Modular nuclear steam supply
- Foster Wheeler Energy Applications, Inc., Livingston, NJ (USA)
In 1985, the U.S. Department of Energy began a $90 million program to study some basic concepts of nuclear-fueled power generation. The problem was to create an inherently safe, modular nuclear steam supply system that could be installed more quickly and less expensively than current nuclear systems. The DOE chose the Power Reactor Inherently Safe Module as the official nuclear reactor design. The PRISM concept, now called the Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor (ALMR), was developed by a team of 10 companies. Among the interesting features of the ALMR design is the placement of the components and operating systems. The reactor module is placed below grade in a silo that is physically separated from the steam-generating system, much of which is also underground. Safety devices include the reactor auxiliary cooling systems and seismic isolators. The reactor and steam-generating system are connected by piping running through a below-grade tunnel. A key advantage of the ALMR concept is its use of uranium-238 as the primary fuel. U-238 is more plentiful and less expensive than the U-235 used in the reactors of current nuclear plants.
- OSTI ID:
- 5411666
- Journal Information:
- Mechanical Engineering; (USA), Vol. 111:10; ISSN 0025-6501
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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