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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.
N. C. J. Chen, Mark W. Wendel, Graydon L. Yoder, Jr.
Nuclear Technology | Volume 105 | Number 1 | January 1994 | Pages 104-122
Technical Paper | Special on Nuclear Criticality Safety / Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A34914
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A RELAP5 system model for the Advanced Neutron Source Reactor has been developed for performing conceptual safety analysis report calculations. To better represent thermal-hydraulic behavior of the core, three specific changes in the RELAP5 computer code were implemented: a turbulent forced-convection heat transfer correlation, a critical heat flux (CHF) correlation, and an interfacial drag correlation. The model consists of the core region, the heat exchanger loop region, and the pressurizing/letdown system region. Results for three loss-of-coolant accident analyses are presented: (a) an instantaneous double-ended guillotine (DEG) core outlet break with a cavitating venturi installed downstream of the core, (b) a core pressure boundary tube outer wall rupture, and (c) a DEG core inlet break with a finite break-formation time. The results show that the core can survive without exceeding the flow excursion or CHF thermal limits at a 95% probability level if the proper mitigation options are provided.