Analysis of Th-U breeding capability for an accelerator-driven subcritical molten salt reactor

elerator-driven systems based on molten salt fuel have several unique advantages and features for advanced nuclear fuel utilization. The aim of this work was to study the Th-U breeding capability in such systems, known as “accelerator-driven subcritical molten salt reactors” (ADS–MSRs). Breeding capacities including conversion ratio and net ^233U production for various subcriticalities and different minor actinides (MA) loadings were analyzed for an ADS–MSR. The results show that the subcriticality of the core has a considerable effect on the Th-U breeding. A high subcriticality is favorable to improving the conversion ratio, increasing the net ^233U production, and reducing the doubling time. Specifically, the doubling time for k _eff of 0.99 is larger than 80 years, while the counterpart for k _eff of 0.93 is only approximately 22 years. Nevertheless, in an ADS–MSR with a high initial MA loading, MA results in a non-negligible ^233U depletion in the first two decades, while increasing the net ^233U production compared to reactors without MA loading. During the 50 years of operation, for the subcritical reactor ( k _eff=0.97 ) with MA fraction increasing from 1 to 14