Book Description

The Fission Gas Plenum Experiment was conducted at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Tower Shielding Facility during FY 1987 to: provide data for verification of the assumptions and calculational methods used to determine the neutron leakage from the plenum, and provide an uncertainty evaluation associated with the calculations. The Tower Shielding Reactor source was modified to represent the neutron spectrum leaving a typical liquid-metal-cooled reactor core along its axis. The experimental configurations resulted from the insertion of either a homogeneous or homogeneous-heterogeneous gas plenum combination into the iris of a concrete slab, with the only variable being the thickness of the plenum. Integral neutron fluxes were measured behind each of the configurations at specified locations, and neutron spectra were obtained behind selected mockups. The experimental data are presented in both tabular and graphical form. This experiment is the second in a series of six experiments to be performed as part of a cooperative effort between the United States Department of Energy and the Japan Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation. The research program is intended to provide support for the development of advanced sodium-cooled reactors.