Thorium cycle hybrid reactor design study
This report discusses the progress made on the study of thorium-uranium fuel cycles in a tokamak hybrid reactor and on cost improvement considerations such as the use of a bundle divertor for impurity control. The thorium fuel cycle offers the potential for greater proliferation resistance than the previously studied plutonium-uranium fuel cycle. The initial effort in the neutronic blanket analyses (1) evaluated alternative blanket arrangements to assess the /sup 233/U fissile fuel production capability of the hybrid, (2) determined tritium breeding capabilities of various blanket zone arrangements, (3) established that plutonium production can be controlled by design parameter selection to either breakeven or burnup /sup 239/Pu, and (4) calculated the associated thermal power plant output for each of the scenarios. It was concluded that the hybrid could produce 1 to 4 tonnes/yr of /sup 233/U with the various designs considered. Further study would be required to select an optimum design for a completely self-sufficient plant. A preliminary bundle divertor concept was completed and analyzed which showed an improved performance over previous concepts. Cost considerations are discussed, but overall plant cost analysis was not conducted since the study consisted of parametric analysis and subsystem design considerations.
- Research Organization:
- Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 5403849
- Report Number(s):
- EPRI-ER-1195
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700205* -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Fuel
Heating
& Injection Systems
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BREEDING
BUNDLE DIVERTORS
COST
DIVERTORS
ELECTRIC COILS
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FUEL CYCLE
HEAVY NUCLEI
HYBRID REACTORS
ISOTOPES
MAGNET COILS
NUCLEAR FUEL CONVERSION
NUCLEI
PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS
POWER DENSITY
RADIOISOTOPES
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
THORIUM CYCLE
TOKAMAK TYPE REACTORS
URANIUM 233
URANIUM ISOTOPES
WALL LOADING
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
700205* -- Fusion Power Plant Technology-- Fuel
Heating
& Injection Systems
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BREEDING
BUNDLE DIVERTORS
COST
DIVERTORS
ELECTRIC COILS
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FUEL CYCLE
HEAVY NUCLEI
HYBRID REACTORS
ISOTOPES
MAGNET COILS
NUCLEAR FUEL CONVERSION
NUCLEI
PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS
POWER DENSITY
RADIOISOTOPES
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
THORIUM CYCLE
TOKAMAK TYPE REACTORS
URANIUM 233
URANIUM ISOTOPES
WALL LOADING
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES