STEAM FORMING NEUTRONIC REACTOR AND METHOD OF OPERATING IT
The heterogeneous reactor is liquid moderated and cooled by a steam forming coolant and is designed to produce steam from the coolant directly within the active portion of the reactor while avoiding the formation of bubbles in the liquid moderator. This reactor achieves inherent stability as a result of increased neutron leakage and increased neutron resonance absorption in the U/sup 238/ fuel with the formation of bubbles. The invention produces certain conditions under which the formation of vapor bubbles as a result of a neutron flux excursion from the injection of a reactivity increment into the reactor will operate to nullify the reactivity increment within a sufficiently short period of time to prevent unsafe reactor operating conditions from developing. This is obtained by disposing a plurality of fuel elements within a mass of steam forming coolant in the core with the ratio of the volume of steam forming coolant to the volume of fissionable isotopes being within the range yielding a multiplication factor greater than unity and a negative reactivity to core void coefficient at the boiling temperature of the coolant.
- Research Organization:
- Originating Research Org. not identified
- NSA Number:
- NSA-14-021922
- Assignee:
- U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
- Patent Number(s):
- US 2936273
- OSTI ID:
- 4169499
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-60
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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