The advent of innovative nuclear reactors is a shift in paradigm. It is based on a new safety philosophy. It will make the occurrence of accidents such as TMI and Chernobyl impossible. It challenges the scientists and technologists of the world to invent a new nuclear reactor where practically “total safety” is achieved. It promotes inherent safety philosophy meaning that the law of nature should govern the safety of the future reactors and not the manmade safety systems. For example, the safety of the proposed reactor namely the FBNR is obtained by utilizing the law of gravity that is inviolable.

There are two sources of heat generation in a nuclear reactor. One is the heat produced by nuclear fission and the other by decay of radioactive materials that are produced by the fission of nuclear fuel. The reactor safety of innovative reactors requires that the fission process be under control by the law of nature, and the cooling of residual heat due to the decay of fission products be achieved by natural heat convection.

The proposed rector is a robust reactor. The cooling of residual heat produced by the decay of the radioactive fission products is done by natural heat convection. The fuel of high temperature reactors that is designed to stand the temperatures of up to 1600º C is used in this reactor that operates under de condition of less than 350º C. Each UO2 fuel region is effectively covered by 5 layers of claddings. The fission products become contained in two layers of graphite and a layer of SiC in the microsphere and a graphite matrix and SiC cladding of the fuel element.

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