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LLNL, Ampera partner to develop thorium-based TRISO fuel
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has formed a strategic partnership with Ampera to develop the company’s nuclear fuel concept through a project named THUNDER, for Thorium Unimodal Droplet Ejection for Reactors.
The focus of THUNDER is fabricating TRISO made with kernels of thorium rather than the usual uranium. LLNL and Ampera will evaluate and optimize liquid metal–jetting technology to produce highly uniform, spherical kernels of thorium-232 for later processing into TRISO fuel.
T. S. Sumner, W. M. Stacey, S. M. Ghiaasiaan
Nuclear Technology | Volume 171 | Number 2 | August 2010 | Pages 123-135
Technical Paper | Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT10-A10777
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The transient response of the subcritical advanced burner reactor (SABR) subcritical, sodium-cooled, transuranic-fueled, fast transmutation reactor design concept, which ensued from several accident initiation events, has been simulated. The results establish such things as the number of primary loop pumps that could fail or the magnitude of flow reduction in the intermediate loop heat removal capability due to either pump failure or intermediate heat exchange failure that could be tolerated without core damage, the consequences of loss of electrical power, and the consequences of control rod ejection or neutron source excursions. Suggestions are offered for design changes to improve the already good safety characteristics of the design concept.