Maintaining the close-to-critical state of thorium fuel core of hybrid reactor operated under control by D-T fusion neutron flux

The results of full-scale numerical experiments of a hybrid thorium-containing fuel cell facility operating in a close-to-critical state due to a controlled source of fusion neutrons are discussed in this work. The facility under study was a complex consisting of two blocks. The first block was based on the concept of a high-temperature gas-cooled thorium reactor core. The second block was an axially symmetrical extended plasma generator of additional neutrons that was placed in the near-axial zone of the facility blanket. The calculated models of the blanket and the plasma generator of D-T neutrons created within the work allowed for research of the neutronic parameters of the facility in stationary and pulse-periodic operation modes. This research will make it possible to construct a safe facility and investigate the properties of thorium fuel, which can be continuously used in the epithermal spectrum of the considered hybrid fusion–fission reactor. •A plasma-physical model of a fusion neutron source (FNS) based on a gas dynamic magnetic trap was created.•The space-time distribution of the fission wave in the facility blanket fed by neutrons from the FNS was modeled.•Neutronic and thermophysical optimization of the setup blanket was performed.•The mode of operation of the FNS and entire facility was adjusted to maintain it in a close-to-critical state.