Patent classifications
G21C1/02
PROCESS AND INSTALLATION FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF RADIOACTIVE SODIUM
An installation is for the destruction of radioactive metallic sodium and includes a reaction vessel containing an aqueous solution, the reaction vessel having an aqueous solution outlet; a sodium feed circuit configured for feeding liquid metallic sodium into the reaction vessel; a liquid effluent treatment unit, comprising a drain tank and a drain line fluidically connecting the aqueous solution outlet to the drain tank; a gas treatment unit configured for diluting the gases and releasing the diluted gases into the atmosphere, the drain tank having a gas outlet fluidically connected to the gas treatment unit; an inert gas feed unit configured for feeding the drain tank.
Mobile heat pipe cooled fast reactor system
A mobile heat pipe cooled fast nuclear reactor may be configured for transportation to remote locations and may be able to provide 0.5 to 2 megawatts of power. The mobile heat pipe cooled fast reactor may contain a plurality of heat pipes that are proximate to a plurality of fuel pins inside the reactor. The plurality of heat pipes may extend out of the reactor. The reactor may be configured to be placed in a standard shipping container, and may further be configured to be contained within a cask and attached to a skid for easier transportation.
Mobile heat pipe cooled fast reactor system
A mobile heat pipe cooled fast nuclear reactor may be configured for transportation to remote locations and may be able to provide 0.5 to 2 megawatts of power. The mobile heat pipe cooled fast reactor may contain a plurality of heat pipes that are proximate to a plurality of fuel pins inside the reactor. The plurality of heat pipes may extend out of the reactor. The reactor may be configured to be placed in a standard shipping container, and may further be configured to be contained within a cask and attached to a skid for easier transportation.
Flux-shifting reactivity control system
A control assembly for a nuclear reactor includes a first reactivity control assembly having a first neutron modifying material, a second reactivity control assembly having a second neutron modifying material, and at least one drive mechanism coupled to the first neutron modifying material and the second neutron modifying material. The first neutron modifying material and the second neutron modifying material are selectively repositionable relative to a fuel region of the nuclear reactor. The at least one drive mechanism is configured to provide the first neutron modifying material and the second neutron modifying material in different directions through the fuel region thereby shifting a flux distribution within the fuel region away from the second neutron modifying material.
Direct reactor auxiliary cooling system for a molten salt nuclear reactor
This disclosure describes various configurations and components of a molten fuel fast or thermal nuclear reactor for managing the operating temperature in the reactor core. The disclosure includes various configurations of direct reactor auxiliary cooling system (DRACS) heat exchangers and primary heat exchangers as well as descriptions of improved flow paths for nuclear fuel, primary coolant and DRACS coolant through the reactor components.
High-burnup Fast Reactor Metal Fuel
The disclosure discloses a high-burnup fast reactor metal fuel, wherein the reactor core is loaded with metal fuel made of natural uranium alloy U-50Zr. The metal fuel manually controls the temperature to realize phase transition, increase burnup, and extend the service life of fuel; increases the fuel burnup to increase uranium utilization and reduce the pressure of disposing nuclear waste; extends the fuel life cycle to reduce nuclear power costs and improve the economy of nuclear energy; effectively carries out the timely release of fission gas and the periodic elimination of fuel defects, thus reducing the fuel-cladding mechanical interaction caused by swelling, and increasing the safety.
High-burnup Fast Reactor Metal Fuel
The disclosure discloses a high-burnup fast reactor metal fuel, wherein the reactor core is loaded with metal fuel made of natural uranium alloy U-50Zr. The metal fuel manually controls the temperature to realize phase transition, increase burnup, and extend the service life of fuel; increases the fuel burnup to increase uranium utilization and reduce the pressure of disposing nuclear waste; extends the fuel life cycle to reduce nuclear power costs and improve the economy of nuclear energy; effectively carries out the timely release of fission gas and the periodic elimination of fuel defects, thus reducing the fuel-cladding mechanical interaction caused by swelling, and increasing the safety.
Standing wave nuclear fission reactor and methods
- Charles E. Ahlfeld ,
- Thomas M. Burke ,
- Tyler S. Ellis ,
- John Rogers Gilleland ,
- Jonatan Hejzlar ,
- Pavel Hejzlar ,
- Roderick A. Hyde ,
- David G. McAlees ,
- Jon D. McWhirter ,
- Ashok Odedra ,
- Robert C. Petroski ,
- Nicholas W. Touran ,
- Joshua C. Walter ,
- Kevan D. Weaver ,
- Thomas Allan Weaver ,
- Charles Whitmer ,
- Lowell L. Wood, Jr. ,
- George B. Zimmerman
Disclosed embodiments include nuclear fission reactor cores, nuclear fission reactors, methods of operating a nuclear fission reactor, and methods of managing excess reactivity in a nuclear fission reactor.
FUEL ASSEMBLY AND CORE OF FAST REACTOR
To provide is a fuel assembly capable of easily adjusting average MA enrichment in an inner blanket region. An inner core fuel assembly 7 loaded in an inner core region 2 of a core of a fast reactor includes a plurality of fuel rods 10 and a plurality of fuel rods 19. Each of the fuel rods 10 includes a lower core fuel region 12, an inner blanket region 11, and an upper core fuel region 13. A U—Pu—Zr metal fuel is disposed in the lower core fuel region 12 and the upper core fuel region 13, and a U—Zr metal fuel is disposed in the inner blanket region 11. Each of the fuel rods 19 includes a lower core fuel region 12, an inner blanket region 20, and an upper core fuel region 13. A U—Pu—Zr metal fuel is disposed in the lower core fuel region 12 and the upper core fuel region 13 of the fuel rod 19, and a MA-Zr metal fuel is disposed in the inner blanket region 20. By adjusting the number of the fuel rods 10 and the number of the fuel rods 19, MA enrichment in the inner blanket region 9 of the fuel assembly 7 can be easily adjusted.
Liquid metal-cooled nuclear reactor incorporating a completely passive residual power removal (DHR) system
The invention concerns a liquid metal-cooled fast-neutron nuclear reactor (1), comprising a system (2) for removing at least part of both the nominal power and the residual power of the reactor, which ensures, at the same time: removal of the residual power in a totally passive manner from the initial instant of the accident; removal of the heat through the primary vessel; implementation of a final cold source (container with PCM) other than the sodium/air or NaK/air heat exchangers used in the prior art.