Contained nuclear explosion breeder reactor system

Patent · Tue Aug 17 00:00:00 EDT 1982

OSTI ID:6534121

Marwick, E F

A large free-falling mass with a hollow vertical hole therethrough is intercepted by a smaller sub-critical high velocity downward traveling mass and with a smaller sub-critical high velocity upward traveling mass. A resulting explosion is contained within a large chamber which contains much molten sodium spray which attenuates the effects of the explosion and absorbs the explosion's energy and debris. The heated molten sodium with debris provides useful thermal energy to a heat exchanger means and materials for new masses and for new assemblies that are manufactured from precipitate therefrom. The reactor system is a net consumer of plutonium and converts spent enriched uranium LWR fuels into enriched (mostly U233) uranium by the neutron irradiation of thorium.

• Assignee: EDB-83-057511
• Patent Number(s): US 4344913
• OSTI ID: 6534121
• Resource Relation: Patent File Date: Filed date 21 May 1979; Other Information: PAT-APPL-040849
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
BREEDER REACTORS
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
CONTAINMENT
SPENT FUELS
TRANSMUTATION
HEAT TRANSFER
IRRADIATION
MASS
PLUTONIUM
PRODUCTION
SLURRIES
SODIUM
SPRAYS
THORIUM
URANIUM 233
VELOCITY
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ACTINIDES
ALKALI METALS
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
DISPERSIONS
ELEMENTS
ENERGY SOURCES
ENERGY TRANSFER
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
EXPLOSIONS
FUELS
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MATERIALS
METALS
MIXTURES
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUCLEI
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR MATERIALS
REACTORS
SUSPENSIONS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
URANIUM ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
210500* - Power Reactors
Breeding
450201 - Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense- Nuclear Explosions & Explosives- Containment