Erik Noé’s Post

We are standing on the shoulders of giants, particularly Alvin Weinberg, who ran the molten salt reactor experiment in the 1960s. While many may think creating a #moltensalt system that pumps 700 degrees hot salt continuously around for 6000 hours seems simple, it actually isn’t. At Copenhagen Atomics, we are immensely proud to have built several reliable systems for molten salt testing, including full-scale reactor #prototypes. Before we can test a full scale #reactor with criticality, it is imperative that we have built and tested all components enough times that we can show it can run reliably with the same result every time. Therefore, having a test loop running cumulatively for three-quarters of a year is a great start for us. The next major milestones will be the 1MW test reactor in 2026 and the first-of-a-kind commercial reactor in 2028.

There are many steps on the road towards building a molten salt reactor. Today we took another one, with one of our molten salt test loops reaching 6,000 hours of pumping salt at 700 degrees C.

Most reactors around the world nowadays operate at the under-moderated region, it is considered a safety measure, because in that design, as the moderating material quantity decreases, the neutron multiplication factor will decrease as well, as opposed to the over-moderated region, where if the moderating material decreased, the neutron multiplication factor will increase up to a certain point (the Chernobyl reactor was overmoderated).

Iron silicate can be embedded in either Nitrile Rubber or Buna N to stop any form of helium leaks. However, if temperature is an issue, then the whole hybrid compound consisting of Iron Silicate in Nitrile rubber could be encapsulated in the polymer Starlite. (https://lnkd.in/gBZs4Vyj)

Fast burst reactors were the first fast-spectrum research reactors to reach criticality by using only prompt neutrons with high-enriched uranium as fuel, creating a pulse for microseconds. Among many achievements, fast burst reactors were the first research reactors to demonstrate the ability of thermal expansion to terminate a pulse and to show how this could aid in reactor safety. In addition, fast burst reactors were pivotal in early fission studies including critical mass determination, criticality safety, the study of prompt and delayed neutrons, and much more. #fastreactor #researchreactor #fastspectrum #promptneutrons #delayedneutrons #burst

"If there is one word to characterize the advanced reactors in various stages of the journey to market, it is diversity. They differ not only in design but also in business approach. At this juncture, the end of 2023, it is hard to say how many will make it across what high-tech companies in other fields call the “valley of death,” the space between designing a new product and producing copies in commercial quantities". #advancedreactors #smr #business

https://lnkd.in/eER68ajZ GAIN vouchers tackle LWR risk modeling and advanced reactor fuel salts

Will be interesting to watch this technology develop. This has a strong future and will be a significant boost to the power grid and its modernization.

When a fusion reactor uses neutrons to produce steam out of water the neutrons cause damage to the reactor and causes the reactor to hazardous. The sun uses large amounts of hydrogen to produce light, heat, electrons and protons. The Sun does not produce neutrons.