Patent Number: 041742567
Section: description

In FIG. 1, the rotation chamber is designated by reference 2. As a result of the gas rotation, the pressure in this space is relatively low while the reactor is in operation so that out of the gas mixture of heavy and light gases it is mainly the light gases that are represented in space 2. This rotation space is surrounded by a cylindrical wall 31 which extends over the entire length of the reactor vessel. This reactor vessel is bounded on the outside by a wall 32. Between the cylinder 31 and the outer wall 32 there is a number of annular chambers 22, communicating with the rotation space 2 via openings 33. Each chamber 22 is surrounded on both sides and on the outside by a number of cooling channels 20 mounted, in essence helically, around the reaction chamber. The walls of the compression chambers 22 and of the cooling channels 20 are of carbon. At the same time, these chambers are sometimes electrically insulated from each other in such a manner that different electric potentials can be applied to various sections if required; this concerns chiefly those portions where the magnetic field is stronger, that is to say the bottlenecks. The outer jacket 32 terminates at both ends in end walls 34 and 35 which in their turn link up with parts 36 and 37 respectively. In these parts there are likewise cooling channels, designated by 38 and 39 respectively. These end-pieces are fitted with electrodes 40 and 41 which are here also electrically insulated from each other. A voltage is applied to each electrode via supply lines 42 and 43 respectively. The rotation chamber is closed at both ends with covers 44 and 45 respectively. In each cover there is a bundle of electrodes 46 and 47 respectively, with a grid 48 and 49 respectively placed in front of it. The electrode bundles are fitted in electrode holders 17 and 29 respectively, which are solidly fixed in the covers 44 and 45. The electric potentials applied ensure together with the axial magnetic field, that a zone 1-3 will extend centrally through the rotation chamber 2 from the electrode bundle 46 to the electrode bundle 47, in which zone a gas discharge arc appears. An electric field is applied between this central arc and the electrode formed by the wall 40, 31 and 41. Around the outer wall 32 there is a neutron reflector 51, enclosed between end-plates 52 and 53 which are connected to the covers 34 and 35. Between the reflector and the outer wall 32 of the reaction chamber a space 54 has been left free through which a coolant can flow to carry off heat from the reactor vessel. This coolant enters at 23 and can be discharged at 55. Magnet windings 56, 57 and 59 are fitted around the reflector over the entire length of the installation. An electric current flowing through these magnet windings produces a homogeneous axial magnetic field extending over the entire length of the reactor vessel. This field, however, is pinched at the ends under the effect of the coils 56 and 59. As soon as an electric potential is applied between the electrode configuration (46, 48) and (47, 49) on the one hand and the wall electrodes 40, 31 and 41 on the other, the mass of gas inside the rotation chambers 1, 2 and 3 will start to rotate at high speed. Inside the reactor, mainly the heavier gases consisting of UF.sub.6 will now be compressed in the compression chambers 22. As soon as the pressure therein rises to a value of, e.g., 10 atmospheres, the conditions for a critical state will be satisfied, so that a neutron chain reaction can take place in these chambers. To maintain this reaction, a stream of gas-- e.g. UF.sub.6 --must be fed continuously to the rotation chamber via conduit 60. The gases processed by the reactor can be discharged through the conduit 62. Conduit 61 may be connected with a pump installation which is necessary in starting the rotor. Heat developed in the magnet windings 56, 57 and 59 can be removed through cooling channels hollowed out inside the concrete structure 63 which surrounds the whole unit. E.g., a gaseous coolant can be supplied through conduit 15 in such a manner that it passes around all magnet windings, to be finally discharged at 64. As will be explained with the aid of FIG. 2, the gases discharged through conduit 62 can be subjected to a reprocessing procedure. The reprocessing installation according to FIG. 2 works electromagnetically in the same way as the reactor according to FIG. 1. The UF.sub.6 that was still present in the gas discharged through conduit 62 is first separated and then discharged through the conduits 12, 86 and 65. This stream of UF.sub.6 -gas joins the gas stream 30 to be again fed through conduit 60 to the reaction space. Since the electromagnetic operation of the reprocessing installation is based on the same principles as in FIG. 1, there is no need to go here into details again. A rotation chamber 67 mounted inside a concrete casing 66 extends along the whole lengths of the installation. It is surrounded by magnet windings 68, 69, 70, 71, 72 and 73, cooled by a cooling stream supplied through conduit 74 and discharged through conduit 75. Electrode configurations 76 and 77 are here likewise attached to both ends of the vessel and ionize a gaseous central column 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 so that a gas discharge arc is maintained in it. Inside an outer jacket 79 of the rotation vessel there are cooling channels 78. In this rotation vessel there are three zones 4, 6 and 8 which have larger diameters than the interjacent zones 5 and 7. It is possible to produce different speeds of rotation in the gas vortexes in the zones 4, 6 and 8 by applying, via the lines 80, a suitable voltage to each of the electrodes 81, 82, 83 and 84. The gases coming from the reactor vessel 2 are fed in through a conduit 62 so that they can enter the rotation chamber via the space 85. The speed of rotation in chamber 4 is chosen so that the UF.sub.6 is separated from the fission products of the light gases, to be fed back to the inlet of the nuclear reactor through outlet 12 and via conduit 86, the filter units 27 and 28, and via conduit 65. Gaseous fission products can be drained from the chambers 6 and 8 in the same manner to be discharged through the conduits 87 and 88 into collecting devices not illustrated here. There remains the light gas which is drained off through conduit 16. If required, the enrichment section, the nuclear reactor and the reprocessing section can be combined in a single aggregate. This is illustrated schematically in FIG. 3, where the enrichment section consists of four zones 90, 91, 92 and 93, in which the enriched or depleted UF.sub.6 gas mixture can be separated time and again, and that in such a way that the separated components are fed--as in a cascade--to other parts of the enrichment section wherein the same degree of enrichment prevails. This enrichment section works otherwise substantially in the same manner as the reprocessing section as illustrated in FIG. 2 and already described. Furthermore 94 is the nuclear reactor and 95 is the reprocessing section already described. The UF.sub.6 to be enriched is supplied via inlet conduit 96 and is then fed to the separation space of stage 91 through inlet openings 97 arranged around the perimeter. As a result of the rapid rotation of the gas in this chamber, a separation takes place into the light and heavy components of the gaseous mixture. The heavy component is drained off at the largest diameter of this stage through conduit 98, which feeds it back to the inlet openings 99 in the separation space of stage 90. The light component is separated in stage 91 flows further through opening 100 to the separation space of stage 92. The heavy component is herein separated at the largest diameter of this chamber and drained off through conduit 101, which at point 102 joins the inlet conduit 96. The light gaseous components from chamber 92 are transported further through opening 103 to the separation space of stage 93. In this stage, the heavy components are drained off at the largest diameter of this separation chamber through conduit 104 which feeds this gaseous product back to the peripheral inlet opening 105 at the inlet of stage 92. The light gaseous components coming from stage 93 are fed through opening 106 to the space 94 where the nuclear neutron reaction takes place. The depleted UF.sub.6 is discharged from the separation space of stage 90 at the largest diameter at 107 through conduit 108. The UF.sub.6 enriched in the stages 90, 91, 92 and 93 arrives finally in the reaction space 94 of the nuclear neutron reactor. Due to the considerably faster rotation of the gas mass in this chamber the enriched UF.sub.6 which accumulates in zone 109 at the largest diameter of this chamber is compressed to such a degree that a uranium density develops sufficient to initiate a fission reaction. For the sake of simplicity, the neutron reflector 51 which is necessary for this purpose and is placed around the vessel 94 (see FIG. 1) is not illustrated in FIG. 3; neither are, for that matter, the annular wall electrodes which are present over the whole length of the system illustrated in FIG. 1 and the magnet coils which produce the magnetic field. Light gases supplied through conduit 112 are injected into the reaction chamber through the openings 110 and 111. The inner wall of chamber 94 is cooled by a gaseous medium (not indicated). For the sake of simplicity, no liquid cooling is illustrated in FIG. 3, but it can be used. Mainly the lighter gases from chamber 94 are discharged through opening 113 into the first separation chamber 114 of the reprocessing section 95. These heaviest gaseous products are separated in this chamber at the largest diameter of the rotating gas vortex through opening 115. These heaviest gases consist in part of UF.sub.6 and are therefore fed back through conduit 116 to a junction point of appropriate concentration in the enrichment cascade. The heavy gaseous fission products from the next separation space 118 can be discharged through openings 119 at the largest diameter of this chamber. The lighter fission products are finally drained off from separation chamber 123 at its largest diameter through opening 124 so that they can be discharged via conduit 125 into a collecting space not illustrated here. The remaining light gases are finally discharged through opening 126. They can be used to generate energy in an MHD-system or in a gas turbine, they can be fed back to the light-gas inlet conduit 127, or can be used for propulsion purposes. Part of the light gases is branched off from conduit 127 at point 128 to be fed through conduit 129 to the inlet of the enrichment section.