Internal flow structures for molten salt reactors

A method of operating an integral molten salt reactor, the method comprising

• operating a reactor core, within a reactor vessel, to support fission reactions in a fuel salt using a moderator structure and thereby causing a heating of the fuel salt through said fission reactions;
• receiving, at a heat exchanger assembly arranged within the reactor vessel, an elevated-temperature flow of the fuel salt from the reactor core along a reactor hot leg;
• outputting, by the heat exchanger, a reduced-temperature flow of the fuel salt along a reactor cold leg;
• and
• channelizing, using a channelizing assembly that nests the moderator structure therein and that fluidically separates the reactor hot leg and the reactor cold leg from one another,
• the elevated-temperature flow of the fuel salt to establish a sole fluid path of the reactor hot leg between the reactor core and the heat exchanger assembly, and
• the reduced-temperature flow of the fuel salt to establish a sole fluid path of the reactor cold leg between the heat exchanger assembly and the reactor core.

An integral molten salt reactor comprising

• a reactor vessel including a fuel salt;
• a reactor core arranged with the reactor vessel and including a moderator structure, wherein the reactor core is configured to support fission reactions in the fuel salt using the moderator structure and to cause a heating of the fuel salt through said fission reactions;
• a heat exchanger assembly arranged within the reactor vessel and configured to receive an elevated-temperature flow of the fuel salt from the reactor core along a reactor hot leg and to output a reduced-temperature flow of the fuel salt therefrom along a reactor cold leg;
• and
• a channelizing assembly arranged within the reactor vessel and including a plurality of channelizing structures cooperating to nest the moderator structure within the channeling assembly, and to establish
• a sole fluid path of the reactor hot leg as along a longitudinal centerline of the reactor vessel, and
• a sole fluid path of the reactor cold leg as collectively peripherally about the longitudinal centerline of the reactor vessel.