| dc.description | The HTGR ( High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor) is a 4th generation nuclear reactor and is fuelled by a
mixture of graphite and fuel-bearing microspheres. There are two competitive designs of this reactor type: The
German ???pebble bed??? mode, which is a system that uses spherical fuel elements, containing a graphite-and-fuel
mixture coated in a graphite shell; and the American version, whose fuel is loaded into precisely located
graphite hexagonal prisms that interlock to create the core of the vessel. In both variants, the coolant consists of
helium pressurised. The HTGR system operates most efficiently with the thorium fuel cycle, however, so
relatively little development has been carried out in this country on that cycle for HTGRs. In the Nuclear
Engineering Centre of IPEN (Instituto de Pesquisas Energ??ticas e Nucleares), a study group is being formed
linked to thorium reactors, whose proposal is to investigate reactors using thorium for 233U production and
rejects burning. The present work intends to show the use of thorium in HTGRs, their advantages and
disadvantages and its feasibility. | |
