CRITICAL STUDIES OF A SMALL URANIUM CARBIDE-FUELED REACTOR WITH A BERYLLIUM REFLECTOR. (ZPR-III ASSEMBLY 40)

A small, lightweight, uranium carbide-fueled reactor with a beryllium reflector surrounding the core was mocked up as Assembly 40. It was determined that the presence of beryllium in the axial and radial reflectors did not endanger the safe loading and operation of the' critical assembly. The actual experiment consisted of determination of the critical mass, measurement of the reactivity coefficients for a large number of fissile and nonfissile materials, the performance of radial and axial fission traverses, and measurement of central fission ratios. The effectiveness of the radial beryllium reflectcr as a control mechanism was determined and the Rossialpha was measured. (auth