Xenon Poisoning Kinetics in Gas-Sparged, Molten Fluoride Fueled Nuclear Reactors

Journal Article · Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1958 · Nuclear Science and Engineering

OSTI ID:4303914

Robinson, M. T. ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

A simple phenomenological theory is presented to describe the xenon poisoning of a molten fluoride fueled nuclear reactor which is sparged with a suitable inert gas. The extension of the theory to removal of other fission product species is indicated. Thc theory is illustrated by a parametric study. It is found that arbitrarily low levels of Xe¹³⁵ can be achieved by adequate sparging of the fuel. Such sparging also frees these reactors from the troublesome rise of the xenon poisoning during shutdowns. No reactivity transients of a serious nature are likely to result from changes in the rates of the xenon removal processes.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP); US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• NSA Number: NSA-13-000455
• OSTI ID: 4303914
• Journal Information: Nuclear Science and Engineering, Journal Name: Nuclear Science and Engineering Vol. 4; ISSN 0029-5639
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
CRITICALITY
EQUATIONS
FISSION PRODUCTS
FLUORIDES
FUSED SALT FUEL
INERT GASES
MELTING
NEUTRON FLUX
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
POISONING
REACTIVITY
REACTORS
REPROCESSING
SHUTDOWN
TRANSIENTS
XENON
XENON 135