DV8 2XL Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Aqueous Homogenous Reactors are what their name suggests; water in which soluble nuclear salts (usually uranium sulfate or uranium nitrate) have been dissolved in water. Thus the fuel is also the coolant and the moderator, thus the name "Homogenous" ('mixed together') The water can be either "Heavy Water" (water enriched in naturally occuring deuterium [the first isotope of hydrogen, with 1 proton & 1 neutron]; a deuteron occurs in 1 out of 6400 atoms of hydrogen.) or ordinary water, both which are very pure. A heavy water aquous homogenous reactor can achieve criticality (turn on) with ordinary, un-enriched uranium dissolved as uranium sulfate! Thus, no enrichment is needed for this reactor. They where sometimes also called "Water Boilers", as they seemed to be boiling their water, but the bubbles coming out are hydrogen and oxygen as the radiation, and especially the fission particles, rip apart (dissociate) the water into its constituent gases, were widely used as research reactors as they have very high neutron fluxes and their safety and ease of control (they were self-controlling!) were added pluses. Their most interesting feature to me is the Heavy Water versions have the lowest specific fuel requirements (least amount of nuclear fuel is required to start them). Even in ordinary water versions less than 1 pound (454 grams) of Plutonium-239 or Uranium-233 is needed for operation! Neutron economy in the heavy water versions is the highest of all reactors. Their self-controlling features and ability to handle very large increases in reactivity make them unique among reactors, and possibly the safest. Anyone for a science fair project? Via: Bruce N. Hoglund Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 deuterium [the second isotope of hydrogen, with 1 proton & 2 neutrons] deuterium has one neutron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DV8 2XL Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 Woops! Fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DV8 2XL Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 Let's try again Aqueous nuclear fuels offer a unique set of characteristics for homogeneous reactor nuclear applications. Their advantages include high nuclear stability and inherent safety, high power density, high burn-up, simple preparation and reprocessing, easy fuel handling, high neutron economy, and simple control system leading to simple mechanical designs. The major disadvantages are corrosion, limited uranium concentration, and radiation decomposition of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightwave Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Is such a reactor practical as a source of energy either small or large say 20 watts up to hundreds of megawatts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DV8 2XL Posted January 19, 2006 Author Share Posted January 19, 2006 The lower limit would be about 4-5Kw (thermal), In pratical terms 150Kw is about as low as one would want to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightwave Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 Wikipedia has a tidy explanation of what it is all about. Very impressive. I'd love to build one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqueous_Homogeneous_Reactor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DV8 2XL Posted January 20, 2006 Author Share Posted January 20, 2006 Why thank-you. I wrote that entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightwave Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Amazing.. what a coincidence that I should go to your own explanation. I take it that you work directly in that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DV8 2XL Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 I wish. No was lured into aviation as a callow youth, and fell in love. Nuclear topics are just an interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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