Re: fission question

puppet_sock_at_hotmail.com
Date: 07/22/04 

Date: 22 Jul 2004 11:36:29 -0700

sbharris@ix.netcom.com (Steve Harris sbharris@ROMAN9.netcom.com) wrote in message news:<79cf0a8.0407041402.163437c7@posting.google.com>...
[snip]
> Now, obviously, that didn't happen in either of these accidents. From
> discriptions, it sounds as though the reaction went up to some ungodly
> high power output very fast, but then quit increasing. And didn't go
> past the limit where things melted or vaporized. So where was the
> brake. Was it a TRIGA type thing where neutrons coming back from
> heated tungsten-hydride moderator/reflectors were now so hot that they
> weren't doing their job?

As somebody else mentioned, thermal expansion of the core
probably had a big part in it. There's probably some temperature
effect on the reflector and moderator as well. I can't tell you
what they are just off, but I know that most commercial reactors
have to take such effects into account.
 
> Inquiring minds want to know. I wonder if they had the balls to repeat
> these accidents under control "dragon" type conditions, just to see
> what really DID happen? I'll bet not. If they did, it's still
> classified.

They had a few fizzles, and a few cases where they intended to
be sub-critical but went just over. So, they may not have done the
repeat with just that design of core. But they did similar cases
(some by not by intention) with other core designs.
Socks

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