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The Molten Salt Fast Reactor is a reactor concept developed by the European Union based on a liquid fuel salt circulating through the reactor core. A peculiar emergency system, which takes advantage of the liquid fuel state, is represented by a tank located underneath the core, where the fuel can be passively drained and cooled; its geometry ensures that the fuel remains in subcritical conditions. In the framework of the SAMOFAR project, a design for the Emergency Draining Tank has been proposed: the tank shall be equipped with vertical cooling elements, arranged in a hexagonal grid; the liquid fuel salt, which heats up due to decay heat, will fill the gaps between the elements. In this work, analytical methods (Green's functions and orthogonal decomposition) are employed to study the transient heat transfer associated with the proposed design and to perform a preliminary dimensioning of the system, such that overheating is avoided in any moment of the transient and the fuel salt is kept in a liquid state and in safe conditions for a long time. The models are constituted by multilayer monodimensional slabs and cylinders, with a pure heat conduction model. The assessment of the available grace time and preliminary considerations about fuel salt freezing and its influence on the system effectiveness are also ...

To improve the public acceptance of the future nuclear power in Europe we have to demonstrate that the new reactors have significantly higher safety level compared to traditional reactors. The ESFR-SMART project (European Sodium Fast Reactor Safety Measures Assessment and Research Tools) aims at enhancing further the safety of Generation-IV SFRs and in particular of the commercial-size European Sodium Fast Reactor (ESFR) in accordance with the European Sustainable Nuclear Industrial Initiative (ESNII) roadmap and in close cooperation with the Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration (ASTRID) program. The project aims at 5 specific objectives: Produce new experimental data in order to support calibration and validation of the computational tools for each defence-in-depth level. Test and qualify new instrumentations in order to support their utilization in the reactor protection system. Perform further calibration and validation of the computational tools for each defence-in-depth level in order to support safety assessments of Generation-IV SFRs, using the data produced in the project as well as selected legacy data. Select, implement and assess new safety measures for the commercial-size ESFR, using the GIF methodologies, the FP7 CP-ESFR project legacy, the calibrated and validated codes and being in accordance with the update of the European and international safety frameworks taking into account the Fukushima accident. Strengthen and link together new networks, in particular, the network of the European sodium facilities and the network of the European students working on the SFR technology. By addressing the industry, policy makers and general public, the project is expected to make a meaningful impact on economics, environment, EU policy and society. Selected results and milestones achieved during the first eighteen months of the project will be briefly presented, including proposal of new safety measures for ESFR; evaluation of ESFR core performance; benchmarking of codes; ...