Types of Nuclear Reactors

Generations of Reactors
Principles of Classification
Survey of Reactor Types
Light Water Reactors
Burners, Converters, and Breeders

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Reactor Generations

1942-Dec-2 Chicago Pile-1

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Principles of Classification

Energy spectrum utilized for fission

Prime purpose
Fuel
Coolant
Coolant system
Moderator
Heterogeneity (?)
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Heterogeneity
All reactors used today for power generation are HETEROGENEOUS,
i.e. fuel, coolant and/or moderator are physically different entities with
non-uniform and anisotropic composition.
The homogeneous reactor, is defined as a reactor whose small-scale
composition is uniform and isotropic.
ORNL, Homogeneous Reactor Experiment: HRE-1, HRE-2 (1950s);
thermal breeder, fuel: uranyl sulfate (UO2SO4) in heavy water (D2O).
HRE were dropped liquid fuel.
Molten salt reactor, 235UF4+ThF4, 233UF4. In 1960s fast breeder.
A further homogenous reactor approach, a liquid- metal thermal
breeder using uranium compounds in molten bismuth.
At present there is no prospect in sight of a major program to develop
homogenous reactors
molten salt accelerator-driven concept (?)

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Homogeneous Reactor Experiment

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Energy Spectrum Classification

Energy

Thermal (0.5 eV)

Power reactors:
BWR, PWR,
VVER, RBMK;
thermal breeder,

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Intermediate (103 eV)

Fast (105 eV)

Spaceship reactors
(accident in Can.)

BN350, BN600,
Super Fenix,
Naval reactors

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Purpose

Power

LWR
PHWR (CANDU)
HTGR
AGR
LMR
LGR (RBMK)
LMFBR
HWLWR
OLR

Ship propulsion Production

Submarines
Navy
Aircarrier
Icebreakers
PWR-cargo

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Plutonium
Tritium

Research

Specialized

WPR
TRIGA
Studsvik

Isolated areas
Space propul.
Heat for chem

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Fuel

UO2 (3-4%)
sintered pellets
zirconium alloy

LWR

Nat. U
pellets
tubes

CANDU

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UO2

U-Pu-Zr alloy

U-Al alloy

spherical part.
carbon, silicon

pellets
steel cladding

plates
Al cladding + Al-Si

HTGR

LMR

TRIGA

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Coolant

Light Water

Heavy Water

Gas

H2O

D2O

air, CO2, He

LWR

CANDU

HTGR
Pebble bed

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Liquid Metal
Na, Na-K, Pb-Bi

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LMR

Moderator

Light Water

Heavy Water

Graphite

H2O

D2O

LWR

CANDU

LGR (RBMK)
GCR
HTGR

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1-loop
BWR

2-loop
PWR

3-loop
LMR
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Commonly Accepted Classification

BWR

PWR

Unat
C+H2O

Unat
C+Gas

German

HTGR

LWR

USA

LMR

CANDU

Power
Reactors

AGR

Other

Production
Reactors

Nuclear
Reactors

Specialized
Reactors
WPR

Research
Reactors
TRIGA

Ship Propulsion
Reactors
Na

PWR

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Fast

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Pb-Bi

12

Components of
Conventional Reactors

Fuel
Coolant
Moderator
Control system (rods)
A main distinction between different types of reactors lies in the
differences in the choices of fuel, coolant, and moderator.

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Fuels
Natural Elements
U (2 ppm)
4.5109 yr

Th (6 ppm)
14.05109 yr
U

239
94

Pu

U 01n

239
92

Th 01n

233
90

232
90

235
92

U
23.5min
239
93 Np
Th
23.3min
233
91 Pa

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Pu
24103 yr
239

0.7%

99.5%
238
92

U
7108 yr
233

90

90

238
92

Artificial Nuclides

2.3day

27.4day

239
94
233
92

Pu

235 0.0064
233 0.0026

239 0.0020
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Between thorium (Z=90) and bismuth (Z=83), the isotope with the
longest half-life is 226Ra (T=1600 years), and therefore there are
no fuel candidates, quite apart from the issue of fissionability.
Uranium and Thorium are the only natural elements available
for use as reactor fuels. In addition, 233U and 239Pu can be
produced from capture on 232Th and 238U in reactors. Of fissile
materials, only U is both fissile and found in nature in useful
amounts.

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232

Th

104

232

(barns)

103

T 1/2 => 14.05 Gy +/- 60.00 My [4.434E+17s +/- 1.893E+15s]

SPIN => 0 +
MEAN DECAY ENERGIES (MeV)
Baryon => 4.07742 +/- 0.169064
Lepton => 0.0130345 +/- 0.00112065
Photon => 0.00124304 +/- 0.000114618
* DECAY MODES:
Alpha decay, possibly followed by Gamma emission
Q_value => 4.081 MeV +/- 0.004 MeV Branching => 1 +/- 0
Fission decay, followed by Gamma emission
Q_value => 169.4 MeV 4.1 MeV Branching => 1.4e-11 5e-12
* NUCLIDE MAT. NUMBER: 9061
The following number of lines are present:
Gamma: 2 Alpha: 3 Electron: 8 X-rays: 7

Th

102
101

capture
100

fission

10-1
10-2 -3
10

10-2

10-1

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

Energy (eV)

T1 2 14.05 109 yr

Th 01n

232
90

Th
23.3min
233
91 Pa

233
90

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27.4day

233
92

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233

104

233

(barns)

103

T 1/2 => 159.25 ky +/- 200.00 y [5.026E+12s +/- 6.312E+09s]

SPIN => 5/2 +
* MEAN DECAY ENERGIES (MeV)
Baryon => 4.90413 +/- 0.0181258
Lepton => 0.00759652 +/- 0.000610716
Photon => 0.00122537 +/- 0.000110582
* DECAY MODES:
Alpha decay, possibly followed by Gamma emission
Q_value => 4.9089 MeV +/- 0.0012 MeV Branching => 1 0
* NUCLIDE MAT. NUMBER: 9234
The following number of lines are present:
Gamma: 116 Alpha: 37 Electron: 235 X-rays: 7

102
101

fission

100

capture

10-1
10-2 -3
10

10-2

10-1

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

Energy (eV)

T1 2 159.25 10 yr
3

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233 0.0026 1 k 1.0013

235 0.0064 1 k 1.0032
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235

104

235

(barns)

103

T 1/2 => 703.81 My +/- 500.01 ky [2.221E+16s +/- 1.578E+13s]

SPIN => 7/2 * MEAN DECAY ENERGIES (MeV)
Baryon => 4.46298 +/- 0.287321
Lepton => 0.0475365 +/- 0.00378036
Photon => 0.167808 +/- 0.00347714
* DECAY MODES:
Alpha decay, possibly followed by Gamma emission
Q_value => 4.679 MeV +/- 0.0025 MeV Branching => 1 0
Fission decay, followed by Gamma emission
Q_value => 176.4 MeV +/- 4.6 MeV Branching => 2e-10 +/- 1e-10
* NUCLIDE MAT. NUMBER: 9240
The following number of lines are present:
Gamma: 49 Alpha: 17 Electron: 127 X-rays: 7

102

fission
10

100

capture
-1

10

10-2 -3
10

10-2

10-1

100

101

102

103

104

106

107

235 0.0064

Energy (eV)

T1 2 703.8110 yr
6

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105

233 0.0026
239 0.0020
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238

104

238

(barns)

103
102

T 1/2 => 4.47 Gy +/- 5.00 My [1.410E+17s +/- 1.578E+14s]

SPIN => 0 +
* MEAN DECAY ENERGIES (MeV)
Baryon => 4.25996 +/- 0.236186
Lepton => 0.0105454 +/- 0.000870616
Photon => 0.00125402 +/- 0.000119247
* DECAY MODES:
Alpha decay, possibly followed by Gamma emission
Q_value => 4.2703 MeV +/- 0.0039 MeV Branching => 0.999999
Fission decay, followed by Gamma emission
Q_value => 173.6 MeV +/- 3.4 MeV Branching => 5.4e-07 +/- 2e-08
* NUCLIDE MAT. NUMBER: 9249
The following number of lines are present:
Gamma: 2 Alpha: 3 Electron: 6 X-rays: 2

capture

101
100

10-1

fission
10

-2

10-3

10-2

10-1

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

Energy (eV)

T1 2 4.47 10 yr
9

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mg of U
3ppb
tonne Seawater

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239

Pu

104

239

fission

(barns)

10

102

Pu

capture

101
100

10-1
10-2 -3
10

10-2

10-1

100

101

102

103

104

Energy (eV)

T1 2 24.11103 yr

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105

106

107

T 1/2 => 24.11 ky +/- 40.00 y [7.609E+11s +/- 1.262E+09s]

SPIN => 1/2 +
* MEAN DECAY ENERGIES (MeV)
Baryon => 5.23678 +/- 0.0389047
Lepton => 0.00738587 +/- 0.000585825
Photon => 0.000707559 +/- 6.46626e-05
* DECAY MODES:
Alpha decay, possibly followed by Gamma emission
Q_value => 5.2435 MeV +/- 0.0007 MeV
Branching => 0.000115 +/- 2e-06
Alpha decay, possibly followed by Gamma emission
Q_value => 5.2434 MeV +/- 0.0007 MeV
Branching => 0.999885 +/- 2e-06
Fission decay, followed by Gamma emission
Q_value => 184.3 MeV +/- 3.6 MeV
Branching => 4.4e-12 +/- 4e-13
* NUCLIDE MAT. NUMBER: 9440
The following number of lines are present:
Gamma: 188 Alpha: 69 Electron: 468 X-rays: 7

239 0.0020
235 0.0064
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Enrichment in 235U, a concentration of 3% - 4% is typical in

reactors used for electricity generation, but there is a trend
towards higher enrichments and greater burnup of the fuel. The
fuel is solid. For the most part it is in an oxide form, UO 2, but
metallic fuel is a possibility and has been used in some reactors.
The fuel usually is in cylindrical pellets with typical dimensions
on a centimeter scale, but some designs for future reactors are
based on fuel in submillimeter microspheres embedded in
graphite. The goal here is enhanced raggedness at high
temperatures.

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a and vs U enrichment

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Moderators
1

He

Widely used

Not used

H2O or D2O

Gas Press.
3

He absorbs

Li

Be

Was used

Impossible

Li absorbs

Be toxic,
expensive

10

Not used

B absorbs

Widely used
Must be pure

No use to consider Z > 6

Only D2O and C can be used with Unat
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Coolants
Function transfer heat
Objective: power density, temperature
Limitations: in PWR: below saturation T,
Tin=293, Tout = 315; in LMFBR, T=140; in
HTGR, T=500.

After shutdown
Coolant is either gas or liquid: H2O, D2O,
He, CO2, Na, Na-K, Pb, Pb-Bi.
Coolant is moderator
Classification: LWR, HWR, GR, LMR
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Control Materials
Control materials are materials with large thermal neutronabsorption cross sections, used as controllable poisons to
adjust the level of reactivity. They serve a variety of
purposes:
To achieve intentional changes in reactor operating
conditions, including turning the reactor on and off
To compensate for changes in reactor operating conditions,
including changes in the fissile and poison content of the fuel
To provide a means for turning the reactor off rapidly, in case
of emergency

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Total cross section of 10B, Cd and In.

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Energy variation of
absorption crosssections for elements
of extremely high
cross-sections.

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Control Materials
Commonly used 113Cd (12.2%, 20000 b)
and 10B (19.9%, 3800 b)
Control rods Cd, B (boron steel)
PWR: c. rods B4C or Cd (5%)+AgIn
BWR: c. rods B4C

Water solution B
Burnable poison (B or Gd)

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World Inventory of
Reactor Types (Dec. 1994)
Type

Number

Capacity (GWe)

Usual
Fuel

Moderat
or

Coolant

First
devel

Oper.

Cons

Oper.

Cons

PWR

245

39

215.7

36.8

UO2 enr

H2O

H2O

USA

BWR

92

75.9

6.0

UO2 enr

H2O

H2O

USA

PHWR

34

16

18.6

7.9

UO2 nat.

D2O

D2O

Canada

LGR
(RBMK)

15

14.8

0.9

UO2 enr

H2O

USA/
USRR

GCR

35

11.7

U, UO2

CO2

UK

LMFBR

0.9

2.4

UO2+

None

Liq. Na

Various

PuO2
Total

424

66

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338

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Typical Data
PWR
MWt

BWR

3400 3600
(2700) (2900)

HTGR

LMFBR

GCFR

PHW

3000

2400

2500

1600

MWe

1150

1200

1170

1000

1000

500

Eff

33.7

33.5

39.0

39.0

39.5

31.0

Fuel

UO2

UO2

Cool

H2O

H2O

He

Na

He

D2O

Moder.

H2O

H2O

Graphite

D2O

Height

366

376

634

91

148

410

Diam.

377

366

844

222

270

680

Burnup 33,000 27,500

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UC,ThO2 PuO2, UO2 PuO2, UO2

98,000
100,000
100,000
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UO2

10,000
30

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PWR. The pressurized water reactor accounts for almost twothirds of all capacity and is the only LWR used in some
countries, for example, France, the former Soviet Union, and
South Korea.
BWR. The boiling water reactor is a major alternative to the
PWR, and both are used in, for example, Sweden, the United
States and Japan.
PHWR. The pressurized heavy water reactor uses heavy water
for both the coolant and moderator and operates with natural
uranium fuel. It has been developed in Canada and is commonly
referred to as the CANDU. CANDU units are also in operation
in India and are being built in Romania and South Korea.

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CANDU reactors

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LGR (RBMK). The light-water-cooled, graphite-moderated

reactor uses water as a coolant and graphite for moderation. The
worlds only currently operating LGRs are the RBMK reactors
in the former Soviet Union. There were four such units at the
Chernobyl plant at the time of the accident there, two of which
are still in operation.

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GCR. The gas-cooled, graphite-moderated reactor uses a CO2

coolant and a graphite moderator. Its use is largely limited to the
United Kingdom; it is sometimes known as the Magnox reactor. A
larger second-generation version is the advanced gas-cooled,
graphite- moderated reactor (AGCR).

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HTGR. The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor uses helium

coolant and a graphite moderator. The only operating HTGR in the
United States (Fort St. Vrain) has been shut down, and there are no
operating HTGRs elsewhere.
HWLWR. The heavy-water-moderated, light-water-cooled reactor
is an unconventional variant of the heavy water reactor, and only
one has been in recent operation, a 148-MWe plant in Japan.

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LMFBR. The liquid-metal fast breeder reactor uses fast neutrons

and needs no moderator. A liquid metal is used as coolant, now
invariably liquid sodium. There are 2 liquid- metal reactors in
operation + 2 newly shut-down (France Phenix and Superphenix,
and one each in Kazakhstan- BN-600 and Russia BN-60) and
several others under construction or reconstruction, including
Monju reactor in Japan, which suffer sodium leakage accident in
1994.

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Monju Reactor

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LIGHT WATER REACTORS

PWRs and BWRs
The two types of LWR in use in the world are the pressurized
water reactor (PWR) and the boiling water reactor (BWR). In the
PWR, the water in the reactor vessel is maintained in liquid form
by high pressure. Steam to drive the turbine is developed in a
separate steam generator. In the BWR, steam is provided directly
from the reactor.

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PWR

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BWR

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Typical conditions in a PWR, temperatures of the cooling water

into and out of the reactor vessel are about 292oC and 325oC,
respectively, and the pressure is about 155 bar. For the BWR,
typical inlet and outlet temperatures are 278 oC and 288oC,
respectively, and the pressure is only about 72 bar. The high
pressure in the PWR keeps the water in a condensed phase; the
lower pressure in the BWR allows boiling and generation of
steam within the reactor vessel. Neither the PWR or BWR has
an overwhelming technical advantage over the other, as
indicated by the continued widespread use of both.
The future is not clear-cut, however, and in Japan 3 BWRs
were under construction at the end of 1994, compared to only 1
PWR.
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Components of a Light Water Reactor

The reactor pressure vessel is a massive cylindrical steel tank.
Typically for a PWR, it is about 12 m in height and 4.5 m in
diameter. It has thick walls, about 20 cm, and is designed to
withstand pressures of up to 170 atmospheres.
A major component, or set of components, is the system for
converting the reactors heat into useful work. In the BWR, steam
is used directly from the pressure vessel to drive a turbine. This is
the step at which electricity is produced. In the PWR, primary
water from the core is pumped at high pressure through pipes
passing through a heat exchanger in the steam generators. Water
fed into the secondary side of the steam generator is converted
into steam, and this steam is used to drive a turbine. The
secondary loop is also closed. The exhaust steam and water from
the turbine enter a condenser and are cooled in a second heat
exchanger before returning to the steam generator.
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The pressure vessel and the steam generators are contained within
a massive structure, the containment building, commonly made of
strongly reinforced concrete. In some designs, the concrete
containment is lined with steel; in others, there is a separate inner
steel containment vessel. The containment is intended to retain
activity released during accidents and is also believed capable of
protecting a reactor against external events such as an airplane
crash. In the Three Mile Island accident, the containment very
successfully retained the released radioactivity, although it may be
noted that the physical structure was not put fully to the test, since
there was no explosion or buildup of high pressures. At Chernobyl
there was no containment, with disastrous results. In principle, if a
reactor is sufficiently protected against accidents, a containment is
unnecessary. Nonetheless, it is widely thought to be an essential
safety feature, providing an important redundancy.
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BWR

Reactor Cores
PWR

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BWR-fuel bundle
SVEA-95

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Schematic diagram
of containment
building with
enclosed reactor
vessel and steam
generator for an
illustrative BWR.
The output of the
steam generator
drives the turbines,
external to the
containment
building.
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Some CAD-pictures of BWRs (FO3)

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Steam Separator in BWR

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BURNERS, CONVERTERS, AND BREEDERS

Achievement of High Conversion Ratios in Thermal Reactors
Difficulty of Reaching a Conversion Ratio of Unity with 235U
The limiting condition for a breeder reactor is that the conversion
ratio C be at least 1. This means that , the number of neutrons
produced for each neutron absorbed in 235U, must be 2 or more.
For thermal neutrons absorbed in 235U, =2.075. Were there no
losses, this would suffice for breeding: 1 neutron for continuing
the chain reaction, 1 neutron for production of 239Pu, and 0.08
neutrons free to be wasted. Such efficient utilization cannot be
achieved, however, because there is absorption in the moderator
and other non-fuel materials, as well as escape of neutrons from
the core. There fore, a 235U -fueled thermal breeder reactor is not
practical. Nonetheless, the production of 239Pu is significant,
increasing the overall energy output from the reactor fuel beyond
that gained from the U alone.
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Thermal Breeders
233 = 2.296; 235 = 1.65
Eugene Wigners group in 1945
235U+232Th233U; then one uses a self
sustaining cycle 233U+232Th;
c(232Th) > c(238U)
Conclusion: 233U breeders are possible
Thermal Breeders were abandoned in favor
of Fast Breeders
It is conceivable: interest may revive; only
few breeder programs nowadays (all fast)
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High Conversion Ration

Motivation: Pu production; extension of fuel
resources
High capture in 238U must be compensated by
smaller losses in moderator
Moderator: C instead of H2O:
Possibility to use Unat
C is less efficient as moderator more captures in 238U
when slowing down
Less absorption in 12C than in H2O

Weapon-grade Pu (Graphite): Windscale, RBMK

D2O moderator has the same advantages
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Resonance Absorption
104

238

(barns)

10

102

capture

101
100

10-1

fission
10-2 -3
10

10-2

10-1

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

Energy (eV)

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Fast Breeder Reactors

Fission in Pu by fast (1 Mev) neutrons
No loss while slowing down
High and
Ratio c/f < 0.03 almost all absorptions result
in fission = = 3 (235U = 2.3)

Detailed analysis: = 3 = 1(F)+1(B)+1(L)

Thermalization undesireable coolant
with large A (23Na, Pb+Bi)
Fuel: UO2(80%)+PuO2(20%); DU is used
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Status of Fast Breeder Programs

The main incentive for the development of fast breeder reactors is
the extension of uranium supplies. A fast breeder economy would
extract much more energy per tonne of uranium than is obtained
from other reactors, e.g., the LWRs. Further, with more energy per
unit mass, it becomes economically practical to use more expensive
uranium ores, increasing the ultimate uranium resource.
the argument, it has been pointed out that a liquid-metal fast reactor
(LMR) can be used to destroy unwanted plutonium and other heavy
elements in weapons stockpiles or nuclear wastes. In this reversal of
motivation, the LMR would be used to consume unwanted
plutonium, rather than to produce plutonium as a fuel. There is
flexibility in this, because as LMR technology and facilities are
developed, they could be turned to either purpose.

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France has led in the development and deployment of breeder

reactors, with two completed reactors, the 233-MWe Phenix, put
into operation in 1973, and the 1200-MWe Superphenix at CreysMalville, which first generated electricity in 1986. The Superphenix
was shut down for almost two years beginning in May 1987 because
of leaks in the sodium- filled spent-fuel storage tank. Although it
resumed some operation in 1989, troubles recurred, and from 1989
through the summer of 1995 operation of Superphenix has been
intermittent and trouble-plagued, with long periods of shutdown.
The emphasis has been shifted from operation of Superphenix as a
breeder reactor to its use for study of the safety of sodium-cooled
fast reactors and the destruction of heavy elements in fast reactors.
In early summer 1997 French government took a decision to
shutdown SuperPhenix and this decision was realized in 1998.
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Russia has one LMFBR in operation (BN-60) and Kazakhstan has

recently shutdown its BN-600 LMFBR. Japan has completed a
280-MWe prototype LMFBR - Monju, but its operation was set
back in December 1995 by a leak of the sodium coolant and a firelike chemical reaction of sodium with the air.
The United States breeder reactor program has been marked by
indecision and opposition, with successive projects started and
abandoned. The latest apparent casualty was the main U.S. breederrelated project of the past decade the investigation at Argonne
National Laboratory of fast LMRs as part of the integral fast
reactor program. Advocates of this program stressed its potential to
offer a high degree of safety against reactor accidents and to
destroy nuclear wastes in an on-line process. The breeding potential
was often secondary in these arguments, and the planned LMR
need not have operated as a breeder, namely, with a conversion
ratio greater than unity. Nonetheless, the basic configuration of the
system was similar to that of a breeder reactor.
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Generation IV - Initiative
Neutron
Spectrum

Fuel
Cycle

Size

Applications

R&D

Sodium Fast
Reactor (SFR)

Fast

Closed Med to
Large

Electricity,
Actinide Mgmt.

Advanced Recycle

Lead-alloy Fast
Reactor (LFR)

Fast

Closed Small
to
Large

Electricity,
Hydrogen
Production

Fuels, Materials
compatibility

Gas-Cooled Fast
Reactor (GFR)

Fast

Closed Med

Electricity,
Hydrogen, AM

Fuels, Materials,
Safety

Very High Temp.

Gas Reactor
(VHTR)

Thermal

Open

Electricity,
Hydrogen,
Process Heat

Fuels, Materials,
H2 production

Supercritical Water
Reactor (SCWR)

Thermal,
Fast

Open, Large
Closed

Electricity

Materials, Safety

Molten Salt Reactor

(MSR)

Thermal

Closed Large

Electricity,
Hydrogen, AM

Fuel, Fuel
treatment,
Materials, Safety
and Reliability

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The END

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Classifications of Reactors
Thermal Reactors and Fast Reactors
Reactors designed to operate with slow, thermalized neutrons (to
take advantage of increase of cross-sections with neutron energy
decrease) are termed thermal reactors. However, it is also
possible to operate a reactor with fast neutrons, at energies in
the neighborhood of 1 MeV or higher. These reactors are called
fast-neutron reactors or just fast reactors. The only prominent
example of a fast reactor is the liquid-metal breeder reactor.
Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Reactors
All reactors used today for power generation are
HETEROGENEOUS, i.e. fuel, coolant and/or moderator are
physically different entities with non-uniform and anisotropic
composition.
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The homogeneous reactor, was defined as a reactor whose

small-scale composition is uniform and isotropic.
One variant of this was known as the aqueous homogenous
reactor because the fuel was mixed with water (H2O or D2O). In
the so-called homogeneous reactor experiment, two small
reactors, called HRE-1 and HRE-2, were built at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL) in the 1950s. For HRE-2, the fluid
was uranyl sulfate (UO2SO4) in heavy water (D2O), with the
uranium highly enriched in 235U. This program had the potential
of developing a thermal breeder reactor, but although HRE-2
operated uninterruptedly for over 100 days at 5 MWel, some
difficulties developed, and the program was dropped in favor of
alternative liquid-fuel projects.
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One alternative was the molten-salt reactor. The fluid was a

mixture of fluoride compounds, including the fissile component
235
UF4 and the fertile component ThF4. After initial operation,
233
UF4 was successfully tried as an alternative to 235UF4. Like
HRE-2, this reactor was designed to be a thermal breeder
reactor. There was initial success in the reactor operation, but a
decision was made in the 1960s to abandon development of
thermal breeders in favor of fast breeder reactors. A further
homogenous reactor approach, a liquid- metal thermal breeder
using uranium compounds in molten bismuth, was also
investigated but was abandoned without construction of even a
test reactor. At present there is no prospect in sight of a major
program to develop homogenous reactors, with an exception of
molten salt accelerator-driven concept.
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Superphenix

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The END

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Fuels
Few natural nuclides that can be used as reactor fuels
Uranium (Z=92). This is the main fuel in actual use, especially 235U
which is fissile. In addition, 238U is important in reactors, primarily
as a fertile fuel for 239Pu production, and 233U could be used as a
fissile fuel, formed by neutron capture in 232Th.
Protactinium (Z=91). The longest-lived isotope of Pa ( 231Pa) has a
half-life of 3.3 x104 yr, and therefore there is essentially no Pa in
nature. Further, there is no stable A =230 nuclide that could be used
to produce 231Pa in a reactor.
Thorium (Z=90). Thorium is found entirely as 232Th, which is not
fissile (for thermal neutrons). It can be used as a fertile fuel for
production of fissile 233U.

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Moderators
The options for moderating materials are limited:
Hydrogen (Z=l). The isotopes 1H and 2H are widely used as
moderators, in the form of light (ordinary) water and heavy water,
respectively.
Helium (Z=2). The isotopes 3He and 4He are not used, because
helium is a gas, and excessive pressures would be required to obtain
adequate helium densities for a practical moderator. Moreover 3He
absorbs neutrons very strongly (see lecture about detectors)
Lithium (Z=3). The isotope 6Li (7.5% abundant) has a large
neutron-absorption cross section, making lithium impractical as a
moderator.
Beryllium (Z=4). 9Be has been used to a limited extent as a
moderator, especially in some early reactors. It can be used in the
form of beryllium oxide, BeO. Beryllium is expensive and toxic.
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Boron (Z=5). The very large neutron-absorption cross section in

10
B (20% abundant) makes boron impossible as a moderator.
Carbon (Z=6). Carbon in the form of graphite is widely used as a
moderator. It is important that the graphite be pure, free of elements
that have high absorption cross sections for neutrons.
There are no advantages in considering elements heavier than
carbon.
With natural uranium, it is not possible to use light water and it is
common practice to use heavy water or graphite, which have
particularly high moderating ratios.

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Coolants
The main function of the coolant in any generating plant is to
transfer energy from the hot fuel to the electrical turbine, either
directly or through intermediate steps. During normal reactor
operation, cooling is an intrinsic aspect of energy transfer. In a
nuclear reactor, cooling has a special importance, because
radioactive decay causes continued heat production even after the
reactor is shut down and electricity generation has stopped. It is still
essential to maintain cooling to avoid melting the reactor core, and
in some types of reactor accidents (e.g., the accident at Three Mile
Island) cooling is the critical issue. The coolant can be either a
liquid or a gas. For thermal reactors, the most common coolants are
light water, heavy water, helium, and carbon dioxide. The type of
coolant is commonly used to designate the type of reactor. Hence,
the characterization of reactors as light water reactors (LWRs),
heavy water reactors (HWRs), and gas-cooled reactors (GCRs).
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The coolant may also serve as a moderator, as is the case for

LWRs and HWRs. In gas-cooled reactors, the density of the
coolant is too low to permit it to serve as a moderator, and
graphite is used. Fast reactors, in which fission is to occur
without moderation, require a coolant that has a relatively high
atomic mass number (A). Generically, these reactors are termed
liquid-metal reactors, because the coolant is a liquid metal,
most commonly sodium (A =23).

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Two commonly used control materials are cadmium and boron. The
isotope 113Cd, which is 12.2% abundant in natural cadmium, has a
thermal neutron capture cross section of 20,000 b. The isotope
10
B, 19.9% abundant in natural boron, has a thermal absorption
cross section of 3800 b. Cadmium and boron are effective materials
for reducing the reactivity of the reactor.
Cadmium is commonly used in the form of control rods, which can
be inserted or withdrawn as needed. Boron can be used in a control
rod, made, for example, of boron steel, or it can be introduced in
soluble form in the water of water-cooled reactors to regulate
reactor operation. It is also possible to use other materials. Control
rods for pressurized water reactors (PWRs) commonly use boron in
the form of boron carbide (B4C) or cadmium in a silver indium
alloy containing 5% cadmium. Control rods for boiling water
reactors (BWRs) commonly use boron carbide.
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A sophisticated control variant is the so-called burnable poison,

incorporated into the fuel itself. During the three years or so that
the fuel is in the reactor, the 235U or other fissile material in the
fuel is partially consumed, and fission product poisons are
produced. The burnable poison helps to even the performance of
the fuel over this time period. It is a material with a large
absorption cross section, which is consumed by neutron capture as
the fuel is used. The decrease in burnable poison content with
time can be tailored to compensate for the decrease in 235U and the
buildup of fission fragment poisons. Boron and gadolinium can be
used as burnable poisons.
Control materials are needed to regulate reactor operation and
provide a means for rapid shutdown. Boron and cadmium are
particularly good control materials because of their high cross
sections for the absorption of thermal neutrons. These control
materials are usually used in the form of rods.
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Potential of 233U for a Thermal Breeder Reactor

The number of neutrons produced is significantly higher for 233U
(=2.296) than for 235U. In early 1945 Eugene Wigners group in
Chicago envisaged a cycle in which 233U is produced initially in a
reactor with 235U as the fissile fuel and 232Th as the fertile fuel.
Subsequently, a 233U 232Th cycle could in principle be selfsustaining. Not only is higher for 233U than for 235U, but the
capture cross section is significantly higher for 232Th than for 238U
at thermal energies, making the conversion ratio higher than in the
235
U- 238U cycle.
However, while thermal breeders based on 233U are in principle
possible, thermal breeders were abandoned in favor of the fast
breeder reactor. It is conceivable that interest in thermal breeders
could revive, but at present the relatively few breeder reactor
development programs in the world are all based on fast breeders.
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High Conversion Ratios without Breeding

If breeding is not achieved with thermal reactors, a high conversion
ratio can still be desirable. One motivation could be plutonium
production. Another motivation is the extension of fuel resources.
As the conversion ratio increases, the energy output increases for a
given original 235U content. A high conversion ratio means a high
ratio of capture in 238U to absorption in 235U. This must be
accomplished without losing criticality. Greater losses of neutrons
to 238U can be compensated for by smaller losses in the moderator.
The use of carbon instead of light water as a moderator is favorable
on two counts, if a high conversion ratio is desired (in addition to
the advantage that with a carbon moderator it is possible to use
natural uranium). Because carbon is a less effective moderator than
water, more collisions are required to reach thermal energies, and
therefore there is more possibility of neutron capture in 238U at
intermediate energies.
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Further, because of the low neutron-capture cross section in 12C, the

loss of thermal neutrons to absorption will be less for carbon than for
light water. Together, this means a higher conversion ratio. It may be
noted that reactors designed with production of weapons-grade
plutonium in mind, as either the main or an auxiliary function, have
been mostly graphite- moderated. Examples include the Windscale
plant in England, the plutonium production reactors at Hanford, and
the RBMK reactors built in the USSR.
The conversion ratio is higher in a heavy water reactor than in a light
water reactor for much the same reasons as for a graphite moderator.
Again, heavy-water is a less effective moderator than light water, and
it has a lower capture cross section for thermal neutrons. For both
graphite-moderated and heavy water reactors, there have been
suggestions that the 232Th 233U cycle be used, to further increase
conversion and extend the life of the uranium fuel, even without
breeding.
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To avoid thermalization of the neutrons, fast breeder reactors use a

coolant with high mass number A to reduce moderation. Liquid
metals have the best combination of high A and favorable heattransfer properties, and the fast breeder reactors in actual use or
under construction are liquid-metal fast breeder reactors (LMFBR).
The standard choice for the coolant is liquid sodium ( 23Na).
The fuel is made of pellets of mixed plutonium and uranium oxides,
PuO2 (about 20%) and UO2 (about 80%). Uranium depleted in 235U is
commonly used, it being available as a residue from earlier
enrichment. The fission cross section for Pu is between 1.5 and 2.0 b
over virtually the entire fast-neutron region (from 0.01 to 6 MeV),
and therefore fission in 239Pu is much more important than fission in
238
U. The most probable fast-neutron reactions in U are inelastic
scattering, which produces lower energy neutrons, and capture,
which produces 239Pu.
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Fast Breeder Reactors

Plutonium as Fuel for Fast Breeders
The fast breeder reactor relies on a chain reaction in which the
neutrons are not thermalized but instead produce fission at relatively
high energies. If 239Pu is the fissile fuel, this has the advantage of a
relatively large fission cross section sf and a relatively large number
of neutrons per fission event (high and ). For 1.0-MeV neutrons
on Pu, f =1.7 b, and the ratio (a) of the capture cross section to
the fission cross section is less than 0.03. The low value of this ratio
means that almost all absorption in 239Pu leads to fission
(==3.0). In contrast, the fission cross section in 235U is 1.2 b at 1
MeV, and is only 2.3. With about three neutrons per fission,
breeding with 239Pu is obtained if 1 neutron is used for continuing the
chain reaction, 1+ for breeding, and 1- for losses. It has been shown
that it is quite possible to achieve this.
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