Hybrid reactor system and operation method using cross arrangement of water-cooled thorium-uranium fuel modules

Abstract

The invention belongs to the field of fusion and fission hybrid energy reactors and cladding design, and particularly relates to a hybrid reactor system arranged by means of water-cooling thorium fuel modules and water-cooling uranium fuel modules in a staggered mode and an operating method. Natural thorium fuel reaction modules and natural uranium fuel reaction modules are annularly and alternately arranged in an optimized mode, a seed-cladding strategy is made full use of to improve overall neutron economy of the system, the aim of making the best of thorium fuel under high-energy magnification is achieved, namely good neutron performance of the water-cooling natural uranium modules is used for compensating for defects of natural thorium neutron multiplication and energy amplification, achievement of energy amplification and neutron multiplication of the system mainly depends on natural uranium, and redundant neutrons generated from the natural uranium are used for driving natural thorium to operate and multiplying 233U. When 233U in the natural thorium is accumulated to a certain quantity, the natural uranium can be extracted step by step and replaced by new natural thorium, a hybrid reactor can be filled with thorium fuel ultimately, and cycle operations of thorium and uranium are achieved.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention belongs to the field of fusion and fission hybrid energy reactor and cladding design, in particular to a hybrid reactor system and operation method using water-cooled thorium-uranium fuel modules arranged crosswise. Background technique [0002] Proven thorium reserves on Earth are approximately three times those of uranium, and breeding or conversion through advanced reactors will 232 Th is converted to 233 U will greatly increase the storage capacity of existing nuclear fuel resources. In the late 1960s, the nuclear energy community proposed the idea of ​​using a fusion-fission hybrid reactor to breed nuclear fuel, that is, to load depleted uranium, natural uranium or natural thorium fuel outside the fusion device as a breeding layer, and use the high-energy neutrons produced by the fusion reaction to breed nuclear fuel. The nuclear fuel is multiplied in the layer, and the production capacity is output. The multiplied fuel can be used...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0004] A key problem facing the design of thorium-containing subcritical cladding is: for 232 Th fuel, the threshold energy of its fission reaction is as high as 1MeV, and the thermal neutron absorption cross section is close to 238 3 times U, that is 232 Th's neutron multiplication ability is very weak, neutron economy is poor

The studies on several thorium-based hybrid reactors mentioned above show that the energy magnification M of the pure Th-based hybrid reactor breeder cladding is relatively low, about 2. In order to realize the output of production capacity and the early application of fusion energy, a relatively high demand for fusion power will be proposed. big challenge

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