Design and full scale test of the fuel handling system Original Research Article

In the 10 MW High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor-Test Module (HTR-10) fuel elements move through the core driven by gravity. To reach their design burn-up the fuel elements are re-shuttled five times. This transportation outside the core is mainly achieved pneumatically. Although, adopting the international experience at design and operation of similar systems some key components were improved so that the fuel handling system (FHS) becomes simpler and more reliable. The improved components were tested in full-scale testing facilities. The debugging test and the first loading operation for the FHS indicate that the FHS meets the demands of the HTR-10. In this paper, the functions, design parameters, technological processes, main components and design characteristics of the FHS are described in detail. The flow schemes, design parameters of the full-scale testing facilities and the experimental results are briefly introduced.