3 ms·
Note that the reactor vessel doesn't generate electricity, but steam. You need a turbine to make it useful. Once you include that, it doesn't look quite as mini
by hypersoar 4y ago
Note that the reactor vessel doesn't generate electricity, but steam. You need a turbine to make it useful. Once you include that, it doesn't look quite as miniature[0]. As far as I can tell, these aren't targeted at anything other than utility-scale power.
[0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU-IlqiP4sU&t=63s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU-IlqiP4sU&t=63s
- h0l0cube 4y agoI wonder if TPV could be used instead of a turbine? https://news.mit.edu/2022/thermal-heat-engine-0413 https://news.mit.edu/2022/thermal-heat-engine-0413 > Engineers at MIT and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have designed a heat engine with no moving parts. Their new demonstrations show that it converts heat to electricity with over 40 percent efficiency — a performance better than that of traditional steam turbines.
- credit_guy 4y agoUnfortunately, it can't. Nuclear reactor cores can obviously get very hot, but for safety reasons they are not allowed to. They work at about 300 degrees Celsius. The linked heat engine has the high efficiency quoted only when the hot element is extremely hot, a few thousand degrees Celsius.
- glogla 4y agoI think you could use these to "upgrade" coal power plants to nuclear power plants, no? Those already have turbines, cooling towers, transformers, grid connection, etc.
- ZeroGravitas 4y agoIt also need to sit in a giant pool of water, not sure if you can share the pool if you install more than one to save volume and concrete.