The potential for gas-cooled reactor development

Gas-cooled reactors (GCR) are currently fighting for survival in a world now nearly completely committed to light water reactors (LWR). If some core nuclear design features could be simplified or improved while maintaining their already well-known safety attractions. GCRs would be able to compete better with other classes of reactors. This would be even more true if their economics could be improved by considering gas-cooled fast breeder designs. A serious study of these possibilities may conclude once and for all whether simple gas-cooled reactors of current technological standing can be designed. It is suggested that the next step could be a down-rated gas-cooled breeder using AGR component technology while available. A safety enforcing variant of this would admit some ‘diluent’ such as alumina into the core to act as an emergency transient heat sink as well as to increase the doppler coefficient.