The HRT was operated experimentally during run 2l at powers up to 5 Mw to explore the limiting conditions of fuel stability and to demonstrate the reliability of the system. The effect of core pressure on fuel stability was investigated over the range from l250 to 1750 psig. Stable operation at 5 Mw (2.6 Mw in the core) was demonstrated at 1250 psig. At 1600 and 1750 psig, fuel instability accompanied by rapid loss of reactivity occurred at powers down to 2.5 Mw. The threshold power for reactivity loss at intermediate pressures was raised by increasing the fuel acid/sulfate ratio …
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The HRT was operated experimentally during run 2l at powers up to 5 Mw to explore the limiting conditions of fuel stability and to demonstrate the reliability of the system. The effect of core pressure on fuel stability was investigated over the range from l250 to 1750 psig. Stable operation at 5 Mw (2.6 Mw in the core) was demonstrated at 1250 psig. At 1600 and 1750 psig, fuel instability accompanied by rapid loss of reactivity occurred at powers down to 2.5 Mw. The threshold power for reactivity loss at intermediate pressures was raised by increasing the fuel acid/sulfate ratio from 0.28 to 0.34. In other studies the fuel temperature was varied from 240 to 275 deg C at sev eral different pressures. In some instances the reactor appeared more stable at the lower temperatures. The effects of suspended solids and oxygen concentration were examined briefly without conclusive results. At times during operation at low pressure and high power, an increase in reactivity, indicating deposition of uranium on the core tank, was observed. During an experiment to investigate this effect, a hole was melted in the core near the equator. The reactor was shut down for examination and modifications to improve the core hydrodynamics. Experiments on internal recombination showed solution recombination- rate constants significantly higher than were previously measured in out-of-pile experiments. Equipment performance was generally satisfactory. A diaphragm failure in one head of the fuel feed pump, minor leakage through four valves, low efficiency of the low-pressure recombiners and rupture of the air-cooled condenser by freezing were the principal difficulties. There was one period of 105 days of continuous operation. During run 21 operations, which extended from October 4, l959, to January 23, l960, the reactor was critical for 2455 hours and produced 5598 Mwh(th). (auth)
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Haubenreich, P.N.; Bauman, H.F.; Bradley, N.C.; Engel, J.R.; Kolb, J.O.; Piper, H.B. et al.SUMMARY OF HRT RUN 21,
report,
October 10, 1961;
Tennessee.
(https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1055222/:
accessed September 30, 2023),
University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu;
crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
