Parametric design studies of a low-power thermionic reactor Page: 1 of 12
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PARAMETRIC DESIGN STUDIES OF A LOW-POWER
THERMIONIC REACTOR*
C.D. Sawyer and P.R. Hill
General Electric Company
Nuclear Thermionic Power Operation
An economic model of a low-power thermionic reactor was con-
structed and various alternative designs were compared. This
led to the selection of a water-cooled concept using molyb-
denum emitters and bulk uranium dioxide fuel. In the final
design studies, the thermionic fuel element and reactor phys-
ics/thermal hydraulics were optimized. Both boiling and non-
boiling concepts were studied within the framework of natural
convection cooling. Based on the parametric design, a low-
pressure natural circulation non-boiling concept was selected
for a nominal 100 kWe reactor.
INTRODUCTION
Present low power nuclear systems within the Army are limited primarily to highly
enriched pressurized water systems. These systems, while proven, impose severe
economic restrictions for units of the size indicated as well as imposing opera-
tional restrictions due to limited transportability, associated high pressures in
large components, frequent refueling, and the large number of technical support
personnel required. Because of these restrictions with the existing systems, there
was a desire on the Army's part to investigate new and advanced nuclear system con-
cepts which would show promise of generating economical electric power in the future
and which might also eliminate or reduce present system restrictions. In response
to these needs and requirements of the Army, this study was performed in which
several nuclear thermionic reactor systems were explored at a nominal 100 kWe
power level and a conceptual design developed of the most promising system. This
paper presents the major results of the parametric design studies of the reactor
core and in-core thermionic fuel element (TFE) systems which led to the selection
of a conceptual design. An accompanying paper( )presents a more detailed descrip-
tion of the plant together with a description of the plant costs and key develop-
ment areas. A complete report on this work has also been published(2).
PRELIMINARY SELECTION OF MAJOR DESIGN PARAMETERS
One of the fundamental study ground rules was to make the conceptual design as
economic as possible. Therefore, at an early stage of this work, a simplified
cost model of a reactor system was assembled and the relative costs and merits of
various technical approaches were evaluated to determine the major requirements
of the conceptual design.
Consideration was restricted to two classes of systems; liquid-metal-cooled and
water-cooled. Because of the high resonance and thermal neutron absorption cross
section of tungsten, it was considered prudent to evaluate molybdenum as an alter-
nate to tungsten for an emitter material for the water-cooled concepts.
*This work was performed for the U. S. Army under Contract No. DAAE 15-67-C-0027.
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Sawyer, C.D. & Hill, P.R. Parametric design studies of a low-power thermionic reactor, article, July 1, 1968; United States. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc879321/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.