Experience with lifetime limits for EBR-II core components

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:5900622

Lambert, J D.B.; Smith, R N; Golden, G H

The Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 2 (EBR-II) is operated for the US Department of Energy by Argonne National Laboratory and is located on the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory where most types of American reactor were originally tested. EBR-II is a complete electricity-producing power plant now in its twenty-fourth year of successful operation. During this long history the reactor has had several concurrent missions, such as demonstration of a closed Liquid-Metal Reactor (LMR) fuel cycle (1964-69); as a steady-state irradiation facility for fuels and materials (1970 onwards); for investigating effects of operational transients on fuel elements (from 1981); for research into the inherent safety aspects of metal-fueled LMR's (from 1983); and, most recently, for demonstration of the Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) concept using U-Pu-Zr fuels. This paper describes experience gained at EBR-II in defining lifetime limits for LMR core components, particularly fuel elements.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 5900622
• Report Number(s): CONF-8709193-1; ON: DE88002949
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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BREEDER REACTORS
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EPITHERMAL REACTORS
EXPERIMENTAL REACTORS
FAST REACTORS
FBR TYPE REACTORS
FUEL ELEMENTS
IRRADIATION
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LIQUID METAL COOLED REACTORS
LMFBR TYPE REACTORS
OPERATION
PERFORMANCE TESTING
POWER REACTORS
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR CORES
REACTOR OPERATION
REACTORS
RESEARCH AND TEST REACTORS
SODIUM COOLED REACTORS
SWELLING
TESTING