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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.
Howard A. Larson, William F. Booty, Donald R. Chick, Lynn J. Christensen, Robert J. Forrester, J. W. Sielinsky
Nuclear Technology | Volume 70 | Number 2 | August 1985 | Pages 167-179
Technical Paper | Fission Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/NT85-A33641
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) has been modified to permit automatic control capability. Necessary mechanical and electrical changes were made on a regular control rod position; motor, gears, and controller were replaced. A digital computer system was installed that has the programming capability for varied power profiles. The modifications permit transient testing at EBR-II. Experiments were run that increased power linearly as much as 4 MW/s [16% of initial power of 25 MW (thermal)/s], held power constant, and decreased power at a rate no slower than the increase rate. Thus the performance of the automatic control algorithm, the mechanical and electrical control equipment, and the qualifications of the driver fuel for future power change experiments were all demonstrated.