Effects of the containment chamber of a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor on the core

Abstract

The presence of an electron clearance between the upper end of the reflector and the core of a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor with spherical fuel elements has a considerable influence on the neutron and physical characteristics of the reactor. In order to investigate this effect and test design methods and programs, the authors carried out a series of experiments on cores using a test rig type GROG. Models were erected of the reactor with their central axes horizontal. A diagram is shown of core with 50-cm erection clearance. The relationship between the reactivity of the assembly and the height of the chamber where the shape and composition of the remaining zones remains the same is shown. The presence of the chamber and its size have a slight effect on the neutron spectrum in the core. The calculated values of spectral characteristics lie within 6% of the experimental results.