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U.S. Department of Energy
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SHAPED BURNABLE POISON DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM UNDER THE EURATOM PROGRAM. Quarterly Progress Report, March 1, 1963-June 30, 1963

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/4666519· OSTI ID:4666519
Poison demand curves were computed for a boiling water reactor with H/ sub 2/O to UO/sub 2/ ratios of 2.1 and 3.0, a uranium235 enrichment of 3.3 wt%, and fuel depletions in the range of 10,000 to 25,000 Mwd/t. These curves indicate poison lumps in the form of cylinders to be desirable. For these same reactors, the excess reactivity was computed for the cold clean, hot clean non- voided, and hot full-power equilibrium conditions. The excess reactivity was computed with and without a black burnable poison sized for the full power equilibrium condition. The moderator temperature defect and reactor operating power defect are increased substantially if computed including explicitiy the effect of a black poison. Model development was completed for depleting isolated cylinders. Initial self-shielding factors were computed as a function of cylinder radius for ten neutron temperatures. Depletion calculations were performed for four values of cylinder diameter and neutron temperature. Gadolinia cylinders in alumina rods were formed and sintered at temperatures up to 2850 deg F. A reaction between Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ and Gd/sub 2/O/sub 3/ begins at 2650 deg F. Investigations were begun of reaction between UO/sub 2/ and Gd/sub 2/O/sub 3/. Development was completed on methods to make Gd/sub 2/O/sub 3/ cylinders and wafers for the poison samples required by the physics studies. A method of uniformly dispersing cylinders of Gd/sub 2/O/sub 3/ in Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ or UO/sub 2/ was developed, and initial tests indicate that the method is successful. (auth)
Research Organization:
Allis-Chalmers Mfg. Co. Atomic Energy Div., Milwaukee
NSA Number:
NSA-17-033236
OSTI ID:
4666519
Report Number(s):
ACNP-63022; EURAEC-759
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English