Editorial: Experimental and numerical studies on liquid metal cooled fast reactors

Liquid metal cooled fast reactors (LMFRs) use liquid metal as a coolant instead of water commonly used in commercial nuclear power plants. This allows the coolant to operate at a higher temperature and a lower pressure than current reactors, thus improving the efficiency and safety of the reactor system. They also use the fast neutron spectrum, which means that neutrons can cause fission without having to be slowed down first, as in current reactors. This allows liquid metal cooled fast reactors to use fissile materials and spent fuels from the current reactor to generate electricity. Due to their much higher power density, higher thermodynamic efficiency, and higher temperature, liquid metal cooled fast reactors have become more and more attractive among different countries for improving reactor designs, power outputs, and nuclear waste management (Alemberti et al., 2014; Ohshima and Kubo, 2016). Understanding physical phenomena in liquid metal cooled fast reactors is thus vital in increasing innovation for reactor design and operation optimization. To address the challenges related to liquid metal cooled fast reactors, the team of editors organizes the Research Topic “Experimental and Numerical Studies on Liquid Metal Cooled Fast Reactors” in the journal Frontiers in Energy Research. Finally, 16 articles are collected, covering different yet essential aspects of liquid metal cooled fast reactors, including neutronics, thermal hydraulics and severe accident analysis, and nuclear fuels/materials performance. Both experimental and computational approaches have been collected to significantly contribute to advances in liquid metal cooled fast reactors.