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Title: Design of megawatt power level heat pipe reactors

Abstract

An important niche for nuclear energy is the need for power at remote locations removed from a reliable electrical grid. Nuclear energy has potential applications at strategic defense locations, theaters of battle, remote communities, and emergency locations. With proper safeguards, a 1 to 10-MWe (megawatt electric) mobile reactor system could provide robust, self-contained, and long-term power in any environment. Heat pipe-cooled fast-spectrum nuclear reactors have been identified as a candidate for these applications. Heat pipe reactors, using alkali metal heat pipes, are perfectly suited for mobile applications because their nature is inherently simpler, smaller, and more reliable than “traditional” reactors. The goal of this project was to develop a scalable conceptual design for a compact reactor and to identify scaling issues for compact heat pipe cooled reactors in general. Toward this goal two detailed concepts were developed, the first concept with more conventional materials and a power of about 2 MWe and a the second concept with less conventional materials and a power level of about 5 MWe. A series of more qualitative advanced designs were developed (with less detail) that show power levels can be pushed to approximately 30 MWe.

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1226133
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-15-28840
DOE Contract Number:  
AC52-06NA25396
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; 22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS; heat pipe nuclear reactor; design; alternative designs

Citation Formats

Mcclure, Patrick Ray, Poston, David Irvin, Dasari, Venkateswara Rao, and Reid, Robert Stowers. Design of megawatt power level heat pipe reactors. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.2172/1226133.
Mcclure, Patrick Ray, Poston, David Irvin, Dasari, Venkateswara Rao, & Reid, Robert Stowers. Design of megawatt power level heat pipe reactors. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/1226133
Mcclure, Patrick Ray, Poston, David Irvin, Dasari, Venkateswara Rao, and Reid, Robert Stowers. 2015. "Design of megawatt power level heat pipe reactors". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/1226133. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1226133.
@article{osti_1226133,
title = {Design of megawatt power level heat pipe reactors},
author = {Mcclure, Patrick Ray and Poston, David Irvin and Dasari, Venkateswara Rao and Reid, Robert Stowers},
abstractNote = {An important niche for nuclear energy is the need for power at remote locations removed from a reliable electrical grid. Nuclear energy has potential applications at strategic defense locations, theaters of battle, remote communities, and emergency locations. With proper safeguards, a 1 to 10-MWe (megawatt electric) mobile reactor system could provide robust, self-contained, and long-term power in any environment. Heat pipe-cooled fast-spectrum nuclear reactors have been identified as a candidate for these applications. Heat pipe reactors, using alkali metal heat pipes, are perfectly suited for mobile applications because their nature is inherently simpler, smaller, and more reliable than “traditional” reactors. The goal of this project was to develop a scalable conceptual design for a compact reactor and to identify scaling issues for compact heat pipe cooled reactors in general. Toward this goal two detailed concepts were developed, the first concept with more conventional materials and a power of about 2 MWe and a the second concept with less conventional materials and a power level of about 5 MWe. A series of more qualitative advanced designs were developed (with less detail) that show power levels can be pushed to approximately 30 MWe.},
doi = {10.2172/1226133},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1226133}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Nov 12 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Thu Nov 12 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}