CAP1400
Chinese nuclear reactor type
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The CAP1400 is a Chinese Generation III+ reactor Pressurized water reactor developed by the State Power Investment Corporation.[2] It was based on Westinghouse AP1000 design but with full Chinese intellectual property rights.
| CAP1400 | |
|---|---|
General layout of CAP-1400 | |
| Generation | Generation III+ reactor |
| Reactor concept | Pressurized water reactor |
| Status | Under construction |
| Main parameters of the reactor core | |
| Fuel (fissile material) | 235U (LEU) |
| Fuel state | Solid |
| Neutron energy spectrum | Thermal |
| Primary control method | Control rods |
| Primary moderator | Water |
| Primary coolant | Liquid (light water) |
| Reactor usage | |
| Primary use | Generation of electricity |
| Power (thermal) | 4040 MWth |
| Power (electric) | ~1500 MWel[1] |
Design
The CAP-1400 is a Pressurized water reactor, in which the primary coolant (water) is pumped under high pressure to the reactor core where it is heated by the energy released by the fission of atoms. CAP1400 has two primary coolant loops that transfer the heat generated by the fission reaction of 235U in the reactor core to the steam generator, each loop consists of a hot leg, two cold legs, one steam generator, and two canned pumps. CAP1400 has one pressurizer (PRZ) connected to one of the hot legs by a surge line. The fuel core of the reactor has 193 fuel assemblies. The safety systems are fully passive driven, mainly by gravity.
CAP-1400 has a design life of 60 years, and has refueling interval of 18 months, and averaged discharge fuel burnup of ≥50,000 MWd⋅(tU)−1. The system operated pressure is 15.5Mpa, and coolant average temperature is 304 °C, while steam pressure at steam generator is 6.01Mpa. The steam flow at steam generator is around 1123.4 kg⋅s−1.
CAP1400 has a compact and general layout. It covers area of only 0.164 m2·kW−1, which is less than AP1000. Estimated cost of the CAP-1400 is around 16,000 CNY⋅kW−1 ($2443 USD⋅kW−1 / $3800 USD⋅kW−1 PPP).
In February 2019, the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research & Design Institute announced that it had begun the conceptual design process for the CAP-1700 based on CAP-1400.[3]
The CAP-1400 project may extend to a larger, three-loop CAP-2100 design if the passive cooling system can be scaled to that level.[4].