Critical Studies of a Small Uranium Carbide Fueled Reactor with a Beryllium Reflector (ZPR-III Assembly 40)

Technical Report · Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1963

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/4701148· OSTI ID:4701148

McVean, R. L. ^[1]; Amundson, P. I. ^[1]; Brunson, G. S. ^[1]; Gasidlo, J. M. ^[1]

---

1. Argonne National Lab., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

A small, lightweight, uranium carbide-fueled reactor with a beryllium reflector surrounding the core was mocked up as Assembly 40. It was determined that the presence of beryllium in the axial and radial reflectors did not endanger the safe loading and operation of the' critical assembly. The actual experiment consisted of determination of the critical mass, measurement of the reactivity coefficients for a large number of fissile and nonfissile materials, the performance of radial and axial fission traverses, and measurement of central fission ratios. The effectiveness of the radial beryllium reflector as a control mechanism was determined and the Rossi-alpha was measured.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP); US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31-109-ENG-38
• NSA Number: NSA-17-029826
• OSTI ID: 4701148
• Report Number(s): ANL-6713
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-63
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
BERYLLIUM
CONTROL SYSTEMS
CRITICAL ASSEMBLIES
CRITICALITY
EFFICIENCY
FISSIONABLE MATERIALS
FUELS
MASS
MEASURED VALUES
MOCKUP
OPERATION
PERFORMANCE
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
REACTIVITY
REACTOR CORE
REACTOR FUELING
REFLECTORS
RESEARCH REACTORS
URANIUM CARBIDES
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
Reflectors
Critical Mass
Fissile Material
Nonfissile Material
Fission Ratios