coolant system overview
robh's picture
Posted on:
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 - 19:43

The Reactor Systems Group has released an overview of the design and operation of the reactor’s coolant system. The overview is the result of extensive research and simulation work and represents the proposed design for reactor coolant system.

The reactor coolant system is responsible for transferring thermal energy from the reactor chamber and using that energy to generate high-pressure steam, which is used to drive a turbine. The turbine drives an alternator assembly to generate electrical power used by vessel systems.

The coolant system is made up of three sub-systems, with reactor-side components carefully isolated from generation-side components to prevent radiation transfer:

Primary coolant loop: surrounding the reaction chamber, the primary loop draws thermal energy from the reactor to the secondary loop, in the process protecting reactor components from heat damage.

Secondary coolant loop: Uses thermal energy from the primary loop to generate steam which is used by the generation subsystem. The secondary loop then cools exhaust steam for re-use.

Generation sub-system: Consists of a steam-driven turbine and alternator assembly used to generate electrical power.

The proposed designs described by the overview will now be prototyped and tested, the results of which will allow system simulations to be fine-tuned. These more accurate simulations will be used to guide the design of control processes and consoles for reactor coolant systems as well as guiding the construction of the reactor itself.

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