NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN RESEARCH REACTOR TECHNOLOGY
At the present time, 105 research and test reactors are in operation being built, or planned in the United States, compared to 22 in operation by the end of 1955. The most popular types are the low power training reactors and the high flux pool or tank type. This is due to the relatively low cost of the training reactors (~ 0,000) and the flexibility and high fluxes of the tank type reactors. The thermal and fast fluxes in such reactors are of the order of 1 x 10/sup 13/ per Mw. In the flux-trap reactors herein described, fluxes of 10- 20 x 10/sup 13/ per Mw may be possible. Examples of this type of reactor, which consists of an annular core with a moderating island'' and reflector, are the Thermal Test Reactor at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, the Argonaut at Argonne National Laboratory, and the USSR 500 kw research reactor described at Geneva. Application of the flux-trap concept to ultra-high flux reactors results in reactor designs capable of achieving fluxes in the range of 5-8 x 10/sup 15/ neutrons/cm/sup 2/(sec). Application of the concept to a High Flux University Reactor results in thermal and fast fluxes of the order of 2-3 x 10/sup 14/ at a 5 Mw power level. The cost of such a reactor is estimated to be approximately 5 million by the Internuclear Company. The characteristics of the Internuclear design, described in this paper, are ideal for a high level nuclear research and testing program. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn.
- NSA Number:
- NSA-13-023047
- OSTI ID:
- 4200899
- Report Number(s):
- TID-7559(Pt.1)(Paper 2)
- Country of Publication:
- Country unknown/Code not available
- Language:
- English
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