Light-Water Cooled

Note that the only other plutonium production site in the U.S. was at Richland, Wa.shington where graphite-reflected light water cooled reactors were used. 

Oka, Y. Physics of supercritical-pressure light water cooled reactors. Proc. 1998 Frederic Joliot Summer School in Reactor Physics, Caderache, France, and references cited herein, 1998 240-259 pp. 

F3. Fowler, T. W., R. L. Clark, J. M. Gruhlbe, and J. L. Russel Public Health Considerations of Carbon-14 Discharges from the Light-Water-Cooled Nuclear Power Reactor Industry, Report ORP/TAD-76-3, July 1976. 

FIG. 19.2. Main components of a pressurized light water cooled and -moderated nuclear power reactor (PWR) and a view of the Ringhals plant (Sweden) with 3 PWRs and 1 BWR. 

FIG. 20.2. Russian graphite-moderated boiling light water cooled power reactor, RBMK. 

Sec. II Guides on design objectives for light-water-cooled nuclear... 

On the basis of theoretical calculations by the Physics Division, the Technical Division of Clinton Laboratories submitted a design proposal in May, 1946 for a high-flux thermal reactor of heterogeneous core, light water—cooled and heavy watei moderated and—reflected. The use of light water as a coolant was believed preferable to the use of heavy water because light water increased the operation flexibility of the machine. A brief description of this proposal is given. 

RBMK light water cooled, graphite moderated, channel type reactor (Soviet design)... 

Water Reactors. After pressure to design Hanford eased, Wigner and his group turned to examination of other combinations of moderators, coolants, and fuel. The most thoroughly studied were the light-water cooled and moderated, and the heavy-water moderated systems. 

The Light Water Cooled Heavy Water Moderated Heterogeneous Pile. 

I. Light Water Cooling. With this type of plant, we believe that about 10 tons of D2O and 6 tons of uranium would be necessary to produce 40 grams per day of 49. Given full authority and the highest priorities, the plant could be ready for operation, in our opinion, 3/4 s of a year after it is authorized. 

Difficulties. The light water cooling system has been investigated with a good deal of care and we do not know any diffiiculty not mentioned above. This indeed is a favorable point as compared with most of the other systems. 

Heavy Water Cooling. In this type of plant we believe that the requirements of D2O and uranium for the smallest practical unit would be about the same as the light water cooled type. The production would be perhaps somewhat but not substantially lower. The time schedule appears only slightly less favorable than with the light water type. 

Production of 49 and 23. 49 production should be about 70% (30 gr/day) of that for the light water cooled system. Since a higher multiplication constant (fc 1.15) obtains and since an extra surface, the bottom, is available, the production of 23 relative to that of 49 will be higher, perhaps as high as 1/6 of the 49 production. This makes the production rate of 23 equal for light and heavy water cooling (4-5 gr/day). 

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