Project Description:
Pebble Bed Modular Reactors (PBMR) are a type of nuclear reactor that utilize 60 mm uranium fuel pebbles encased in graphite to sustain a nuclear reaction. Our sponsor is Mr. Paul Mouring of Odin Electric, whose goal is to create a PBMR for military and commercial power generation purposes. These reactors will have a power output of 10 kW and can be placed in series to provide larger amounts of power in accordance with customer needs. Each reactor is only 2 meters wide, 2 meters tall, and 2 meters long, introducing unique space requirements. Furthermore, temperatures in and around the core can reach temperatures up to around 750 °F and 200 °F respectively.
Our goal is to create a subsystem of the nuclear reactor that controls the flow of the nuclear fuel pebbles between a reserve (new) fuel container, the core, and a spent (used) fuel container. This device will be able to dispense a new pebble into the top of the core while simultaneously removing a fuel pebble that is deemed “spent” by a gamma ray detector from the bottom of the core. These functional requirements are met through a rotating plate dispensing mechanism that loads pebbles into holes from the top of the plate and spins about a shaft to dispense from the underside, where piping leads to either the core or spent fuel container. Robust materials and components used within the design will be able to withstand all the temperature and loading requirements of the system and operating environment.
