Gas-cooled breeder reactor with gas turbines and dry-cooling towers

The purpose of this project is to conduct a systems evaluation of a gas-cooled fast reactor (GCFR) coupled to a gas turbine and using a dry cooling tower for waste heat rejection. The major goal of the project is to define those R and D problems which must be solved before the above system can become commercially and environmentally acceptable. The results indicate that the system offers a number of advantages over other proposed nuclear systems, and that a demonstration plant should be built at an early date. The following major problems require additional work: (1) Development of a new cladding material, (2) Optimization of the gas turbine dry tower combination, and (3) Construction and testing of a large closed cycle, nuclear gas turbine. (U.S.)