General Architecture
The reactor is designed keeping Leonardo Da Vinci’s motto in mind: “simplicity is the best sophistication”. Therefore, only known materials and methods are used, making the concept TECHNOLOGICALY READY for industrialization.
The MODULARITY of the reactor design allows to manufacture the machine in a factory, which is then shipped to the client and installed within 30 days. The reactor can be associated with other units to provide a stable power supply for an independent power grid.
Fuel Pellets
A critical feature of the reactor is its fuel. The development of a new fuel will take years and the management of highly enriched uranium can be tricky for a lot of reasons. To increase the technological readiness the reactor must use the simplest and most available fuel: the UO2 pellet. The pellet used in the reactor will be the standard ORANO/AREVA and have a standard enrichment.
Fuel Matrix
The key part of the reactor is the matrix. It acts as the first barrier, moderator and support of the heat rods. The matrix is pierced by holes which are filled for about one third with pellet and the other two thirds being filled by heat rods.
Reactivity Control Systems
The reactor must feature reactivity control systems, these will have to control the reactivity during normal operation but also to shut down the reactor. Control Rods and Control Drums are part of the reactivity control system with different functions.
Heat Removal
The primary heat removal does not feature a flow passing through the core nor use moving parts, thus NO MAINTENANCE will be needed on the nuclear island at any point over the reactor’s life, making it TRULY PASSIVE. This increases the SAFETY by diminishing the chance of leakages and radiation exposure to the populations. The heat is then removed from the primary system by a secondary system with Helium.
Safety
The reactor accidents can be caused by unknown sources and systems must be designed to reduce the risks of accident. The behavior of the (FP)2 Micro-Reactor as a consequence of the increase and decrease of temperature is depicted in the images.
