Ruptured slug and water leak: Tube 2483-H Page: 3 of 6
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DECLASSIFIED W-W2941
maintained at 4100 0 during orertlon injection of water into the graphite 0au1e1
evolutions of large volumes of steam with a resulting Increase in gas Trefsure. At
approximately the came time rapid losses of reactivity began to occur and in spite
of the fast removal of control rods the reactor operating level oould not bo main-
tained. A traverse of process tube temperatures was begun using the flexovriter to
determine the location of the leak (by a region of depressed process tube temperatures
At approximately P;31 A.M. a momentary trip occurred on tor pa-olit gage for tube V
2483-9. This trip did not cause an automatic cram so the manual scram button was
pushed to shutdown the reactor. The tube pressure had dropped, presumably as a ree4
of the leak, to a value 20 psi below normal and 2 psi above the low trip setting on
the panellit gage. When the pressure drop occurred thw gags apparently hit the low
trip momentarily. This momentary trip caused an alarm light but did not cause an
automatic scram.
After the reactor had been shutdown investigation revealed that tube 2+83-8 contained,,V
a ruptured slug and was the probable source of the water leak. Because of residual ;0
heat release~after the outage cooling water had to be maintained to the tube until
about 2:00 P.M. after which the tube and charge were removed from the reactor.
0
It was eetimatod from the size of the hole in the tube and from the length of time
cooling water was maintained on the tube following the shutdown that 1000 gallons of
water entered the reactor.
Inediately after the leak occurred both the inlet and exit gas ducts bboame flooded
with water. This water was dumped through the drip legs but the capacity of the
drip leg: was insufficient to enable a measurement of the amount dumped to be made.
It is estimated that about 150 gallor were removed in this fashion. By about 4s00 ?
on 8-30-53 water collection in the drip legs stopped, the reminder of the water
being retained in the graphite. o
At about 9:00 P.M. on 8-30-53 the hot water recirculation system was placed into
operation, Approximately 2000 gpm of water heated to 800 C by a steam injector system.
were recirculated through the reactor process tubes to evaporate the water held in
the graphite for removal by the gap drying system. The 800 0 limit was set to prevem"
vapor locking of the recirculating pump because initial water temperatures between
85 and 900 C caused the pump to vapor lock and the recirculating flow to stop. After
the system reached equilibrium at about 800 C further steam addition was unnecessary.
The temperature was maintained by the residual heat in the slugs and was controlled
at will by the addition of small amounts of cold water from the near high tank,
The recirculating gas system was used to rewmve evaporated water from the reactor.
Gas was circulated at a flow rate of between 30n') and 4000 arm. Two di :ere were
drying at all times while the third was in reger.oration. This system save a
drying cycle of two hours ard a regeneration cycle of one hour per drier, Water
was removed at a maximum rate of 10 gallons per hour by this system, An unmeasurable
o amount of water condensed out in the drier coolers during the drying cycle and was
removed through line provided to give continue drainage. o
U.
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Lewis, D.S. Ruptured slug and water leak: Tube 2483-H, report, September 21, 1953; Richland, Washington. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1209896/m1/3/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.