ML19309B911
| ML19309B911 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | 05000433 |
| Issue date: | 03/31/1980 |
| From: | Profio A CALIFORNIA, UNIV. OF, SANTA BARBARA, CA |
| To: | |
| Shared Package | |
| ML19309B910 | List: |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8004070329 | |
| Download: ML19309B911 (4) | |
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA L-77 REACTOR ANNUAL REPORT OF OPERATIONS January 1, 1979 through December 31, 1979 License R-124 Docket No. 50-433 A.E. Profio Reactor Director i
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Operating Experience,-Changes and Tests This'is the~fifth annual' report for the.10-watt, L-77 training reactor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The reactor is operated mainly for instruction in nuclear engineering, but also for some neutron activation analysis and other irradiations.
The reactor is the principal facility for the NE125 Neutronics Laboratory course, required for all B.S. degree majors in nuclear engineering. Experiments include power calibration and-flux plotting,' control rod reactivity calibrations by suberitical multiplication 'and supercritical 5
period methods, reactivity-worth (importance) of absorbing and scattering samples.as a function of position in the core, and neutron activation analysis. Students operate the reactor 1
under the supervision of a licensed operator. The laboratory course is offered two afternoons a week (two sections) in the spring quarter.
In early 1979, the reactor was operated for training and one trainee, Dr. Gad Shani, subsequently took and passed the operator license examination and is currently licensed.
Irradiations were performed on samples for activation analysis in the lab course,:and also of a small sample of
' lithium (encape sted in aluminum) for generation of tritium
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asLpart of an investigation of fusion reactor blankets under a grant from the. National Science Foundation (A.E. Profio).
Luc'ite rods were added to the auxiliary ports in order to. increase.the excess reactivity to the 0.5% Ak/k permitted by the licence, allowing more absorbing samples to be. irradiated.
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A wall was' built'between the reactor area and the physics area, and the east exit installed. A power-failure indicator was added'to the console.
The-annual _ power calibration was performed on 7-6-79.
Control rod drive speeds and rod worths were completed 7-6-79, and control rod drive mechanisms inspected 8-1-79. Radiation and air monitors were calibrated 8-1-79. Seismic accelerometer calibration was done 7-27-79. Tank and console maintenance were performed 7-26-79. The rod drop time tests were performed 6-4-79. The core-recombiner pressure gage calibration and-scram test was carried out 7-26-79, as well as the shield water level scram test. The flux instrumentation was calibrated and a
serviced on 7-3-79. The radiation level and contamination survey was carried out by EH&S on 1-11-79 and 9-10-79. All tests werc
) passed.
Unscheduled Shutdowns and Scrams 3-1-79: Scram on incorrect range-switching.
4-23-79: Spurious period scram from electrical transient.
5-14-79: Spurious period scram from electrical transient.
6-6-79: Scram on incorrect range-switching.
Preventive and Corrective Maintenance Operations Routine preventive and corrective maintenance was perf-ormed according to the Operations Manual. Notable events:
1-21-79: Air monitor did not alarm, two transistors replaced.
3-15-79: False alarm on air monitor, set point too low.
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12-18-79: False radiation alarm, traced to poor connection of transistor in socket.
Changes-Under 10 CFR 50.59 None.
-Radioactive Effluents Discharged Liquid wastes: none from reactor Solid. wastes: Very low level contaminated gloves and similar items, disposed of off-site by Environmental Health and Safety.
Gaseous wastes: Not discharged during operation as the core-recombiner vessel is scaled. However, the' core-recombiner a
vacuum (pressure). gage and loss-of-vacuum alarm are tested semiannually by admitting air, then reevacuating into a tank 7- for holdup and decay for six months.Short-lived gaseous activities decay between tests, but a small amount of 10.4-yr krypton-85 is discharged to the atmosphere when the holdup tank is evacuated. Calculations based on watt-hours of operation, and yield of Kr-85, conservatively neglecting decay, give:
1.5 microcuries discharged 7-26-79.
This small. activity is discharged on the roof after mixing with reactor room ventilation air and. presents no hazard.
Environmental Surveys Done Outside Facility: none Significant Radiation Exposures: none i
Energy Output in 1979: 16.9 watt-hours ,
J Hours Critical in -19 79 : 15.7' l I
L Energy. Output.Since Initial Criticality: 282.6.W-h or 11.8 W-d. ~
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