From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
SSTAR is an acronym for the "small, sealed,
transportable, autonomous reactor" - being
primarily researched and developed in the USA by Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory. It is designed as a fast
breeder nuclear reactor that is passively safe. It has a self-contained
fuel source of Uranium-235 containing also Uranium-238 which will
be partly consumed by fast-neutron fission and, more importantly,
converted into more fissile material ("breeding" Plutonium). It
should have an operative life of 30 years, providing a constant
power source between 10 and 100 megawatts.
The 100 megawatt version is expected to be 15 meters high by 3
meters wide, and weigh 500 tonnes. A 10 megawatt version is
expected to weigh less than 200 tonnes. To obtain the desired 30
year life span, the design calls for a moveable neutron
reflector to be placed over a column of fuel. The reflector's
slow downward travel over the column would cause the fuel to be
burned from the top of the column to the bottom. Because the unit
will be sealed, it is expected that a breeder reaction will be used
to further extend the life of the fuel.
Crucially, SSTAR is also meant to be tamper resistant,
which would prevent the leasing country from opening the reactor to
use the generated plutonium for nuclear weapons. The tamper-resistant
features will include radio monitoring and remote deactivation. The
leasing country will therefore have to accept the capability for
remote foreign intervention in the facility.
Currently, no prototypes for SSTAR exist - one is expected by
2015, and they are being researched as a possible replacement for
today's light water reactors. and as a
possible design for use in developing countries (which would use
the reactor for several decades and then return the entire unit to
the manufacturing country).
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