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Title: A microprocessor tester for the treat upgrade reactor trip system

Conference · · IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.; (United States)
OSTI ID:6135225

The upgrading of the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility at ANL-Idaho has been designed to provide additional experimental capabilities for the study of core disruptive accident (CDA) phenomena. To improve the analytical extrapolation of test results to full-size assembly bundles, the facility upgrade will increase the maximum size of the test bundle from 7 to 37 fuel pins. By creating a core convertor zone around the test location, the neutron spectrum incident on the test assembly will be hardened and the maximum energy deposited in the sample will be increased. In addition, a programmable Automated Reactor Control System (ARCS) will permit high-power transients up to 11,000 MW having a controlled reactor period of from 15 to 0.1 sec. These modifications to the core neutronics will improve simulation of LMFBR accident conditions. Finally, a sophisticated, multiply-redundant safety system, the Reactor Trip System (RTS), will provide safe operation for both steady state and transient production operating modes. To insure that this complex safety system is functioning properly, a Dedicated Microprocessor Tester (DMT) has been implemented to perform a thorough checkout of the RTS prior to all TREAT operations. A quantitative reliability analysis of the RTS shows that the unreliability, that is, the probability of failure, is acceptable for a 10 hour mission time or risk interval.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., Argonne, IL
OSTI ID:
6135225
Report Number(s):
CONF-841007-
Journal Information:
IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci.; (United States), Vol. NS-32:1; Conference: Nuclear science symposium, Orlando, FL, USA, 31 Oct 1984
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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