SOME NUCLEAR EXPERIMENTS ON THE SRE
Subcritical assembly experiments were conducted by loading fuel elements in a SRE core and determining the critical mass from the counting rate data obtained from fission counters placed in the fuel channels. A plot of the normalized inverse count rate as a function of the number of the fuel elements loaded indicated a critical mass of 22.2 dry fuel elements at room temperature and 32.64 plus or minus 0.10 fuel elements at 400 deg F using a sodium coolant. The reactivity of the subcritical SRE was estimated from subcritical multiplication measurements, and the results were used to evaluate the worth of various fuel elements and poison elements. The total reactivity change caused by replacing each uranium element with a thorium-5% uranium element was determined. Flux mapping studies were made of the dry subcritical SRE using cadmium-covered and bars gold foils in the core and reflector. The results of the flux msasurements are given graphically. (B.O.G.)
- Research Organization:
- Atomics International. Div. of North American Aviation, Inc., Canoga Park, Calif.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
- NSA Number:
- NSA-15-013921
- OSTI ID:
- 4054973
- Report Number(s):
- NAA-SR-Memo-1956
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
COUNTERS
CRITICAL ASSEMBLIES
CRITICALITY
EXPONENTIAL PILES
FISSION
FOILS
FUEL ELEMENTS
GOLD
LIQUID METAL COOLANT
MASS
MEASURED VALUES
NEUTRON DETECTION
NEUTRON FLUX
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
POISONING
REACTIVITY
REACTOR FUELING
REACTOR TECHNOLOGY
REACTORS
SODIUM
SRE
THORIUM
URANIUM
ZONES