Standing wave nuclear fission reactor and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9653187-B2
Application number	US-93025910-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 30, 2010
Priority date	Nov 2, 2009
Publication date	May 16, 2017
Grant date	May 16, 2017

Abstract

Disclosed embodiments include nuclear fission reactor cores, nuclear fission reactors, methods of operating a nuclear fission reactor, and methods of managing excess reactivity in a nuclear fission reactor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of operating a nuclear fission reactor, the method comprising:
fissioning fissile nuclear fuel material in a plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies in a central core region of a nuclear fission reactor core of a nuclear fission reactor;
breeding fissile material in ones of a plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies in the central core region of the nuclear fission reactor core; and
shuffling selected ones of the plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies and selected ones and selected others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies in a manner that establishes a standing wave of breeding fissile nuclear fuel material and fissioning fissile nuclear fuel material.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein fissioning fissile nuclear fuel material in a plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies in a central core region of a nuclear fission reactor core of a nuclear fission reactor includes generating in the central core region at least a predetermined amount of power in the nuclear fission reactor core.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
absorbing neutrons in a peripheral core region.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein absorbing neutrons in a peripheral core region includes absorbing neutrons in others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies in the peripheral core region.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein absorbing neutrons in others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies in the peripheral core region includes breeding fissile material in others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies in the peripheral core region.

6. The method of claim 3 , wherein absorbing neutrons in a peripheral core region includes absorbing neutrons in a plurality of neutron absorber assemblies in the peripheral core region.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein absorbing neutrons in a plurality of neutron absorber assemblies in the peripheral core region includes absorbing neutrons in a plurality of neutron absorber assemblies in the peripheral core region such that power produced in the peripheral core region is maintained below a predetermined power level.

8. The method of claim 3 , wherein absorbing neutrons in a peripheral core region includes absorbing neutrons in others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies in the peripheral core region and absorbing neutrons in a plurality of neutron absorber assemblies in the peripheral core region.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
shutting down the nuclear fission reactor before shuffling selected ones of the plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies and selected ones and selected others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein shuffling selected ones of the plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies and selected ones and selected others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies in a manner that establishes a standing wave of breeding fissile nuclear fuel material and fissioning fissile nuclear fuel material includes shuffling selected ones of the plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies and selected ones and selected others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies between the central core region and the peripheral core region in a manner that establishes a standing wave of breeding fissile nuclear fuel material and fissioning fissile nuclear fuel material.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein shuffling selected ones of the plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies and selected ones and selected others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies includes replacing selected ones of the plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies of the central core region with selected ones of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies of the central core region and with selected others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies of the peripheral core region.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein shuffling selected ones of the plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies and selected ones and selected others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies includes shuffling selected ones of the plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies having a predetermined burnup level and selected ones and selected others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
controlling reactivity in the central core region.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein controlling reactivity in the central core region includes controlling reactivity in the central core region with a plurality of movable reactivity control assemblies.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein controlling reactivity in the central core region includes shuffling selected ones of the plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies and selected ones and selected others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies.

16. The method of claim 13 , wherein controlling reactivity in the central core region includes controlling reactivity in the central core region with a plurality of movable reactivity control assemblies and shuffling selected ones of the plurality of fissile nuclear fuel assemblies and selected ones and selected others of the plurality of fertile nuclear fuel assemblies.

17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
flowing reactor coolant through a first plurality of reactor coolant flow orifices in the central core region; and
flowing reactor coolant through a second plurality of reactor coolant flow orifices in the peripheral core region.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein flowing reactor coolant through a first plurality of reactor coolant flow orifices in the central core region includes flowing reactor coolant through a plurality of reactor coolant flow orifice groups in the central core region.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein flow rate through a selected one of the plurality of reactor coolant flow orifice groups is based upon a power profile at a radial location of the selected one of the plurality of reactor coolant flow orifice groups.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein flow rate through the second plurality of reactor coolant flow orifices includes a predetermined flow rate based upon power level in the peripheral core region.

21. The method of claim 17 , wherein flowing reactor coolant through a first plurality of reactor coolant flow orifices in the central core region and flowing reactor coolant through a second plurality of reactor coolant flow orifices in the peripheral core region includes maintaining substantially steady flow of reactor coolant through ones of the first and second pluralities of reactor coolant flow orifices.

22. The method of claim 17 , wherein flowing reactor coolant through a first plurality of reactor coolant flow orifices in the central core region and flowing reactor coolant through a second plurality of reactor coolant flow orifices in the peripheral core region includes varying flow of reactor coolant through others of the first and second pluralities of reactor coolant flow orifices.

23. The method of claim 17 , wherein flowing reactor coolant through a first plurality of reactor coolant flow orifices in the central core region and flowing reactor coolant through a second plurality of reactor coolant flow orifices in the peripheral core region includes maintaining substantially steady flow of reactor coolant through ones of the first and second pluralities of reactor co

Assignees

• Ahlfeld Charles E
• Burke Thomas M
• Ellis Tyler S
• Gilleland John Rogers
• Hejzlar Jonatan
• Hejzlar Pavel
• Hyde Roderick A
• Mcalees David G
• Mcwhirter Jon D
• Odedra Ashok
• Petroski Robert C
• Touran Nicholas W
• Walter Joshua C
• Weaver Kevan D
• Weaver Thomas Allan
• Whitmer Charles
• Wood Jr Lowell L
• Zimmerman George B
• Terrapower Llc

Inventors

• Ahlfeld Charles E
• Burke Thomas M
• Ellis Tyler S
• Gilleland John Rogers
• Hejzlar Jonatan
• Hejzlar Pavel
• Hyde Roderick A
• Mcalees David G
• Mcwhirter Jon D
• Odedra Ashok
• Petroski Robert C
• Touran Nicholas W
• Walter Joshua C
• Weaver Kevan D
• Weaver Thomas Allan
• Whitmer Charles
• Wood Jr Lowell L
• Zimmerman George B

Classifications

• G21C19/205

  Interchanging of fuel elements in the core, i.e. fuel shuffling · CPC title

• G21C7/00

  Control of nuclear reaction · CPC title

• G21C1/024 Primary

  where the core is divided in zones with fuel and zones with breeding material · CPC title

• G21C1/03

  cooled by a coolant not essentially pressurised, e.g. pool-type reactors · CPC title

• G21C3/322

  Means to influence the coolant flow through or around the bundles · CPC title