9/3/2009 Colloquium - Paul DeMange
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Paul DeMangeLawrence Livermore National Laboratory |
Event Info
Title: Thermo-mechanical lifetime modeling of fuel particle and neutron multiplier Be pebble designs for the LIFE engine
Date: Sept 3, 2009
Location: 254 Sutardja Dai Hall
Time: 12:30-2pm
Abstract
Concept designs for the laser-initiated fusion/fission engine (LIFE) include both spherical form Be pebbles and fuel particles. The Be pebbles flow in a molten salt coolant within the neutron multiplication blanket and the fuel particles are encased in larger flowing graphite pebbles contained in the blanket just beyond. Fuel particle designs are based on variations of the so-called TRISO design, the standard in Modular Pebble-Bed Reactors (MPBR) in which the fuel kernel is encapsulated by a three-layer coating system comprised of inner Pyrolytic Carbon (IPyC), Silicon Carbide (SiC), and outer PyC (OPyC). Both the fuel particles and the Be pebbles must be designed to withstand the extreme irradiation and temperature conditions in the blanket to enable a safe and cost-effective operation of LIFE. In this work, a new LIFE suitable thermomechanical modeling platform is applied to assess the lifetime of Be pebbles and fuel particles under continued neutron exposure. The effects of high fluence/fast flux on the elastic, thermal, and mechanical properties of each material system are considered and design criteria are developed.
