The effect of insulation layer of KRUSTY on reactor power

ZHANG Jie; LIU Fudong; WANG Kunpeng

doi:10.3724/j.0253-3219.2026.hjs.49.240517

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The effect of insulation layer of KRUSTY on reactor power

NUCLEAR ENERGY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING | 更新时间：2026-01-19

- The effect of insulation layer of KRUSTY on reactor power
- NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES Vol. 49, Issue 1, Article number: 010607(2026)
- 作者机构：
  
  1.生态环境部核与辐射安全中心北京 102401
  2.国家环境保护核与辐射安全审评模拟分析与验证重点实验室北京 102401
  3.上海交通大学机械与动力工程学院上海 200240
- 作者简介：
  
  ZHANG Jie, male, born in 1982, graduated from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences with a doctoral degree in 2019, focusing on reactor thermohydraulic
  LIU Fudong, E-mail: liufudong1968@sina.com
- 基金信息：
  
  National Natural Science Foundation of China(12435012)
- DOI：10.3724/j.0253-3219.2026.hjs.49.240517
  CLC： TL333
- Received：30 December 2024，
  
  Revised：2025-06-19，
  
  Published：15 January 2026
- 稿件说明：
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张洁,刘福东,王昆鹏.KRUSTY堆芯保温层对功率的影响[J].核技术,2026,49(01):010607.

ZHANG Jie,LIU Fudong,WANG Kunpeng.The effect of insulation layer of KRUSTY on reactor power[J].NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES,2026,49(01):010607.
张洁,刘福东,王昆鹏.KRUSTY堆芯保温层对功率的影响[J].核技术,2026,49(01):010607. DOI： 10.3724/j.0253-3219.2026.hjs.49.240517. CSTR： 32193.14.hjs.CN31-1342/TL.2026.49.240517.

ZHANG Jie,LIU Fudong,WANG Kunpeng.The effect of insulation layer of KRUSTY on reactor power[J].NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES,2026,49(01):010607. DOI： 10.3724/j.0253-3219.2026.hjs.49.240517. CSTR： 32193.14.hjs.CN31-1342/TL.2026.49.240517.

摘要

热管堆属于小型模块化反应堆，具有结构简单、建造方便、易于部署等特点，其运行于负荷跟踪模式。KRUST

Y（Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY）作为热管堆Kilopower的原型机，已经经过了相关测试并取得了令人满意的结果。为了进一步优化KRUSTY的结构，深入理解保温层对反应堆的影响，提升反应堆输出能量的效率，特此对其展开研究。通过多物理场软件Simscape对KRUSTY进行建模，并根据模型进行6种不同程度的修改方案，计算了0.6 $反应性启动、±4×10

-4

反应性引入以及±50%负荷改变工况下各个方案的反应堆行为。其中，多层保温材料（Multilayer Insulation，MLI）加倍方案的能量输出效率最高，达到了79.71%。结果表明：在堆芯、真空罐、反射层等结构间增加空隙数量，并且真空罐内部含有较厚保温层的情况下，反应堆导出能量的效率更高。

Abstract

Background

Small modular reactor has the characteristics of simple structure

convenient construction and easy deployment. As a type of small modular reactor

the heat pipe reactor is usually operated in load following mode. Kilopower is a typical heat pipe reactor designed to provide 1 kW to 10 kW of electricity in space or on the surface of a planet or moon. As the prototype of the heat pipe reactor

the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) has been tested and achieved satisfactory results.

Purpose

This study aims to optimize the structure of KRUSTY

understand the influence of insulation layer on the reactor

and improve the efficiency of reactor output energy.

Methods

Firstly

the multi-physics software Simscape was used as the system analysis tool

and the reactor power calculation module

heat pipe module and so on were added for the simulation of heat pipe reactor. Secondly

taking KURSTY as the object

the system models with six different insulation thickness schemes were built. Finally

the reactor behaviors under the conditions of 0.6 $ reactivity startup

±4×10

-4

reactivity introduction and ±50% load change were investiged

and the calculation results under different schemes were compared.

Results

Comparison results show that the energy output efficiency of double thickness of Multilayer Insulation (MLI) scheme is the highest

reaching 79.71% with minimal the influence of each working condition on the energy output efficiency.

Conclusions

The results show that the efficiency of the reactor's energy output is higher when the number of gaps is increased between the core

the vacuum tank

the neutron reflector and other structures

and the vacuum tank contains a thick insulation layer.

关键词

Keywords

references

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