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THORIUM ROD BLANKET STUDY FOR THERMAL BREEDER REACTOR

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:4347100
>A two-region thermal breeder consisting of a homogeneous core of U/sup 233/SO/sub 4/ in D/sub 2/O and a blanket of Th rods suspended in D/sub 2/O is investigated from the standpoint of the economics of such a reactor as a central station power producer. Blanket thickness and Th concentration are optimized, and the optimized Th rod blanket reactor is compared with a similar reactor having a ThO/sub 2/ slurry blanket. From this comparison, power costs are found to be ahout 9% higher in the case of the Th rod blanket. A novel blanket design consisting of rotating cylindrical assemblies is suggested as a method for reducing Pa/sup 233/ losses, and some aspects of the design of such a blanket is considered. (auth)
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology, Tenn.
NSA Number:
NSA-12-002067
OSTI ID:
4347100
Report Number(s):
CF-55-8-194(Del.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English