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High-temperature plumbing and advanced reactors
The use of nuclear fission power and its role in impacting climate change is hotly debated. Fission advocates argue that short-term solutions would involve the rapid deployment of Gen III+ nuclear reactors, like Vogtle-3 and -4, while long-term climate change impact would rely on the creation and implementation of Gen IV reactors, “inherently safe” reactors that use passive laws of physics and chemistry rather than active controls such as valves and pumps to operate safely. While Gen IV reactors vary in many ways, one thing unites nearly all of them: the use of exotic, high-temperature coolants. These fluids, like molten salts and liquid metals, can enable reactor engineers to design much safer nuclear reactors—ultimately because the boiling point of each fluid is extremely high. Fluids that remain liquid over large temperature ranges can provide good heat transfer through many demanding conditions, all with minimal pressurization. Although the most apparent use for these fluids is advanced fission power, they have the potential to be applied to other power generation sources such as fusion, thermal storage, solar, or high-temperature process heat.1–3
Patrick O’Rourke, Scott Ramsey, Brian Temple
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 196 | Number 7 | July 2022 | Pages 792-810
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2021.2018926
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
This work applies the Lie Group Theory (LGT) to the neutron slowing-down equations for the n’th lethargy interval with the goal of defining the symmetry group associated with Dawn’s analytical solution. We also demonstrate two competing methods of the LGT and how they each result in the same solution and symmetry group. The two methods differ by taking advantage of the definition of a symmetry group from either a geometrical perspective or an algebraic perspective. The methods are the Traditional Lie Algorithm, which we apply to the equivalent system of ordinary differential equations for neutrons slowing down, as well as the Grigoriev-Meleshko Method, which we apply directly to the Volterra integral equation for neutrons slowing down. We also discuss the physical meaning of the symmetry group related to Dawn’s solution.