GENES4/ANP2003, Sep.

15-19, 2003, Kyoto, JAPAN Paper 1232

In-vessel Type Control Rod Drive Mechanism for Integral-type Reactors - Development and Their Application Toshihisa ISHIDA1, Shou IMAYOSHI2, Takashi KANAGAWA3 1 Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Tokai, Ibaraki, Japan 2 Shinsei Giken, Ltd, 2-21-2 Nishisinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan 3 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd, 3-3-1, Minatomirai,Yokohama, Japan

This paper presents development of highly reliable control rod drive mechanisms driven by electric motors and installed inside the reactor vessel (In-vessel type CRDMs) for integral-type reactors and their possibilities of wider range application. So far, two types have been developed; the one Type A CRDM is for an advanced marine reactor MRX and a passive safe small reactor for distributed energy supply system PSRD, with a thermal reactor of 100 to 300MW, operating conditions of 310deg-C, 12MPa water or 310deg-C, saturated steam, and the other Type B CRDM for very small ones with a thermal reactor of 0.5 to 1.5MW. In the Type A CRDM, driving force is produced by a new synchronous motor with the rotor of a permanent magnet. An innovative latch mechanism using separable ball nuts can latch the driving shaft connecting the control rod and de-latch it for scram. The rod position detector using a new magnetostrictive wire type sensor on the principle of Wiedeman effect has an accuracy of detecting error within 1.2mm. Ball bearings being capable of working under the very severe conditions for a long period have been developed. The Type B CRDM adopts the small sized, but the similar components as the Type A CRDM besides the latch mechanism. This latch mechanism is an other new type using an electromagnetic force to directly connect both of the shafts, one of which is the motor driven shaft and the other the control rod driving shaft, so as to make it very compact. The Type A CRDM can be used for not only small integral type reactors, but also larger ones, with the same operating condition. For higher temperature condition, the magnetic force of driving motor etc., should be improved. The Type B CRDM is capable of being adopted in small reactors below about 100MWt.

KEYWORDS: Integral-type reactors, In-vessel type control rod drive mechanism, electric motor driven mechanism, latch mechanism with separable ball nuts, magnetic force latch mechanism type reactor CAREM5). Issues to be developed in the In-vessel type CRDM adopting the driving motor are to make it compact for installing a limited space, and to ensure the reliability of its working under a severe condition of high temperature and high pressure water or steam. The present paper describes the electric motor driven In-vessel type CRDMs, which have been developed by JAERI with cooperation of MHI et al., and their possibilities of wider range application from the viewpoints of compactness and operating condition. II. Outline of Development JAERI has developed two types of the In-vessel type CRDMs. The one1) is for adopting in an advanced marine reactor MRX6) and a passive safe small reactor for distributed energy supply system PSRD7) . The other2) is for adopting in a very small reactors, Deep Sea Reactor DRX8) or Submersible Compact Reactor SCR9). In the present paper, the former and the latter are called as Type A CRDM and Type B CRDM, respectively. Basic design of the INV-CRDM of MRX completed in 1995, and it was the first trial in the world. The history of development and a plan for improvement is presented in Fig.1. The improvement for an Integrated Modular Reactor,

I. Introduction The In-vessel type CRDM that is installed inside the reactor vessel can eliminate the possibility of a rod ejection accident, and it contributes to not only the compactness of the containment and the reactor vessel, but also simplicity of the reactor system by removing the cooling system for the CRDMs etc. The In-vessel type CRDM, therefore, is one of very important elemental technologies in an integral type reactor or a next generation reactor. There are two kinds of driving system in the In-vessel type CRDMs; the one adopts an electric motor and the other uses a hydraulic force. Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, JAERI, has developed with cooperation of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (MHI), et al., the former one1),2), which has a fine controllability in control rod position. By referring these results, Toshiba Corporation et al., also commenced to develop this kind of CRDM for next generation BWR3). On the other hands, the latter one, which needs the pipes penetrating the reactor pressure vessel and a rather complicated control system consisting of the pumps and the control valves, has been developed for the China heating reactor NHR4), or been developing for the Argentina integral *Corresponding author, Tel. +81-292-82-6368, Fax. +81-292-82-6367, E-mail: tishida@popsvr.tokai.jaeri.go.jp

1995

2000

2003

2005
Dri vi ng motor Pol e L atch magnet A rmature Pl unger l i ng Separabl e bal l nut L i nk Dri vi ng shaf t M agneti c f l ux

Type A for MRX

Fabrication and tests on components Basic design

Completion for MRX

for PSRD for IMR Type B for DRX and SCR

Performance durability tests Improvement of motor and bearing Test at room temp.

Basic design Post-test and design analyses To be improved for IMR (or for higher temperature conditions)

Reacti vi ty Control (Normal Condi ti on)

Scram (I ni ti al Condi ti on)

Fig.3

Motion of latch mechanism

Fig. 1

History of in-vessel type CRDM development and plan for improvement

IMR10) or for higher temperature condition will be conducted on the base of Type A CRDM from 2003 by MHI et al. III. Description of In-vessel Type CRDMs 1. Type A CRDM The whole structure of the In-vessel type CRDM set inside the MRX or the PSRD is given in Fig. 2. It consists of a driven motor, a latch mechanism, ball bearings, a driving shaft, a position detector, a spring and so forth. The spring is necessary for a marine reactor to meet a situation of ship inclination or overturn, but it is not necessary for the PSRD. Main functions of the CRDM are to move the control rods

vertically upward or downward, and to insert them instantly into the core for scram. Rotational torque generated by the driving motor should be transferred to the linear movement of the driving shaft. A mechanism to disconnect the driven motor from the driven shaft is necessary for a shorter scramming time. An innovative latch mechanism using separable ball nuts divided into three sections, has been developed to comply with these requirements simultaneously. A principle of motion of the mechanism is illustrated in Fig. 3. In the normal operation, the driving shaft can move up and down by rotation of the driving motor when the separable ball-nuts of the latch mechanism are closed to grasp the driving shaft by energizing a latch magnet. In the scram, the separable ball-nuts will open to separate the

Rod Position Detector Bearing Driving Motor Latch Magnet

Separable Ball-nuts Driving Shaft Spring MRX PSRD

Fig. 2

Whole structure of Type A CRDM

driving shaft by de-energizing the latch magnet, and the driving shaft drops rapidly by the self-weight and spring force. Major parameters are given in Table 1 comparing with that of a typical PWR, which is of the out-vessel type of CRDM. A built-in type of synchronous motor with a permanent magnet for the rotor is applied to the driving motor, from viewpoints of compactness and simplicity. The permanent magnet should have an adequate remanence characteristics to operate under the condition of high temperature and for a long life-period, and also be of a high Curie temperature. A cross sectional view and major parameters of the driving motor are shown in Fig. 4, and Table 2, respectively. The motor consists of the rotor and the stator. The rotor has 8 Table 1

poles made of Sm2-Co17 type magnet, which are fixed to magnet yoke and covered by a thin case made of Inconel for waterproof. The Sm2-Co17 type magnet was selected because of a high heat and corrosion resistance, a high Curie temperature (750deg-C), a high remanent flux and a small irreversible flux loss of the magnet at high temperature. Cross sectional view and major parameters of latch mechanism are shown in Fig. 5 and Table 3, respectively. It contains an electric latch magnet, a pole, an armature, connecting rods, link rods and the separable ball nuts. The latch magnet consists of a casing, a coil bobbin and coils. The casing is made of the magnetic material SUS403 for magnetic path, the coil bobbin of the nonmagnetic material Inconel, and the coils of the MI cables. When the latch

Major parameters of INV-CRDM and comparison with conventional one

Item Type Operating condition:

MRX (Type A) In-vessel, motor driven In the primary water (310, 12MPa)

PWR Out-vessel, Mag-jack Magnet coil in air (<180, 0.1MPa) 274mm 4468mm 3620mm about 1.6kN for drawing up Weight 40 years

Dimensions : Outer diameter Total lengtht Stroke Drive force required Scramming force by Design operational life
Table 2

200mm 1735mm 1400mm 2.2kN for drawing up Weight and spring 20 years

Major parameters of driving motor

Item Type Rotor : Magnet

Parameters Synchronous motor 8x2(row) pieces of Sm2-Co17 type magnet 31mm(breadth)x21.6mm(height)x110mm (length) with R59mm(curveture) Pure iron Inconel, thickness of 1.5 mm 48mm 121 mm MI cable(outer diamter = 2.4mm ) Pure iron coated by ceramics 13.4A 124mm 200mm Inconel, thickness of 1.5 mm 50 rpm 3Nm 54w 29%

Yoke Can Inner diameter of the rotor Outer diameter of the rotor Stator: Coil Structure for magnetic field Maximum available current Inner diameter of the stator Outer diameter of the stator Can Revolution speed Required motor torque Motor power at reqired power Motor efficiency at reqired power

Stator

Rotor

Table 3

Major parameters of latch mechanism

Stator coil Stator case

Spacer Permament magnet Rotor can

Stator inner can Core plate

York Shaft

Item Parameters Type Separable ball nut used type Latch magnet : Coil MI cable (outer diameter of 2.4 mm) Maximum current 13.4A Coil turns 400 Force to hold 0.6kN Force to latch 0.3kN Stroke of armature 17mm = 18mm (de-latch)-1mm (latch) Separable ball nuts Number of balls 18x3(stages)x3(sectors) Diameter of ball 6.35mm Driving shaft : Material SUS 316 coated by cobalt alloy Screw lead 6mm

Fig. 4

Cross sectional view of driving motor

Driving shaft Pole Synchronizing finger Latch magnet Armature Ball bearing Connecting rod Separable ball nut Link Shock absorber Plunger ring

graphite has a very important role of not only holding the ball inside the inner and outer races, but also making an excellent tribo-field for the ball and the races, i.e., an excellent lubricant. The materials given in the table are the ones selected from these tests, taking account of easiness in fabrication. For the condition of steam (for the PSRD), other screening tests showed that softer graphite in the retainer is more effective for a long life operation. Design of the position detector is shown in Fig. 7 and the major parameters in Table 5. The rod position detector consists of a magnetostrictive wire, a magnet and a pulse unit for emitting an electric pulse and receiving a strain pulse. The magnetostrictive wire made of a strong magnetic material containing Fe and Ni will be strained by torsion

De-latch by magnet-off

Latch by magnet-on

Fig. 5

Cross sectional view of latch mechanism

magnet is de-energized, the armature is apart from the pole at a distance of 18 mm. The ball nuts are also separated from the driving shaft as shown in the Fig. 5. The magnet energized by a direct current pulls the armature to the pole with clearance of 1 mm remaining. This motion draws up the connecting rods and the link rods, and the ball nuts grasp the driving shaft by a link device. De-energizing the magnet can make scram motion as mentioned before. Ball bearings are used for supporting the vertical load of most weights and a spring force, and the radial load of the rotational components. Drawing and major parameters of the thrust bearing are shown in Fig. 6 and Table 4, respectively. It consists of the balls, the races, and the retainer. Since an oil lubrication can not be applied due to high temperature circumstance, A lot of screening tests were conducted with various combinations of the materials including metals, ceramics, alloys, and graphite. Result of the screening tests at the same condition of high temperature water as that of MRX revealed that the retainer made of

Retainer cover (SUS304) Ball(Cermet) Retainer(Graphite) Outer race (SUS316,Coated by cobalt alloy)

Inner race (SUS316,Coated b cobalt alloy)

Fig.6

Cross sectional view of ball bearing

Table 4

Major parameters of the thrust ball bearing

Parameters Single row deep groove, No.6924 2.2 kN 50 rpm SUS 316 coated by cobalt alloy Cermet Graphite 120mm 165mm 22mm about 14.3mm 17

Table 5

Major Parameters of the rod position detector

Item Type Axial load Revolution speed Materials of outer and inner races ball retainer Dimensions; inner diameter outer diameter height ball diameter Number of balls

Parameters Item Type Magnetostrictive wire with magnet Working temperature 320 Actual detecting length 1,400 mm Detecting error 1.2mm in 1,400mm length Dimensions : Diameter 14mm Total length 2.4m Materials: Wire Ni-Fe Magnet Sm-Co type permanent magnet

Connector for rod position detector

Connector for CRDM power Position detecting port MI cable Welding

Controller Connector Palse generator Palse detector 28 Position detecting port

Leak check

Welding Back-up seal

Upper cover of reactor vessel

Upper cover of reactor vessl

Well(Sheath) Insulation support Magnetostrictive wire Support tube( 10)

Welding Stopper for shaft

CRDM Cables Position detector rod Position detector well (14mm )

14

Magnet (Inserted into the driving shaft)

Fig. 8

Concept of cable penetration structure

Fig.7

Concept of position detector system

force due to magnetic force during the electric current passes through, known as Wiedemans effect11). The driving motor and the latch mechanism have the center hole as shown in Fig. 2, where the driving shaft together with a magnet of the rod position detector moves vertically. This arrangement is also effective for compactness of the system. Cables for a rod position detector signal and electric lines of the motors penetrate the reactor pressure vessel As the whole of CRDM is installed inside the reactor vessel, a cable penetration for the electricity and the signal through the wall is provided. A concept of the cable penetration structure is shown in Fig. 8. The penetrating cables consist of three for the driving motor and two for the latch magnet. The rod position detector tube covered with

the well (or sheath) also penetrates the wall. The MI cables are connected to the connectors outside the wall. Seals by welding are made at both of the outside and the inside of the reactor vessel wall. Leakage from the seals can be easily detected by leak check shown in Fig. 8. 2. Type B CRDM The whole structure of the In-vessel type CRDM set inside the DRX and major parameters are given in Fig. 9 and Table 6. It also consists of four sections: a power source section for driving the control rods, a section of force transformation from rotation to linear motion, a latch mechanism with shafts, together with a spring, and a control rod position detector. The power source section (Fig. 10(a)) induces rotational torque by a driving motor, which is a built-in type synchronous motor with a permanent magnet for the rotor, the same type of motor as the Type A CRDM. The force

Coil Casing
Driving Motor
48

Core Plate Can Permament Magnet Rotor Shaft

Ball-nuts
S tr oke 3 70

Motor-driven Shaft Contacting Surface Control Rod Driving Shaft Spring

(a) Section of power source

Ball Bearing

Rod Position Detector Control Rod Cluster

Stator Rotor Ball Bearing

DRX (Deep Sea Reactor)

Fig.9 Concept of a very compact INV-CRDM in a very small reactor

Ball Nut Motor-driven Shaft

transformation section (Fig. 10(b)) transfers the rotational torque of the driving motor to the rectilinear motion of the shaft by a ball-nut-screw, which is of a self-lubricating type that doesnt require oil. Although the driving motor and the ball bearings of the Type A CRDM can be basically applied by reducing the sizes to fit in with the DRX, the outer diameter of the latch mechanism with the separable ball nuts cannot be reduced below 200 mm due to mechanical limitations, while the DRX requires the diameter to be less than 140 mm. A new type of latch mechanism using an electromagnetic force to directly connect both of the shafts was applied. The motion of the latch mechanism is illustrated in Fig. 11. The components of the latch mechanism are an electric magnet coil, a magnet enclosure for the magnetic field, and the shafts. These shafts are apart from each other during non-operation. Both the materials of the shafts and the magnetic enclosure -the yoke- are SUS-440, through which a magnetic flux can pass. When the electric magnet is energized, a magnetic flux passes through the magnet Table 6

(b) Section of force transformation

Fig.10

Concept of power source and force transformation

enclosure and these shafts, and both shafts are attracted by the magnetic force. After de-energizing the electric magnet for scram, both shafts can be separated with the assistance of the self-weight and spring force. After scram or once the magnet has been de-energized, both the shafts will be positioned apart from each other, and their maximum distance will be within the stroke. The shafts can be connected again by energizing the magnet after the motor-driven shaft approaches, with the help of the drive motor to the control rod driving shaft. The force (F) to attract the shafts, i.e., the latching force, depends on the amount of magnetic flux (B) passing through

Major parameters of Type B CRDM and comparison with Type A CRDM

Item Type

Type B In-vessel type

TypeA(MRX) In-vessel type 310deg-C,12MPa,Water 200mm 1,400mm 2.2kN Weight and spring 20 years

Operating condition: 298deg-C, Saturated steam Dimensions : Outer diameter Stroke Drive force required Scramming force by Design operational life 140mm 370mm 0.5kN for Latching Weight and spring 20 years

M otor -dr iven S haft Y oke ( Path of M agne t F lux)

C onta ctin g S urfa ce

Co il

Stro ke

Magn etic F lux Co ntrol Rod Dr iving Shaf t

Fig.12

Design analysis of latch mechanism on latching force

Lat ch ( Nor mal Con dit ion)

De-l atc h (S cram)

Fig.11

Motion of latch mechanism

the contacting surface and the cross section area (S) of the shaft, as expressed by the following equation: F =0.5 x B2 x S /t0 (1) where, t0 is the space permeability. The magnetic flux is a function of the electrical current to the magnet coil, the material and configuration of the magnetic flux pathway, the surrounding temperature, and the clearance between both shafts. Although the magnetic flux increases with the electricity to the magnet, its increase is limited by magnetization saturation, and the saturated value Bs, which depends on the material and the surrounding temperature. On the other hand, the total downward load (W) of the control rod driving shaft is expressed by a summation of the weight (W0) of the control rod driving shaft within the stroke, the weight (W1) of the rest of the control rod driving shaft and the control rod cluster, and the spring force (P): W = W0 + W1 + P = S x L x d + W1+ P (2) where L is the stroke, and d is the density of the control rod driving shaft. The force F should be greater than the load W for latching. This leads to the fact that if the stroke is too large, latching will be impossible for a given saturated magnetic flux Bs. Thus, the maximum stroke of this type of latch mechanism (Lmax) is limited by the value of Bs: F W 0.5 x Bs2 x S /t0 S x Lmax x d + W1+ P 0.5 x Bs2 /{t0 x d x (1+N)} Lmax (3) where N (=(W1+P)/W0) is the ratio of the weight W1 and the force P against W0. The maximum stroke Lmax, which satisfy the equation (3), becomes the greater for the larger Bs and the smaller ratio N. In the present design, the stroke

L of 370mm has a relatively large reserve against the Lmax of about 1.8m for N=6 and Bs = 1.6tesura. Tests of the latching and de-latching motion were conducted. The maximum magnet latching force (FM) and the de-latch time (Td) were measured at conditions of room temperature. The test result indicated that the required force of 0.5kN for the DRX can be attained at room temperature conditions. Since the magnetic flux will decrease at a high temperature, a design-based analysis with the B-H curve, the relationship between the magnetic flux density and the magnetic coercive force H for high temperature, is necessary. Concerning the de-latch time, or the scramming time the test showed the design value of 0.2s can also be satisfied, provided a proper clearance, taking into account the attracting force, is maintained. Post test analysis on the force FM was made by a magnet field code, MAGNA/FEM, a finite element analysis code, where the axial symmetry two-dimensional vector potential method was used. After confirming that the analysis can roughly simulate the test, the design based analysis at high temperature steam condition was done using the B-H curve of the SUS-410 for high temperature. The analysis result of the FM for the design is shown in Fig. 12 with a parameter of current. The force FM changes with position of contacting surface. The required force to latch is 300N at the bottom position and 500N at the top position. Even in the case of the current to the magnet 6A, the design value is greater than the required force. The force FM is independent of whether water or steam. It can be confirmed by analysis that the force FM of the design based latch mechanism conforms to the requirements of the very small reactor in high temperature circumstances. IV. Possibilities of Wider Range Application The In-vessel type CRDM mentioned above can be adopted in other reactors. Possibility of application to other reactors is discussed here from viewpoints of reactor scale and operation condition, assuming the operation life time over 20 years, negligible effect of radio-active rays on the

Fig.13

Demagnetization curve of Sm2-Co17 magnet, by Iida et al. 7)

permanent magnet with Sm2-Co17 will be degraded due to an initial and a temporal demagnetization. At operating temperature of 350deg-C, e.g., the magnet force will reduce by the initial demagnetization by about 30% from that at 300deg-C, as shown in Fig. 131). Note that the surface temperature of the magnet will be higher by about 50deg-C than that of the operating temperature due to thermal resistance. The temporal demagnetization will also greatly increase with elaborated temperature as shown in Fig. 141). The driving force of the motor will be reduced totally to a half at the 350deg-C from that of 310deg-C. From economical point of view, therefore, a limitation in temperature exists below 350deg-C. (2) The latch mechanism The separable ball nuts have a limitation for compactness, with outer diameter less 200mm as mentioned before. Its application to smaller reactor, therefore, has a limitation, while no limit for larger ones. For higher temperature condition, the effect will be small, but durability tests will be necessary for long life operation. (3) Ball bearing Ball bearing has flexibility in size and load, and it can be applied to a smaller or a larger reactor, as long as the same operating condition. At higher temperature steam condition, wear of the ball or the race will increase. Test will be necessary for confirmation and selection of the material. (4) The rod position detector Detecting accuracy of the detector depends on the length. For longer stroke up to 4m, detecting accuracy was tested and confirmed by MHI to be less than 2mm under 350deg-C condition.

Fig.14 Change in open-circuit remagnet flux of Sm2-Co17 magnet during exposure, by Iida et al. 7) components, and the same condition of water chemistry treatment as the PWR. Concerning the reactor scale, the control rod shaft stroke becomes longer with reactor power, where the large driving force is required for the motor. For smaller one, compactness of the components, especially, the latch mechanism is a dominating factor. On the operating condition, a higher temperature or pressure will induce great effect on performance or material characteristics of the components, which causes the limitation of application. 1. Type A CRDM (1) The driving motor As long as under the same operating condition, the present driving motor has a reserve in the driving force, which can be increased by proper scale-up or by current increase, if necessary. Scale-down of the driving motor for small reactor is also not difficult. For higher temperature condition, the performance of

2. Type B CRDM (1) The driving motor Almost the same as that of Type A CRDM (2) The latch mechanism

Normal operating temp deg-C

400

IMR 15.5MPa, Steam

300

DRX, SCR 9MPa, Steam (Type B CRDM)

1 10 100

MRX12MPa, Water PSRD10MPa, Steam

200

(Type A CRDM)
1,000 10,000

Reactor power MWt

Fig.15

Types of in-vessel type CRDM and possible operating conditions

This type of latch mechanism using an electromagnetic force has a limitation of the stroke, as expressed basically by equation (3). By the magnet field analysis, it was revealed that the PSRD with 100MWt, not using the spring can adopt this type of latch mechanism. (2) Ball bearing The same as that of Type A CRDM (3) The rod position detector The same as that of Type A CRDM With these considerations, the available operating conditions for each Type CRDM can be presented in Fig. 15, although the boundary is not so rigorous. V. Conclusion The In-vessel type CRDM for integral-type reactors have been developed for smaller reactors and very small reactors. Application range of these CRDMs was discussed and they can be adopted for larger reactors as long as the operating condition of the temperature or pressure are the same as the original conditions. For higher temperature, e.g., over 350 deg-C, improvement of the driving motor, especially is recommended. Acknowledgements The authors wish to express their deep appreciations to Mr.

T. Yoritsune and K. Sawada of JAERI, H. Kawahara of MHI and K.Koyama of NDC for help of this works. References 1) Ishida,T., Yoritune, T., Imayoshi, S., et al., J.Nucl. Scie. and Tech., vol.38, No.7, pp557-570, 2001 2) Yoritune, T., Ishida,T., Imayoshi, S., et al., J.Nucl. Scie. and Tech., vol.39, No.8, pp913-922, 2002 3) Narabayashi, T., et al., Proceeding of ICONE-11, ICONE11-36508, Tokyo, April 2003 4) Zheng, Yanhau, et al., ,2001, J.Nucl. Scie. and Tech., vol.38, No.12, pp1133-1137 5) Delmastro, D., et al., Proceeding of Int. Seminar on Small and Medium Sized Reactors: Status and Propects, IAEA-SR-218/4, Cairo, May 2001 6) Kusunoki, T. ,Yoritsune, T. , Ishida, T. et al., Nucl Eng. Des., 201, pp.155-175 (2000) 7) Ishida,T., Sawada, K., Yonomoto, T., et al., Proceeding of INONE-11, 36470, Tokyo, 2003 8) Iida, H.,et al.,Nucl. Technol. 107,38-48,1994 9) Odano,N., et al., Proceeding of Int. Workshop on Utilization of Nuclear Power in Ocean, pp164-169, Tokyo, Feb. 2000 10) Gotoh, M., et al., Proceeding of International Congress on Advanced Nuclear Power Plants 2002, ICAPP02-1029, Florida, June 2002 11) D. V. Malyugin : On the theory of Wiedeman effects, Journal of Magnetic Materials, 97 (1991) 193-197