Breeding Blanket Concepts Research Articles

Tritium Recovery from Lithium Zirconate Spheres

Tritium release from 1.5 mm diameter Li2ZrO3 spheres has been examined in post-irradiation annealing tests, to support the Canadian sphere-pac breeder-blanket concept. Rapid tritium release was obs...

Blanket testing in NET

The testing stages in NET for the performance assessment of the various breeding blanket concepts developed at the present time in Europe for DEMO (LiPb and ceramic blankets) and the requirements upon NET to perform these tests are reviewed. Typical locations available in NET for blanket testing are the central outboard segments and the horizontal ports of in-vessel sectors. These test positions will be connectable with external test loops. The number of test loops (helium, water, liquid metal) will be such that each major class of blankets can be tested in NET. The test positions, the boundary conditions and the external test loops are identified and the requirements for test blankets are summarized.

Aqueous tritium breeding blanket with natural lithium

An aqueous tritium breeding blanket concept with natural lithium has been proposed. Lithium oxide dissolved in pressurized heavy water forms a saturated solution of LiOD in the liquid phase and the remainder is suspended in the solution or forms a breeder solid skeleton. The tritium breeding ratio (TBR) and nuclear heating are calculated using a one-dimensional discrete ordinates transport code. The heavy water solution blanket with 4.3 wt% lithium, saturated solution at 373 K, may give a TBR of 1.07. A larger TBR can be obtained without a neutron multiplier or 6Li enrichment when the existence of dispersed particles is permitted in the solution. The TBR does not fall below unity until 6Li is depleted to less than 4 at%.

Performance and Economics Analysis of Several Laser Fusion Breeder Fueled Electricity Generation Systems

(An analysis of the potential performance and economic characteristics of several laser fusion breeder reactor (i.e., fusion-fission hybrid) fueled electricity generation systems has been performed. Fusion breeders resulting from several recent conceptual design studies are considered. These are distinguished from one another by the utilization of one of several generic breeder blanket options including a uranium fast fission blanket, a thorium fast fission blanket, a uranium-thorium fast fission blanket, and a thorium-suppressed fission blanket (first time introduced). On the fission side of the system, light water reactors (LWRs), which primarily burn /sup 233/U (but also some plutonium), are considered.) The fission fuel cycle characteristics and relative proliferation resistance of the various symbiotic electricity generation systems are examined. The results of the economic analysis indicate that systems utilizing LWRs and any of the four breeder blanket concepts can produce electricity for about25 to 35% above the cost of electricity produced by a new LWR operating on the current once-through fuel cycle. The laser fusion breeders are predicted to become competitive (as an LWR fuel source) with conventional mined sources of U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ when the price of U/sub 3/O/sub 8/ reaches about $300/kg (1980 dollars). The results suggest that fusion breedersmore » could supply most or all of our fissile fuel makeup requirements within about20 yr after commercial introduction (possibly in 2010) and have nearly unlimited capabilities to support a growing system of LWRs or advanced converter reactors.« less