Supercritical steam cycle for nuclear power plant

Revolutionary improvement of the nuclear plant safety and economy with light water reactors can be reached with the application of micro-fuel elements (MFE) directly cooled by a supercritical pressure light-water coolant-moderator. There are considerable advantages of the MFE as compared with the traditional fuel rods, such as: Using supercritical and superheated steam considerably increases the thermal efficiency of the Rankine cycle up to 44-45%. Strong negative coolant and void reactivity coefficients with a very short thermal delay time allow the reactor to shutdown quickly in the event of a reactivity or power excursion. Core melting and the creation of corium during severe accidents are impossible. The heat transfer surface area is larger by several orders of magnitude due to the small spherical dimensions of the MFE. The larger heat exchange surface significantly simplifies residual heat removal by natural convection and radiation from the core to a subsequent passive system of heat removal.