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Conference Spotlight
Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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New coolants, new fuels: A new generation of university reactors
Here’s an easy way to make aging U.S. power reactors look relatively youthful: Compare them (average age: 43) with the nation’s university research reactors. The 25 operating today have been licensed for an average of about 58 years.
Magdi M. H. Ragheb, Said I. Abdel-Khalik, Mahmoud Youssef, Charles W. Maynard
Nuclear Technology | Volume 45 | Number 2 | September 1979 | Pages 140-152
Technical Paper | Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT79-A32304
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Three-dimensional neutronics models of the SOLASE-H fusion-fission reactor have been analyzed by Monte Carlo. In this design, light water reactor (LWR) fertile ThO2 fuel bundles are enriched in the fissile isotope 233U and then shipped for burning in the LWRs. A concept where the fertile fuel bundles constitute a lattice configuration with the moderator-multiplier material is investigated. Parametric lattice calculations as a function of the neutron moderator-multiplier to fuel volume ratio (vm/vf) in the lattice show that it is possible in such a concept to enhance the fissile nuclei production density in the fertile fuel, compared to cases where a lattice configuration is not used. This leads to shorter times to attain projected average fissile enrichments, using substantially smaller fuel inventories. Surrounding the whole reactor cavity with the neutron multiplier is found to enhance the fissile breeding in the radial blanket. Severe asymmetries in the spatial distribution of the fissile enrichment are detected and suggest the necessity of elaborate fuel irradiation and management programs in the case of a laser-driven system. The concept of a lattice configuration and the use of the whole solid angle surrounding the fusion source for neutron multiplication are recommended for adoption in future magnetic and inertial confinement fusion-fission hybrid reactor designs.