G 2 and G 3 Reactors Design. DESCRIPTION DES REACTEURS G2 et G3 (in French)
The ''France Atome'' Manufacturers Party has been entrusted with the G 2 and G 1 reactor engineering by the French A.E.C., for the first-five-year French project. Although these reactors are essentially plutonium generators, each has been linked with a power station which is supposed to supply 40 Mw for which "l'Electricite de France" has taken the liability upon itself. The reactor core includes (central gap excluded): horizontal channels, graphite parallelepipedic bricks, and steel thermal shield. The cooling is provided by CO/sub 2/ at 15 atmospheres pressure. This pressure is kept steady in a press-stressed concrete packing-case which is a horizontal cylinder. Steel strips encircle the concrete cylinder; itself protected by sole-plates. The cylinder bottom has brought about unusual problems which have been solved by the choice of an hemispheric shape. Packing-case tightness is provided by a 30 mm iron-plate connected with the inner wall of concrete. One of the reactor's special characteristics is the possibility of loading and unloading while operating. On loading side, barrel locks, each weighing 50 tons, allow new cans, at a pressure of 15 atmospheres, to pass.The cans process almost continuously through the channel, and finally drop down through bent spouts, then through spiral chutes into a new lock. The cooling CO/sub 2/ flow is provided with 3 turbo-bellows actuated by average pressure steam obtained from exchangers. Every reactor supplies 4 exchangers which have been very difficult to build and to set up. The secondary cycle is standard and contains 3 stages (pressure 10.3-0.5 kg/cm/sup 2/). Steam can be condensed in the event of a group turbo-generator stopping, with no modification or the normal operating conditions of the reactor. Auxiliary circuits have to assure the continuous purifying of cooling CO/sub 2/, its storage and drain. 49 boron carbide rods are used to control operating power levels. The regulating system has brought about difficult problems. Experimental examination, while operating, will solve them. Special meetings will be held concerning the burst slug system and fuel elements.(auth)
- Research Organization:
- Societe Alsacienne de Constructions Mecaniques, Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA), Saclay, 91 - Gif-sur-Yvette (France)
- NSA Number:
- NSA-14-005987
- OSTI ID:
- 4212777
- Report Number(s):
- CEA-952
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-60
- Country of Publication:
- France
- Language:
- French
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