REACTOR ENGINEERING DIVISION QUARTERLY REPORT FOR MARCH 1, 1953 THROUGH MAY 31, 1953
Power Breeder Reactor. Conceptual design studies for the Power Breeder Reactor indicate the feasibility of a contained primary coolant system in a package arrangement. One- and two-group calculations are presented in detail for preliminary PBR estimations. A technique for impregnating UO/sub 2/ with NaK has been developed. The resulting putty-type fuel was successfully extruded tbrough a 3/8-in. hole. Data are presented on the fuel element design factors imposed by heat transfer and cooling limitations for fuel plates, pins, and spheres. Fission heat liberated in the PBR blanket was estimated to be 7.7% of the total core power. Design criteria resulting from this estimate are analyzed. Heat exchanger size for the transfer of 500 Mw of heat from Na to NaK has been calculated for the intermediate exchanger and for the NaK-toH/sub 2/O steam generator. A theoretical treatment is presented for the thermal stress analysis of stainless steel-clad U fuel plates. Boiling Reactor Heat Transfer Experiments. Further results have been obtained from natural-circulation boiling-density tests and investigations of natural-circulation flow rates. A special thermocouple design, meeting the rapid-response requirements of high-power plate transients, is described. Feasibility studies on heavy water boiling reactors are presented for spherical boiler, pressurized tube, and horizontal pressure tank configurations. Reactor Physics. Detailed theoretical methods are developed for determining long-time changes in reactors. Application is made to a one-group calculation of such changes in a spherically symmetric fast converter. Further data are reported from investigations of irradiation effects on the reactivity of U/sup 238/-U/sup 235/ and Th/sup 232/--U/sup 235/ systems. New data are available on the efficiency of the upper shield of the EBR, determined by neutron flux traverses taken on axes through the core center and inner blanket. Fuel Element Development. Attention has been directed to the study of U alloys with lower corrosion rates in water. Corrosion characteristics are given for UO/sub 2/ , Zr-clad U plates, U, and Mg in diphenyl, and free energies for chemical reactions commonly occurring in reactor studies are tabulated. A study is reported on the pressure-drop characteristics of fuel elements with variations in flow rate, metal-to-water ratio, pitch, and water density. The increased resistance of such fuel wires was found to be less thnn anticipated. Radiation Studies. A comparison is made between the radiation effects of Dow-Corning highvacuum silicone stopcock grease and Standard Oil Co. Lg-0147 grease. (C.H.)
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., Lemont, Ill.
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31-109-ENG-38
- NSA Number:
- NSA-12-000971
- OSTI ID:
- 4332312
- Report Number(s):
- ANL-5060(Del.)
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Decl. with deletions Jan. 17, 1957. Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-58
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
ABSORPTION
BLANKETS
BOILING
BREEDING
BURNOUT
BURNUP
CANNING
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CONFIGURATION
CONVECTION
CONVERSION
COOLANT LOOPS
CORROSION
CORROSION PROTECTION
DECOMPOSITION
DENSITY
DIPHENYLS
DISTRIBUTION
EBR-1
EFFICIENCY
EQUATIONS
EXTRUSION
FABRICATION
FAILURES
FAST NEUTRONS
FERTILE MATERIALS
FISSION
FISSIONABLE MATERIALS
FLUID FLOW
FUEL ELEMENTS
FUELS
GROUP THEORY
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAT TRANSFER
HEATING
HEAVY WATER COOLANT
HIGH TEMPERATURE
IMPREGNATION
IRRADIATION
LIQUID METAL COOLANT
LOSSES
LUBRICATION
MAGNESIUM
MATERIALS TESTING
MEASURED VALUES
METALS
MODERATORS
MONITORING
NEUTRON FLUX