IN-PILE LOOP IRRADIATION OF AQUEOUS THORIA-URANIA SLURRY AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURE. DESIGN AND IN-PILE OPERATION OF LOOP L-2-27S
An in-pile pump loop, designed to fit within horizontal beam hole HB-2 of the Low-Intensity Test Reactor (LlTR), was used to circulate an aqueous thoria- urania slurry while exposed to reactor irradiation. The total loop volume was about 1600 ml, including pump and pressurizer, but the slurry was confined to the 900-ml volume of the main loop stream by means of a sintered stainless steel filter. The filter was an important feature of the loop design in that it provided a thoria-free filtrate as a purge stream to the pressurizer and pump bearings to prevent entry and accumulation of thoria in these two regions. Corrosion-test specimens of Zircaloy-2, titanium, and type 347 stainless steel were placed in the loop at three different locations for exposure to three different levels of irradiation. Duplicate sets of specimens in each position were exposed to flow velocities of 8 and 22 fps, respectively. For the in-pile irradiation, thorium oxide containing 0.43 wt of enriched U, based on Th, was used. This thoria-urania was produced by air calcination at l225 deg C of coprecipit.ited oxalates and had a me.in particle size of l.7 mu . A Pd catalyst w-as dispersed in the slurry for liquid-phase recombination of the radiolytic gas. The loop was operated in beam-holc HB-2 of the LlTR from July 19 to October l9, l960. During this period slurry was continuously eireulated at 280 deg C for 2220 hr without incident; 1839 hr were at full reactor power (3 Mwt), at which the estimated average thermal flux over the 300volume core section was 5 x l0/sup 12/ neutrons/cm/sup 2/- see. At the start of in-pile operation the loop was charged to a concei tration of 979 g of Th and 3.83 g of fully enriched U per li (at 280 deg C) which was reduced by sampling to 748 g of Th idnd 2.74 g of U per liter at the end of the irradiiition period bascd on the assunmption that no losses had occurrcd. Siinmples of slurry were withdrawn at intervals for analyses to determine the effects of radiation on the thoria-urania slurry. (auth)
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-26
- NSA Number:
- NSA-16-010621
- OSTI ID:
- 4792565
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL-3222
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-62
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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HOMOGENEOUS REACTOR PROGRAM PROGRESS REPORT FOR PERIOD FROM AUGUST 1 TO NOVEMBER 30, 1960
Related Subjects
AIR
CALCINATION
CATALYSIS
CORROSION
DECOMPOSITION
DISPERSIONS
ENRICHMENT
FILTERS
FLUID FLOW
GASES
GRAIN SIZE
HEATING
HIGH TEMPERATURE
IN PILE LOOPS
ION RECOMBINATION
IRRADIATION
MATERIALS TESTING
MIXING
NEUTRON BEAMS
NEUTRON FLUX
OPERATION
OXALATES
PALLADIUM
PLANNING
PRECIPITATION
PREPARATION
PRESSURE
PRESSURIZERS
PUMPS
RADIATION CHEMISTRY
RADIATION DOSES
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOLYSIS
SAMPLING
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SINTERED MATERIALS
SLURRIES
STAINLESS STEELS
THERMAL NEUTRONS
THORIUM OXIDES
TITANIUM
URANIUM OXIDES
VELOCITY
VOLUME
WATER
ZIRCALOY