Problems Encountered During Four Years of Orr Operation

Abstract

The over-all design and operation is reviewed in the light of four years of operating experience. Items discussed consist of the reactor components and instrumentation, reactor and pool cooling systems (including system cleanup), the emergency systems for electric power and reactor cooling, the waste-disposal systems (liquid. gaseous, and solid), and the building, itself.No effort is made to describe the features of the ORR which make it the useful research tool that it is.The ORR was the first of a class of reactors which combined the features of both the pool-reactor and tank-reactor types. Four years of operation have indicated areas where problems of various degrees have developed. These are discussed to enable reactor operators who are operating or anticipate operating reactors similar to the ORR to avoid some of these problems.