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Naval reactors use HEU specifically so that humans can live and work in close proximity for long periods of time. Land-based deployments don't have this constr
by 15155 4mo ago
Naval reactors use HEU specifically so that humans can live and work in close proximity for long periods of time.
Land-based deployments don't have this constraint.
- Manuel_D 4mo agoWhat does the enrichment of uranium have to do with humans working in proximity? In both low-enriched land based plants and in marine nuclear power plants, the radioactive materials are contained in the pressure vessel and inner cooling loop.
- 15155 4mo agoHEU results in fewer actinide products and a substantially more-compact reactor.
- crote 4mo agoSo in other words: a non-naval SMR which doesn't use HEU is going to be substantially larger - which would make it substantially more expensive, and therefore not representative of civilian SMRs?
- 15155 4mo agoWho said anything about expense? Why does "bigger" equal "more expensive?" Lead, concrete, etc. are cheap on land, but volume is a precious resource on a ship. HEU isn't the only reactor fuel out there, either. And of course, all non-naval reactors are naturally going to be larger: they aren't surrounded by a practically-infinite fluid heatsink.