THE TIME-DEPENDENT CHANGES OF OPERATION CONDITIONS OF THORIUM HOMOGENEOUS POWER REACTOR BEFORE THE STEADY STATE

摘要

In the design calculation of a thorium breeder reactor, discussion is usually centered on the state where concentrations of all nuclides in the fuel have reached equilibrium. In case the operation of this reactor is started with fuel of other system, such as U-235 or Pu-239, however, an assumption of a steady state in the design calculation would be insignificant if the initial, unsteady state lasts for a considerable length of time as compared with the period of durability of the reactor.nAlthough this kind of problem must be studied for any type of reactor, consideration should first of all be given to the case of a homogeneous reactor, which permits continuous supply and discharge of fuel, since the problem will get more complicated in the case of a heterogeneous reactor, which requires intermittent replacement of fuel, depending upon the method of fuel replacement.