Spectral shift reactor
A reactor is described which consists of a pressure vessel enclosing a reactor core which includes fissile material fuel, the pressure vessel having an inlet and an outlet for circulating water coolant moderator in heat transfer relationship with the core, the core comprising a plurality of square-shaped adjacent fuel assemblies vertically disposed therein for generating heat by nuclear fission, and the fuel assemblies having a fuel enrichment which provides a measure of excess reactivity at the beginning of core life which is later drawn upon to lengthen core life. The reactor also has a plurality of spaced vertical guide tubes disposed in each of the fuel assemblies and adapted to have rod members vertically moved therein and therefrom during reactor operation, and a portion of the guide tubes in each fuel assembly disposed in a cross-like configuration along the two diagonals which connect the corners of the square-shaped fuel assemblies. Three separate types of rods are adapted to be moved into and out of the guide tubes, a first type of the rods consist of neutron-absorbing control rods which are movable into and out of the core so that movement of the control rods into the core will substantially decrease reactivity and withdrawal of the control rods form the core will substantially increase reactivity. A second type of the rods consists of neutron-spectral-shift displacer rods which have a substantially lower absorptivity for neutrons than the control rods, each neutron-spectral-shift displacer rod comprising a hollow thin-walled Zircaloy member containing a filling of solid or annular zirconium- or aluminum-containing material.
- Assignee:
- Westinghouse Electric Corp., Pittsburgh, PA
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4826647
- OSTI ID:
- 5957965
- Resource Relation:
- Patent File Date: Filed date 6 Apr 1987
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
REACTIVITY
REACTOR OPERATION
SPECTRAL SHIFT
CONTROL ELEMENTS
NEUTRON ABSORBERS
PRESSURE VESSELS
REACTOR CORES
TRANSIENTS
XENON
CONTAINERS
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
GASES
NONMETALS
OPERATION
RARE GASES
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTORS
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
220400* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Control Systems
210200 - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Nonboiling Water Cooled