AIRCRAFT NUCLEAR PROPULSION PROJECT QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT FOR PERIOD ENDING DECEMBER 10, 1950

Technical Report · Tue Feb 27 04:00:00 EST 1951

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/4171355· OSTI ID:4171355

Ellis, C B; Cottrell, W B

Design of the Aircraft Reactor Experiment (ARE) is continuing, with particular emphasis on shielding, control, and fuel material. The most promising fuel mixture for the ARE is a solution of UF/sub 4/ in NaF, with possible admintures of other fluorides to lower the melting pcint to a convenient rarge. Extensive computations of criticality and thermal xenon coefficients were made for both bare reactors and reflected reactors. Graphs of the spectra of several solidfuel reactors are included. A preliminary analysis of the fuel kinetics of the NaF--UF/sub 4/ reactor shows the existence of oscillation in the reactor power following a change in reactivity, which arises from the coupling between fuel displacement and neutron flux. A resonance at approximately 49 ev was found from the preliminary neutron cross-section measurements on Mo. Theoretical analyses of heat transfer were completed on three situations which approximate the entrance conditions involved in current ARE core designs. Equipment was designed for the measurement of thermal conductivity, specific heat, and other high-temperature properties of various liquid metals and moiten sslts. The specific heat of Li between 550 and 900 deg C was measured as 1.0 plus or minus 10%. Both 316 and 347 stainless steel convection harps containing liquid Na have operated almost 800 hr at 1500 deg F without failure. Substances so far found to have good resistance to Na at 1800 deg F include types 316 and 347 stainless steel and Ni. Fair resistance under these conditions is shown by Mo, Ta, alloy N- 155, Inconel, and Inconel X. The equilibrinm diagram of the molten salt system LiF-- UF/sub 4/ has been established, and study of such systems as NaF--UF/sub 4/ is underway. Preliminary corrosion studies of numerous metals in NaF--UF/sub 4/ at 1300 deg F for 160 hr show Hastelloy C, Inconel, and Mo to be the least attacked. (W.L.H.)

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• NSA Number: NSA-14-018644
• OSTI ID: 4171355
• Report Number(s): ORNL-919(Del.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

AIRCRAFT
ALUMINUM ALLOYS
ARE
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CORROSION
CRITICALITY
DIAGRAMS
EQUATIONS
FLUORIDES
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUELS
FUSED SALTS
HASTELLOY
HEAT TRANSFER
HIGH TEMPERATURE
INCONEL ALLOYS
LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
LIQUID METALS
LITHIUM
LITHIUM FLUORIDES
MEASURED VALUES
MELTING POINTS
MIXING
MOLYBDENUM
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
NEUTRON FLUX
NEUTRONS
NICKEL
NICKEL ALLOYS
NIOBIUM ALLOYS
OSCILLATIONS
PHASE DIAGRAMS
PLANNING
POISONING
POWER
PROPULSION
REACTIVITY
REACTOR CORE
REACTOR TECHNOLOGY
REACTORS
REFLECTORS
RESONANCE NEUTRONS
SHIELDING
SODIUM
SODIUM FLUORIDES
SPECTRA
STAINLESS STEELS
TANTALUM
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
THERMAL NEUTRONS