Lead and Lead-bismuth Eutectic

Lead, lead-bismuth eutectic, and other metals have been proposed and occasionally used. The lead-cooled fast reactor is a nuclear reactor design that features a fast neutron spectrum and molten lead or lead-bismuth eutectic coolant. Lead-Bismuth Eutectic or LBE is a eutectic alloy of lead (44.5%) and bismuth (55.5%). Molten lead or lead-bismuth eutectic can be used as the primary coolant because lead and bismuth have low neutron absorption and relatively low melting points.

Melting and boiling points of lead and lead-bismuth eutectic mixture are:

lead
- melting point – 327.5°C
- boiling point – 1749°C
lead-bismuth – a eutectic mixture
- melting point – 123.5°C
- boiling point – 1670°C

Lead-cooled Fast Reactor (LFR).
Source: wikipedia.org

Compared to sodium-based liquid metal coolants such as liquid sodium or NaK, lead-based coolants have significantly higher boiling points, meaning a reactor can be operated without the risk of coolant boiling at much higher temperatures. Lead and LBE also do not react readily with water or air, unlike sodium and NaK, which ignite spontaneously in air and react explosively with water. Due to its denseness and high atomic number, lead and bismuth are also excellent gamma radiation shields while simultaneously virtually transparent to neutrons.

On the other hand, lead, and LBE coolants are more corrosive to steel than sodium or NaK eutectic alloy. This and the very high density of lead puts an upper limit on the coolant flow velocity through the reactor due to safety considerations. Furthermore, the higher melting points of lead and LBE (327 °C and 123.5 °C, respectively) may mean that the solidification of the coolant may be a greater problem when the reactor is operated at lower temperatures.

Properties of Liquid Metals

Properties of Liquid Metals

In physics, liquid metal consists of alloy with very low melting points, which form a eutectic that is liquid at room temperature. In reactor engineering, liquid metals are alloys with low melting points allowing for reactor coolant to be liquid in operating range of temperatures (usually above the room temperature).

The spectrum of neutron energies produced by fission varies significantly with certain reactor designs. thermal vs. fast reactor neutron spectrum

Liquid metals can be used as a reactor coolant because they have excellent heat transfer properties and can be employed in low-pressure systems, as is the case of sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). The unique feature of metals as far as their structure is concerned is the presence of charge carriers, specifically free electrons, giving them high electrical conductivity high thermal conductivity. The use of liquid metal coolants made it possible to provide a high rate of heat transfer in power plants as well as the temperatures of working surfaces of their constructions close to coolant temperature.

Moreover, liquid metals used in reactor engineering are very weak absorbers of neutrons, allowing liquid metal reactors to operate with a fast neutron spectrum. A liquid metal fast reactor is a high power density reactor, which does not need a neutron moderator.

The main differences between thermal and fast reactors are, of course, in neutron cross-sections that exhibit significant energy dependency. It can be characterized by the capture-to-fission ratio, which is lower in fast reactors. There is also a difference in the number of neutrons produced per one fission, which is higher in fast reactors than in thermal reactors. These very important differences are caused primarily by differences in neutron fluxes. Therefore, it is important to know detailed neutron energy distribution in a reactor core.

The disadvantage of many liquid metals is their high chemical activity at interaction with oxygen, water, and structural materials, which may cause heat transfer deterioration in the plant under certain conditions.

Conversion Factor for Fast Reactors

As was written, the conversion factor in a light water reactor is about 0.5, i.e., the production of new nuclear fuel is much less than its consumption. This is caused, among other things, by the relatively low value of the neutron yield factor. For a fast neutron spectrum, there are differences in both the number of neutrons produced per one fission and, of course, in the capture-to-fission ratio, which is lower for fast reactors. The number of neutrons produced per one fission is also higher in fast reactors than in thermal reactors. These two features are important in the neutron economy and contribute to the fact that fast reactors have a large excess of neutrons in the core. The breeding ratio in these reactors can vary over a rather wide range, depending on the neutron energy spectrum. A large breeding ratio favors a hard neutron spectrum. The superior neutron economy of a fast neutron reactor makes it possible to build a reactor that, after its initial fuel charge of plutonium, requires only natural (or even depleted) uranium feedstock as input to its fuel cycle. Russian BN-350 liquid-metal-cooled reactor was operated with a breeding ratio of over 1.2.

References:

Reactor Physics and Thermal Hydraulics:

J. R. Lamarsh, Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Theory, 2nd ed., Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA (1983).
J. R. Lamarsh, A. J. Baratta, Introduction to Nuclear Engineering, 3d ed., Prentice-Hall, 2001, ISBN: 0-201-82498-1.
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Glasstone, Sesonske. Nuclear Reactor Engineering: Reactor Systems Engineering, Springer; 4th edition, 1994, ISBN: 978-0412985317
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Zohuri B., McDaniel P. Thermodynamics in Nuclear Power Plant Systems. Springer; 2015, ISBN: 978-3-319-13419-2
Moran Michal J., Shapiro Howard N. Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics, Fifth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN: 978-0-470-03037-0
Kleinstreuer C. Modern Fluid Dynamics. Springer, 2010, ISBN 978-1-4020-8670-0.
U.S. Department of Energy, THERMODYNAMICS, HEAT TRANSFER, AND FLUID FLOW. DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Volume 1, 2 and 3. June 1992.
White Frank M., Fluid Mechanics, McGraw-Hill Education, 7th edition, February, 2010, ISBN: 978-0077422417

See above:

Liquid Metals