[en] Eight SLOWPOKE-2 research reactors are in operation, with the latest one installed at RMC in October, 1985, with a 20% U-235 enriched core. Several differences in operational capability have been noted, in comparison with the previous SLOWPOKE-2's which have fully-enriched fuel. With differences also in the physical installation of the reactor, there are intended some unique uses for this Facility

[en] An interactive real-time simulator of the SLOWPOKE-2 was developed for training and teaching use. The simulator accurately models the behaviour of the reactor during normal operation and transients. (6 refs., 5 figs.)

No abstract available

No abstract available

[en] The SES-10 units are unpressurized, pool-type nuclear reactors of 10MW rating, designed for supplying energy to hot water district heating systems, economically and without pollution. Water for heat distribution is brought to a maximum temperature of 85 degrees C. Conventional heating units supplement the output from SES-10 units for peak load and during maintenance. The SES-10 is housed in a low-cost building, with a double-walled pool in the ground. A naturally circulating primary system and a pumped secondary system transport heat from the reactor to the distribution system. The unit is fully automated and easy to maintain. Because of the many active and passive safety features, it is feasible to license the SES-10 for operation in a city and easy to explain it to the public for their acceptance. The core lasts approximately 43 months at a capacity factor of 70%, and the cost of heat is expected to be 2 to 2.5 cents/kWh

[en] AECL is currently demonstrating the use of pool-type reactors of up to 10 MW output to produce hot water at about 90 degrees Celsius. The initial focus for the development is the provision of a source of hot water for institutional and municipal heating networks. Ongoing developments are designed to broaden the applications to electricity generation and industrial processes such as desalination and agricultural needs. The reactor concept is based on the Slowpoke-2 research reactor, eight of which are successfully operating in Canada and abroad. The primary-circuit flow is driven by natural convection, with the heated water, produced by the reactor core near the bottom of the pool, being ducted to low-pressure-drop heat exchangers in the upper part of the pool. As the pool volume is relatively large, the fluid transit time around the circuit is long, ensuring that the reactor response to all normal transients is extremely slow. To investigate thermalhydraulics aspects of the reactor design, including its behaviour underextreme conditions, an electrically heated, natural-convection loop was designed and constructed. The core of the loop consists of a rod bundle that is a precise reproduction of one quarter of the core of the 2-MW SLOWPOKE Demonstration Reactor presently being tested at the Whiteshell Nuclear Research Establishment. With this loop, measurements of the distribution of pressure, temperature, velocity and subcooled void have been made in the simulated core, via a variety of intrusive and non-intrusive techniques. In addition, both the single- and two-phase behaviour of the system have been studied. This paper gives examples of the various in-core measurements made and also makes comparisons between the measured system behaviour and that predicted by the various steady-state and transient computer codes

[en] Summary only

[en] The Slowpoke-2 research reactor and its marketing are featured, with an account of an interview with Dr. John Hilborn, designer. Also discussed is a scaled-up 2 MW version for space heating or small-scale district heating. The new version will rely on natural convection and inherent safety like Slowpoke, but will differ from it in many ways. The core will contain 200 kg of fuel elements with 5 percent enrichment. The new reactor lacks an upper beryllium reflector. Control will be by moving an annular beryllium reflector up and down. Inherent safety will be achieved through diminution of reactivity resulting from the onset of boiling. The article also mentions projected or actual use of small reactors for heating in the U.S.S.R. and France

[en] A 2 MWt nuclear reactor, called SLOWPOKE-3, is being developed at the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories (CRNL). This reactor, which is cooled by natural circulation, is designed to produce hot water for commercial space heating and perhaps generate some electricity in remote locations where the costs of alternate forms of energy are high. A large-signal, dynamic simulation of this reactor, without closed-loop control, was developed and implemented on a hybrid computer, using the basic equations of conservation of mass, energy and momentum. The natural circulation of downcomer flow in the pool was simulated using a special filter, capable of modelling various flow conditions. The simulation was then used to study the intermediate and long-term transient response of SLOWPOKE-3 to large disturbances, such as loss of heat sink, loss of regulation, daily load following, and overcooling of the reactor coolant. Results of the simulation show that none of these disturbances produce hazardous transients

[en] A method has been devised to increase the lifetime of SLOWPOKE-2 cores by increasing the initial fuel loading by about 7 percent. The method was implemented during the commissioning of the SLOWPOKE-2 (Kanata) reactor. Calculations indicate that the core lifetime will be doubled