The Innovations Report – a web site published in Germany – recently posted an article titled MIT engineers work to improve nuclear power generation that describes two projects by MIT researchers aimed at improving the performance of light water reactors. (That term is used to describe both pressurized and boiling water reactors that use ordinary water as the main coolant and working fluid.)
The first innovation is a hollow cylinder fuel rod that increases heat transfer surface area, the second is the use of suspended nanoparticles to improve the specific heat capacity of water. Both of these research efforts seek ways to get more power out of existing reactors.
