A Novel Concept of the Modular HTGR and Its New Application

The Ordered Bed Modular HTGR (OBMR) core is filled with an ordered bed of fuel spheres, which has great structural stability. It is able to adapt its configuration to ship space, create stability in ships at large and work in vibrating and possibly bumping environment, which are suitable for ship applications. The modular HTGR has features of inherent safety, high-cycle efficiency, and coupling with gas turbine power conversion system, would make a great advantage for marine use. The OBMR design for ship applications allows the option for a shorter refueling period and lower fuel cost, and reaches deep burn-up of this fuel element. It uses significantly less fuel costs than that of the PWR powered and oil powered ships. In addition, this technology also displays promising aspects in the distributed energy applications, particularly in combined heating and power applications. Therefore, development of the OBMR should still be taken into account to expand its use for purposes other than electricity generation, and can make a significant contribution to the reduction of global carbon-dioxide emissions.