Suppressed-fission ICF hybrid reactor

Conference · Tue May 20 00:00:00 EDT 1986

OSTI ID:5851201

Hogan, W J; Meier, W R

A suppressed-fission ICF hybrid reactor has been designed to maximize the production of /sup 233/U. In this design, Be is used as a neutron multiplier. An annular array of Be columns surrounds the fusion pulse inside the reaction chember. The Be columns consist of short cylinders of Be joined together with steel snap rings. Vertical holes in the Be carry liquid lithium coolant and steel-clad thorium fuel pins. The lithium coolant is supplied at the top of the chamber, traverses through the Be columns and exits at the bottom. The columns are attached to top and bottom plates in such a way as to tolerate radiation-induced swelling and the vibrations resulting from each fusion pulse. A thin (10 cm) liquid Li fall region protects the Be columns from direct exposure to the X-rays and debris emitted by the fuel capsule. A neutronics study of this design indicates that the specific production of /sup 233/U fuel is increased by operating at relatively large thorium volume fractions. A design at a fertile fuel fraction of 30 vol % produces a total breeding ratio of over 2.1. The /sup 6/Li to /sup 7/Li ratio is adjusted to keep the tritium breeding ratio at about 1.0. In such a reactor, about 3400 kg of /sup 233/U can be produced per full power year at a fusion power level of 800 MW. Reactor support ratios greater than 13 can be achieved, leading to beneficial results even if the fusion reactor cost is significantly greater than that of a fission reactor.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 5851201
• Report Number(s): UCRL-94322; CONF-860551-6; ON: DE86010946
• Resource Relation: Conference: Technical meeting and workshop on fusion reactor design and technology, Yalta, USSR, 26 May 1986; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
HYBRID REACTORS
DESIGN
BERYLLIUM
BREEDING
COST
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
NEUTRON TRANSPORT
THORIUM OXIDES
TRITIUM
URANIUM 233
X RADIATION
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHALCOGENIDES
CONFINEMENT
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTS
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
HYDROGEN ISOTOPES
IONIZING RADIATIONS
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
METALS
NEUTRAL-PARTICLE TRANSPORT
NUCLEAR FUEL CONVERSION
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLASMA CONFINEMENT
RADIATION TRANSPORT
RADIATIONS
RADIOISOTOPES
THORIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
700208* - Fusion Power Plant Technology- Inertial Confinement Technology