HOMOGENEOUS REACTOR PROJECT QUARTERLY PROGRESS REPORT FOR PERIOD ENDING JANUARY 31, 1956

Technical Report · Tue Apr 17 04:00:00 EST 1956

OSTI ID:4346762

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

6 < 5 : : ; 9 4 7 ; 7 8 : 9 of reactor parts at the installation site is summarized. Testing of the fuel low-pressure dump- tank assembly installed in its outdoor test stand was completed. The design finally developed for the Zircaloy-to-stainless steel joint is shown. The HRT steam pressurizer was redesigned to eliminate contact of uranyl sulfate with heated surfaces. Designs are given for a system to add oxygen to the HRT fuel systems. The revised waste evaporator system is shown. Typical low-pressure valve installations are also shown. Barnes aggregate-water placement tests are described, and the lateral pressure of the mixtures is given in graphical form. HRT pump development is discussed. Analytical results of HRT heat exchanger cleaning are given. The flowsheet of the mockup in its present state is shown. Data are given from chemical analyses of HRT mockup fuel during gas- and steam- pressurization runs. Pressure rises following stoppage of heat removal in the HRT are shown for various discharge rates. With no fluid discharge the pressure would reach 2800 psia in 35 sec. and continue 10 rise until some safety device was actuated. The pressure-time relation during an HRT dump was calculated for various combinations of heat generation, heat removal, and venting conditions, and complete results are given. Two prototype pressurizer-level controllers, incorporating hydraulic and magnetic damping systems, are shown. A prolotype model of the dump-valve operator is shown and was cycled 20,000 times without failure. Plans for the HRT fuel processing building are shown and discussed. The predicted solids production in the HRT is tabulated. More detailed descriptions are given of the fuel processing systems, such as the high-pressure system, the underflow pot cooling system, the low-pressure system, the off-gas disposal system, the U recovery system, and the fuel addition system. Diagrams of the various systems are given, and data are included on the two-liquidphase region of UO/sub 2/S)/sub 4/, solids concentration in circulating reactor fuel as a function of hydroclone operating time, temperatures of the underflow-pot system during a heating cycle, and the rate of decomposition of D/sub 2/ in the evaporator decay tank. Reactor Design and Analysis. A study of fuel costs was made for power-only reactor systems fueled by UO/sub 2/SO/sub 4/- Li/sub 2/SO/sub 4/-D/sub 2/O solut ions. The effects of U concentration and diameter on fuel cost are shown. The optimum U concentration was about 200 g/liter, and the optimum diameter is approximately l4 ft. Results for several reactors near optimum conditions are listed. Critical concentrations and breeding ratios were calculated for a series of D/sub 2/-moderated Th breeder reactors, and results are given in graphical form. Reactivity changes associated with slurry settling in the TBR are given. Engineering Development. Model III of the highpressure recombiner loop is shown. Other recombiner developments are discussed. The attack of circulating aqueous ThO/sub 2/ slurries on stainless steel systems was studied, and results are tabulated. The use of Westinghouse slurry pump 200A is discussed. Designs are shown for a conical dump tank with a vertical gas lift. Corrosion and Materials. Corrosion in pumploops and toroids is discussed. Thorium oxide slurry corrosion of pump loops is also discussed. Comparative corrosion rates of various materials by circulatingthorium oxide slurry at 300 deg C are tabulated. In-pile loops for radiation corrosion tests are described. Investigations of the effect of radiation on the corrosion of Zircaloy-2 and type 347 stainless steelware continued, and complete results are tabulated. Data on the corrosion of stainless steel at 260 deg C in UO/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ solution are also given. Metallographic examination of several specimens have been made to provide information on basic mechanisms in the Zr-H system. The structure of

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., Tenn.
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-26
• NSA Number: NSA-12-002138
• OSTI ID: 4346762
• Report Number(s): ORNL-2057(Del.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ADSORPTION
BARIUM SULFATES
BARYTES
BREEDING
CARBON DIOXIDE
CATALYSIS
CESIUM
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CLEANING
CONTROL SYSTEMS- - COOLANT LOOPS
CORROSION
CRITICALITY
CRYSTALS
CYCLONE SEPARATORS
DECOMPOSITION
ECONOMICS
EVAPORATION
FAILURES
FILMS
FISSION PRODUCTS
FLUID FLOW
FUEL SOLUTIONS
FUELS
GASES
GRAIN SIZE
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HEAT TRANSFER
HEATING
HEAVY WATER
HEAVY WATER MODERATOR
HOMOGENEOUS REACTORS
HRT
HYDRAULICS
HYDROGEN
IN PILE LOOPS
IRRADIATION
JOINTS
LIQUID FLOW
LITHIUM CARBONATES
LITHIUM OXIDES
LITHIUM SULFATES
MAGNETS
MATERIALS TESTING
METALLOGRAPHY
MIXING
MOCKUP
OXIDES
OXYGEN
PERFORMANCE
PHYSICS