KINETICS OF A POOL-TYPE REACTOR WITH STAINLESS STEEL FUEL PLATES

Technical Report · Wed Mar 23 04:00:00 EST 1955

OSTI ID:4266189

Hetrick, D L

Recent BORAX experiments indicated the desirability of seeking modifications for pool-type reactors which will reduce the probability of fuel element melting. An investigation was conducted to determine if the replacement of the usual Al-U alloy Al clad fuel plates by stainless steel-UO/sup 2/ stainless steel clad plates with a higher melting point and thinner cladding would be advantageous. Tests showed that during an excursion, heat conduction by stainless steel plates with 5-mil cladding was comparable to Al plates with 20- mil cladding. The limiting reactivity for meltdown in a BORAX configuration was 2.5% fur the stainless steel plates and 2.0% for the Al plates. This advantage disappears when the steel cladding thickness exceeds 8 mils. (D.E.B.)

• Research Organization: North American Aviation, Inc., Downey, Calif.
• NSA Number: NSA-13-011451
• OSTI ID: 4266189
• Report Number(s): NAA-SR-Memo-1276
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ALUMINUM
ALUMINUM ALLOYS
BORATES
BORAX
BURNOUT
COATING
CONFIGURATION
EXCURSIONS
FUEL CANS
FUEL ELEMENTS
HEAT TRANSFER
MELTING
MELTING POINTS
PLATES
REACTIVITY
REACTORS
SODIUM COMPOUNDS
STAINLESS STEELS
TESTING
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
THICKNESS
URANIUM ALLOYS
URANIUM DIOXIDE
WATER COOLANT
WATER MODERATOR
ZONES