![]() Uranium oxycarbide combines uranium carbide with the uranium dioxide to reduce the oxygen stoichiometry. Coated fuel particles have fuel kernels, usually made of uranium dioxide, however, uranium carbide or uranium oxycarbide are also possibilities. The fuel used in HTGRs is coated fuel particles, such as TRISO fuel particles. The neutron moderator is graphite, although whether the reactor core is configured in graphite prismatic blocks or in graphite pebbles depends on the HTGR design. Nuclear reactor design Neutron moderator Two full-scale pebble-bed HTGRs, the HTR-PM reactors, each with 100 MW of electrical production capacity, have gone operational in China as of 2021. Įxperimental HTGRs have also existed in the United Kingdom (the Dragon reactor) and Germany ( AVR reactor and THTR-300), and currently exist in Japan (the High-temperature engineering test reactor using prismatic fuel with 30 MW th of capacity) and China (the HTR-10, a pebble-bed design with 10 MW e of generation). Though the reactor was beset by some problems which led to its decommissioning due to economic factors, it served as proof of the HTGR concept in the United States (though no new commercial HTGRs have been developed there since). Vrain Generating Station was one example of this design that operated as an HTGR from 1979 to 1989. The Peach Bottom unit 1 reactor in the United States was the first HTGR to produce electricity, and did so very successfully, with operation from 1966 through 1974 as a technology demonstrator. Peter Fortescue, whilst at General Atomics, was leader of the team responsible for the initial development of the High temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), as well as the Gas-cooled Fast Reactor (GCFR) system. Professor Rudolf Schulten in Germany also played a role in development during the 1950s. The HTGR design was first proposed by the staff of the Power Pile Division of the Clinton Laboratories (known now as Oak Ridge National Laboratory ) in 1947. ![]() Both reactors may have the fuel stacked in an annulus region with a graphite center spire, depending on the design and desired reactor power. ![]() The pebble bed reactor (PBR) design consists of fuel in the form of pebbles, stacked together in a cylindrical pressure vessel, like a gum-ball machine. There are two main types of HTGRs: pebble bed reactors (PBR) and prismatic block reactors (PMR).The prismatic block reactor refers to a prismatic block core configuration, in which hexagonal graphite blocks are stacked to fit in a cylindrical pressure vessel. The HTGR is a type of high-temperature reactor that conceptually can reach high outlet temperatures (up to 750 ☌).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |