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GB2640054A - Power source - Google Patents

Power source

Info

Publication number
GB2640054A
GB2640054A GB2508656.2A GB202508656A GB2640054A GB 2640054 A GB2640054 A GB 2640054A GB 202508656 A GB202508656 A GB 202508656A GB 2640054 A GB2640054 A GB 2640054A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
power source
flux
protons
coolant
ignition region
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
GB2508656.2A
Other versions
GB202508656D0 (en
Inventor
Nysschen Calym
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Innovation Unlimited Oue
Original Assignee
Innovation Unlimited Oue
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GBGB2216265.5A external-priority patent/GB202216265D0/en
Priority claimed from GBGB2216307.5A external-priority patent/GB202216307D0/en
Priority claimed from GBGB2216272.1A external-priority patent/GB202216272D0/en
Priority claimed from GBGB2216266.3A external-priority patent/GB202216266D0/en
Priority claimed from GBGB2216293.7A external-priority patent/GB202216293D0/en
Priority claimed from GBGB2216274.7A external-priority patent/GB202216274D0/en
Priority claimed from GBGB2216267.1A external-priority patent/GB202216267D0/en
Priority claimed from GB2216264.8A external-priority patent/GB2624152A/en
Priority claimed from GBGB2216276.2A external-priority patent/GB202216276D0/en
Priority claimed from GBGB2301877.3A external-priority patent/GB202301877D0/en
Application filed by Innovation Unlimited Oue filed Critical Innovation Unlimited Oue
Publication of GB202508656D0 publication Critical patent/GB202508656D0/en
Publication of GB2640054A publication Critical patent/GB2640054A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
    • G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
    • G21C1/00—Reactor types
    • G21C1/30—Subcritical reactors ; Experimental reactors other than swimming-pool reactors or zero-energy reactors
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
    • G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
    • G21C7/00—Control of nuclear reaction
    • G21C7/34—Control of nuclear reaction by utilisation of a primary neutron source
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
    • G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
    • G21C1/00—Reactor types
    • G21C1/02—Fast fission reactors, i.e. reactors not using a moderator ; Metal cooled reactors; Fast breeders
    • G21C1/03—Fast fission reactors, i.e. reactors not using a moderator ; Metal cooled reactors; Fast breeders cooled by a coolant not essentially pressurised, e.g. pool-type reactors
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
    • G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
    • G21C17/00—Monitoring; Testing ; Maintaining
    • G21C17/10—Structural combination of fuel element, control rod, reactor core, or moderator structure with sensitive instruments, e.g. for measuring radioactivity, strain
    • G21C17/108—Measuring reactor flux
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
    • G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
    • G21C17/00—Monitoring; Testing ; Maintaining
    • G21C17/10—Structural combination of fuel element, control rod, reactor core, or moderator structure with sensitive instruments, e.g. for measuring radioactivity, strain
    • G21C17/112—Measuring temperature
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05H—PLASMA TECHNIQUE; PRODUCTION OF ACCELERATED ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OR OF NEUTRONS; PRODUCTION OR ACCELERATION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULAR OR ATOMIC BEAMS
    • H05H2277/00—Applications of particle accelerators
    • H05H2277/13—Nuclear physics, e.g. spallation sources, accelerator driven systems, search or generation of exotic elements
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E30/00—Energy generation of nuclear origin
    • Y02E30/30—Nuclear fission reactors

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Particle Accelerators (AREA)

Abstract

A power source (100) comprises an ignition region (108) comprising a target material arranged to receive a flux of protons and generate neutrons in response thereto. A reactor core containing a subcritical quantity of actinide material (104) is arranged as a structure having at least one layer around the ignition region (108). The actinide material comprises at least Thorium or Uranium and generates insufficient neutrons by spontaneous fission in the absence of the flux of protons to the ignition region to maintain a critical or super-critical reaction. The power source further comprises an accelerator (112) arranged to supply a flux of protons having an energy of between 4MeV and 200MeV to the target material in the ignition region (108) and a control arrangement to control the power of the proton flux to modulate reactor core power.

Claims (28)

  1. CLAIMS 1. A power source comprising: an ignition region comprising a target material arranged to receive a flux of protons and generate neutrons in response thereto; a reactor core containing a sub-critical quantity of actinide material arranged as a structure having at least one layer around the ignition region, wherein the actinide material comprises at least Thorium or Uranium and generates insufficient neutrons by spontaneous fission in the absence of the flux of protons to the ignition region to maintain a critical or super-critical reaction; a coolant containing at least one metal; an accelerator arranged to supply a flux of protons having an energy of between 4MeV and 200MeV to the target material in the ignition region, a window in the reactor core to permit the passage of said flux of protons unimpeded by coolant or actinide material; a control arrangement to control the power of the proton flux to modulate reactor core power.
  2. 2. A power source as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam current of the flux of protons is at least 100µA.
  3. 3. A power source as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam current of the flux of protons is at least 250µA.
  4. 4. A power source as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam current of the flux of protons is at least 500µA
  5. 5. A power source as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the control arrangement is arranged to model future neutron flux based on a measure of reactor state and to modulate the proton flux power based on said model.
  6. 6. A power source as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein the ignition region comprises a first material responsive to proton bombardment at energies below 20MeV to generate neutrons within a first energy range and a second material responsive to the neutrons in the first energy range to generate neutrons in a second energy range.
  7. 7. A power source as claimed in claim 6, wherein the accelerator is arranged to provide a flux of protons having an energy between 4MeV and 15MeV.
  8. 8. A power source as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the first material in the ignition region comprises Lithium-7.
  9. 9. A power source as claimed in any one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein the ignition region comprises an actinide material responsive to the flux of protons.
  10. 10. A power source as claimed in claim 9, wherein the accelerator is arranged to provide a flux of protons having an energy of between 15MeV and 100MeV
  11. 11. A power source as claimed in claim 6, wherein the accelerator is arranged to provide a flux of protons having an energy of between 15MeV and 50MeV.
  12. 12. A power source as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the actinide material comprises at least 80% by weight of Thorium, and at least 1% of another metal selected from Iron, Nickel, Magnesium and Uranium
  13. 13. A power source as claimed in claim 12, wherein the another metal comprises at least iron
  14. 14. A power source as claimed in claim 12, wherein the another metal comprises at least nickel
  15. 15. A power source as claimed in claim 12, wherein the another metal comprises at least magnesium
  16. 16. A power source as claimed in claim 12, wherein the another metal comprises at least uranium
  17. 17. A power source as claimed in any of the claims 12 to 16, wherein the proportion of the another metal is selected to cause the melting point of the actinide material to be below a predetermined value
  18. 18. A power source as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reactor vessel further contains means for forced distribution of coolant within the vessel
  19. 19. A power source as claimed in claim 18, wherein the means for forced distribution of coolant comprise means for forced convection of coolant
  20. 20. A power source as claimed in claim 19, wherein the means for forced convection of coolant comprises an impeller
  21. 21. A power source as claimed in claim 19, wherein the means for forced convection of coolant comprise at least one element of actinide material rotatable about an axis
  22. 22. A power source as claimed in claim 21, wherein the elements of actinide material are arranged evenly around the axis
  23. 23. A power source as claimed in claim 22, comprising three elements of actinide material
  24. 24. A power source as claimed in claim 22, comprising twelve fuel elements
  25. 25. A power source as claimed in any one of the claims 21 to 24, wherein the fuel elements are shaped to promote the movement of coolant within the container
  26. 26. A power source as claimed in claim 18, wherein the means for forced distribution of coolant comprises a pump external to the reactor vessel
  27. 27. A power source as claimed in claim 26, wherein the means for forced distribution comprise a forced convection heat transfer generated by the coolant flow of an axial flow pump .
  28. 28. A power source as claimed in claim 26, wherein the means for forced distribution comprise an electromagnetic pump.
GB2508656.2A 2022-11-02 2023-11-02 Power source Pending GB2640054A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (24)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GBGB2216266.3A GB202216266D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2022-11-02 Energy multiplier
GBGB2216293.7A GB202216293D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2022-11-02 Nuclear reactor
GBGB2216274.7A GB202216274D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2022-11-02 Power source
GBGB2216265.5A GB202216265D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2022-11-02 Electricity generation system
GBGB2216272.1A GB202216272D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2022-11-02 Actinide fuel
GBGB2216267.1A GB202216267D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2022-11-02 Actinide fuel structure
GBGB2216276.2A GB202216276D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2022-11-02 Nuclear reactor safety method
GBGB2216307.5A GB202216307D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2022-11-02 Power source
GB2216264.8A GB2624152A (en) 2022-11-02 2022-11-02 Power source
GBGB2301877.3A GB202301877D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 Nuclear reactor
GBGB2301869.0A GB202301869D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 Nuclear reactor
GBGB2301880.7A GB202301880D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 Power source
GBGB2301866.6A GB202301866D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 Power source
GBGB2301872.4A GB202301872D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 Nuclear reactor
GBGB2301876.5A GB202301876D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 Electricity generation system
GBGB2301871.6A GB202301871D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 Energy multiplier
GBGB2301865.8A GB202301865D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 Nuclear fuel element
GBGB2301879.9A GB202301879D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 Nuclear reactor
GBGB2301868.2A GB202301868D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 Nuclear reactor
GBGB2301874.0A GB202301874D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 A system for generating heat
GBGB2301875.7A GB202301875D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 System for generating heat
GBGB2301873.2A GB202301873D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 System for treating material
GBGB2301878.1A GB202301878D0 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-02-09 Propulsion system
PCT/IB2023/061053 WO2024095198A2 (en) 2022-11-02 2023-11-02 Power source

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB202508656D0 GB202508656D0 (en) 2025-07-16
GB2640054A true GB2640054A (en) 2025-10-08

Family

ID=89542308

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB2508656.2A Pending GB2640054A (en) 2022-11-02 2023-11-02 Power source

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP4620005A2 (en)
GB (1) GB2640054A (en)
WO (1) WO2024095198A2 (en)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN120748788B (en) * 2025-09-01 2025-11-14 上海交通大学 Hybrid Energy Spectrum Supercritical Water Reactor

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20210020324A1 (en) * 2019-07-19 2021-01-21 Texas Thorium, LLC Thorium Molten Salt System Using Internally Generated Proton-Induced Neutrons

Family Cites Families (11)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
RU2178209C2 (en) 1993-10-29 2002-01-10 Карло РУББИА Method for energy generation from nuclear fuel, power amplifier implementing this method, and energy generating plant
FR2806206B1 (en) 2000-03-08 2002-04-26 Commissariat Energie Atomique PROCESS FOR INCINERATION OF TRANSURANIAN CHEMICAL ELEMENTS AND NUCLEAR REACTOR USING THE SAME
US20080232533A1 (en) 2006-02-15 2008-09-25 Anatoly Blanovsky High flux sub-critical reactor for nuclear waste transmulation
CN102947889A (en) 2010-03-29 2013-02-27 嘉科E&C有限公司 Accelerator-driven nuclear systems with efficient neutron multiplication factor control
US8983017B2 (en) 2010-08-31 2015-03-17 Texas A&M University System Accelerator driven sub-critical core
CN202662298U (en) 2012-06-14 2013-01-09 华北电力大学 Novel thorium-base reactor device
CN102708936B (en) 2012-06-15 2014-10-29 中国科学院合肥物质科学研究院 Multi-cock system for accelerator to drive subcritical reactor to refuel
CN105190769B (en) 2013-03-15 2018-05-22 萨瑟兰德·库克·埃尔伍德 Accelerator driven subcritical reactor system
WO2015077554A1 (en) 2013-11-21 2015-05-28 Stuart Martin A Dielectric wall accelerator and applications and methods of use
US9368244B2 (en) 2013-09-16 2016-06-14 Robert Daniel Woolley Hybrid molten salt reactor with energetic neutron source
CN107767966A (en) 2017-11-29 2018-03-06 中国科学院近代物理研究所 Nuclear reactor system

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20210020324A1 (en) * 2019-07-19 2021-01-21 Texas Thorium, LLC Thorium Molten Salt System Using Internally Generated Proton-Induced Neutrons

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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Rubbia C. et al,"D.3. CERN-GROUP CONCEPTUAL DESIGN...",01.01.1995 XP093137174. *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2024095198A2 (en) 2024-05-10
EP4620005A2 (en) 2025-09-24
GB202508656D0 (en) 2025-07-16
WO2024095198A3 (en) 2024-06-13

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