DR ball 3X drop operational physics report
An accidental ball 3X trip occurred at DR Reactor on July 11, 1961. Startup was attempted on July 21, 1961, subsequent to the ball recovery operations, at which time a large reactivity loss was apparent. The loss was assigned to inaccessible poison balls remaining within the graphite structure. Enriched uranium (0.947% U{sup 235}) columns were charged during successive outages to immediately recovery the minimum excess reactivity required for operational transients and effective control. The large increase in enrichment inventory in the reactor complicated evaluation of total control and speed-of-control requirements necessary to comply with the control criteria. An additional effect of the remaining ball poison was observed as a skewed front-to-rear flux distribution with downstream peaking, indicating a much larger concentration of the balls in the upstream regions of the reactor. Summaries of various physics analyses performed as a result of the ball drop and some of the analytical techniques used in evaluating and resolving the flux distribution and reactivity and control problems are outlined in the report. The ball boron burnout rate and total estimated costs incurred due to the decreased conversion ratio, reduced operating level, and increased rupture potential are also provided. 17 figs., 4 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- General Electric Co., Richland, WA (USA). Hanford Atomic Products Operation
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 6021754
- Report Number(s):
- HW-77123-Del.; ON: DE91008683
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Investigation of Ball 3X trip incident at 105-DR, July 11, 1961
Relative Ball 3X-VSR reactivity strength DR reactor. Interim Report of PT IP-126-C
Related Subjects
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220700 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Plutonium & Isotope Production Reactors
220900* -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ACTINIDES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BORON
BUCKLING
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CONTROL ELEMENTS
CONTROL SYSTEMS
ECONOMICS
ELEMENTS
ENGINEERED SAFETY SYSTEMS
ENRICHED URANIUM
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FUEL MANAGEMENT
HANFORD PRODUCTION REACTORS
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPE ENRICHED MATERIALS
ISOTOPES
KINETICS
MATERIALS
METALS
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NEUTRON FLUX
NUCLEAR POISONS
NUCLEI
OPERATION
PLUTONIUM PRODUCTION REACTORS
POWER DISTRIBUTION
PRODUCTION REACTORS
RADIATION FLUX
RADIOISOTOPES
REACTIVITY
REACTOR COMPONENTS
REACTOR CONTROL SYSTEMS
REACTOR CORES
REACTOR KINETICS
REACTOR MATERIALS
REACTOR OPERATION
REACTOR PROTECTION SYSTEMS
REACTORS
SCRAM RODS
SEMIMETALS
SIMULATION
SLIGHTLY ENRICHED URANIUM
TRANSIENTS
URANIUM
URANIUM 235
URANIUM ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
Z CODES