Liquid fuel nuclear fission reactor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9767933-B2
Application number	US-80409110-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 12, 2010
Priority date	May 25, 2010
Publication date	Sep 19, 2017
Grant date	Sep 19, 2017

Abstract

Disclosed embodiments include nuclear fission reactors, nuclear fission fuel pins, methods of operating a nuclear fission reactor, methods of fueling a nuclear fission reactor, and methods of fabricating a nuclear fission fuel pin.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of operating a nuclear fission reactor, the method comprising:
providing a nuclear fission reactor having a reactor vessel, the reactor vessel having a fission region and a fertile blanket region, wherein the fission region is separate from and interior to the fertile blanket region, and the fertile blanket region is between the fission region and a wall of the reactor vessel;
receiving a solution in the fission region and the fertile blanket region of the reactor vessel of the nuclear fission reactor, the solution including a neutronically translucent liquid carrier material and a first fissile nuclear fission fuel material, the first fissile nuclear fission fuel material being dissolved in the neutronically translucent liquid carrier material;
disposing an undissolved fertile nuclear fission fuel material in a foam form in the fertile blanket region of the reactor vessel and in direct physical contact with the solution;
exposing the undissolved fertile fission fuel material to a neutron flux of the nuclear fission reactor to transmute a portion of the undissolved fertile nuclear fission fuel material into a second fissile nuclear fission fuel material;
diffusing the second fissile nuclear fission fuel material to the solution; and
receiving the solution in the fission region and the fertile blanket region of the reactor vessel of the nuclear fission reactor, the solution including the neutronically translucent liquid carrier material, the first fissile nuclear fission fuel material, and the second fissile nuclear fission fuel material, the first and second fissile nuclear fission fuel materials being dissolved in the neutronically translucent liquid carrier material.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: diffusing intermediate transmuted material to the solution.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
fissioning a portion of the second fissile nuclear fission fuel material.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein diffusing the second fissile nuclear fission fuel material to the solution includes diffusing the second fissile nuclear fission fuel material through the undissolved fertile nuclear fission fuel material.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein disposing the undissolved fertile nuclear fission fuel material in the fertile blanket region includes disposing the undissolved fertile nuclear fission fuel material in the fertile blanket region and not in the fission region.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the nuclear fission reactor having a reactor vessel, the reactor vessel having the fission region and the fertile blanket region, includes providing the reactor vessel with the fission region in fluid communication with the fertile blanket region.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, fissioning the second fissile nuclear fuel material to generate a neutron flux, exposing another portion of the undissolved fertile nuclear fission fuel material to the neutron flux of the second fissile nuclear fuel material to transmute the another portion of the undissolved fertile nuclear fission fuel material into additional second fissile nuclear fission fuel material, and diffusing the additional second fissile nuclear fission fuel material to the solution.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, adding an additional neutronically translucent liquid carrier material to the solution to reduce concentration of the fissile nuclear fission fuel material in the solution.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein disposing the undissolved fertile nuclear fission fuel material includes forming an annulus in the undissolved fertile nuclear fission fuel material such that natural circulation of the solution is established through a heat exchanger and the annulus.

Assignees

• Hyde Roderick A
• Mcwhirter Jon D
• Terrapower Llc

Inventors

• Hyde Roderick A
• Mcwhirter Jon D

Classifications

• G21C21/02

  Manufacture of fuel elements or breeder elements contained in non-active casings · CPC title

• G21C3/44

  Fluid or fluent reactor fuel · CPC title

• G21C1/024

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

• G21C5/00

  Moderator or core structure; Selection of materials for use as moderator · CPC title

• G21C3/22

  with fissile or breeder material in contact with coolant · CPC title