| An electron accelerator is proposed as a mechanism to optimally alleviate space based reactors from
highly enriched fuels. Viability for this concept was evaluated through an examination into the effects on
system size, power and longevity. Using MCNP6.2, the “Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling Technology”
was recreated and a parametric study was performed to determine the appropriateness of driving a low
enriched uranium core to 5kWth with an electron beam. Results revealed that when considering beam
energies from 10-150 MeV, a 50MeV beam provided the most stimulation per cost of accelerator power.
Extrapolated results found the most affordable reduction in enrichment to be to 70% with use of a 1kW
beam. A longevity analysis was then performed using ORIGEN on a 20% LEU system driven by a
50MeV beam, which found accelerator usage decreased system power by ~97% over 30 days.
Key Words:
Accelerator Driven System, Depletion, Highly Enriched Uranium, Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling
Technology, Longevity, Low Enriched Uranium, Mathematica, Monte Carlo Neutral Particle Transport,
Novel Compact Electron Accelerator, Oak Ridge Isotope Generation Code, Photonuclear, Tally. |