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Argonne updates: Fuel research and materials lab
Over the past two weeks, Argonne National Laboratory has announced numerous significant advancements being made by its staff to push forward nuclear fuels and materials research. Those announcements include the opening of the new Activated Materials Lab, the development of a new measurement technique, and the application of new artificial intelligence tools.
Howard F. Bauman, Paul R. Kasten
Nuclear Technology | Volume 2 | Number 4 | August 1966 | Pages 287-293
Technical Paper and Note | doi.org/10.13182/NT66-A27518
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Thermal- and intermediate-energy molten-salt breeder reactors appear capable of fuel doubling times less than 20 years and fuel-cycle costs under 0.4 mill/kWh. These reactors are fueled with circulating molten salts consisting of the fluorides of thorium, uranium, lithium, and beryllium. Three reactor concepts were analyzed; the first two were graphite-moderated thermal breeders. In the first of these, the fissile and fertile materials were kept separated by graphite tubes in the core; in the second, the fissile and fertile materials were included in a single salt stream. In the third concept, an intermediate-energy breeder, the core was an unmoderated salt containing both fissile and fertile materials. The reactors were optimized for minimum fuel-cycle cost and maximum annual fuel yield. The results showed that each concept was capable of a low fuel-cycle cost and a short doubling time; however, the major development problems are different for each concept.