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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
In transition: Commercializing fusion power
Commercial fusion power is closer than ever. There are now around 30 U.S. fusion companies, several of which claim to be on track to connect to the grid as early as the 2030s.
Tokamak and laser inertial confinement approaches benefit from decades of research at facilities such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and ITER, with alternative concepts including stellarator, magnetic mirror, and Z-pinch confinement also making notable progress as private and government funding for fusion increases.
Alex Galperin
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 86 | Number 1 | January 1984 | Pages 112-115
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE84-A17976
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
An alternative method of thorium utilization in light water reactors (LWRs) is proposed. The main idea of the proposed concept is to apply a different fuel management scheme for the neutron-producing part of the core, the uranium seed, and for the neutron-absorbing part of the core, the thorium blanket. An example of the specific design based on this concept was analyzed, and preliminary evaluation indicated the potential of significant savings in uranium consumption. The fuel cycle of the proposed concept includes reprocessing and re-fabrication of uranium fuel only, without separation of plutonium and 233U isotopes. Such a fuel cycle offers higher proliferation resistance compared with the LWR recycle mode of operation or the light water breeder reactor fuel cycle. Finally, the feasibility of the reactor design based on the proposed concept may be established after detailed thermal-hydraulic analysis and study of the irradiation behavior of the thorium-based fuel.