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Chapter 43: Q23P (page 1331)

The neutron generation time (see Problem 19) of a particular reactor is 1.3 ms .The reactor is generating energy at the rate of 1200.0 MW.To perform certain maintenance checks, the power level must temporarily be reduced to 350.00 MW. It is desired that the transition to the reduced power level take 2.6000 s. To what (constant) value should the multiplication factor be set to effect the transition in the desired time?

Short Answer

Expert verified

The multiplication factor is 0.99938409 .

Step by step solution

01

Given data

The initial power output of the reactor,

P0=1200.0MW

The final power output of the reactor,

P=350.00MW

The neutron generation time is,

tgen=1.3ms=1.3ms10-3s1ms=1.3×10-3s

The time for the power reduction

t=2.6000s

02

Find the multiplication factor

The power output of a reactor at time is given by

p=p0kt/tgen

Therefore, the multiplication factor can be expressed as

Ink=tgentInpp0=1.3×10-3s2.6000sIn350.00MW1200.0MWInK=-0.0006161k=e-0.0006161k=099938409

Therefore, the multiplication factor is 0.99938409.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

About 2% of the energy generated in the Sun’s core by the p-p reaction is carried out of the Sun by neutrinos. Is the energy associated with this neutrino flux equal to, greater than, or less than the energy radiated from the Sun’s surface as electromagnetic radiation?

Lawson’s criterion for the d-t reaction (Eq. 43-16) is nτ>1020 s/m3. For the d-d reaction, do you expect the number on the right-hand side to be the same, smaller, or larger?

(See Problem 21.) Among the many fission products that may be extracted chemically from the spent fuel of a nuclear reactor is Sr90(T1/2=29y). This isotope is produced in typical large reactors at the rate of about 18 kg/y. By its radioactivity, the isotope generates thermal energy at the rate of 0.93 W/g. (a) Calculate the effective disintegration energy Qeffassociated with the decay of a Sr90nucleus. (This energy includes contributions from the decay of the Sr90daughter products in its decay chain but not from neutrinos, which escape totally from the sample.) (b) It is desired to construct a power source generating 150 W (electric power) to use in operating electronic equipment in an underwater acoustic beacon. If the power source is based on the thermal energy generated by 90Sr and if the efficiency of the thermal–electric conversion process is 5.0%, how muchSr90is needed?

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