[ RadSafe ] What is a Travelling Wave Reactor?

[Brennan, Mike (DOH)]

Like I said; non-trivial technical issues.

The fuel issue will be interesting, as I also wonder about 60 years.  I suspect that they are counting on the fuel being less fussy than for a LWR.  The US Navy already makes fuel that they project for a 20+ year life, so I won't say it is impossible to make fuel that will last longer.

I have to admit that liquid sodium is not something I would feel comfortable with.  I know it has some neat characteristics for fast neutron reactors, but still; the thought of a leak causes certain muscles to clench.  And I agree that leaving fuel bathed in molten sodium for 60 years could be problematic. 

On the other hand, they undoubtedly will learn some very cool things along the way, whether they make it work or not.  And I would rather have them answering to Bill Gates than to Congress, as would be the case if the research were funded by the US Government.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Franta, Jaroslav
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 12:07 PM
To: radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] What is a Travelling Wave Reactor?

UNRESTRICTED | ILLIMITÉ

<quote>
According to this presentation by Gilleland, "operation of a traveling wave reactor can be demonstrated in less than ten years, and commercial deployment can begin in less than fifteen years." <end quote>

This sounds awfully optimistic :  How many years does it take to qualify fuel that is supposed to remain in the reactor for 60 years ?

Right now, LWR fuel manufacturers are struggling with fuel qualification for rods that only stay in the reactor for a couple of years and have a burn-up of some 55 GW-days/tonne -- dozens of times less than fuel in the TWR concept.

There are ways to achieve extremely high fuel burn-up -- but NOT with solid fuel left inside a sodium reactor for decades.

Besides which, sodium-cooled reactors top out at a thermodynamic conversion efficiency considerably lower than some of these alternatives, due to the limited operating temperature with sodium metal.

No doubt Terapower will discover soon enough that just because the physics of the Travelling Wave Reactor can be shown to work in computer simulations, it doesn't mean that it can be developped into a useful commercial product.


Jaro
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu]On Behalf Of Doug Aitken
Sent: March 26, 2010 2:39 PM
To: 'Brennan, Mike (DOH)'; radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] What is a Travelling Wave Reactor?


More here!
http://earth2tech.com/2010/02/15/terrapower-how-the-travelling-wave-nuclear-reactor-works/

Regards
Doug


___________________________________
Doug Aitken
QHSE Advisor
D&M Operations Support
jdaitken at sugar-land.oilfield.slb.com
Mail: c/o Therese Wigzell,
Schlumberger,
Drilling & Measurements HQ,
300 Schlumberger Drive, MD15,
Sugar Land, Texas 77478



















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