NUCLEAR TECH :: INTRODUCTION TO TERRAPOWER (NUCLEAR REACTOR)

NUCLEAR ENERGY INNOVATION

TERRAPOWER

Is one type of nuclear reactor that uses A traveling-wave reactor, or TWR, which is a type of fourth-generation nuclear reactor that nuclear engineers anticipate can convert fertile material into fissile fuel as it runs using the process of nuclear transmutation. TWRs differ from other kinds of fast-neutron and breeder reactors in their ability to, once started, reach a state where after they can achieve very high fuel utilization while using no enriched uranium and no reprocessing, instead burning fuel made from depleted uranium, natural uranium, thorium, spent fuel removed from light water reactors, or some combination of these materials.

The concept of a reactor that could breed its own fuel inside the reactor core was initially proposed and studied in 1958 by Saveli Feinberg, who called it a “breed-and-burn” reactor. The reactor is fueled primarily by depleted uranium, but requires a small amount of enriched uranium or other fissile fuel to initiate fission.

TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING ABOUT TERRAPOWER TECHNOLOGY PLEASE VIEW THE VIDEO PROVIDED BELOW ::

SOURCE ::

[1] http://www.terrapower.com/Technology/TravelingWaveReactor.aspx

[2] http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/energy/tags/terrapower/

[3] http://www.intellectualventures.com/OurInventions/TerraPower.aspx