HOMOGENEOUS REACTOR PROJECT QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT FOR PERIOD ENDING OCTOBER 31, 1955

Technical Report · Tue Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 1956

OSTI ID:4327962

McDuffie, H F; Hill, V.K. comps.

7 : 7 8 5 : 8 : 9 8 : 8 8 86 9 5 J sed. Schematic diagrams are given for a closed cooling-water circuit for the thermal shield which will maintain the temperature of the shielding material below l80 deg F. Final designs are shown for the blast shield, consisting of a l- in. carbon steel shell, for the HRT steam generator. Calculations on freeze units were made, and data on refrigeration loads are summarized. The dissociation of D/sub 2/ in storage tanks is discussed. Designs of the HRT leak detection system are also given. A pressure test of the shield tank was made, showing that it is capable of containing a uniform gas pressure of 30 psig. Tests of Westinghouse canned-rotor pumps were continued. Photographs of pump corrosion are shown. The operation of other reactor components is briefly discussed. Resigns are shown for the dlfferential pressure transmitter which is the sensing element for balancing the pressure beiween the reactor core and the blanket systems. Designs for lowand high-pressure valves are also given. Reslgns and flowsheets are given for the experimental HRT fuelprocessing plaut designed to remove the insoluble fission and corrosion prcducts from 0.25 to l gpm of reactor fuel bypassing the heat exchanger. Operation characteristics of the plant are also discussed. Reactor Design and Analysis. A design study is made of the Thorium Breeder Reactor. Included are tables of TBR reduced-power operating conditions and TBR pilot-plant reactor and design parameters. Several possible inciderts involving interuption of normal operation of the TBR were investigated. These include cessation of heat removal, interuption of fuel flow, circulating pump failure, and steam-pressure decrease. In order to evaluate the reactor safety, parameters for various reactors were studied and discussed. Data are summarized on the effect of Li/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ on the fuel cost of a Pu- producing power reactor. Results indicate that addition in the same molar concentration adds about 0.8 mill/kwhr to the fuel cost near the optimum U concentration. Breeding ratios and fuel removal for one- and tworegion reactors are discussed. Engineering Development. A low-pressure natural-circulation catalytic recombiner was designed and fabricated, and tests indicate the feasibility of the design. Tests were continued on the Westinghouse 200 A slurry purap. Flow diagrams are shown for several promising dump tank systems. Transport velocities at room temperature for ThO/sub 2/ slurries in 3/4-in. glass pipe are summarized. Corrosion and Materials. The operation and mairtenaace of the dynamic corrosion test loops are discussed. Complete data are tabulated on the corrosion rates of pin-type corrosion specimens in UO/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ solutions. The weight changes and corrosion rates of type 347 stainless steel in simulated HRT solutlons are also given. The stability of uranyl sulfate solutions is discussed. The corrosion behavior of stainless steel highpressure valves was examined in nonaerated sulfuric acid and uranyl sulfate solutions at room temperatures. The corrosion of cast Zr alloys by oxygenated UO/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ solutions at 300 deg C was also studied. A schematic diagram is given of the slurry corrosion loop. The resultant corrosion data are tabulated. The static and dyraraic toroid loop corrosion on 54S Al at 200 deg C are summarized. Resign, development, and construction of raniation corrosion loops are discussed. The results of solution analyses for constituents other than irradiation products are summarized. Results of oxygen depletion measurements are also shown. Data on induced Zr--Nb and Cr activity in irradiated specimens are tabulated. Corrosion rates of Zircaloy-2 specimens are plotted as a function of the fission power density to which they are exposed. Further studies on the effect of reactor radiation on the corrosion of Zircaloy-2 by UO/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ solutions were conducted in the LITR. Data are summarized for both the LITR and the MTR bomb experiments. Data are presented

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• NSA Number: NSA-12-002137
• OSTI ID: 4327962
• Report Number(s): ORNL-2004(Del.)
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Decl. with deletions Feb. 25, 1957. Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-58
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

PHYSICS
ADSORPTION
ALUMINUM
ANIONS
ARGON
BLANKETS
BREEDING
BYPASS
CARBON STEELS
CARBONATES
CASTING
CATALYSIS
CATIONS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMIUM
CHROMIUM HYDROXIDES
COOLANT LOOPS
CORROSION
CRYOGENICS
CYCLONE SEPARATORS
DECOMPOSITION
ECONOMICS
ENRICHMENT
FABRICATION
FILMS
FISSION PRODUCTS
FUEL SOLUTIONS
FUELS
GASES
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAVY WATER
HIGH TEMPERATURE
HOMOGENEOUS REACTORS
HRT
HYDROLYSIS
IN PILE LOOPS
ION EXCHANGE
IRRADIATION
LEACHING
LEAK DETECTORS
LIQUID FLOW
LITHIUM SULFATES
LITR
MAINTENANCE
MATERIALS TESTING
METALS
MTR
NEUTRON FLUX
NIOBIUM
NITROGEN
OPERATION
OXIDATION
OXYGEN
PLANNING