Year
1969
Abstract
The fuel for the Zero Power Plutonium Reactor (7.1'PF) consists of an inventory of about 3,000 kilograms of plutonium contained in approximately 12,000 fuel plates. Handling such a large inventory of plutonium required the development of special control methods. The most unique aspect of the control of the inventory was the nondestructive assay of the plutonium. This was accomplished by using an automated gamma ray measurement system which v/e de- veloped for this purpose. Primary emphasis in the presentation to follow is upon the inventory verification effected by the use of this system. The fuel plates were made from a ternary alloy of plutonium, uranium, and molybdenum prepared in melts of approximately 12 kilograms of alloy. The majority of the plates had the dimensions of from 4 to 8 inches long by 2 inches wide and about 1/4 inch thick after jacketing in stainless steel. Described in Table I are details of the core dimensions and alloy composition. Figure 1 is a photograph of the 7.PPR facility where the reactor is housed and shown respectively in Figures 2 and 3 are photographs of a typical plate and of the rough castings from which fuel plate cores were machined.