| Abstract Scope |
Nuclear microreactors are being considered for a variety of applications, including remote powergeneration, process heat, and defense. Unlike larger reactors, microreactors have an extremelysmall footprint, approximately the size of a cargo container. This results in significantly higherneutron leakage and, consequently, lower fuel burnup. This talk explores the benefits andchallenges of the nuclear fuel cycle for both thermal-spectrum and fast-spectrum microreactors.Specifically of interest, the fuel cycle benefits of spherically shaped microreactors that maximizeburnup or minimize critical size are presented. Spherically shaped microreactors with a graphitemoderator could increase fuel burnup by approximately 90% relative to a cylindrical microreactorand decrease front end fuel cost by approximately 45% relative to a cylindrical reactor. |