Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
  • G21B—FUSION REACTORS
  • G21B3/00—Low temperature nuclear fusion reactors, e.g. alleged cold fusion reactors
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
  • G21B—FUSION REACTORS
  • G21B1/00—Thermonuclear fusion reactors
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
  • G21C—NUCLEAR REACTORS
  • G21C1/00—Reactor types
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E30/00—Energy generation of nuclear origin
  • Y02E30/10—Nuclear fusion reactors
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
  • Y02E30/00—Energy generation of nuclear origin
  • Y02E30/30—Nuclear fission reactors

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a cavitation nuclear reactor for driving thermonuclear reactions, and more particularly, to a liquid based cavitation nuclear reactor for producing thermonuclear energy by cavitation of a liquid metal.
• Cavitation is a well known phenomena in which small bubbles are formed and subsequently caused to expand and collapse through the application of acoustic energy.
• an appropriately driven collapsing bubble causes a shock wave to be formed ahead of the collapsing bubble wall, resulting in a rapid increase in the temperature and the pressure within the bubble. If a sufficient temperature is reached, the bubble will briefly emit optical energy in the form of radiation, the spectrum of which is dependent upon the bubble temperature as well as the gas or gases within the bubble.
• the conversion of acoustic energy to optical energy is commonly referred to as sonoluminescence.
• each CFR is comprised of a reactor chamber and a plurality of acoustic horns coupled through the chamber walls.
• a liquid host metal such as lithium or beryllium into which hydrogen isotopes are distributed either as dissolved gas, as hydrides, or as small bubbles.
• the acoustic homs are used to vary the ambient pressure in the liquid metal, creating small bubbles that are then caused to expand and collapse.
• the resultant high temperatures and pressures within the bubble and the host liquid are used to promote thermonuclear reactions of the hydrogen isotopes.
• U.S. Patent No. 5,858,104 discloses a cavitation reactor chamber filled, in part, with a liquid.
• the chamber is coupled to a pressure source that allows the liquid to be pressurized to a static pressure different from the ambient atmospheric pressure.
• a pulsed acoustic shock wave is introduced into the liquid and reflected from a free surface of the liquid as a dilatation wave.
• the dilatation wave is focused on a desired location within the chamber, the desired location containing in at least one embodiment an object such as a biological cell, a pellet, or some other surface to be cleansed.
• the dilatation wave causes a bubble to form and expand while the static pressure causes the bubble to subsequently collapse and generate extremely high pressures.
• 5,659,173 discloses a technique for converting acoustic energy into other energy forms by utilizing a feedback loop.
• the feedback loop monitors a characteristic of the emission and uses this characteristic to control the driving mechanism, thus allowing the process to be sustained for extended periods of time.
• Emission characteristics that may be monitored include the intensity of the produced energy as well as the repetition rate of the produced energy, assuming that the energy is in the form of pulses.
• the feedback loop may use the monitored information to alter the frequency or amplitude of the applied acoustic energy.
• reactors and techniques described in the prior art do not provide an adequate system or procedure for retrieving energy produced by the nuclear reactions.
• the reactors attempt to remove heat through metal, which provides high resistance to its removal in addition to taking a large amount of time.
• the heat is generally removed at a location that has a very small surface area thereby contributing to the amount of time required and the overall inefficiency of the heat removal system.
• the reactors generally do not have a proper shape or arrangement for providing good acoustic reflection.
• reactors generally may not be entirely filled with liquid material since they require a space for removing non-fuel gases such as helium and hydrogen.
• a liquid based cavitation nuclear reactor includes a reactor having a liquid material interspersed by a plurality of cavitation bubbles, a frequency source outputting a frequency and at least one acoustic driver coupled to the reactor at at least one predetermined location.
• the acoustic driver is coupled to the frequency source and drives acoustic energy into the reactor to drive the cavitation bubbles through cavitation cycles thereby driving nuclear and releasing heat thus heating the liquid material.
• the liquid based cavitation nuclear reactor also includes a liquid processing system that includes a conduit including an inlet in fluid communication with the reactor, an outlet in fluid communication with the reactor and a pump therebetween. The pump pumps the liquid material through the liquid processing system such that nuclear products such as energy are obtained therefrom.
• the liquid processing system includes a heat exchanger between the inlet and the outlet.
• the liquid based nuclear reactor includes a steam turbine coupled to the liquid processing system.
• the liquid based nuclear reactor includes an electrical generator coupled to the liquid processing system.
• the liquid processing system includes a magneto-hydrodynamic generator.
• the liquid processing system includes a helium removal apparatus between the inlet and the outlet.
• the liquid processing system includes a deuterium infusion apparatus between the inlet and the outlet for infusing deuterium into the liquid material.
• a method of performing nuclear reaction includes providing a reactor that includes a liquid material interspersed by a plurality of cavitation bubbles, coupling at least one acoustic driver to the reactor, coupling a frequency source to the at least one acoustic driver, outputting a frequency by the frequency source, driving acoustic energy of the frequency into the reactor with at least one acoustic driver, forming a pressure intensity pattern within the reactor, wherein the pressure intensity pattern defines a plurality of pressure intensity antinodes, forming a plurality of cavitation bubbles within the reactor at a portion of the plurality of pressure intensity antinodes, expanding the plurality of cavitation bubbles at least once, collapsing the plurality of expanded cavitation bubbles at least once, wherein a density and a temperature associated with a portion of the plurality of collapsing cavitation bubbles is sufficient to drive a plurality of one or more kinds of nuclear reactions and to
• the method includes forming a reactor from a host material and a fuel material.
• the method includes selecting the host material from a group of materials including aluminum, lithium, tin, mercury, cadmium, lead and bismuth, and alloys thereof.
• the method includes selecting the fuel mate ⁇ al from a group of materials including deuterium, and tritium and lithium, and mixtures thereof.
• the present invention provides an improved liquid based nuclear reactor and a method of operation thereof, that allows for the removal of gases, or degassing, of the liquid material being subjected to nuclear reactions, the addition of more "fuel” material to the liquid material, while removing energy from the liquid material, all during operation of the liquid based nuclear reactor. This improves the performance of the liquid based nuclear reactor as well as improving the amount of energy retrieved therefrom.
• Figure 1 is schematic illustration of a liquid based cavitation nuclear reactor system in accordance with the present invention
• Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of a possible de-gassing station for use in a liquid based cavitation nuclear reactor system in accordance with the present invention
• Figure 3 is an alternative embodiment of a reactor for use in a liquid based cavitation nuclear reactor in accordance with the present invention
• Figure 4 is a schematic illustration of a cylindrically shaped reactor for use in a liquid based cavitation nuclear reactor in accordance with the present invention
• Figure 5 is a schematic illustration of the reactor illustrated in Figure 4 illustrating possible locations for driver attachment.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a liquid based cavitation nuclear reactor system 10 in accordance with the present invention.
• the system has a housing 11 that includes a reactor 12 that is filled with a liquid material and is equipped with at least one acoustic or ultrasonic hom 13 and a corresponding driver 14, preferably in the form of a transducer.
• a conduit 15 is provided through which the liquid material of the reactor may flow to an external liquid processing system.
• the conduit is a pipe.
• the pipe is insulated.
• One or more ultrasonic homs are coupled to the housing and optionally protrude into the interior of the reactor.
• a corresponding transducer is attached to an outer end of each hom in order to supply the necessary mechamcal energy for operation of the hom.
• the acoustic homs supply the acoustic energy needed for a cavitation reaction within the liquid material.
• the transducer supplies the necessary mechanical energy for the hom to operate.
• Transducers generally operate at their optimal efficiency within a relatively low temperature range, which is typically below 200°C. Operating the transducers beyond the desired temperature range will result in significant degraded performance and will eventually cause the transducers to break down.
• the transducers attached to the acoustic hom are typically piezoelectric transducers, magnetostrictive devices, a particle discharge system or a pulsed liquid jet generator, for example.
• the desired operating frequency depends on various factors, including, for example, the sound speed of liquid, the reactor geometry, the device's sound field geometry and other factors.
• the transducer may utilize a pair of piezo-electric crystals arranged in such a way that the adjacent surfaces of the two piezoelectric crystals are of the same polarity.
• the homs may also include one or more resonator masses. This configuration minimizes potential grounding problems associated with the acoustic homs.
• the transducer preferably may operate in the range on 1 kHz to 10 MHz. Furthermore, the transducers are preferably situated at an acoustic pressure antinode along the entire length of the acoustic hom and the length of the acoustic hom is preferably a multiple of the corresponding wavelength of the operating frequency and matched to a harmonic of the reactor. Generally, the reactor has a resonant frequency. Thus, the frequency at which the acoustic driver is operated may be at the resonant frequency, an integer multiple of the resonant frequency, or a non-integer multiple of the resonant frequency. Additionally, the frequency may be periodically altered during operation.
• the frequency is altered by less than + 10%.
• the acoustic energy creates a pressure intensity pattern therein.
• the pressure intensity pattern small cavities or bubbles within the liquid material are formed.
• the bubbles are between 0.1 micrometers and about 100 micrometers in diameter. Due to the cavitation phenomena, the cavitation energy causes the newly formed bubbles to oscillate. During oscillation, the bubbles first expand and then collapse.
• the properly driven, spherically converging material associated with the cavitation process attains supersonic velocities, and leads to a density and temperature in excess of that required to drive the desired nuclear reaction, e.g., a fusion, fission, spallation and neutron stripping reactions.
• the bubbles or cavities undergo repetitive cavitation cycles. Those skilled in the art will understand, however, that under the appropriate conditions, e.g., sufficient input energy, appropriate fuel, etc., a single bubble cavitation cycle is sufficient to cause the required nuclear reaction to take place within that bubble.
• the liquid material consists of a host material and a fuel material.
• the host material is one of lithium, aluminum, tin, mercury, cadmium, sodium, potassium, gallium, gadolinium indium, lead and bismuth, or an alloy thereof.
• the fuel material is one of deuterium, tritium, and lithium, or a mixture thereof.
• the fuel material preferably is one of uranium or thorium.
• the fuel material provides the fuel for the desired nuclear reaction.
• the liquid based cavitation nuclear reactor system in accordance with the present invention may also be used for neutron stripping reactions.
• the neutron stripping reactions occur between a heavy isotope and a light isotope.
• the heavy isotope is selected from a group of heavy isotopes consisting of gadolinium, cadmium, europium, boron, samarium, dysprosium, indium, and mercury, or a mixture thereof.
• the light isotope is selected from a group of light isotopes consisting of deuterium, tritium, lithium, or a mixture thereof.
• the heavy isotope has a large thermal neutron capture cross-section, and most preferably, the large thermal neutron cross-section is greater than 10 bams.
• the conduit delivers the liquid material to one or more processing devices, for example, an energy retrieval device 20, which in a preferred embodiment is a heat exchanger.
• a pump 21, or pumps as needed, is provided along the conduit to pump the liquid material through the conduit with continuous flow.
• the reactor and liquid processing system form a continuous closed loop (or loops) circuit.
• the pump may be placed anywhere along the conduit and does not necessarily need to be on one side or the other of the energy retrieval device. However, in a preferred embodiment, the pump is placed downstream of the energy retrieval device since the liquid material will be cooler after passing through the energy retrieval device, thus reducing pump cooling requirements and mechanical wear on the pump.
• the pump, the reactor, and/or the conduit for the liquid material are equipped with heaters 22 to melt the liquid material prior to operation of the system since during shutdown of the system, the liquid material will cool and potentially freeze.
• both heaters and insulation will surround the entire energy retrieval circuit in order to allow the energy retrieval circuit to be started.
• low melting point materials such as Hg or NaK may be employed as, or within, the host material.
• the energy retrieval system will be coupled to a system for converting the energy retrieved from the liquid material after the nuclear reaction in order to produce energy in a usable form.
• Figure 1 schematically illustrates a system wherein a steam turbine 30 is coupled to the energy retrieval system.
• the system also includes liquid water piping, steam water piping, a condenser within which the steam condenses back to liquid and is then pumped back up to high pressure via a water pump (all of which are not shown).
• the turbine is typically coupled to an electric generator and thus, the heat energy removed from the liquid energy is converted to electrical energy by use of the steam turbine generator.
• a magneto-hydrodynamic generator may be used in place of the heat exchanger, steam turbine and electric generator system.
• the liquid processing system may include an enhancement system 40.
• the enhancement system may include a gas scrubber to remove non-fuel gases such as helium and hydrogen from the liquid material.
• gases such as helium and hydrogen that are not as easy to react as, for example, deuterium or tritium.
• the presence of gases in the reactor liquid makes the liquid "spongy" and the cavitational collapses are less violent. This degrades the number of nuclear reactions driven per unit of acoustic energy driving the collapses. Hence, it is an advantage to remove the dissolved non-fuel gases from the liquid material.
• the preferred embodiment of the present invention would include such a de-gassing procedure external to the reactor stage of the liquid cavitation nuclear reactor.
• the reactor may be entirely filled with liquid material, eliminating all liquid metal-free surfaces and improving the coherence and intensity of reflected energy.
• An example of a gas removal or "de-gassing" station is schematically illustrated in Figure 2.
• Conduit 15 empties the liquid material into a chamber 41 within which a vacuum pump 50 has reduced the pressure, which thus pulls gas out of the liquid material.
• the enhancement system may include an infusion apparatus 41 along the conduit in order to infuse additional fuel material, such as deuterium, into the liquid material to replenish the fuel material portion of the liquid material as well as to control the concentration of fuel gases.
• additional fuel material such as deuterium
• the fuel material may be added into the liquid material at high pressure so that the liquid material would thereby absorb it more readily.
• the chamber would be filled with the desired fuel gas and at a higher pressure.
• a conductive liquid material is required.
• the liquid material should have a high acoustic impedance, a low melting temperature and a low vaporization temperature.
• Figure 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment wherein the conduit actually passes through the reactor.
• a coolant such as water
• the heated water would then be used to supply energy to the energy generating systems described above, such as, a steam turbine.
• the conduit may curve or be coiled within the reactor if desired.
• the conduit does not pass through the center of the reactor.
• the above examples of embodiments of the system in accordance with the present invention illustrate a single conduit.
• the surfaces within which the reactor fluid is contained, including the reactor itself and the single conduit, define a topology that is generally referred to as a "single handled" topology.
• a nuclear reactor system that does not include any type of conduit would be referred to as having a simple topology, while a single handled or multi-handled topology is referred to as having a "non-simple" topology.
• a single handled or multi-handled topology is referred to as having a "non-simple" topology.
• multiple conduits may be utilized and thus, the system in accordance with the present invention may be executed as a multi-handled topology liquid cavitation nuclear reactor system.
• both the liquid cavitation nuclear reactor design utilizing a conduit to confine the reactor liquid as it flows around a circuit and the liquid cavitation nuclear reactor design wherein the water or other coolant flows through a conduit through the reactor region pierce the surface defining the reactor with a "hole.”
• the conduits are coupled to the reactor, and thus pierce the reactor, at a displacement node, i.e., a location exhibiting little, if any movement, during oscillation of the liquid material within the reactor and the oscillation of the reactor itself.
• a cylindrical reactor 112 driven by an acoustic driver 113 located at one end of the reactor and generating a resonance pattern within the reactor will exhibit a plurality of displacement maximums and a plurality of displacement nodes (assuming that the injected energy has a wavelength less than the length of the reactor).
• Figure 4 illustrates three possible locations for coupling the conduit to the reactor. Locations 120, 121 are the most preferable, locations 130, 131 are the second most preferable, while locations 140, 141 are the third most preferable. Note that all locations promote flow of the liquid within the reactor through the center of the cylindrically shaped reactor.
• a spherically shaped reactor it is difficult to determine where to couple the conduit as well as the drivers. This is because for a reactor driven at fundamental frequency, there are no minimum displacement nodes. In contrast, the cylinder has strong pressure antinodes and antidisplacement nodes. A sphere produces spherically convergent standing waves at a fundamental resonant frequency, thus leading to no displacement nodes for attaching conduits. However, the use of higher frequencies to drive the reactions leads to more resonance nodes for the sphere. Therefore, displacement nodes are formed. With the formation of such displacement nodes, one would couple the conduits for the flow of the liquid and the drivers at such displacement nodes. Thus, a spherically shaped reactor may be employed in an alternative embodiment.
• conduit extends through the reactor and thus carries coolant as opposed to the liquid material
• conduit "piercing" of the reactor the same considerations apply as discussed above for conduit "piercing" of the reactor.
• the center of the reactor is a pressure antinode and is where the most powerful cavitations and reactions are taking place, it is not desirable to have the conduit traverse through the center of the reactor.
• the coolant material flowing through the conduit and the conduit itself are preferably impedance "matched" as close to the host material of the liquid material within the reactor as possible in order to minimize interference with the resonant energy driving the reactions within the reactor.
• the conduit within the reactor and the coolant material flowing therethrough would appear as a "ghost" to the acoustic waves being used to drive the reactions.

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• 2000
  • 2000-11-17 WO PCT/US2000/031697 patent/WO2001039200A2/en active Search and Examination
  • 2000-11-17 AU AU29053/01A patent/AU2905301A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2000-11-17 EP EP00993200A patent/EP1309973A4/de not_active Withdrawn

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