Per GWe-year, a 3700 MWt Sodium Fast Reactor produces 558 kg and consumes 789 kg of fissile plutonium in the core while producing 455 kg and consumes 34 kg of fissile plutonium in the reflector (breeding blanket). Assume 200 MeV per fission and a capture-to-fission ratio of 0.1405.
What is the overall breeding ratio for this reactor?
The cycle used 833kg, and produced 1013kg
breeding ratio: 1013/833=1.216
if you were trying to design the most efficient nuclear fission reactor possible, what ratio of U-235 to U-238
would you want?
To calculate the overall breeding ratio for this reactor, we need to compare the amount of fissile plutonium produced to the amount consumed in both the core and the reflector.
First, let's calculate the amount of fissile plutonium produced in the core per year. The reactor produces 558 kg of fissile plutonium in the core per GWe-year. Since the reactor power is 3700 MWt, we need to convert it to GWe by dividing by the conversion factor of 1,000. Therefore, the fissile plutonium production in the core is:
558 kg / (3700 MWt / 1000) = 0.151 kg/GWe-year.
Next, let's calculate the amount of fissile plutonium consumed in the core per year. The reactor consumes 789 kg of fissile plutonium in the core per GWe-year. Again, dividing by the conversion factor of 1,000 for the reactor power, we get:
789 kg / (3700 MWt / 1000) = 0.213 kg/GWe-year.
Now, let's calculate the amount of fissile plutonium produced in the reflector per year. The reactor produces 455 kg of fissile plutonium in the reflector per GWe-year. Converting the reactor power to GWe, we have:
455 kg / (3700 MWt / 1000) = 0.123 kg/GWe-year.
Finally, let's calculate the amount of fissile plutonium consumed in the reflector per year. The reactor consumes 34 kg of fissile plutonium in the reflector per GWe-year. Dividing by the reactor power conversion factor, we get:
34 kg / (3700 MWt / 1000) = 0.0092 kg/GWe-year.
To calculate the overall breeding ratio, we subtract the amount of consumed fissile plutonium from the amount of produced fissile plutonium and divide by the consumed fissile plutonium. Summing the values from the core and the reflector, we have:
(0.151 + 0.123) kg/GWe-year / (0.213 + 0.0092) kg/GWe-year = 0.921.
Therefore, the overall breeding ratio for this reactor is approximately 0.921.