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A thermal-neutron reactor is a nuclear reactor that uses slow or thermal neutrons.. ("Thermal" does not mean hot in an absolute sense, but means in thermal equilibrium with the medium it is interacting with, the reactor's fuel, moderator and structure, which is much lower energy than the fast neutrons initially produced by fission.)
Most reactor designs in existence are thermal reactors and typically use water as a neutron moderator (moderator means that it slows down the neutron to a thermal speed) and as a coolant. But in a fast breeder reactor , some other kind of coolant is used which will not moderate or slow the neutrons down much.
In thermal nuclear reactors (LWRs in specific), the coolant acts as a moderator that must slow the neutrons before they can be efficiently absorbed by the fuel. (from Nuclear reactor ) Image 36 Montage of an inert test of a United States Trident SLBM (submarine launched ballistic missile), from submerged to the terminal , or re-entry phase, of ...
As opposed to light water thermal-neutron reactors, which use uranium-235 (0.7% of all natural uranium), fast-neutron breeder reactors use uranium-238 (99.3% of all natural uranium) or thorium. A number of fuel cycles and breeder reactor combinations are considered to be sustainable or renewable sources of energy.
Production of heavy transuranic actinides in current thermal-neutron fission reactors through neutron capture and decays. Starting at uranium-238, isotopes of plutonium, americium, and curium are all produced. In a fast neutron-breeder reactor, all these isotopes may be burned as fuel. Many types of breeder reactor are possible:
Chinese Experimental Fast Reactor (65 MW, 20 MWe, sodium cooled fast-spectrum neutron reactor). Located at CIAE Beijing, construction started May 2000, first criticality July 2010. MNSR-SZ Shenzhen: Mnsr Operational 30 1988-11-01 SPR IAE Beijing: Pool Operational 3,500 1964-12-20 CMRR (China Mianyang Research Reactor) Mianyang: Pool Operational ...
A boiling water reactor (BWR) is a type of nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuclear reactor after the pressurized water reactor (PWR). BWR are thermal neutron reactors, where water is thus used both as a coolant and as a moderator, slowing down
The neutron flux provided by the reactor can be either constant or variable, and each lobe of the four-leaf-clover design can be controlled independently to produce up to 10 15 thermal neutrons per second per square centimeter or 5·10 14 fast neutrons s −1 cm −2. [6]