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Conference Article: Present status of the proteus HTR experiments

Abstract

New critical experiments in the framework of an IAEA Coordinated Research Program on ''Validation of Safety Related Reactor Physics Calculations for Low Enriched HTR's'' are planned at the PSI PROTEUS facility. The experiments are designed to supplement the experimental data base and reduce the design and licensing uncertainties for small- and medium-sized helium-cooled reactors using low-enriched uranium (LEU) and graphite high temperature fuel. The main objectives of the new experiments are to provide first-of-a-kind high quality experimental data on: 1) The criticality of simple, easy to interpret, single core region LEU HTR systems for several moderator-to-fuel ratios and several lattice geometries. 2) the changes in reactivity, neutron balance components and control rod effectiveness caused by water ingress into this type of reactor, and 3) the effects of the boron and/or hafnium absorbers that are used to modify the reactivity and the power distributions in typical HTR systems. Work on the design and licensing of the modified PROTEUS critical facility is now in progress with the HTR experiments scheduled to begin in 1991. Several international partners are involved in the planning, execution and analysis of these experiments in order to insure that they are relevant and cost effective with respect to the various gas cooled reactor national programs. The present status of the planning of these experiments (as modified by the results of the October 1989 IAEA meeting of tentative coordinated research program members) is described along with some of the results obtained in connection with the preparation of a safety report on the proposed experiments for the Swiss licensing authorities.

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Reference:

Uncertainties in physics calculations for gas cooled reactor cores. Proceedings of a specialist's meeting held in Villigen, Switzerland, 9-11 May 1990

International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (Austria). International Working Group on Gas-Cooled Reactors

IWGGCR--24, pp:124-130