Steam stirred homogeneous nuclear reactor

840,740. Nuclear reactors. UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION. Dec. 24, 1956 [Jan. 27, 1956], No. 39220/56. Drawings to Specification. Class 39(4). The fuel of a nuclear reactor, which consists of solutions or slurries of a uranium or plutonium salt in ordinary or heavy water, is circulated through the critical region by the formation of bubbles of steam, oxygen and hydrogen which, in rising vertically through metal tubes, cause the liquid to circulate upwards through the tubes. On leaving the upper ends of the tubes the fuel passes through the coils of a heat exchanger and being cooled, falls back to the critical reaction region. Control is effected by the normal negative temperature coefficient of the device and by a movable absorbing shield between the reactor and reflector. The circulation rate is determined by the length and diameter of the tubes. Recombination of the oxygen and hydrogen is effected by a catalyst inside the reactor vessel. The materials used are, fuel, enriched uranyl nitrate (U235) or sulphate in ordinary or heavy water, or a plutonium (Pu239); reflector, graphite ; neutron absorbing shield, cadmium or boron ; moderator, water or heavy water; coolant, water; reactor vessel, stainless steel.