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UNICLASSIEIED °
REACTOR DEVELOPMENT
will more closely simulate-the original design condition for a two-reglon system. On July 1 the
reactor was broughtto its design power level of 5,000 thermal kilowatts. Plans called for the
reactor to be shut down in early July for modification.
_ General research and development work on the molten salt reactor concept was under
study at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to investigate technical feasibility and economic
promise, Encouraging results were obtained, particularly in the development of a metallurgical alloy with exceptionally high resistance to corrosion and mass transfer at temperatures of
interest for civilian power reactors,
Fast-breeder type. In early June the Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 1 (EBR-1) at
NRTSreached its full power capacity of 1,156 thermal kiowatts while operating with its third
core. No signs were observed of the instabilities which caused the meltdown of the second core
in 1955. Successful operation with the third core indicated that these instabilities can be removed by proper engineering design and are not an inherent feature of the reactor type.
The reactor containment vessel for the Experimental Breeder Reactor No. 2 (EBR-2) at
NRTS was about 25 percent complete at the end of June. It was estimated that construction of
the entire facility, except for the fuel reprocessing plant, would be completed in May 1960. The
fuel reprocessing plant is to be completed in November 1960.
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The construction of the Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) facility, designed to investigate
the effects of extreme operating conditions in fast reactors, was more than 50 percent com-
plete at NRTS. Fuel was being manufactured, and plans called for the Argonne National Laboratory to start installing equipment in October.
Sodium graphite type.
Tests showed that modifications made to the Sodium Reactor Ex-
periment (SRE) at Santa Susana, California, to reduce thermal stresses in the coolant during
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rapid shutdown were successful, The reactor was brought to its design power of 20,000 thermal
kilowatts on May 21 and reached 21,000 thermal kilowatts the following day. At the latter
figure the electric power was 5,800 kilowatts. The electric power level was lower than expected because of poor heat transfer in the intermediate heat exchanger. On May 28 the reactor
was shut down to install experimental fue] elements and reorifice the hot channels. Investigations were in process on fuel elements which had been exposed 100 megawatt days per ton. No
distortion was evident from visual inspection. The canning, however, revealed slug bowing
such that the tubing had to be cut to remove the slug.
Organic-moderated type. The Organic Moderated Reactor Experiment (OMRE) was operated at NRTS throughout the April-June quarter to study the rate of decomposition of the
organic material under various conditions. Preliminary data derived from the operation in the
OMRE and extrapolated to the proposed organic moderated reactor for the Piqua project indicated a cost of 0.85 mill per electric kilowatt-hour for organic replenishment.
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The OMRE was operated with increasingly higher concentration of decomposed organic in
the coolant. As the decomposed organic concentration in the organic coolant was increased
{from 10 to 30 percent, the heat transfer coefficient did not increase as had been predicted from
previous data. This may allow operation-of the reactor at a higher concentration of decomposed
organic, which will reduce the rate of organic decomposition.
Fabrication was begun of the fuel elements for the second core.
DOE ARCHIVES
Liquid-metal type. Conceptual design, schedules, and cost estimates of a 5,000 thermal
kilowatt Liquid Metal Fuel Reactor Experiment (LMFRE) were submitted by Babcock & Wilcox.
Brookhaven N2tional Laboratory (BNL) was recommended as the site.
UNCLASSIFIED
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