Development status and operational features of the high temperature gas-cooled reactor. Final report

Substantial improvement of the gas cooled reactor technology, to achieve higher efficiency by operating at even higher temperatures and higher core power density has been attained by the high temperature reactor (HTR) design. This reactor is characterized by the application of only heat resistant ceramic materials within the core and chemically inert and neutron transparent helium as coolant. This concept obviates the need of all metallic materials for permanent insertion in the hot regions of the core. The high efficiency of HTR compared to LWR presents an attractive property with respect to waste heat dissipation in particular when the application of dry cooling towers is required. Other important features of the HTR system, are its low uranium consumption, when combined with the thorium fuel cycle, its favorable inherent safety properties, and its potential for nuclear coal gasification and other process heat applications