i

ABWR: Advanced Boiling Water

Reactor

By
Group-02

Department of Nuclear Engineering,

Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences,
Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan.
March, 2016.
 ii

Dedication

This Project is

Dedicated to

Martyred Students of Army Public

School Peshawar (APS)

16th December, 2014

 iii

Acknowledgement
Praise is to the One, The Almighty, The Merciful and Beneficent Allah, who is the
source of all knowledge and wisdom. Who taught by the pen. Taught man that which
he knew not. We offer our humble thanks to the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) who
is forever a model of guidance and knowledge for humanity.
We are highly indebted to our affectionate teacher Dr. Naseem Irfan and Mr. Rab
Nawaz for their inspiring guidance, remarkable suggestions, constant encouragement,
constructive criticism and fully cooperation during my report work. Without their
support and guidance, this report could not have been possible. We are also grateful to
all our friends and class fellows for giving us encouragement, appreciation and help in
completing this report.

Group-02
 iv

Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1

ABWR General Layout ........................................................................................... 1

Reactor Building .......................................................................................................... 2

Reinforced Concrete Containment Vessel (RCCV) .............................................. 2

Reactor Main components ...................................................................................... 3

Reactor Pressure vessel ....................................................................................... 3

Reactor Internal Pump (RIP) .......................................................................... 4

Fuel, Control and Safety Systems ....................................................................... 6

Functioning of an ABWR Plant .............................................................................. 9

Comparison of Key AWBR Features to a BWR/6 .............................................. 10

Key Specifications of ABWRs and BWR's ......................................................... 11

Advantages of ABWR Compared with BWR ......................................................... 12

Future of ABWRs .................................................................................................. 16

Conclusion and Summary .................................................................................... 17

References ................................................................................................................ 18
 v

List of Figures
Figure 1 Site Layout..................................................................................................... 1
Figure 2 RCCV OF ABWR ......................................................................................... 2
Figure 3 Structural sketch of reactor pressure vessel and reactor internal
components ................................................................................................................... 4
Figure 4 Recirculation internal pumps ...................................................................... 5
Figure 5 ABWR Coolant Recirculation Flow Path ................................................... 5
Figure 6 Cross-section of fine motion control rod drive (FMCRD) and seal less
FMCRD ......................................................................................................................... 7
Figure 7 ABWR Direct Steam Power Cycle ............................................................ 10
 vi

Abstract
This report focuses on Advance Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR). General introduction
was discussed after than advancement of ABWR was discussed thoroughly with respect
to BWR. Mechanism of operation, advantages and future directions were also
discussed.
 1

Introduction
The Advance Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) is a single-cycle, forced circulation, light-
water nuclear reactor designed by the Hitachi Ltd., (Japan) and General Electric
Company (USA). The development of the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR)
began in 1978. Based on evolution of conventional Boiling Water Reactor (BWR)
technology, ABWR represents a significant improvement over conventional BWRs.
Several improvements of ABWR components and facilities were introduced relative to
those of conventional BWRs and shop tests, pre-operation tests and start-up tests have
demonstrated that the components and facilities meet the required functionality and
corresponding standards.

ABWR General Layout

It is important to remember that much of the technology in a nuclear power station has
similarities to that seen on any coal or gas power station site, and is outside the main
reactor building. The map below shows a station layout and highlights some aspects of
the ABWR that are outside the reactor core.

Figure 1 Site Layout

1. Emergency Operations Building

2. Vehicle Station
3. Back up building
4. Administrative Office
 2

5. Service Building
6. Reactor Building
7. Rad Waste Building
8. Turbine Building

Reactor Building
It consists of reactor containment, reactor core, safety systems and etc. Now we will
discuss main parts of reactor building.

Reinforced Concrete Containment Vessel (RCCV)

ABWR has increased its power output while also decreasing its containment size.
RCCV consists of a steel liner inside of a reinforced concrete structure. The RCCV has
two functions, one is to contain pressure and other is preventing from leakage. The
concrete handles the functions of pressure containment and shielding, and the liner
handles the function of leakage prevention. The RCCV is divided into a drywell and a
suppression chamber by the diaphragm floor and the RPV pedestal. The design pressure
of RCCV is 310 KPa. The RCCV design temperature is 171oC for the drywell and
104oC for the supersession chamber. The RCCV is cylindrical and consists of a top
slab, a shell and a foundation. The inside diameter of the RCCV is 57m, and the height
from upper surface of the foundation to upper surface of the top head is 58m. The
thickness of the RCCV shell is 2m and attached to the foundation.

Figure 2 RCCV OF ABWR

 3

Reactor Main components

There are four main components of reactor which include: Reactor Pressure Vessel,
Recirculation Internal Pumps, Fuel and Control systems and Safety Systems. Now we
shall discuss each component in detail.

Reactor Pressure vessel

The reactor vessel houses the reactor core, which is the heat source for steam
generation. The vessel contains this heat, produces the steam within its boundaries, and
serves as one of the fission product barriers during normal operation, the diameter of
the ABWR reactor pressure vessel (RPV) is increased but the height is decreased
compared to earlier product lines. The increased diameter has resulted in increased wall
thickness. The RPV is approximately 21m in height and 7.4m in diameter. The ABWR
has adopted improvements in design and fabrication of the RPV relative to earlier BWR
product lines. Earlier RPVs were constructed from welded low alloy carbon steel rolled
plate. The ABWR uses low alloy carbon steel forged shell rings at and below the core
elevation, thereby avoiding welds in high fluency locations in the core beltline. Shell
rings above the core beltline region may be made of low alloy carbon steel forged rings
or welded plate. The top head is made of low alloy carbon steel welded formed plates.
An annular region between the vessel inner wall and the outer surface of a cylindrical
shroud encompassing the core region provides a flow path for feed and recirculation
water. RIP diffusers and impellers are installed in this flow path, which results in a large
separation between the reactor core and RPV wall relative to previous BWRs. The wide
separation between the vessel wall and shroud along with moderate power density
adopted, for the ABWR, results in reduced neutron fluency on the RPV wall. The
reduced fluency, along with reduced content of impurities such as Copper, Phosphorus
and Sulphur in the RPV material, results in low neutron irradiation embrittlement of the
RPV.
Other ABWR improvements and differences relative to previous BWRs includes:
Relatively flat bottom head with RIP penetrations
Conical vessel support skirt
Inward vessel flange design
Steam nozzle with flow restrictor
Double feed water nozzle thermal sleeve
 4

The RPV internals for ABWR is same as we have in BWR. The only difference is of
recirculation internal pumps. In ABWRs the RIP are inside the RPV.

Figure 3 Structural sketch of reactor pressure vessel and reactor internal components

Reactor Internal Pump (RIP)

The ABWR replaced the external recirculation pumps and the jet pumps with RIPs
(Figure 4). There are ten RIPs whose diffusers and impellers are arranged
circumferentially between the shroud and the RPV near the RPV bottom head and
whose motors are installed in the motor casing at the bottom of the RPV. The RIPs
function collectively to force the reactor coolant through the lower plenum of the
reactor and upward through openings in the fuel support, upward through the fuel
 5

assemblies and steam separators, and down into the annulus to be mixed with feed water
and recirculated through the core. The RIPs are variable speed to adjust core flow. A
change in RIP speed conditions will vary the void coefficient and the core flow in the
reactor, which, in turn, will change the reactor power during normal power range
operation.

Figure 4 Recirculation internal pumps

Figure 5 ABWR Coolant Recirculation Flow Path

 6

Key design features

100% core flow is maintained even with only 9 pumps working

Wet induction motor without shaft seal
Continuous purge with clean water
Impellers & motors removable without reactor draining
Adjustable frequency speed control
Multiple power supplier reduces probability of significant flow loss

Key benefits

Eliminates external recirculation loops

Compact containment design
No large nozzle for pipings below core
Safer/ECCS optimized
Reduced In-service inspections
Less occupational exposure
Less pumping power required

Fuel, Control and Safety Systems

The fuel used within the ABWR is enriched uranium dioxide fuel which is formed of a
ceramic type material. Most of the radioactivity remains locked up inside this ceramic
material during operation. The fuel material is contained within high integrity metal
cladding containers which will not leak in most circumstances, even following an
accident which is similar to BWR. The ABWR core configuration consists of 872
bundles. The rated core power is 3926 MWTH. Its lower power density results in
improved fuel cycle costs and greater maneuverability. Since the ABWR utilizes
reactor internal pumps (RIPs) to control the recirculate ion flow through the core, the
reactivity control is maintained by a combination of changes in core flow, control rod
position and by the inclusion of burnable absorbers in the fuel quiet similar to typical
BWR. In ABWR other things such as Coolant and Moderator are same as in BWR. The
control rod drive (CRD) system is composed of three major elements: the fine motion
control rod drive (FMCRD) mechanisms; the hydraulic control unit (HCU) assemblies,
and the control rod drive hydraulic (CRDH) subsystem. As illustrated in diagram
below:
 7

Figure 6 Cross-section of fine motion control rod drive (FMCRD) and seal less FMCRD

The safety features of the ABWR are based on a Defense in Depth or redundant
measures approach. This ensures that there are multiple layers of protection with all
layers designed to ensure safety independently of each other.

To effectively shut down the operating reactors and end the nuclear reaction

To cool the reactors (which reach high temperatures during operation), and maintain
cooling for the fuel which will continue to produce heat at a lower rate after shutdown
because of the high levels of radioactivity present in the fuel.

To ensure continued containment of radioactivity

Further improvements were made to the reactor design incorporating lessons learned
from the Fukushima accident of March 2011, with a particular focus on prevention of
a complete loss of power on site (known as a Station Black Out) and loss of all cooling
options (known as the loss of Ultimate Heat Sink).

To shut down operating reactors

In the event that an emergency shutdown is needed, Control Rods are immediately
driven hydraulically into the reactor by high-pressure nitrogen, shutting it down. As a
 8

back-up system, water infused with boron (borated water) can also be injected directly
onto the reactor core by the Standby Liquid Control System, which stops the fission
reaction.

To cool down reactors

The UK ABWR core is cooled in normal operation by the same water circulation that
takes place to make steam to spin the turbine. To ensure continued cooling, whether in
operation or shutdown, it is important to have secure water supplies, and power to the
pumps to circulate this water through the reactor. If cooling is lost, the Emergency Core
Cooling Systems are activated to inject coolant into the reactor. Each active component
is powered by emergency power sources which are available even if offsite power is
lost.

The UK ABWR has a range of water injection options, and if normal cooling is lost,
the reactor can be cooled using portable pumps which can be brought to site from
nearby equipment stores that the site operator will maintain. There are also multiple
options for powering the cooling systems, including back-up power sources encased in
flood-protected buildings and the ability to run from alternate power sources. These
cooling systems also provide back-up to maintain cooling of the Spent Fuel Storage
Pool (SFSP) which keeps the spent fuel in a safe state.

To contain radioactive materials

The UK ABWR has multiple layers of containment. These are designed to ensure that
in the event of an incident, all potentially hazardous materials are physically contained
within the reactor building. The fuel used within the ABWR is enriched uranium
dioxide fuel which is formed of a ceramic type material. Most of the radioactivity
remains locked up inside this ceramic material during operation. The fuel material is
contained within high integrity metal cladding containers which will not leak in most
circumstances, even following an accident. The ABWR uses one of the most advanced
fuel designs in the world which has been developed with 50 years of operational
experience and improvements and is engineered to the highest quality. The fuel
containers are then placed inside multiple barriers, the first of which is the Reactor
Pressure Vessel (RPV). The Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) itself is a welded steel
vessel, designed to withstand extremely high temperatures and pressures, well beyond
the normal operations of the reactor. This is contained within a Reinforced Concrete
 9

Containment Vessel (RCCV). In the unlikely event that hazardous materials are
released from the RPV they will be contained within the RCCV and not released to the
wider environment. The RCCV consists of a steel liner inside a reinforced concrete
structure, designed to withstand external factors such as pressure, heat and extreme
damage.

Functioning of an ABWR Plant

The ABWR nuclear power plant consists of the RPV with the internal recirculation
pumps, the nuclear steam turbine-generator system, and the condenser. The basic
function of a nuclear reactor is the release of thermal energy from each fission reaction
that occurs in the reactor core. This large amount of energy is used to convert the feed
water into steam when it passes through the reactor core. The ABWR flow path begins
with preheated feed water entering the reactor vessel above the top of the reactor core
and near the bottom of the steam drum. The feed water mixes with the recirculating
saturated water, and the sub-cooled water flows down the down comer, through internal
pumps, and then turns upwards into the bottom of the reactor core. The water flows up
through the core where it is heated to saturation and then partially boiled into saturated
steam.

The steam/water mixture flows up out of the core, through the outlet plenum, and then
through the steam separators. The separated steam flows out of the upper part of the
reactor vessel and then through piping to the steam turbine control valves. The separated
water flows into the steam drum, where the feed water control system maintains the
water level to a constant set point. For transient over-pressure conditions, steam can
also flow through the bypass valves, in parallel with the steam turbine, to the condenser.
The steady flow rating of the bypass system is 30%. The reactor internal pumps are
variable-speed centrifugal pumps, which are powered by variable speed motors below
the reactor vessel. The internal coolant pumps used in AWBR eliminate external
recirculation system so there is less external pipe work and therefore less risk of a
LOCA.

The reactor pressure vessel of an ABWR contains not only the core assembly but also
devices for separating and drying steam (Steam Separator Assembly). The steam
generated is separated from the liquid by a structure of steam separators which are
positioned above the core. Steam from the separator then passes through a dryer
 10

assembly which removes moisture from the steam. The dry steam then proceeds outside
the reactor vessel to the steam turbine which drives the generator which in turn produces
electrical power output.

Figure 7 ABWR Direct Steam Power Cycle

Comparison of Key AWBR Features to a BWR/6

 11

Key Specifications of ABWRs and BWR's

 12

Advantages of ABWR Compared with BWR

There are numerous advantages of ABWR while comparing it with BWR, some are
mentioned below:

Reactor Internal pumps (RIP)

The addition of reactor internal pumps (RIP) mounted on the bottom of the reactor
pressure vessel (RPV) - 10 in total - which achieve improved performance while
eliminating large recirculation pumps in containment and associated large-diameter
and complex piping interfaces with the RPV (e.g. the recirculation loop found in
earlier BWR models). Only the RIP motor is located outside of the RPV in the
ABWR

The Control Rod Adjustment Capabilities

The control rod adjustment capabilities have been supplemented with the addition
of an electro-hydraulic Fine Motion Control Rod Drive (FMCRD), allowing for fine
position adjustment using an electrical motor, while not losing the reliability or
redundancy of traditional hydraulic systems which are designed to accomplish rapid
shutdown in 2.80 s from receipt of an initiating signal, or ARI (alternate rod
insertion) in a greater but still insignificant time period. The FMCRD also improves
defense-in-depth in the event of primary hydraulic and ARI contingencies.

Older BWRs use a hydraulic locking piston system to move the control rods in six-
inch increments. The electric fine motion control rod design greatly enhances
positive actual control rod position and similarly reduces the risk of a control rod
drive accident to the point that no velocity limiter is required at the base of the
cruciform control rod blades.

Reactor Protection System (RPS)

A fully digital Reactor Protection System (RPS) (with redundant digital backups as
well as redundant manual backups) ensures a high level of reliability and
simplification for safety condition detection and response. This system initiates
rapid hydraulic insertion of control rods for shutdown (known as SCRAM by
nuclear engineers) when needed. Two-out-of-four per parameter rapid shutdown
logic ensures that nuisance rapid shutdowns are not triggered by single instrument
 13

failures. RPS can also trigger ARI, FMCRD rod run-in to shut down the nuclear
chain reaction. The standby liquid control system (SLCS) actuation is provided as
diverse logic in the unlikely event of an Anticipated Transient Without Scram.

Fully Digital Reactor Controls

Fully digital reactor controls (with redundant digital backup and redundant manual
backups) allow the control room to easily and rapidly control plant operations and
processes. Separate redundant safety and non-safety related digital multiplexing
buses allow for reliability and diversity of instrumentation and control.

In particular, the reactor is automated for startup (i.e., initiate the nuclear chain
reaction and ascent to power) and for standard shutdown using automatic systems
only. Of course, human operators remain essential to reactor control and
supervision, but much of the busy-work of bringing the reactor to power and
descending from power can be automated at operator discretion.

Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS)

The Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) has been improved in many areas,
providing a very high level of defense-in-depth against accidents, contingencies,
and incidents.

The overall system has been divided up into 3 divisions; each division is capable by
itself of reacting to the maximally contingent Limiting Fault/Design Basis Accident
(DBA) and terminating the accident prior to core uncover, even in the event of loss
of offsite power and loss of proper feed water. Previous BWRs had 2 divisions, and
uncover (but no core damage) was predicted to occur for a short time in the event
of a severe accident, prior to ECCS response.

Eighteen SORVs (safety overpressure relief valves), ten of which are part of the
ADS (automatic depressurization system), ensure that RPV overpressure events are
quickly mitigated, and that if necessary, that the reactor can be depressurized
rapidly to a level where low pressure core flooder (LPCF, the high-capacity mode
of the residual heat removal system, which replaces the LPCI and LPCS in previous
BWR models) can be used.
 14

Further, LPCF can inject against much higher RPV pressures, providing an
increased level of safety in the event of intermediate-sized breaks, which could be
small enough to result in slow natural depressurization but could be large enough
to result in high pressure core spray/coolant injection systems' capacities for
response being overwhelmed by the size of the break.

Though the Class 1E (safety-related) power bus is still powered by 3 highly-reliable

emergency diesel generators that are safety related, an additional Plant Investment
Protection power bus using a combustion gas turbine is located on-site to generate
electricity to provide defense-in-depth against station blackout contingencies as
well as to power important but non-safety critical systems in the event of a loss of
offsite power.

Though one division of the ECCS does not have high pressure flood (HPCF)
capacities, there exists a steam-driven, safety-rated reactor core isolation cooling
(RCIC) turbo pump that is high-pressure rated and has extensive battery backup for
its instrumentation and control systems, ensuring cooling is maintained even in the
event of a full station blackout with failure of all 3 emergency diesel generators, the
combustion gas turbine, primary battery backup, and the diesel firewater pumps.

There exists an extremely thick basaltic reinforced concrete pad under the RPV that
will both catch and hold any heated core melt that might fall on that pad in
extraordinarily contingent situations. In addition, there are several fusible links
within the wall separating the wet well from the lower drywell that flood the pad
using the wet well's water supply, ensuring cooling of that area even with the failure
of standard mitigation systems.

Improvements in Containment Design

The containment has been significantly improved over the conventional Mark I
type. Like the conventional Mark I type, it is of the pressure suppression type,
designed to handle evolved steam in the event of a transient, incident, or accident
by routing the steam using pipes that go into a pool of water enclosed in the wet
well (or torus in the case of the Mark I), the low temperature of which will condense
the steam back into liquid water. This will keep containment pressure low.
 15

Notably, the typical ABWR containment has numerous hardened layers between
the interior of the primary containment and the outer shield wall, and is cubical in
shape. One major enhancement is that the reactor has a standard safe shutdown
earthquake acceleration of .3G; further, it is designed to withstand a tornado with
>320 mph wind speed. Seismic hardening is possible in earthquake-prone areas and
has been done at the Lungmen facility in Taiwan which has been hardened up 0.4 g
in any direction.

Reliability, Performance and Maintenance

The RPV and Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS) have significant
improvements, such as the substitution of RIPs, eliminating conventional external
recirculation piping loops and pumps in the containment that in turn drive jet pumps
producing forced flow in the RPV. RIPs provide significant improvements related
to reliability, performance and maintenance, including a reduction in occupational
radiation exposure related to containment activities during maintenance outages.
These pumps are powered by wet-rotor motors with the housings connected to the
bottom of the RPV and eliminating large diameter external recirculation pipes that
are possible leakage paths.

The 10 internal recirculation pumps are located at the bottom of the annulus down
comer region (i.e., between the core shroud and the inside surface of the RPV).
Consequently, internal recirculation pumps eliminate all of the jet pumps in the
RPV, all of the large external recirculation loop pumps and piping, the isolation
valves and the large diameter nozzles that penetrated the RPV and needed to suction
water from and return it to the RPV. This design therefore reduces the worst leak
below the core region to effectively equivalent to a 2-inch-diameter (51 mm) leak.
The conventional BWR3-BWR6 product line has an analogous potential leak of 24
or more inches in diameter. A major benefit of this design is that it greatly reduces
the flow capacity required of the ECCS.

Efficiency

The internal pumps reduce the required pumping power for the same flow to about
half that required with the jet pump system with external recirculation loops. Thus,
in addition to the safety and cost improvements due to eliminating the piping, the
overall plant thermal efficiency is increased. Eliminating the external recirculation
 16

piping also reduces occupational radiation exposure to personnel during

maintenance.

Life Time and cost

The ABWR is designed for a lifetime of at least 60 years. The comparatively simple
design of the ABWR also means that no expensive steam generators need to be
replaced either, decreasing total cost of operation.

According to GEH's Probabilistic Risk Assessment, a core damage event would

occur no more often than once in six million years as the core damage frequency
(CDF) of the ABWR is 1.610-7.

Future of ABWRs
In planning for a future reactor, it is indispensable to set a cost target for power
generation. For ABWR-II, the challenging target of 30% reduction in power generation
cost from that of a standardized ABWR was set. Nuclear power plants have relatively
high construction cost and low running cost compared to fossil power plants. Therefore,
capital cost reduction by design has been carefully looked into in addition to operation
and maintenance (O&M) cost reduction. The following are design considerations to
improve ABWR-II economics.

Design simplification
Cost reduction of equipment and structures
Reduction of construction period
Scope reduction of the maintenance during operation and outages
Making the maintenance easier and with lower radiation exposure
Increasing the capacity factor
Reduction of the power generating cost [1]
 17

Conclusion and Summary

Nuclear technology has progressed in the past 60 or so years. Passive safety features
should be the new standard for all reactor designs going forward. However, safety, fuel
cycle, nonproliferation, and economic hurdles remain and may become more
burdensome, particularly if out-of-the-box innovations to the current state of the art in
reactor technology do not reach the marketplace within the next two decades. As shown
in this document, the ABWR design can be recognized as substantially the best
available technology from worlds BWR evolution experiences. ALARP consideration
has been achieved in the ABWR design as indicated by: (1) lower Core Damage
Frequency (CDF) compared with that of conventional BWRs by use of enhanced safety
systems, (2) reduction of personnel radiation exposure by the eliminating piping
surrounding RPV, (3) reduction of construction time by adopting RCCV and (4)
reduction of power generation costs. In addition, the ABWR design has been developed
to achieve further safety and reliability by incorporating technical lessons learnt from
the Fukushima accident.
 18

References

[1] Hitachi-GE, "Hitachi-GE," Hitachi-GE, 01 January 2014. [Online]. Available:

http://www.hitachi-hgne-uk-abwr.co.uk/. [Accessed 05 May 2016].

[2] Ref 2-17 USNRC General Electric Advanced Technology Course R-504B,
Chapter 7.2, Oyster Creek Log Summary, August 22, 2011:
http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1126/ML11263A364.pdf

[3] Ref 2-18 USNRC Reactor Technology Training Branch, Part II: Introduction to
Reactor Technology - BWR, Section 7.0, Reactor Protection System:
http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1215/ML12159A156.pdf

[4] Ref 2-19 L.E. Fennern, ABWR Seminar Instrumentation & Control (I&C), GE
Hitachi Nuclear Energy Presentation for the U.S. Department of Energy, April 13,
2007: http://www.pdfio.com/k-842151.html