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Playing the “bad guy” to enhance next-generation safety
Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.
Timothy M. Schriener, Mohamed S. El-Genk
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 61 | Number 1 | January 2012 | Pages 349-354
Modeling and Simulations | Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-A13444
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This paper presents the results of iterative neutronics and thermal-hydraulic design optimization of a liquid metal cooled reactor for lunar surface power. The reactor placed below grade on the lunar surface is capable of generating 1.0 MWth continuously for ~20 years without refueling. It satisfies subcriticality requirement for shutdown, during launch and when submerged in wet sand and flooded with seawater in the unlikely event of a launch abort accident. The 3-D thermal-hydraulic design ensures good flow distribution and cooling of UN fuel pins and adequate mixing in the exit duct.