Ideas on all aspects of the OFNP concept are welcome. However, we particularly seek innovative approaches to cope with the following scenarios:
- Collision with a large ship. The design basis ship is a LNG tanker of 100,000 ton displacement, 15 m draft and traveling at a speed of 20 knots. The design goal for this scenario is to avoid containment breach, since an intact containment will prevent release of radionuclides and also ensure long-term decay heat removal from the reactor, which is done via steam condensation on the inner surface of the containment shell. If the containment is not breached, major damage to the platform (including loss of floatation) can be tolerated under this scenario. Solutions currently being explored by the MIT team include barriers to divert the course of the incoming ship, active components or passive structures that move the plant away from the ship prior to or upon collision, and new plant layouts that minimize the threat to containment
- Underwater attack by torpedo or explosive charge carried by a diver. The design goal for this scenario is to avoid containment breach and ensure plant floatation. Solutions currently being explored by the MIT team include remote barriers (netting) that prevent underwater access to the plant, hardened hull designs that can resist explosions, and underwater interceptors that destroy hostile torpedoes and divers before they reach the plant.
Please submit your ideas via email to floating-reactor@mit.edu. Remember, submissions must be in PDF form, and include your name, your email, your telephone number, and the idea formatted as requested in the rules.
Please make sure to read the rules for submission, so that you understand how your idea will be used.