Material reduction through design

Improve performances and cost reduction through the development of innovative materials, components and cell design. 

Reduction of the specific material consumption through an optimization of engineering and design solutions. 

The mechanism of cost reduction through production in series is the same as in conventional, non-nuclear industries. Costs of the design, production facilities, plant constmction and operation for nuclear reactors are levelled by the number of units produced. In mass production, the largest cost components are those of the inspection and materials. If the automation of the inspection is advanced, it will be the reduced volume of bulk materials that would directly govern the economic competitiveness of a serially produced reactor. As a result, the constmction cost could be reduced to about 30% of that corresponding to the constmction of a single reactor, if the 4S-LMR is manufactured at a rate of 10 units per year continuously for 10 years. The additional merit of a small reactor is that the total development cost up to commercialization is dramatically smaller than that for a large reactor. 

Vapor Suppression Vapor suppression refers to the reduction or elimination of vapors emanating from the spilled or released material through the application of specially designed agents, also called blanketing. Vapor suppression can also be accomplished by the use of solid activated material to treat hazardous materials. This process results in the formation of a solid that affords easier handing but results in a hazardous solid that must be disposed of properly. 

The catalyst activity depends not only on the chemical composition but also on the diffusion properties of the catalyst material and on the size and shape of the catalyst pellets because transport limitations through the gas boundary layer around the pellets and through the porous material reduce the overall reaction rate. The influence of gas film restrictions, which depends on the pellet size and gas velocity, is usually low in sulphuric acid converters. The effective diffusivity in the catalyst depends on the porosity, the pore size distribution, and the tortuosity of the pore system. It may be improved in the design of the carrier by e.g. increasing the porosity or the pore size, but usually such improvements will also lead to a reduction of mechanical strength. The effect of transport restrictions is normally expressed as an effectiveness factor q defined as the ratio between observed reaction rate for a catalyst pellet and the intrinsic reaction rate, i.e. the hypothetical reaction rate if bulk or surface conditions (temperature, pressure, concentrations) prevailed throughout the pellet [11], For particles with the same intrinsic reaction rate and the same pore system, the surface effectiveness factor only depends on an equivalent particle diameter given by... 

If one takes a spontaneous electron-transfer reaction and separates the materials undergoing oxidation and reduction, allowing the electron transfer to occur through a good conductor such as a copper wire, a battery is created. By proper design, the electrical energy associated with reactions of this type can be harnessed. The fields of electrochemistry (e.g., batteries) and pyrotechnics (e.g., fireworks) are actually very close relatives. The reactions involved in the two areas can look strikingly similar ... 

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