Safety and Safeguards for Molten Salt Reactors in Integrated Energy Systems

The research conducted in this work investigates the dynamic behavior of a fast spectrum molten salt reactor (MSR) when used in an integrated energy system (IES) with both a regenerative Rankine heat cycle balance of plant for electricity production and a hydrogen production plant using the hybrid sulfur thermochemical cycle. The research was accomplished by constructing dynamic models of the systems in OpenModelica, debugging, and making a combined IES model. From there, a suite of simulations were performed on the models meant to determine the systems’ response to three types of accidents: reactivity initiated accidents (RIA), loss of flow accidents (LOFA), and loss of heat sink accidents (LOHSA). Also included in this research is analysis of multiple types of safeguards techniques for MSRs with a specific focus on a novel technique whereby passive monitoring of the MSR’s offgas provides unique plutonium signatures in a timely manner. The other MSR safeguards techniques discussed are frequency analysis, archival monitoring, and accountancy transition. The overarching goal of the research is to make a comprehensive safety and safeguards investigation of the use of an MSR in an IES as a means of promoting awareness of the benefits of the technology and improving its potential deployability.