A hybrid reactor design concept driven by cold (D,T) fusion neutrons and fueled with metallic thorium

This paper reports that based on the prospects of cold (D,T) fusion in a heavy metal (Palladium) matrix, a fusion-fission (hybrid) reactor design has been evaluated. The reactor is composed of a number of modular and uniform fuel lattices. The cold fusion neutrons induce fission reactions in the natural metallic thorium fuel, imbedded in the lattice. The neutron spectrum, and consequently the fission power density are nearly constant in the reactor core so that the reactor performance becomes almost independent on the reaction size. The energy multiplications for each (D,T) fusion neutron production is about 1.6. The reactor is self-sufficient in respect to tritium breeding ratio (TBR = 1.09)