Tory II-A reactor tests. Final report

Technical Report · Wed May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1963

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/4333186· OSTI ID:4333186

Hadley, J W

Declassified 26 Nov 1973. Tory II-A was the first reactor in a series which will lead to development of a nuclear-powered ramjet engine in the Pluto program. The core embodied a design which is believed to be useable in an actual engine. All parts external to the core were intended only to form a suitable test bed, and had no relation to flyable hardware. Test operations were conducted during the period December 1960--October 1961, On May 14, 1961, following several months spent in low-power measurements and facility shakedown, the reactor was brought to 50 MW power (1/3 design) and 2580 deg F core temperature (300 deg above design) for a period of about one minute. All systems operated properly, and no indication of any damage was obtained. After a period of facility alterations, to provide the capability of delivering test air at higher temperature and pressure, the reactor was run three times at power levels approaching or in excess of the design operating value of 160 MW. The second of these tests fully achieved design operating conditions, and the third substantially exceeded them in severity. Again no indications of failure were noted during operation. Disassembly of the reactor has confirmed that it maintained its structural integrity. In general confirmation of previous experimental data, thermal stress cracks were found in many fuel element walls. Fewer cracks than expected, however, were found in the hottest part of the core, indicating that considerable stress relief through creep must have occurred. Even among the elements which cracked, no instance was found in which an air flow passage was blocked. 18 references. (auth)

• Research Organization: California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• NSA Number: NSA-29-020181
• OSTI ID: 4333186
• Report Number(s): UCRL--7249
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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