Gas-cooled Fast Reactor - Nuclear Reactor Design

Nuclear Reactor Design

Fast reactors were originally designed to be primarily breeder reactors. This was because of a view at the time they were conceived that there was an imminent shortage of uranium fuel for existing reactors. The projected increase in uranium price did not materialize, but if uranium demand increases in the future, then there may be renewed interest in fast reactors.

The GFR base design is a fast reactor, but in other ways similar to a high temperature gas-cooled reactor. It differs from the HTGR design in that the core has a higher fissile fuel content as well as a non-fissile, fertile, breeding component, and of course there is no neutron moderator. Due to the higher fissile fuel content, the design has a higher power density than the HTGR.