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Cited by 2 publications
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It is well known that power production is one of the most important scientific and technical problems faced by modern society. The most promising power sources are nuclear power plants. In spite of much research, alternatives to nuclear power plants have not yet been found. However, the use of a self-maintained fission chain reaction of nuclei in uranium fuel involves a risk of accidents. More than 10 accidents at nuclear power plants with dangerous consequences have been recorded [1]. the Three Mile Island (USA, 1972) and Chernobyl (1986) accidents being the largest. For this reason, today, the problem of searching for solutions which make it possible to generate power at nuclear power plants as safely as possible is now urgent (see, for example, [2][3][4][5][6]).The most destructive accidents are reactivity accidents, in which the chain reaction becomes uncontrollable. In the present paper, we examine the physical and economic aspects of constructing a reactor in which the possibility of reactivity accidents has been eliminated.There are two approaches to the solution of the problem of guaranteeing the safety of complicated systems. The first approach consists of creating multiply-redundant control and automatic safety systems. This lowers the risk of an accident, but cannot eliminate it completely. The second approach consists of using physical principles that preclude the reason for an accident. In application to nuclear power plants, the first approach is implemented mainly in the development of more effective systems for controlling and regulating the reactivity of a reactor and improvement of the core. The idea of the second approach. which is discussed in the present paper, is based on the use of the energy from uranium fission in a deeply subcritical reactor, m which the chain reaction is initiated by an external source of neutrons, and random runaway is eliminated. Quite powerful neutron fluxes can be obtained by irradiating uranium (or lead) target with an intense beam of particles accelerated up to energies of several hundreds of MeV. This method of producing neutrons has been known for a long time and has been investigated both theoretically and experimentally in numerous works (see, for example, [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]) in connection with the development of the electronuclear method for generating nuclear fuel and transmutanon of long-lived radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants. The primary particles are usually protons, as well as heavier particles, for which the neutron yield per particle is somewhat higher than for protons [6, 20]. We have chosen protons for which the accelerator technology is best developed.The conversion of nuclear power plants to subcritical reactors with an external neutron irradiation will create conditions for more efficient and safer utilization of nuclear fuel.Nuclear Power Plants with a Subcritical Reactor. A simplified diagram of a nuclear power plant with a subcritical reactor and an external source of neutrons is displayed in Fig....
It is well known that power production is one of the most important scientific and technical problems faced by modern society. The most promising power sources are nuclear power plants. In spite of much research, alternatives to nuclear power plants have not yet been found. However, the use of a self-maintained fission chain reaction of nuclei in uranium fuel involves a risk of accidents. More than 10 accidents at nuclear power plants with dangerous consequences have been recorded [1]. the Three Mile Island (USA, 1972) and Chernobyl (1986) accidents being the largest. For this reason, today, the problem of searching for solutions which make it possible to generate power at nuclear power plants as safely as possible is now urgent (see, for example, [2][3][4][5][6]).The most destructive accidents are reactivity accidents, in which the chain reaction becomes uncontrollable. In the present paper, we examine the physical and economic aspects of constructing a reactor in which the possibility of reactivity accidents has been eliminated.There are two approaches to the solution of the problem of guaranteeing the safety of complicated systems. The first approach consists of creating multiply-redundant control and automatic safety systems. This lowers the risk of an accident, but cannot eliminate it completely. The second approach consists of using physical principles that preclude the reason for an accident. In application to nuclear power plants, the first approach is implemented mainly in the development of more effective systems for controlling and regulating the reactivity of a reactor and improvement of the core. The idea of the second approach. which is discussed in the present paper, is based on the use of the energy from uranium fission in a deeply subcritical reactor, m which the chain reaction is initiated by an external source of neutrons, and random runaway is eliminated. Quite powerful neutron fluxes can be obtained by irradiating uranium (or lead) target with an intense beam of particles accelerated up to energies of several hundreds of MeV. This method of producing neutrons has been known for a long time and has been investigated both theoretically and experimentally in numerous works (see, for example, [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]) in connection with the development of the electronuclear method for generating nuclear fuel and transmutanon of long-lived radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants. The primary particles are usually protons, as well as heavier particles, for which the neutron yield per particle is somewhat higher than for protons [6, 20]. We have chosen protons for which the accelerator technology is best developed.The conversion of nuclear power plants to subcritical reactors with an external neutron irradiation will create conditions for more efficient and safer utilization of nuclear fuel.Nuclear Power Plants with a Subcritical Reactor. A simplified diagram of a nuclear power plant with a subcritical reactor and an external source of neutrons is displayed in Fig....
After the Chernobyl accident two problems in nuclear power remain urgent: safe operation of nuclear power plants and handling of radioactive wastes. Specialists are trying to find a solution to these problems that is acceptable to society. At the same time, together with the standard approaches, it is legitimate to consider alternative technology. One alternative for handling long-lived radioactive wastes is to convert them (transmutation) into stable or short-lived nuclides in a neutron beam from fast reactors and electro-or thermonuclear plants. It has also been suggested that powerful fluxes of ~,-rays from electron accelerators be used to produce neutrons in the reaction (3', n). However, calculations by specialists at the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics show that the production of 3,-ray fluxes in electron accelerators is energetically inefficient and, therefore, they cannot be used for transmutation. Neptunium, americium, and curium can be affectively burned in fast reactors, if useful applications for these nuclides are not found in the future. Neptunium, americium, and curium as well as most fission products can be effectively transmuted in electronuclear plants [1, 2]. We recall that an electronuclear plant consists of a subcritical blanket with an external neutron source consisting of a linear proton accelerator and a neutronproducing target. On striking the blanket, the neutrons from the target are multiplied chiefly by means of fission; this makes it possible to produce energy and employ the excess neutrons for different purposes, primarily for transmutation. The presence of an external source of neutrons makes etectronuclear plants much more useful than power reactors.Not all specialists, however, believe that it is necessary to develop electronuclear plants for transmutation. Some specialists believe that fast reactors will be able to solve successfully the problem of destroying long-lived actinides. Other specialists believe that long-lived radioactive wastes must be stored in special surface burial sites until an acceptable technology for eliminating these wastes is developed. There is also the point of view that the wastes should be diluted so as to make their activity comparable to that of uranium ore. Finally, there is the official position of the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation, according to which such wastes should be placed in reliable natural underground storage sites. We shall not analyze the different points of view. We merely mention that specialists at the Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics believe that an effective technology should be developed on the basis of an electronuclear plant. Investigations performed by Russian, American, and Japanese specialists show that the development of such a plant for destroying long-lived radioactive wastes is technically possible at the present level of science and technology. For this, however, both computational and experimental investigations must be performed.Historical Information. Interest i...
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