Plasma and Fusion Research

Volume 14, 2402101 (2019)

Regular Articles

Fuel Evolution in Hybrid Reactor Based on Thorium Subcritical Assembly with Open Trap as Fusion Neutron Source (Computer Simulations)
Andrey V. ARZHANNIKOV, Sergey V. BEDENKO1), Aleksandr A. IVANOV, Dmitry G. MODESTOV2), Vadim V. PRIKHODKO, Stanislav L. SINITSKY, Igor V. SHAMANIN1) and Vladimir M. SHMAKOV2)
Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics SB RAS, Russia
1)
National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University, Russia
2)
Russian Federal Nuclear Center – Zababakhin All–Russia Research Institute of Technical Physics, Russia
(Received 11 September 2018 / Accepted 17 April 2019 / Published 3 June 2019)

Abstract

Results of computer simulation of the fuel evolution in thorium nuclear cycle in a subcritical assembly in case of thorium-plutonium initial composition is presented in the paper. The simulation is conducted for specialized facility in which a long solenoid with hot plasma is situated inside of the subcritical fuel assembly. The plasma column produces additional neutrons due to D-D fusion reaction that are necessary for a fission reactor with this assembly. Total intensity of neutron emission over all plasma volume with the length of 3 m is N = 2 × 1016 neutrons per second. We have chosen the percentage of plutonium 5% in thorium-plutonium initial composition and in this case, the effective coefficient of neutron multiplication is 0.95, as shown by our simulation. The fuel evolution was calculated for duration of operation time 3000 days. As a result, we have demonstrated the decrease in the coefficient of neutron multiplication and in the power of the nuclear fission process in the described time. Results of simulations are discussed.

Keywords

thorium hybrid reactor, neutron from deuterium plasma, nuclear fuel evolution

DOI: 10.1585/pfr.14.2402101

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