US-DOE Fusion-Breeder Program: blanket design and system performance
Conceptual design studies are being used to assess the technical and economic feasibility of fusion's potential to produce fissile fuel. A reference design of a fission-suppressed blanket using conventional materials is under development. Theoretically, a fusion breeder that incorporates this fusion-suppressed blanket surrounding a 3000-MW tandem mirror fusion core produces its own tritium plus 5600 kg of /sup 233/U per year. The /sup 233/U could then provide fissile makeup for 21 GWe of light-water reactor (LWR) power using a denatured thorium fuel cycle with full recycle. This is 16 times the net electric power produced by the fusion breeder (1.3 GWe). The cost of electricity from this fusion-fission system is estimated to be only 23% higher than the cost from LWRs that have makeup from U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ at present costs (55 $/kg). Nuclear performance, magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), radiation effects, and other issues concerning the fission-suppressed blanket are summarized, as are some of the present and future objectives of the fusion breeder program.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 6012859
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-88872; CONF-830632-5; ON: DE83014950
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BREEDING
BREEDING BLANKETS
COST
DESIGN
ELECTRICITY
ENERGY SOURCES
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FUELS
HEAVY NUCLEI
HYBRID REACTORS
ISOTOPES
MAGNETIC MIRROR TYPE REACTORS
MATERIALS
NUCLEAR FUEL CONVERSION
NUCLEAR FUELS
NUCLEI
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR MATERIALS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
TMR REACTORS
URANIUM 233
URANIUM ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES