THE DESIGN OF A DYNAMIC CORROSION AND CHEMICAL CONTROL TEST LOOP AND PRELIMINARY OUT-OF-PILE TEST RESULTS

Abstract

A project having the objective of developing and demonstrating in actual operation a system for the chemical control of nuclear reactors has been carried to partial completion and now is temporarily discontinued because of interruption of funds. The design developed by this project embodies a circulating loop in the ETR, replacing one of the conventional mechanical control rods. Control of the reactor is to be effected by varying the concentration of a boric acid solution circulating through the loop. A second objective of the project is the performance of longterm corrosion tests on boric acid-aluminum alloy combinations. At the time of interruption the design was complete and 80% of the necessary components had been purchased. These components are being held in readiness, pending resumption of the project. A description is given of the overall loop design and the means by which this design was developed. These include critical facility measurements, analog computer calculations, hydraulic and heat transfer computations, and the construction and operation of an out-of-pile mock-up loop to determine the dynamic characteristics of the loop. (auth)