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What 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
by Manuel_D 4mo ago
What 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.