Terrapower traveling wave reactor design changed to be more buildable terrapower traveling wave reactor design changed to be more buildable a recent design for a nuclear reactor known as a traveling wave reactor looks similar to some conventional nuclear designs, but the way it operates is very different. Sep 21, 2017 nuclear experts head to china to test experimental reactors by. Traveling wave reactor wikimili, the free encyclopedia. Bill gatess experimental nuclear power plant halts.
Intellectual ventures has launched an effort to design nuclear energy reactors that improve on those in operation today. It is a sodiumcooled fast reactor design in which neutrons are not slowed down and the heat created by fission is carried away by liquid sodium, which is used to boil water. A private company called terrapower which is funded by bill gates among others has supposedly completed a design and is looking to actually build the first reactor. The traveling wave reactor design is an ingenuitive piece of engineering that compartmentalizes many of the reactors functions to make the reactor more efficient and safer. We hear from time to time about the traveling wave reactor twr that is being developed by terrapower, an organization sponsored by bill gates. The traveling wave reactor twr is a proposed reactor design that belongs to a set known as generation iv designs that are different in a number of respects than the current commercial designs which use water to cool the reactor and slow down moderate the neutrons that sustain the chain reaction. This animation shows how our traveling wave reactor design works. Jul 24, 20 bill gates stops chasing nuclear wave, pursues variety of reactors. It is based on the idea of a fission chain reaction moving through a core in a wave. The travelingwave reactor, in concept, would use depleted uranium to produce vast amounts of energy without the need for enrichment plants and reprocessing facilities, which is why billionaire bill gates is interested in developing it. Sensitivities and uncertainties due to nuclear data in a traveling wave reactor nicholas w. The basic design of the fast uraniumplutonium nuclear travelingwave reactor with a soft ened neutron spectrum is developed, which solves.
As a function of time, the latest design represents a standing wave or a soliton, rather than a traveling wave. Jan 02, 2019 gates invested in terrapower in 2011 with the hope of helping to prove the companys core concept. We believe weve developed a new type of nuclear reactor that can represent a nearly infinite supply of lowcost energy, carbonfree energy for the world, gilleland said in a presentation. The traveling wave reactor, first conceived in 1958, has been intensively investigated only since about 2006.
Gates invested in terrapower in 2011 with the hope of helping to prove the companys core concept. Abstractthe traveling wave reactor twr is a oncethrough reactor that uses in situ breeding to greatly reduce the need for enrichment and reprocessing. Advanced reactors and other isotopic applications are possible with technology and enhanced computing capabilities that were unimaginable just a few decades ago. Radiological accident source terms traveling wave reactor design radiologicalaccidentsourcetermstravelingwavereactordesignchang. The traveling wave reactor, in concept, would use depleted uranium to produce vast amounts of energy without the need for enrichment plants and reprocessing facilities, which is why billionaire bill gates is interested in developing it. Introduction the concept of a breedandburn reactor was envisioned many years ago as a potential alternative to the traditional breeder reactor design which relies on reprocessing of the nuclear fuel feinberg, 1958. The most recent commercial demonstration reactors belong in the latter category. Physics of reactors 2016 physor 2016 sun valley, idaho, usa 1 5 may 2016. Traveling wave reactors twrs are advanced nuclear reactors that are capable of eventually running forever given only depleted uranium fuel. Terrapower is a nuclear innovation company dedicated to developing advanced nuclear reactors that will provide carbonfree energy to billions. A travelingwave reactor twr is a proposed type of nuclear fission reactor that can convert fertile material into usable fuel through nuclear transmutation, in tandem with the burnup of fissile material. Sekimoto 2965 a design of fast nuclear reactors capable of the traveling wave nuclear burning is studied. The twr is a sodiumcooled fast reactor design, which means that energetic.
Travelingwave reactors twrs are advanced nuclear reactors that are capable of eventually running forever given only depleted uranium fuel. In 2006, terrapower launched an effort to develop the first practical engineering embodiment of a breedandburn fast reactor, producing a design concept now known as a travelingwave reactor or twr. The traveling wave reactor twr is a oncethrough reactor that uses in situ breeding to greatly reduce the need for enrichment and reprocessing. Our vision is to be a world leader in new nuclear technologies that bring the world sustainable, affordable, and safe energy and create high benefit products. Bill gates on the wrong path with travelling wave reactors. The design is based on the elements of sodium cooled, fast reactor technology. And while government researchers intermittently bring out new reactor designs, the travelingwave reactor is noteworthy for having come from something that barely exists in the nuclear industry. Creep rupture analysis of candidate steels for the. Bill gates stops chasing nuclear wave, pursues variety of. Terrapowers nuclear reactor could power the 21st century.
Related research current issue copyright 2015 china engineering science press. Moreover, as the fuels composition changes through nuclear transmutation, fuel rods are continually reshuffled within the core to optimize the neutron flux and fuel usage. The concept works on the basis that breedburn waves and the fuel move relative to one another. Once started, a steadystate wave of power propagates through the reactor core. Terrapower traveling wave reactorsfronce through fuel high burnup. As it runs, the core in a travelingwave reactor gradually converts nonfissile material into the fuel it needs. Generation iv reactors research opportunities shripad t. A travelingwave reactor twr is a proposed type of nuclear fission reactor that can convert. Known as terrapower, the project has produced preliminary designs for a new class of nuclear reactor, called a traveling wave reactor twr. Breeding converts incoming subcritical reload fuel.
Terrapowers travelling wave reactor why not use an ifr. To create the traveling wave reactor twr design, terrapower has put together a team. Terrapowers traveling wave reactor twr is designed to be a liquid. The traveling wave reactor and other advanced reactor designs could solve our fossil fuel dependency. Breeding converts incoming subcritical reload fuel into new critical fuel, allowing a breedburn wave to propagate. September 20 institute for energy and environmental research.
The companys flagship advanced nuclear reactor concept, the traveling wave reactor twr design, represents incredible progress in nuclear technology thanks to the power of advanced computer modeling and our dedicated team of scientists and engineers. Terrapower has developed sophisticated computational analysis tools to support the design and fabrication of high temperature components to be used in the traveling wave reactor twr. May 19, 2014 this animation shows how our traveling wave reactor design works. However, the main problem hindering the implementation of a traveling wave reactor the problem of the radiation damaging dose for the fuel claddings is also not solved in those studies. The scientists there have come up with a preliminary design for a reactor that requires only a small amount of enriched fuelthat is, the kind whose atoms can easily be split in a chain reaction. The advanced fuel qualification methodology report will be developed for metallic fuel in a sodium fast reactor sfr environment.
A reactor that burns depleted fuel emerges as a potential. Bill gates stops chasing nuclear wave, pursues variety. With the growing demand for electricity, terrapower entered the nuclear energy arena to lift billions out of poverty. Sustainability of a twr economy 235 the main difference between thermal reactors. One of the key material properties required to predict material damage and remaining lifetime of key inreactor components is the thermal creep rupture time. Pdf the traveling wave reactor twr is a oncethrough reactor that uses in situ breeding to greatly reduce the need for enrichment and. Travelingwave reactor twr technology, being developed by terrapower, llc. The traveling wave reactor twr is a oncethrough reactor that uses in situ. Some have operated well, while others have done poorly. The most practical embodiments of the twr involve moving the fuel while keeping the nuclear reactions in one place. This technology has been well researched and tested as a viable example. His fission company, terrapower, alters its traveling wave reactor, explores thorium, liquid fuel and alternative designs. Bill gates stops chasing nuclear wave, pursues variety of reactors. He heads terrapower llc, a private research team based outside seattle that is pursuing the traveling wave reactor design.
The molten chloride fast reactor meets terrapowers vision for advanced nuclear power. Feb 23, 2010 he heads terrapower llc, a private research team based outside seattle that is pursuing the traveling wave reactor design. Dec 04, 20 terrapowers traveling wave reactor twr incorporates inherent safety features and reduces the risk for proliferation in the nuclear energy supply chain. Comments on terrapowers travelling wave reactor printable pdf version here. Twrs differ from other kinds of fastneutron and breeder reactors in their ability to use fuel efficiently without uranium enrichment or reprocessing, instead directly using depleted uranium. The travelingwave reactor and other advanced reactor designs could solve our fossil fuel dependency.
However, limitations on both computational capabilities and fuel assembly structural materials prevented. Nuclear experts head to china to test experimental reactors by. In 2006, terrapower launched an effort to develop the first practical engineering embodiment of a breedandburn fast reactor, producing a design concept now known as a traveling wave reactor or twr. In 2006, terrapower launched an effort to develop the first practical engineering embodiment of a breedand burn fast reactor, producing a design concept known as a travelingwave reactor twr. Nuclear experts head to china to test experimental reactors. The traveling wave reactor twr is a proposed reactor design that belongs to. The twr from intellectual ventures terrapower team is another innovative reactor design. The breedburn wave in terrapowers twr design does not move from one end of the reactor to the other but gradually from the center out. B chapter name about the center on global energy policy the center on global energy policy provides independent, balanced, datadriven analysis to help.
The initial twr design proposed was that of a reactor in which the chain reaction front. Terrapowers traveling wave reactor twr incorporates inherent safety features and reduces the risk for proliferation in the nuclear energy supply chain. A truly sustainable and fullscale resource for global energy needs pdf. The traveling wave reactor, twr constitutes a reformulation of the liquid metal fast reactor, lmfbr and the coupled cores concepts and a reformulation of battery reactors based on naval propulsion reactors designs.
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