that the impact of different CMFD acceleration or parallel acceleration on the calculation accuracy was negligible; the rCMFD method had good stability and convergence rate, achieving speedup of several to dozens; parallel efficiency was related to the number of meshes, and for large reactor cores, superlinear speedup was achieved with 200 CPU cores; rCMFD and parallel computing could achieve combined speedup, with 200 cores achieving speedup of hundreds to thousands, typically completing a reactor core transport calculation in 1 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead-based reactor nuclear power has the advantages of inherent safety, compact size, light weight, long service life, and high efficiency, and it is widely applied to advanced marine equipment, unmanned underwater vehicles, and deep-sea space stations for energy and power purposes. Conducting research on lead-based reactor marine nuclear power is key to the technological innovation of energy and power for marine equipment in China. This study clarifies the application scenarios and development demands of marine nuclear power, summarizes the development status of lead-based reactor nuclear power from the aspects of technical characteristics, representative applications, and research status, and analyzes corresponding key technologies including nuclear fuel and cladding materials, key components in the primary loop, coolant processes and oxygen control, and advanced power generation technologies. Moreover, the study explores the development challenges for lead-based reactor marine nuclear power and proposes there feasible technical routes: low-temperature lead-based reactor marine nuclear power, high-temperature and high-efficiency lead-based reactor marine nuclear power, and integrated natural-circulation lead-based reactor marine nuclear power. Furthermore, we propose the following suggestions to promote the leapfrog development of marine nuclear power in China:(1) strengthening research and development (R&D) of specialized technologies for the lead-based reactor marine nuclear power and accelerating the deployment of demonstrative projects; (2) incorporating lead-based reactors into the country's major energy strategies and creating a standards system; (3) establishing national joint R&D centers and creating new models for technological innovation and industrial development.

To address the efficiency bottleneck encountered in reactor design calculations for the newly developed lead-based reactor neutronics analysis code system MOSASAUR, we recently developed acceleration functions based on various coarse-mesh finite difference (CMFD) methods and spatial domain decomposition parallel algorithm. However, the applicability of these improvements to different lead-based reactors remains to be analyzed. This work collected and established core models for various types of lead-based reactor. Based on different SN nodal transport solvers, we analyzed the acceleration performance of different CMFD methods, different CPU cores, and the combination of CMFD and parallel calculation. The results indicated that the impact of different CMFD acceleration or parallel acceleration on the calculation accuracy was negligible; the rCMFD method had good stability and convergence rate, achieving speedup of several to dozens; parallel efficiency was related to the number of meshes, and for large reactor cores, superlinear speedup was achieved with 200 CPU cores; rCMFD and parallel computing could achieve combined speedup, with 200 cores achieving speedup of hundreds to thousands, typically completing a reactor core transport calculation in 1 min.

This editorial discusses the technological advancements in Gen4 nuclear energy systems and small reactors. These advanced systems, such as sodium-cooled fast reactors, lead-cooled fast reactors, and gas-cooled fast reactors, offer superior sustainability, safety, reliability, and economics compared to current-generation systems. The article highlights specific research on the safety analysis of a lead-based reactor, the operational characteristics of a micro gas-cooled reactor, the flow stability of supercritical carbon dioxide in a Brayton cycle, and the fault diagnosis of rotating machinery using deep learning models. The authors hope that these articles will serve as a valuable reference for researchers in the field of Gen4 nuclear energy systems and small reactors. [Extracted from the article]

The energy conversion and utilization of liquid metals is becoming one of the effective ways to solve energy problems. The conversion and transfer of thermal energy from liquid metals to water are significant in advanced nuclear energy and metallurgy. It has been an urgent concern, especially in Generation IV of advanced nuclear energy systems‑lead-cooled fast reactors and the ultimate energy source for humanity-fusion engineering. In this paper, a large-scale liquid metal and water interaction test platform was developed to investigate the lead‑bismuth liquid metal and water interaction and the cover gas pressurization characteristics. Firstly, the evolution of phase behavior and water/vapor migration paths were inferred based on the transient temperature law. Secondly, the cover gas pressurization patterns above the molten pool were analyzed, and the test data showed three pressurization patterns, including two types of local vapor explosions. Additionally, this paper predicted the existence of another dangerous pressurization mode, i.e., overall vapor explosion. Finally, the cover gas pressurization rate model was established, and there is an appropriate matching between the model and test data with an average relative error of 12.6%. This paper provides an essential reference for profoundly understanding the energy conversion and thermal interactions between liquid metals and water. • A large-scale liquid metal and water interaction test platform was developed to investigate energy conversion and interaction. • Based on the transient temperature law, we discovered the gas-phase evolution characteristics during lead-water interaction. • Three different types of pressurization patterns of cover gas were identified. • A model of cover gas pressurization was developed to predict the pressurization rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]