Justification for extending scram recovery time at C Reactor

摘要

Slug ruptures at C Reactor are costing a considerable amount of production and are limiting reactor power levels. A large portion of this production is lost because the ''quickie'' procedure cannot be used with unstruck ruptures. Currently there are two reasons for this condition: Insufficient reactivity is available to recover after a rupture is removed with the ''quickie'' equipment, and if the ''quickie'' method were attempted, there would be many failures due to stuck rear caps and improperly functioning equipment. With the current emphasis being placed on improving the ''quickie'' equipment and procedures, it is reasonable to assume that in the near future nearly all unstruck ruptures can be removed with this ''quickie'' procedure. However, the C Reactor does not possess sufficient excess reactivity to recover from a ''quickie'' rupture discharge following a shutdown from equilibrium conditions. This study outlines a procedure for extending the scram recovery time at C Reactor and an economic justification for buying the added reactivity necessary to carry out the procedure.