Transcript Slide 1

Liquid Fueled Thorium Reactors
without equations
∑x<+-=-*±
An overview of liquid-fueled liquid-cooled thermal
spectrum Thorium breeder reactors and why they
matter.
Rob Morse
Science Engineer- Nuclear Option
19 October 2009
1
Power makes a difference.
LFTR wo Equations. Thorium
power conference, Oct 2009
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The Necessities
 Self regulating when it is ON
 Passively safe when it is OFF
 Inherently safe in case of an ACCIDENT
LFTR wo Equations. Thorium
power conference, Oct 2009
3
Fuel for a lifetime?
You consume a ball of coal
10 meters in diameter…
…or a ball or thorium 37mm in diameter.
LFTR wo Equations. Thorium
power conference, Oct 2009
4
Moderation and nuclear probabilities
Neutron Cross Sections
barns (10e-28 m-sq)
500
400
300
200
100
0
Fast U-233 fission
Fast Thorium absobtion Thermal U-233 fission
Thermal Thorium
absorbtion
>>Fast to Slow>>
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power conference, Oct 2009
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Speed?
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6
What does it mean if a reactor is
extremely temperature stable?
A power plant with a built in thermostat!
inlet
outlet
fuel-coolant
reactivity
temperature
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power conference, Oct 2009
7
Improved reactor design
reactivity
temperature
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The Reactor at “idle”
Closed Loop Cooling
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An Efficient Design
Little or no radioactive waste
No bomb materials
Low cost per power delivered
A small physical size
A wide choice of building sites.
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Size matters!
Your nuclear waste is the size of a few grains
of rice!
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Lets Make Power
 The heat transfer fluid (molten salt) is at low pressure.
 We can use a gas cycle, like a jet engine, at high temperature.
– This means they can have high efficiency, a 50% reduction in power
rejected to the environment per power delivered to the electric grid.
 These plants can run at partial load.
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power conference, Oct 2009
12
THE WORLD IS FLAWED
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power conference, Oct 2009
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