Liquid affected spectral shift reactor
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorLarry E. Fennern
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for affecting neutron spectral shift in a reactor core includes providing a liquid poison in a hollow control blade extending into the core, displacing the liquid poison with a first fluid for obtaining a hard neutron spectra during a beginning interval of the core fuel cycle for converting fuel, and then increasing moderating ratio for obtaining a soft neutron spectra during an end interval of the cycle for burning the converted fuel. An exemplary apparatus for practicing the method displaces the liquid poison in the control blade with the first fluid for obtaining the hard neutron spectra. The first fluid may be either replaced, displaced, or added to by a second fluid having a second moderating ratio for obtaining the soft neutron spectra.
Claims21
In a nuclear reactor core having fuel bundles and hollow control blades, a method for affecting neutron spectral shift during a core fuel cycle including beginning and end intervals comprising:
- providing a liquid poison in said blades for reducing nuclear reactivity in said core;
- displacing said liquid poison in at least a first one of said blades with a first fluid having a first moderating ratio for obtaining a hard neutron spectra adjacent to said first blade during said cycle beginning interval for converting fertile fuel in said fuel bundles to fissile fuel;
- and
- increasing moderating ratio of said first blade using a second fluid for obtaining a soft neutron spectra adjacent to said first blade during said cycle end interval for burning said fissile fuel.
A system for affecting neutron spectral shift comprising:
- a nuclear reactor core including fuel bundles and hollow control blades, and operable over a core fuel cycle including beginning and end intervals for generating power;
- means for providing a liquid nuclear poison in said blades for reducing nuclear reactivity in said core;
- means for displacing said liquid poison from at least a first one of said blades with a first fluid having a first moderating ratio for obtaining a hard neutron spectra adjacent to said first blade during said cycle beginning interval for converting fertile fuel in said fuel bundles to fissile fuel;
- and
- means for increasing moderating ratio effected by said first blade using a second fluid for shifting said hard neutron spectra to a soft neutron spectra adjacent to said first blade during said cycle end interval for burning said fissile fuel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.