HEAVY WATER MODERATED POWER REACTORS. Progress Report, March-April 1963
An evaluation of the status of heavy-water-moderated reactors as of March 1963 concludes that these reactors are attractive for development and commercialization in the U. S. nuclear power program. By virtue of their excellent neutron economy and their ability to operate on simple, massive, low- cost fuel elements, these reactors offer the potential of energy generation costs that are lower than those attainabie in other converter reactors, higher conversion ratios than any other converter reactor, a breeding cycle with thorium fuel, and low-cost steam for process heat applications such as desalination. Failure of an oxide fuel tube occurred in the HWCTR due to an as yet undiscovered cause. During March the reactor had operated at a power level of about 40 Mw for 96.7% of the month. The maximum exposure achieved satisfactorily by the mechanically compacted oxide tubes under test in HWCTR was 6600 Mwd/t U. Examination of sound metal tubes removed from the HWCTR after relativeiy short exposures revealed significant amounts of fretting corrosion, indicating that this was the probable cause of the two failures of uranlum metal tubes that occurred during earlier HWCTR irradiations. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Du Pont de Nemours (E.I.) & Co. Atomic Energy Div., Wilmington, Del.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AT(07-2)-1
- NSA Number:
- NSA-17-028526
- OSTI ID:
- 4713329
- Report Number(s):
- DP-845
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-63
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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