2 ms·
I agree freeze plug isn't magic, passive heat removal can be much easier if you can move the fuel into a different contaiment with different geometry and differ
by panick21_ 4y ago
I agree freeze plug isn't magic, passive heat removal can be much easier if you can move the fuel into a different contaiment with different geometry and different passive heat removal features.
However it has to be noted that most of the companies that work on molten salt reactors dont use that method. Terrestrial Energy, Moltex Energy for example.
- acidburnNSA 4y agoMeh, I dunno I think freeze plugs are really falling out of favor in general. They take a long time to melt, aren't that reliable or predictable, and can spuriously actuate, dumping the whole core. Why make two vessels when you already need one? Just add passive afterglow heat removal to the one and you're done. Moving stuff around for no reason doesn't add anything.
- panick21_ 4y agoIf you have a breeding reactor that has a mantle and you have a graphite core that you might want to replace then being able to easily remove material from the core might be a good thing. People currently doing commercial have moved away from this and mostly just do fast reactors and mostly don't want to do breeding or do core replacements.