Gas core reactor power plants designed for low proliferation potential
- comp.
The feasibility of gas core nuclear power plants to provide adequate power while maintaining a low inventory and low divertability of fissile material is studied. Four concepts were examined. Two used a mixture of UF/sub 6/ and helium in the reactor cavities, and two used a uranium-argon plasma, held away from the walls by vortex buffer confinement. Power levels varied from 200 to 2500 MWth. Power plant subsystems were sized to determine their fissile material inventories. All reactors ran, with a breeding ratio of unity, on /sup 233/U born from thorium. Fission product removal was continuous. Newly born /sup 233/U was removed continuously from the breeding blanket and returned to the reactor cavities. The 2500-MWth power plant contained a total of 191 kg of /sup 233/U. Less than 4 kg could be diverted before the reactor shut down. The plasma reactor power plants had smaller inventories. In general, inventories were about a factor of 10 less than those in current U.S. power reactors.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 7211052
- Report Number(s):
- LA-6900-MS; TRN: 78-000131
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
GAS FUELED REACTORS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
NUCLEAR MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
REACTOR KINETICS
DESIGN
FUEL CYCLE
REACTOR CORES
THERMODYNAMIC CYCLES
FLUID FUELED REACTORS
HOMOGENEOUS REACTORS
KINETICS
MANAGEMENT
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTORS
210400* - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Otherwise Moderated or Unmoderated