Originally issued as S and P 1963A, Parts I and II. This report covers a design and feasibility study of a pebble bed reactor-steam power plant of 125 megawatt electrical output. The reactor design which evolved from this study is a two-region thermal breeder, operating on the uranium-thorium cycle, in which all core structural materials are graphite. Fuel is in the form of unclad spherical elements of graphite, containing fissile and fertile material. The primary loop consists of the reactor plus three steam generators and blowers in parallel. Plant design and system analysis including cost analysis and capital cost summary are given.

Sanderson and Perter, under contract to the AEC, prepared a design feasibility study for a pebble-bed reactor steam power plant of 125-Mw(e) capacity. The design problems, economic considerations, and required research and development programs were reviewed by ORNL. It is concluded that the design shows promise of being economically competitive if the following conditions are met: (1) U/sup 233/ could be made available for use as a burner rather than as a breeder; (2) the contamination problems within the reactor can be successfully handled in a manner which would permit direct maintenancc on the equipment external to the core; and (3) the anticipated lifetime of the fuei ls snrffncneutly long to justify the cost assumptions of the Sanderson and Perter design. (L.T.W.).

An optimum economic design for a high temperature, helium cooled, central station reactor power plant of about 400 Mw of electric power was determined. The core consists of a randomly packed bed of unclad graphite spheres, approximately one in. in diameter, impregnated with U233 and thorium such that a conversion ratio of near unity is achieved. The high temperature helium permits steam conditions, at the turbine throttle, of 1000 deg F and 1450 psia. (auth).