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Supercritical-Pressure Water Nuclear Reactors

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Abstract

The concepts concerning a nuclear reactor cooled by water at supercritical pressure (25 MPa) are presented. The system has one loop. Superheating the coolant to 530°C makes it possible to obtain ~44% efficiency. On the basis of the neutron spectrum, the reactor is a fast resonance reactor. The tight array of fuel elements and the lower water density make it possible to obtain plutonium fuel breeding ratios ~0.94. The problems which must be solved to build such a reactor are discussed.

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Baranaev, Y.D., Kirillov, P.L., Poplavskii, V.M. et al. Supercritical-Pressure Water Nuclear Reactors. Atomic Energy 96, 345–351 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ATEN.0000038101.90666.da

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ATEN.0000038101.90666.da

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