Pressed block fuel elements for gas cooled high temperature power reactors and processes for their production

Claim 2

A BLOCK FUEL ELEMENT FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE POWER REACTORS, SAID ELEMENT BEING SIMPLE TO REPROCESS AND CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF (1) A FUEL FREE ZONE CONSISTING OF A GRAPHITE MATRIX MATERIAL, (2) COOLING CHANNELS, (3) FREE ZONE CONTAINING FISSILE URANIUM PARTICLES EMBEDDED IN THE SAME TYPE OF GRAPHITE MATRIX MATERIAL, AND (4) BREED ZONES CONTAINING THORIUM PRTICLES EMBEDDED IN THE SAMETYPE OF GRAPHITE MATRIX MATERIAL, WHEREBY SAID COOLING CHANNELS, SAID FEED ZONES AND SAID BREED ZONES GRAPHITE MATRIX MATERIAL AND TOROUNDED BY SAID FUEL FREE GRAPHITE MATRIX MATERIAL AND TOGETHER FORM THE BLOCK FUEL ELEMENT, SAID FEED ZONES AND BREED ZONES BEING DISPOSED SEPARATELY FROM ONE ANOHER IN NONCONTIGUOUS MANNER SO THAT THE FEED ZONES AND THE BREED ZONES CON BE SEPARATED INDEPENDENTLY FROM THE SURROUNDING GRAPHITE PRIOR TO REPROCESSING, WHEREBY IN THE REPROCESSING OPERATION URANIUM 233 BRED FROM THE THORINUM IS PROVIDED FROM THE BREED PARTICLES AND URANIUM 235 AND FISSION PRODUCTS ARE PRODUCED FROM THE FEED PARTICLES, THERE BEING A PLURALITY OF ARRANGEMENTS OF FEED ZONES,BREED ZONES AND COOLING CHANNELS IN REPETITIVE SEQUENCE WITHIN THE BLOCK FUEL ELEMENT, EACH OF THESE ARRANGEMENTS CONSISTING OF PLUTALITY OF FEED ZONES, SAID

Claim 3

A block fuel element according to claim 1 wherein said feed zones and said cooling channels are arranged hexagonally.

Claim 4

A block fuel element for high temperature power reactors, said element being simple to reprocess and consisting essentially of (1) a fuel free zone consisting of a graphite matrix material, (2) cooling channels, (3) feed zones containing fissile uranium particles embedded in the same type of graphite matrix material, and (4) breed zones containing thorium particles embedded in the same type of graphite matrix material, whereby said cooling channels, said feed zones and said breed zones are all embedded within and surrounded by said fuel free graphite matrix material and together form the block fuel element, said feed zones and breed zones being disposed separately from one another in noncontiguous manner so that the feed zones and the breed zones can be separated independently from the surrounding graphite prior to reprocessing, whereby in the reprocessing operation uranium 233 bred from the thorium is provided from the breed particles and uranium 235 and fission products are produced from the feed particles, there being a plurality of arrangements of feed zones, breed zones and cooling channels in repetitive sequence with the block fuel element, each of these arrangements consisting of an annular uranium containing feed zone located around a central thorium containing breed zone and separated therefrom by a narrow graphite zone, said feed zone encasing said graphite zone and disposed around and outside said feed zone a plurality of cooling channels.

Claim 5

A block fuel element for high temperature power reactors, said element being simple to reprocess and consisting essentially of (1) a fuel free zone consisting of a graphite matrix material, (2) cooling channels, (3) feed zones containing fissile uranium particles embedded in the same type of graphite matrix material, and (4) breed zones containing thorium particles embedded in the same type of graphite matrix material, whereby said cooling channels, said feed zones and said breed zones are all embedded within and surrounded by said fuel free graphite matrix material and together form the block fuel element, said feed zones and breed zones being disposed separately from one another in noncontiguous manner so that the feed zones and the breed zones can be separated independently from the surrounding graphite prior to reprocessing, whereby in the reprocessing operation uranium 233 bred from the thorium is provided from the breed particles and uranium 235 and fission products are produced from the feed particles, there being a plurality of arrangements of feed zones, breed zones and cooling channels in repetitive sequence with the block fuel element, each of these arrangements consisting of an annular uranium containing feed zone located around a central thorium containing breed zone and separated therefrom by a narrow graphite zone, said feed zone encasing said graphite zone and disposed around and outside said feed zone a plurality of cooling channels.

Claim 6

A block fuel element according to claim 3 wherein said cooling channels are arranged hexagonally.

Claim 7

A block fuel element for high temperature power reactors, said element being simple to reprocess and consisting essentially of (1) a fuel free zone consisting of a graphite matrix material, (2) cooling channels, (3) feed zones containing fissile uranium particles embedded in the same type of graphite matrix material, and (4) breed zones containing thorium particles embedded in the same type of graphite matrix material, whereby said cooling channels, said feed zones and said breed zones are all embedded within and surrounded by said fuel free graphite matrix material and together form the block fuel element, said feed zones and breed zones being disposed separately from one another in noncontiguous manner so that the feed zones and the breed zones can be separated independently from the surrounding graphite prior to reprocessing, whereby in the reprocessing operation uranium 233 bred from the thorium is provided from the breed particles and uranium 235 and fission products are produced from the feed particles, there being a plurality of arrangements of feed zones, breed zones aNd cooling channels in repetitive sequence within the block fuel element, each of these arrangements consisting of a central cooling channel, a plurality of uranium containing feed zones located around said cooling channel and a plurality of thorium containing breed zones disposed around and outside said feed zones and separated therefrom.

Claim 8

A block fuel element for high temperature power reactors, said element being simple to reprocess and consisting essentially of (1) a fuel free zone consisting of a graphite matrix material, (2) cooling channels, (3) feed zones containing fissile uranium particles embedded in the same type of graphite matrix material, and (4) breed zones containing thorium particles embedded in the same type of graphite matrix material, whereby said cooling channels, said feed zones and said breed zones are all embedded within and surrounded by said fuel free graphite matrix material and together form the block fuel element, said feed zones and breed zones being disposed separately from one another in noncontiguous manner so that the feed zones and the breed zones can be separated independently from the surrounding graphite prior to reprocessing, whereby in the reprocessing operation uranium 233 bred from the thorium is provided from the breed particles and uranium 235 and fission products are produced from the feed particles, there being a plurality of arrangements of feed zones, breed zones aNd cooling channels in repetitive sequence within the block fuel element, each of these arrangements consisting of a central cooling channel, a plurality of uranium containing feed zones located around said cooling channel and a plurality of thorium containing breed zones disposed around and outside said feed zones and separated therefrom.

Claim 9

A block fuel element according to claim 5 wherein said feed zones and said breed zones are arranged hexagonally.