NORTHWEST PAUFlC lJORTHWEST LABORATURIES BNWL-1383 UC-80, R e a c t o rT e c h n o l o g y POWER TESTS WITH THE U02-2 w t % P u 0 2 BATCH CORE I N THE PRTP J . W . K u t c h e r a n d R . I . S m i t h R e a c t o r P h y s i c s D e p a r t m e n t May 1970BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE PACIFIC NORTHWEST LABORATORIES RICHLAND, WASHINGTON 99352 P r i n t e d i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s of America A v a i l a b l e from C l e a r i n g h o u s e f o r F e d e r a l S c i e n t i f i c and T e c h n i c a l I n f o r m a t i o n N a t i o n a l Bureau of S t a n d a r d s , U.S. Department of Commerce S p r i n g f i e l d , V i r g i n i a 22151 P r i c e : P r i n t e d Copy $ 3 . 0 0 ; M i c r o f i c h e $0.65 ABSTRACT As a p a r t of t h e BATCH CORE EXPERIMENT i n t h e Plutonium Recycle T e s t R e a c t o r (PRTR), a s e r i e s o f power t e s t s was conducted when t h e r e a c t o r l o a d i n g was completed, a t v a r i o u s powers up t o 60 Mi. These t e s t s were d e s i g n e d p r i m a r i l y t o v e r i f y p r e d i c t e d o p e r a t i o n a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e PRTR w i t h t h e BATCH CORE l o a d i n g , b u t a l s o i n c l u d e d t h o s e p h y s i c s tests which r e q u i r e dpower o p e r a t i o n .The t e s t s i n c l u d e d f l u x t r a v e r s e s , o p e r a t i o n of t h e t r a v e l i n g f l u x w i r e system, t r a n s i e n t r e s p o n s e o f t h e r e a c t o r t o t h e a d d i t i o n and removal o f boron from t h e D 0 moderator, d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f r e a c t o r power, t e m p e r a t u r e 2 c o e f f i c i e n t s o f r e a c t i v i t y , k i n e t i c s p a r a m e t e r s , and t h e growth and decay of f i s s i o n p r o d u c t p o i s o n i n g . R e s u l t s of t h e s e t e s t s a r e p r e s e n t e d i n t h i s r e p o r t .

The initial phase of the BatL"ll Con~ l~xperilllcnt comprised the loading of a new core of lJOZ-Z wt% Ptl(JZ fucl elclilcnts and the perfonnance of a series of critical tests to uctennine the phys LCS parclinetcrs of this new core. lIeasurements included the cri tical loadin:~s rOY boron concentrations ranging from zero to about 21 parts per million by weight (wppm) of lOB in the 1)20 moderator, moderator level coeffic ients of reacti vi ty over a 25-inch range of moderator heights at several horon concentri1tions, moderator void worths, thennal neutron flux distrihutions wi thin the core, the effect of loss of coolant from fuel charmels, fuel element worths, and kinetics parameters. The results of these measurements are presented in this report. At specified burnup levels during the Batch Core Experiment, interim critical tests were conducted. These tests included measurements of core excess reactivity, fuel element worths, poison rod worths, and kinetics parameters. The results of these measurements are also presented in this report. .

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