Terrapower, LLC

The Invention Science Fund I LLC

Jon David McWhirter

Roderick A Hyde

Lowell L Wood, Jr

Ashok Odedra

Joshua C Walter

Kevan D Weaver

Charles Whitmer

George Beedon Zimmerman

Charles E Ahlfeld

David G McAlees

Muriel Y Ishikawa

Clarence T Tegreene

Thomas A Weaver

John Rogers Gilleland

Pavel Hejzlar

Nathan P Myhrvold

Robert C Petroski

Jesse R Cheatham, Iii

Kevin J Kramer

Anselmo T Cisneros, Jr

Jeffery F Latkowski

Charles Gregory Freeman

Christopher J Johns

Ryan Abbott

Daniel Flowers

Mark A Havstad

Nicholas W Touran

Thomas M Burke

Tyler S Ellis

Jonatan Hejzlar

Victoria Y H Wood

Robert Alan Corbin

Brian C Kelleher

John R Suyes, Iii

Bassem S El-Dasher

James M Vollmer

Ken Czerwinski

Brian C Johnson

William M Kerlin

P Harley Park

Bao H Truong

Michael E Garrett

Yu-Chih Ko

K Michael Steer

Jason Brian Meng

A nuclear reactor includes a passive reactivity control nuclear fuel device located in a nuclear reactor core. The passive reactivity control nuclear fuel device includes a multiple-walled fuel chamber having an outer wall chamber and an inner wall chamber contained within the outer wall chamber. The inner wall chamber is positioned within the outer wall chamber to hold nuclear fuel in a molten fuel state within a high neutron importance region. The inner wall chamber allows at least a portion of the nuclear fuel to move in a molten fuel state to a lower neutron importance region while the molten nuclear fuel remains within the inner wall chamber as the temperature of the nuclear fuel satisfies a negative reactivity feedback expansion temperature condition. A duct contains the multiple-walled fuel chamber and flows a heat conducting fluid through the duct and in thermal communication with the outer wall chamber.

Passive reactivity control in a nuclear fission reactor

This disclosure describes various configurations and components of a molten fuel fast or thermal nuclear reactor for managing the operating temperature in the reactor core. The disclosure includes various configurations of direct reactor auxiliary cooling system (DRACS) heat exchangers and primary heat exchangers as well as descriptions of improved flow paths for nuclear fuel, primary coolant and DRACS coolant through the reactor components.

Direct reactor auxiliary cooling system for a molten salt nuclear reactor

Disclosed embodiments include nuclear fission reactor cores, nuclear fission reactors, methods of operating a nuclear fission reactor, and methods of managing excess reactivity in a nuclear fission reactor.

Standing wave nuclear fission reactor and methods

Configurations of molten fuel salt reactors are described that allow for active cooling of the containment vessel of the reactor by the primary coolant. Furthermore, naturally circulating reactor configurations are described in which the reactor cores are substantially frustum-shaped so that the thermal center of the reactor core is below the outlet of the primary heat exchangers. Heat exchanger configurations are described in which welded components are distanced from the reactor core to reduce the damage caused by neutron flux from the reactor. Radial loop reactor configurations are also described.

Molten fuel reactor thermal management configurations

A nuclear fission reactor, flow control assembly, methods therefor and a flow control assembly system. The flow control assembly is coupled to a nuclear fission module capable of producing a traveling burn wave at a location relative to the nuclear fission module. The flow control assembly controls flow of a fluid in response to the location relative to the nuclear fission module. The flow control assembly comprises a flow regulator subassembly configured to be operated according to an operating parameter associated with the nuclear fission module. In addition, the flow regulator subassembly is reconfigurable according to a predetermined input to the flow regulator subassembly. Moreover, the flow control assembly comprises a carriage subassembly coupled to the flow regulator subassembly for adjusting the flow regulator subassembly to vary fluid flow into the nuclear fission module.

Nuclear fission reactor, flow control assembly, methods therefor and a flow control assembly system

Configurations of molten fuel salt reactors are described that include an auxiliary cooling system which shared part of the primary coolant loop but allows for passive cooling of decay heat from the reactor. Furthermore, different pump configurations for circulating molten fuel through the reactor core and one or more in vessel heat exchangers are described.

Molten fuel reactor cooling and pump configurations

Configurations of molten fuel salt reactors are described that utilize neutron-reflecting coolants or a combination of primary salt coolants and secondary neutron-reflecting coolants. Further configurations are described that circulate liquid neutron-reflecting material around an reactor core to control the neutronics of the reactor. Furthermore, configurations which use the circulating neutron-reflecting material to actively cool the containment vessel are also described.

Molten fuel nuclear reactor with neutron reflecting coolant

A control assembly for a nuclear reactor having a pump includes a duct having an inner volume and defining a coolant flow path, a plug fixed to the duct, a rod disposed within the inner volume and having a rod end that is configured to engage a neutron modifying material, a first piston disposed within the inner volume, slidably coupled to the duct, and coupled to the rod, and a biasing member coupled to the rod and the first piston. The biasing member is positioned to apply a biasing force that repositions the first piston, the rod, and the neutron modifying material in response to a loss of pump flow without scram condition.

Automatic hydropneumatic actuation device

Disclosed embodiments include nuclear fission reactors, nuclear fission fuel pins, methods of operating a nuclear fission reactor, methods of fueling a nuclear fission reactor, and methods of fabricating a nuclear fission fuel pin.

Liquid fuel nuclear fission reactor fuel pin

Liquid fuel nuclear fission reactor

Illustrative embodiments provide a nuclear fission reactor, that includes a reactor vessel, a nuclear fission fuel element capable of generating a gaseous fission product, a valve body defining a plenum for receiving the gaseous fission product, and a valve in operative communication with the plenum for controllably venting the gaseous fission product from the plenum.

Nuclear fission reactor, a vented nuclear fission fuel module, methods therefor, and a vented nuclear fission fuel module system

Illustrative methods are provided for annealing nuclear fission reactor materials, such as without limitation, a nuclear fission reactor core or fuel assembly or components thereof within the nuclear core. Annealing a metallic component of a nuclear fission reactor within the reactor core may include determining an annealing temperature for at least a portion of at least one metallic component of a nuclear fission fuel assembly of the reactor. The temperature of the core may be adjusted to affect the determined annealing temperature, which in some cases may be greater than the predetermined operating temperature range of the nuclear fission fuel assembly. The portion of the at least one metallic component of the nuclear fission fuel assembly is annealed within the core at the annealing temperature range.

System and method for annealing nuclear fission reactor materials

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Kirkland, WA, United States of America

Jon David McWhirter