At this point, the whole device can be packed into a shipping container and sent back to Westinghouse's facility in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, for proper disposal of spent nuclear fuel rods. These highly enriched and energy-potent fissile fuel pellets can theoretically remain critical without the need for refueling for up to eight years. It consists of a proprietary blend of Uranium isotopes mixed with carbon and oxygen to form a fuel kernel the size of a poppy seed. The fuel in question is known as Tri-structural isotropic particle fuel, or TRISCO for short. Inside this large metal cylinder, nuclear fuel rods of particularly high quality are arranged into a compact but powerful fissile core with large metal heat transfer pipes running through the core's center. To scale this tech down to a form factor that fits on the back of an 18-wheeler trailer is a feat within itself.Īt its core, the eVInci heat pipe microreactor almost resembles a large gas canister more so than it does a mobile power generating station. Using radically different design languages from larger reactors, Westinghouse's heat-pipe reactor theoretically outputs respectable power compared to larger reactors using light water, heavy water, or both, to cool the fission core. Whether through steam-driven drive shafts or through heat-radiating pipes as with eVinci, all that power winds up in the same place. Meanwhile the thermal energy from critical fissile reactions is captured via a cooling fluid and used to generate usable electricity. Nuclear fuel rods arranged together in a fissile core are surrounded by a neutron-moderating material, usually graphite. Though fission reactors come in all shapes and sizes, nearly all of them work on similar working principles. and the globe that could benefit from replacing their current infrastructure with a completely carbon-free source of electricity. There's no doubt plenty of coal-fired and oil-burning power stations across the U.S. Questionable naming schemes aside, the eVinci Microreactor takes its inspiration from a plethora of different methods of fission power and scales it down to a size that isn't unwieldy or cumbersome.įrom large-scale commercial reactors and even design studies for nuclear reactors in space, Westinghouse's nuclear energy division, based near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is one of the most experienced teams in America in its field. The small but furious nuclear reactor concept that can be mounted on the back of a truck.īut first thing's first, the eVinci? That name sounds like it was passed over on being the moniker for some plug-in electric hybrid mom-mobile. With this in mind, say hello to Westinghouse's eVinci Microreactor. ![]() That's the kind of technology far more likely to benefit all of our lives years or even decades before commercial nuclear fusion is even remotely possible.
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