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TheDarkWraith · 03-07-14, 05:22 AM

As a former Nuclear Engineer these things interest me. What concerns me is I think you all are being fed a crock of you-know-what.

First of all, what are cooling waters? There is a primary side to a reactor and a secondary side. The primary side is the high pressure side that is contained within the reactor compartment. The secondary side is the side that leaves the reactor compartment and enters the engine/machinery rooms. The only interface between primary and secondary sides are the steam generators or whatever medium is used to transfer the heat of the primary to the secondary.

Detectable radiation in the secondary side is a sign of a primary to secondary leak most likey due to something with one or more u-tubes in a/the steam generators. Saying that this is of 'no concern' is complete and utter bs. The chemicals used in the secondary side to treat the water cause sludge to build up in the bottom of the steam generators. This sludge has to be removed regularly and it is removed by doing bottom blow-downs on the steam generators. Bottom blow-downs blow out the sludge from the bottom of the steam generators by letting it blow out to the sea. If you have a primary-to-secondary leak, no matter how small, you are letting Cesium, Krypton, and other highly radioactive particles into the secondary side. These will combine with sludge in the bottom of the steam generators and will eventually be blow out to the sea.

Furthermore, any primary-to-secondary leak, no matter how small, especially with the reactor under power, will produce levels of radiation in the secondary that are very bad for us. Not only do you have gamma emitters but you also have alpha and neutron emitters.

Seeing how they say they are going to replace the core tells me they have identified a leak and are down playing it buy saying it needs a new core. Something tells me that the core isn't going to be the only thing replaced. I also see this as an identified leak by how they covered it up for so long (2 years). This tells me they were monitoring the leak to see if it was getting worse. It appears it was getting worse as they say they are going to replace the core.

In the US Navy the only reason we replace reactor cores is if we are close to being Xenon-precluded on startups (after a scram). After a reactor scram the radioactive byproducts in the core start decaying. The buildup of Xe-135 in the core (a poison) from this decay peaks a certain time after the reactor has scrammed. If the level of this Xe-135 is high enough then no matter how high you pull the rods out of the core the reactor will never go critical on startup. This means you are now Xenon precluded and must wait until the level of Xe-135 in the core decays away to the point where you can pull rods to take the reactor critical. Being Xe-135 precluded is a very bad thing when you are in a situation where you need power now.

Westinghouse and General-Electric reactor cores are good for 20-25 years AT FULL POWER (100%). Almost all vessels that use nuclear power rarely ever run higher than 50-60% Rx power. You can easily get 25-30 years on the core. The only really limiting time-factor on the core is whether you are close to being Xenon precluded on startup after a scram or not.

03-07-14, 05:22 AM	#4
TheDarkWraith Black Magic Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 11,962 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 5	As a former Nuclear Engineer these things interest me. What concerns me is I think you all are being fed a crock of you-know-what. First of all, what are cooling waters? There is a primary side to a reactor and a secondary side. The primary side is the high pressure side that is contained within the reactor compartment. The secondary side is the side that leaves the reactor compartment and enters the engine/machinery rooms. The only interface between primary and secondary sides are the steam generators or whatever medium is used to transfer the heat of the primary to the secondary. Detectable radiation in the secondary side is a sign of a primary to secondary leak most likey due to something with one or more u-tubes in a/the steam generators. Saying that this is of 'no concern' is complete and utter bs. The chemicals used in the secondary side to treat the water cause sludge to build up in the bottom of the steam generators. This sludge has to be removed regularly and it is removed by doing bottom blow-downs on the steam generators. Bottom blow-downs blow out the sludge from the bottom of the steam generators by letting it blow out to the sea. If you have a primary-to-secondary leak, no matter how small, you are letting Cesium, Krypton, and other highly radioactive particles into the secondary side. These will combine with sludge in the bottom of the steam generators and will eventually be blow out to the sea. Furthermore, any primary-to-secondary leak, no matter how small, especially with the reactor under power, will produce levels of radiation in the secondary that are very bad for us. Not only do you have gamma emitters but you also have alpha and neutron emitters. Seeing how they say they are going to replace the core tells me they have identified a leak and are down playing it buy saying it needs a new core. Something tells me that the core isn't going to be the only thing replaced. I also see this as an identified leak by how they covered it up for so long (2 years). This tells me they were monitoring the leak to see if it was getting worse. It appears it was getting worse as they say they are going to replace the core. In the US Navy the only reason we replace reactor cores is if we are close to being Xenon-precluded on startups (after a scram). After a reactor scram the radioactive byproducts in the core start decaying. The buildup of Xe-135 in the core (a poison) from this decay peaks a certain time after the reactor has scrammed. If the level of this Xe-135 is high enough then no matter how high you pull the rods out of the core the reactor will never go critical on startup. This means you are now Xenon precluded and must wait until the level of Xe-135 in the core decays away to the point where you can pull rods to take the reactor critical. Being Xe-135 precluded is a very bad thing when you are in a situation where you need power now. Westinghouse and General-Electric reactor cores are good for 20-25 years AT FULL POWER (100%). Almost all vessels that use nuclear power rarely ever run higher than 50-60% Rx power. You can easily get 25-30 years on the core. The only really limiting time-factor on the core is whether you are close to being Xenon precluded on startup after a scram or not.