A Port in the Storm
Sam Aurelius Milam III
This is a brief description of a design for a nuclear power reactor.
So far as I'm aware, I'm the only person who's ever proposed this design. I first documented it on Tuesday, December 19, 2000. I posted it on the internet, and declared it to be public
domain, on Saturday, July 30, 2005. I intend that it shall never be
patented or monopolized in any way. I intend that it shall be available
for use by anybody who's capable of using it.
If reactors built according to this design operate as I expect them to, then they would seldom need to be shut down. Fuel could be loaded or withdrawn in any quantity, at any time. All necessary power management could be
performed more simply and reliably than in conventional reactors. Compared
to conventional reactors, they would be simpler and less expensive to build.
They would be more stable, reliable, and safe. They would have an essentially
unlimited life expectancy, and would be easier to repair and maintain.
Except for the fuel pellets, which would float freely in the coolant, there
wouldn't be any internal moving parts. Although the design might provide
lower power levels than those that are provided by conventional reactors,
I believe that, in the long run, the political and bureaucratic advantages
of having many small facilities, rather than a few large ones, would offset
the so-called economies of scale that are used to justify big facilities.
Detailed calculations would be necessary to determine if the design will
work as I expect it to and, if that's confirmed, to optimize the design. For example, it would be necessary to determine if the fuel should be uranium clad with Zircaloy or glass, an unclad metallic alloy of uranium, or some other configuration. The reactors might be designed to operate with enriched uranium and natural water moderator, or with natural uranium and heavy water moderator. That decision would probably be more political than technical because heavy water reactors can be used to produce plutonium. The anti-proliferation people don't like either plutonium or enriched uranium.
I believe that the reactors should be pressurized water reactors (PWRs) instead of boiling water reactors (BWRs). The difference is that, in a PWR, boiling happens in a separate steam generator, rather than in the reactor itself. I believe that would make the reaction more stable and easier to control. Also, the simpler PWR coolant loop, which includes a steam
generator instead of a turbine, would reduce the risk of leaks. Another
advantage is that the coolant loop could be subdivided into two branches,
each with its own steam generator. Such a reactor could be operated
at full power, 100% of the time. One steam generator could drive a
turbine and electric generator. Load following could be accomplished
by redirecting surplus steam, during periods of low electrical demand, to
the second branch of the coolant loop and, thus, to the second steam generator.
The second steam generator could be used to boil sea water or contaminated
water, to produce fresh water. With the world population growing exponentially,
and the available supplies of fresh water being depleted or polluted, the
fresh water that such reactors could produce might actually be more valuable
than the electricity. Maybe we could even save a few water tables from
depletion. The residue from the distillation of sea water would be
replete with the minerals and other chemicals that are dissolved in sea water,
another treasure trove.
The reaction zone plenum, where the nuclear reaction would occur, is the
volume enclosed by the reaction zone boundary structure. See the sketch on page 2. That structure would be situated in the upper portion of
the reactor pressure vessel. I've shown it in the sketch as a cone
shaped structure with the large end below and the small end above. That
shape is adequate for the sketch but studies might show that a different shape
would provide better performance. I also recommend that the structure
should be made of glass. It might not be obvious to some people, but
glass is extremely versatile. Properly formulated, it can be equal
to or superior to Zircaloy, a structural material commonly used in nuclear
reactors, with regard to such properties as parasitic thermal neutron absorption,
elasticity, corrosion resistance, and high temperature integrity. See
my comments about glass fuel channels, in my personal website. 
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