Heat pipe fission fuel element

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9793014-B2
Application number	US-22031008-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 22, 2008
Priority date	May 15, 2008
Publication date	Oct 17, 2017
Grant date	Oct 17, 2017

Abstract

Illustrative embodiments provide nuclear fission fuel elements, and systems, applications, apparatuses, and methods related thereto. Illustrative embodiments and aspects include, without limitation, nuclear fission fuel elements, heat pipe assemblies, heat pipes, methods of fabricating a nuclear fission fuel element, methods of fabricating a heat pipe assembly, and the like.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A heat pipe comprising:
a wall section defining a cavity therein, the wall section including at least one portion including nuclear fission fuel material disposed within a wall at a location external to the cavity, the cavity including an evaporator section and a condenser section;
a capillary structure internal to at least one portion of the wall section, the capillary structure in fluid communication with the cavity; and
a working fluid disposed within the cavity, wherein the working fluid is evaporable to flow from the capillary structure to the cavity in a first direction and condensable to flow from the cavity to the capillary structure in a second direction counter-parallel to the first direction.

2. The heat pipe of claim 1 , wherein the cavity further includes an adiabatic section.

3. The heat pipe of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the wall section defining at least a portion of the condenser section does not include nuclear fission fuel material.

4. The heat pipe of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the wall section defining at least a portion of the evaporator section includes the nuclear fission fuel material disposed within the wall.

5. The heat pipe of claim 2 , wherein a portion of the wall section defining at least a portion of the adiabatic section does not include nuclear fission fuel material.

6. The heat pipe of claim 1 , wherein the at least one portion of the wall section including the nuclear fission fuel material disposed within the wall includes at least one layer including structural material and at least one other layer including the nuclear fission fuel material.

7. The heat pipe of claim 6 , wherein the structural material includes a material chosen from steel, niobium, vanadium, titanium, a refractory metal, and a refractory alloy.

8. The heat pipe of claim 1 , wherein the nuclear fission fuel material includes at least one material chosen from fissile material and fertile material.

9. The heat pipe of claim 8 , wherein the fissile material includes at least one fissile material chosen from 233U, 235U, and 239Pu.

10. The heat pipe of claim 1 , wherein the working fluid includes a fluid chosen from 7Li, sodium, and potassium.

11. The heat pipe of claim 6 , wherein the other layer including the nuclear fission fuel material is positioned between the at least one layer including structural material and the capillary structure.

12. The heat pipe of claim 11 , wherein a portion of the wall section defining at least a portion of the evaporator section includes the other layer including the nuclear fission fuel material and wherein a portion of the wall section defining at least a portion of the condenser section does not include the nuclear fission fuel material.

13. The heat pipe of claim 1 , wherein the capillary structure is internal to the at least one portion of the wall section and external to at least one portion of the cavity.

14. The heat pipe of claim 1 , wherein the working fluid flows in a first direction through the cavity and a second opposite direction within the capillary structure.

Assignees

• Ahlfeld Charles E
• Gilleland John Rogers
• Hyde Roderick A
• Ishikawa Muriel Y
• Mcalees David G
• Myhrvold Nathan P
• Weaver Thomas Allan
• Whitmer Charles
• Wood Jr Lowell L
• Terrapower Llc

Inventors

• Ahlfeld Charles E
• Gilleland John Rogers
• Hyde Roderick A
• Ishikawa Muriel Y
• Mcalees David G
• Myhrvold Nathan P
• Weaver Thomas Allan
• Whitmer Charles
• Wood Jr Lowell L

Classifications

• G21C15/06 Primary

  in fuel elements · CPC title

• G21C3/16

  Details of the construction within the casing · CPC title

• G21C1/026

  Reactors not needing refuelling, i.e. reactors of the type breed-and-burn, e.g. travelling or deflagration wave reactors or seed-blanket reactors · CPC title

• F28D2021/0054

  for nuclear applications · CPC title

• Y02E30/34

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic