QUARTERLY STATUS REPORT ON TURRET REACTOR EXPERIMENT FOR PERIOD ENDING NOVEMBER 20, 1960

Technical Report · Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1960

OSTI ID:4105162

Intensive effort was devoted to thermal ard stress analysis of the more critical items in the primary coolant system. Calculated temperatures in the reactor pressure vessel are around 500 to 550 deg F, and combined stresses from pressure and temperature are below the allowable value of 26,250 psi. The large core-suppont-bearing temperature is calculated to be about 600 deg F. The main heat exchanger and heat recuperator were released for bids, and bid drawings for a number of other components are nearing completion. Nuclear calculations were made relating to fuel storage, initial core loading, and startup source requirements. Latest shielding calculations still indicate the need for a supplemental thermal shield, for which a Boral liner of the pressure vessel is the favored choice. Hot pressing of zirconium diboride (ZrB/sub 2/) appears to provide the high-density compacts required for control rods. Preliminary tests in cladding molybdenum tubing with tantalum were successful. In the study of simple methods for fuel recycle, results continue to be encouraging. Several methods of partial decontamination were successfully tried in a solution which included La/sup 140/ to test the chemical behavior in a high level of beta activity. In other experiments, a combination of carbonatescavenging and peroxide-precipitation steps resulted in removal of over 94% of the calculated beta activity, with unremoved zirconium accounting for most of the residual activity. A second fuel-element irradiation test was initially successful but was terminated after three days because of thermocouple failure. Major simplifications were made in the gas clean-up system by the elimination of the duplicate copper oxide bed and by the deletion of provisions for regeneration of the large carbon beds. The function of the latter is now to delay xenon and krypton by dynamic adsorption for a sufficient period to permit sub steady-state conditions a small amount of radioactivity will be returned in the effluent from the gas clean-up system. Delays have occurred in the design of the reactor facility itself because of the high construction costs estimated for the tentative facility layouts. Revisions are being studied which are expected to permit large cost reductions. However, as a result of accrued delays, it is expected that first critical experiments will not be possible before Dec. l962. (auth)

• Research Organization: Los Alamos Scientific Lab., N. Mex.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-36
• NSA Number: NSA-15-007088
• OSTI ID: 4105162
• Report Number(s): LAMS-2495
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-61
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

REACTOR TECHNOLOGY
ADSORPTION
ALUMINUM
ALUMINUM ALLOYS
BETA DECAY
BORAL
BORON CARBIDES
CANNING
CARBON
COMPACTS
CONTROL ELEMENTS
COOLANT LOOPS
COPPER OXIDES
DECAY
DECONTAMINATION
DENSITY
EXTRUSION
FUEL CANS
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUELS
GASES
HEAT EXCHANGERS
IMPURITIES
IRRADIATION
KRYPTON
LANTHANUM 140
MOLYBDENUM
NEUTRON SOURCES
PRECIPITATION
PRESSURE
PRESSURE VESSELS
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTOR CORE
REACTOR FUELING
REACTORS
RODS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SHIELDING
SOLUTIONS
STARTUP
STORAGE
TANTALUM
TEMPERATURE
TESTING
THERMAL NEUTRONS
THERMAL STRESSES
TUBES
UHTREX
XENON
ZIRCONIUM
ZIRCONIUM BORIDES