Release date- 09082019 - An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts said the operator of a research reactor in Nigeria has demonstrated a high commitment to enhancing safety following the conversion of the
reactor core to use low enriched uranium (LEU) as fuel instead of high enriched uranium (HEU).
The conversion of the
reactor core was successfully completed in August 2017 with a total expenditure of USD 22,000,000.00 and over 90% of the expenditure provided by US Government and IAEA whilst Ghana Government provided the needed security.
"Further, if hot spots were to occur and if nuclear fuel were to react with the graphite moderator they could lead to explosions inside the
reactor core.
As a result, direct emissions from the radioactive
reactor core transmitted into the atmosphere.
The Fluid Reactor is enabled by a novel
reactor core element which allows the efficient transfer of gases into and out of liquids.
A generation is essentially the lifetime of a neutron, in a finite system, the effective multiplication factor is denoted as [k.sub.effective] or [k.sub.eff], which is used to determine the stability of a nuclear
reactor core. When a system is critical, it maintains a steady-state chain reaction of nuclear fissioning, and [k.sub.eff] = 1.
An EDF spokeswoman said: "As part of the normal ageing process, we expect to see defects occurring in some of the graphite blocks that make up the
reactor core of our plant.
In July 1959, a partial meltdown occurred at Sodium Reactor Experiment in Los Angeles, California, due to cooling flow blockage that caused overheating of the
reactor core.
This provided needed experience and data on casting, machining and material characteristics of the
reactor core.
Control volume 134 simulates the upper plenum of the
reactor core, the coolant flow of which comes from the annular pipes.
So they attached Blu Tack to the end of a long, flexible rod and inserted it nearly 10m into the
reactor core - saving the cost of developing a specialist tool for the job.