Preliminary identification of future needs with respect to Heavy Liquid Metal Core and Pool Thermal Hydraulics

In Europe, an important role is recognized for fast reactors, since they will enable the closure of the fuel cycle, which is necessary for a sustainable and responsible use of the natural resources being provided by our planet. There are several fast reactor designs under development in Europe. Within this paper, the focus will be on two heavy liquid metal cooled fast reactor designs, i.e. the lead-bismuth cooled MYRRHA design and the lead-cooled ALFRED design. The MYRRHA design is described extensively by [1], while [2] describes the ALFRED design. Both designs are pool type reactors, however their pool configurations are significantly different. This is also true for the core and fuel assembly designs, with the ALFRED design aiming at deploying gridspaced fuel assemblies, while the MYRRHA design aims at wire-wrapped fuel assemblies. Both design projects are supported by a long-standing series of collaborative projects sponsored by the European Commission, allowing to build and bring together the European expertise coordinating and streamlining the R&D efforts in all disciplines necessary for the design teams.