ML20209J176

Progress Rept,1986-1987,University of Missouri-Rolla Nuclear Reactor Facility

ML20209J176
Person / Time
Site:	University of Missouri-Rolla
Issue date:	03/31/1987
From:	Bolon A, Straka M MISSOURI, UNIV. OF, ROLLA, MO
To:	NRC
References
NUDOCS 8705040231
Download: ML20209J176 (27)

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PROGRESS REPORT FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ROLL.A NUCLEAR REACTOR FACILITY I

APRIL 1, 1966 to MARCH 31, 1987 I

Submitted to The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Conaission and I The University of Missouri-Rolla By Albert E. Bolon. Director Milan Straka, Manaaer Nuclear Reactor Facility University of Missouri-Rolla Rolla. Missouri 65401 I

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Summary 4

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During this reporting period the University of Missouri-Rolla Reactor was in operation for 403 hours0.00466 days <br />0.112 hours <br />6.66336e-4 weeks <br />1.533415e-4 months <br />. The major part of this time. 70X was used for class instruction and training purposes. About 23% of the reactor time was used for l research and irradiation service and 7X was needed for maintenance runs.

There were 41 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled for course work at the reactor. This committed the facility to 66 student-hours of classes. The I reactor was visited by more than 2600 visitors during the past year. About 560 of thes were high school junior and senior students. The reactor facility remains one of the major attractions on the UMR campus. There were 270 participants in the Reactor Sharing Program this year. The facility has been reimbursed for this program from a grant awarded by the Department of Energy.

I The reactor produced about 12 MW hours of energy using 0.6 g of uranium. A total of 202 samples have been irradiated at the reactor with most of this being analyzed in the Reactor Counting Laboratory.

Two one-week training programs for reactor operator trainees of a midwest utility were conducted during this reporting period. The reimbursement helped to defray f acility costs and also helped to improve research and instructional l capabilities.

Research at the reactor concentrated on trace element analysis and irradiation of saeples prepared for studies on cancer tumors. A safety study, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy is being prepared for the mandated conversion of the UNR Reactor to low enriched uranium fuel.

Results of numerical studies on mixing of radioactive contastnants in confined flows will be published in Journal of Numerical Heat Transfer this spring.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Suasary i List of Tables lii f

I. Introduction................................................. 1 II. Reactor Staff and Personnel................................... 2 A. Reactor Staff.......................................... 2

8. Licensed Operators..................................... 2 1

C. Radiation Safety Consittee............................. 3 D. Health Physics......................................... 3 III. Improvements................................................. 4 IV. Reactor Operations........................................... 4 i A. Facility Use........................................... 4

5. Core Data.............................................. 12 V. Public Relat1ons............................................. 13 g o ! . . .a t i .n a , u t i i i a t i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 VII. Reactor Health Physics Activities............................ 15 UIII. Plans........................................................ 18

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LIST OF TABLES

1. UtStR Core Configuration and Rock Storage Fora............... S

2. Facility Use Other Than the Reactor......................... 6

3. Reactor Utilization......................................... 6

4. Rundowns.................................................... 7 S. Scs...................................................... e

6. Maintenance................................................. 10

7. Cor e Loadi n g and Un l oad i n g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I 8. Core Technical Data......................................... 12

9. Research Equipment Needs of the UMR Reactor Facility (in '86 dollars)............................................ 19

10. Instructional Equipment Needs of the UMR Reactor Facility (in '86 dollars)................................... 20 I

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E I. Introduction I

This progress report is prepared in accordance with the requirements of the I Nuclear Regulatory Commission 10 CFR 50.71 concerning the operation of the tiniversity of Missouri-Rolla Nuclear Reactor Facility (License R-79).

The reactor, a swimming pool type, is operated as a university facility available to the f aculty and students of the various departments of the university for their educational and research programs. Several other universities and colleges have made use of the facility during this reporting period. The facility is also made available for the purpose of training reactor personnel for the nuclear industry and electric utilities.

The reactor staff has continued to review the operation of the Reactor Facility in an effort to improve the safety and efficiency of its operation and to f

provide conditions conducive to its utilization by students and f aculty from this and other universities. The following sections of this report are intended to provide a brief description of the various aspects of the operation of this f acility, including its utilization for education and research.

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I 2 I II. Reactor Staff and Personnel I

A. Reactor Staff  !

Maat Title Albert E. Bolon Director Milan Straka Reactor Manager Carl Barton Senior Electronic Technician Juls Williams Lab Mechanic Francis Jones Reactor Maintenance Engineer Linda Piercet) Senior Secretary I

B. Licensed Operators Haag License Albert E. Bolon Senior Operator Carl Barton Senior Operator Milan Straka Senior Operator Francis Jones *> Senior Operator Don Buth8) Reactor Operator l

l 1) effective on April 7, 1986

2) effective on October 24, 1986

3) effective on October 24, 1986

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I C. Radiation Safety Committee tieng Department Dr. Nord L. Gale (chairman) Life Sciences Mr. Ray Bono (secretary) (ex officio) Environmental Health and Risk Management Dr. Ernst Bolter Geology and Geophysics Dr. Oliver K. Manuel Chemistry Dr. Albert E. Bolon Reactor Director I Dr. Nick Tsoulianidis Radiation Safety Officer l

Dr. Edward Hale Physics Dr. Milan Straka (ex officio) (non-vot ing) Reactor Manager Dr. Arvind Kumar Nuclear Engineering This committee is required to mest at three month intervals. However, in practice the frequency of the meetings is usually greater.

I D. Health Physics

!!ang Title Dr. Nick Troulianidis Radiation Safety Officer Mr. Ray Bono I Director. Environmental Health & Risk Management Mr. Darrell Holloway Health Physics Technician I

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III. Improvements A continuous effort to enhance availability and reliability of the facility is being undertaken by the reactor staff. During this reporting period the following improvements have been made:

1) A PC-based multichannel analyzer with 4 K channels has been purchased and installed.

2) A new Ge(L1) detector with liquid He - level monitoring unit has been purchased for the instructional lab.

I 3) Two AT&T personal computers have been installed at the facility. They are used for safety studies in conjunction with the conversion to LEU fuel and for reporting purposes.

4) A new solid-state intrusion alars system has been installed at the reactor facility.

IV. Reactor Operations A. Facility Use Table 1 depicts the current core loading which is designated as core 67.

The number 67 denotes the sixty-seventh core configuration (assembly and location), that has been used at the Reactor Facility since the original operating license was issued in 1961. This core 67 has been in use since December of 1978 and is periodically checked for all parameters listed in Table 8 (core data).

l Tables 2 through 7 give pertinent information about the Reactor Facility and its operation during the reporting period. Listing of semi-ann el electronic checks is included in Appendix A.

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I 5 Table 1. UMRR Core Configuration and Rack Storage Form DATE 31 March,1986

• LOADING NUMBER _67T or 67W I kl R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 Rll R12 R13 R14 R15 HF-1 F-13 F-20 F-22 I -

RACK STORAGE FACILITY 1

F-2 F-5 F-3 F-18 F-21

, R16 R17 R18 R19 R20 R21 R22 R23 R24 R25 R26 R27 R28 R29 R30

, KEY 10 PRLTIXES A

P - Standard Elements C - Contml Elements HT - Half Tront Element c HR-1 F-14 F-1 C-4 HR - Half Rear Element D F-8 C-1 F-16 F-9 F-4 F-10 S - Source Holder g F-6 C-2 F-19 C-3 F-12 F-11 r BRT F-17 F-15 F-7 CRT 1 2 3 is r, Other BRT- Bare Rabbit Tube 5 7 8 9 CRT- Cadmium Rabbit Tube BRIDGE SIDE 11MRR CORE STATUS I

I *T designates the thermal column-reflected mode, and W designates the Water-reflected mode.

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Table 2.

FACILITY USE OTHER THAN THE REACTOR I

, Facility ggggg Bare Rabbit Tube 27.033 Beam Port 2.683 Reactor Console 362.748 Total 392.464 I Table 3.

REACTOR UTILIZATION Reactor use 403 hr l

Research & Irradiation runs 92 hr Instruction runs 279 hr Maintenance runs 32 hr Time at power 177 hr l Heat generated 11726 ku-hr Total number of samples 202 hr Sample hours 45.37 hr Research & Instruction usagen) 18 %

U-235 burned .511 x U-235 burned and converted .604 g l I ") Based on 2080 working hours per year.

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7 Table 4 RUNDOWNS Datt 113t Cause 04/8/86 0929 (Hi Radiation rundown) Checked desineralizer.

Checked OK. Terminated rundown.

I 04/11/86 1601 (120% demand) Checked linear amplifier but could not duplicate probles.

04/15/86 1438 (Hi Radiation rundown) Checked desineralizer.

Terminated rundown.

04/22/86 0934 (120% demand) Instructed student on switching scales on linear.

04/24/86 2046 (120% demand) Instructed student on switching scales.

04/29/86 1004 (120% demand) Instructed student on switching scales.

G5/06/86 0936 (120% demand) Instructed student on switching scales.

05/07/86 1007 (120% demand) Instructed student on switching scales.

05/16/86 0852 (120% demand) Occurred while operator was switching scales.

05/16/86 1423 (Hi radiation) Checked desineralizer.

, 06/26/86 1058 (120% demand) Occurted while switt.ning scales.

l l 08/06/86 1404 (120% demand) Operator error in switching scales. Operator cautioned.

! 08/29/86 0858 (120% demand) Occurred when changing scales.

10/01/86 1344 (120% demand) Occurred when changing scales.

10/15/86 1514 (120% demand) Occurred isen changing scales.

10/21/86 1415 (Hi Radiation) Shield in bridge monitor shifted out of place. Hoved shield to proper place.

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I E 8 I 10/29/86 1335 (<15 Sec) Spike on period channel. Adjusted compensation voltage slightly.

11/05/86 1404 (<15 Sec) Period channel noisy. Readjusted compensation voltage slightly. Period seemed to settle down.

11/12/86 1540 (120% demand) Student f ailed to switch scales.

Cautioned student.

I 12/18/86 1529 (120% demand) Occurred when switching scales.

Student given further instructions.

01/14/87 1348 (<15 Sec) Spurious spike on Log N and period.

Check systems.

01/27/87 1723 (120% demand) Occurred when switching scales.

I Student given further instruction.

01/29/87 1028 (Rod rundown) Caused by power fluctuation in building.

02/21/87 1253 (120% demand) Occurred when switching scales.

02/27/87 1308 (120% demand) Occurred when switching scales.

03/13/87 0240 (Low CIC Voltage) This was alarm only. Reactor was not in operation at that time.

03/23/87 0844 (Low CIC Voltage) Replaced CR1 and CR2 in Log N power supply.

03/25/87 0838 (<15 Sec) Rebuilt trip test switches on Log N and Period amplifier.

03/25/87 1446 (<15 Sec) Changed connectors and feedthru's cn bridge.

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Table 5 SCRAMS DA11 11A1 Cause 06/19/86 1911 (150% full power) Checked Log N amplifier and CIC. Replaced Log N CIC.

07/09/86 1623 (150% full power) Replaced relays K7. K8. and K3, R27 and R28.

07/11/86 1040 (150% full power) Calibrate switch on Period amplifier causina spikes. Cleaned switch.

01/14/87 1348 (<5 Sec) Spike on Log N and Period amplifier.

Checked safety systems functions.

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I I 10 Table 6 MAINTENANCE I (Other than associated with Rundown Scrams, and Semi-annuals)

Data Cause 07/02/86 Adjusted No. 3 insert limit switch.

07/09/86 Safety channel No. 2 indicator indicating less than zero (0). Replaced U1 and U2 U9 and U10.

06/13/86 Keithley 485 picoammeter repaired by company and reinstalled in console.

10/01/86 No. 2 shim range light does not come on. Replaced activating arm.

12/12/06 Shis rod No. I motor continued to run af ter i.nt:ert limit was reached. Found system brake solenoid shorting against frame. Repositioned solenoid.

02/06/87 150% test function did not operate during test. Replaced VI. U2 and relay in preamplifier.

02/12/87 Found linear readings erratic. Replaced CIC.

02/13/87 Failure of relay in Bridge Ram syeters caused building evacuation. Replaced relay.

03/09/87 Log Count Rate operate / calibrate aaitch causes erratic readings. Replaced switch.

03/09/87 Magnet current test switch causes readings to be erratic.

Replaced switch.

03/11/87 Rod drive No. 3 clutch slips. Realigned drive system.

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CORE LOADING AND UNLOADING

• QA11 S/13/86 UL (67W to subcrit) Control Rod Inspection 1 5/15/86 RL (suberit to 67W) Return to previous configuration l I

I alL - Unload RL - Reload l

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B. Core Data During this reporting period only one core designation has been used. The "W" mode core was used for normal reactor operations, since students are not supposed to operate the reactor when the excess reactivity is above 0.7%. The "T" mode is used for extended operation (>3 hrs), or beau port and thermal column experiments.

The excess reactivity was measured for cold, clean critical conditions. In day-to-day operation the excess reactivity is quite of ten lower due to the temperature increase of the pool.

Table 8. Core Technical Data Average Thermal Flux 1.6X1028 n/ cat -sec at 200 kW Maximum Thermal Flux 2.8X10s: n/ cat-see at 200 kW Average Epithermal Flux 1.6X1021 n/cma -sec at 200 kW Worth of Thermal Column 0.46%

Worth of Beam Port not detectable Rod North (in "T" mode)

Date 4-16-79 4-16-79 4-16-79 10-10-83 1 22kh1 II 2.65% III 3.36% Reg. Q22h1 Excess Reactivity (in "T" mode) 0.73% Shutdown Margin (in "T" mode) h,511 Void Coefficient -7.2X10-7 dp/cm3 Date 11-13-86 Temperature Coefficient -1X10-

• Ap/* F Date 11-25-86 Reactivity Addition Rate (max % A K/K/sec)

I Q2Q11 II 0.019 III 0.026 Reg. Q2Q1 Rod Drop Time (24")

I 470 usec. II 460 msec. III 470 msec. Date 1-23-87

13 U. Public Relations The reactor staff continues to help educate the public about the application of nuclear energy. Over 2618 persons toured the facility during this report period.

Tour groups are usually given a brief orientation by a member of the reactor staff.

Some of the groups spent an entire day at the facility becoming acquainted with the reactor and performing simple experiments. Usually these groups are from 4

colleges which have no reactor facilities. Man'* high schools (juniors and seniors) are given similar tours, too.

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14 UI. Education Utilization Forty-one UMR students, graduates and undergraduates, have participated in classes at the facility, utilizing 49 student-senester hours of allocated time. Also students from several colleges, and high schools have used the facility.

The following is a list of scheduled classes at the facility along with the total hours of reactor use for this reporting period.

Reactor Course Title Students Hours NE 2 Introduction to Nuclear Engr. II 7 2 NE 300 Special Probless 7 2 NE 304 Reactor Laboratory 1 10 36 NE 306 Reactor Operations 8 114 NE 308 Reactor Laboratory II 7 52 NE 490 Research 2 72 The current enrollment in Nuclear Engineering is 50 students.

A program called Reactor Sharing Program, funded by the Department of Energy, was established for colleges and universities which do not own a nuclear reactor. In addition. high schools can participate in this program too. About 270 students and thei, inst,uctors p.rticip.ted in m e p,og,a..

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UII. Reactor Health Physics Activities l

I The Health Physics activities at the LNt Reactor Facility consist primarily of l radiation and contamination surveys, monitoring of personnei exposures, airborne activity. pool water activity and waste disposal. Releases of all by product I material to authorized, licensed recipients are surveyed and recorded. In 1

addition. Health Physics activities include calibrations of portable and stationary radiation detection instruments, personnel training. special surveys and monitoring of non-routine procedures. New Health Physics SOP's have been written and implemented.

Routine Survevs Monthly radiation surveys of the facility consist of direct samma and neutron measurements with the reactor at power. No unusual exposure rates were found.

Monthly surface contamination surveys consist of 20 to 30 swipes counted separately for alpha, beta and gamma activity. In 12 monthly surveys, no significant contamination outside of contained work areas was found.

Bv-Product Material Release Surveys During the period, there were no shipments of by-product material released from the reactor f acility.

I 16 Routine Monitorina I Thirty-seven reactor facility personnel and students frequently involved with operations in the reactor facility are currently assi4ned beta-sanoa, neutron film badges which are read twice each month. There are 4 beta gamma neutron badges assigned and one test badge to check accuracy of exposure reports. Twenty-two campus personnel and students are assigned beta-gassa film badges, and frequently TLD ring badges for materials and X-ray work on campus. There are 18 beta gamma area and spare badges assigned on campus. In addition. 4-7 direct-reading dosimeters are used for visitors and high radiation area work. There have been no personnel over exposures during the period.

Airborne activity in the reactor facility is constantly monitored by a fixed-filter, particulate continuous air monitor (CAM) located in the reactor bay.

Argon-41 is routinely detected during operations.

I Pool water activity is monitored monthly to insure that no gross pool contamination nor fuel cladding rupture has occurred. Gross counts and spectra of long-lived gassa activity are compared to previous monthly counts. From April through March sample concentrations averaged 4.0x10-' uC1/ml.

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Release of gaseous and particulate activity through the building exhausts is I

g determined by relating the operating times of the exhaust f ans and reactor power

!3 during fan operation to previously measured air activity at maximum reactor power.

During this period 46.89 millicuries were released into the air. Released isotopes were identified as Ar-41. Solid waste, including used water filters.

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used resins and contaminated paper is stored and/or transferred to the campus waste storage area for later shipment to a commercial burial site. Radioactive waste released to the sanitary sewer is primarily from regeneration of the resin exchange column. During this period 7 releases to the sanitary sewer totaling approximately 2890 gallons of concentrated resin regeneration solution and pool water were discharged with a total activity of 0.076 millicuries. No peaks were identified during the analysis.

Instrument Calibrations During this period, portable instruments were calibrated four times. Remote area monitors were checked for calibration four times.

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I 18 UIII. Plans The reactor management continues their ef forts to upgrade the facility's research capability. Efforts have been continued to inform academic department chairmen and research center directors of the availability of the reactor and the various associated counting systems. 5tttempts have also been made to inform the individual f aculty members / researchers, who we believe might be do:ing research that could utilize the UMR Reactor, that we would be pleased to cooperate with them, and some progress has been made along these lines.

A Reactor Research Advisory Committee was established in 1985 to assist the reactor management with ideas for research. The purpose of the cosaittee is to have a knowledgeable group of f aculty/ researchers who would advise the reactor staff regarding areas of potential research and regarding equipment needed in order to develop proper research capability. The consittee membership was expanded from six to eight to cover several additional potential research areas, including life sciences and environmental sciences. This consittee has not generated as much support for the f acility as had been desired, but the individuals do serve as valuable points of contact with their departments or research centers.

A five-year research plan for the Reactor Facility was prepared by the Reactor Director and submitted to the Dean in 1985. In order to develop a quality research program at the UMR Reactor over the next five years, financial support in the amount of $418.900 was needed. By the end of the five-year period there would be a research staf f of four half-time graduate research assistants, one post-doctoral fellow, and one senior researcher in addition to the present nusber of

I 19 operational staff. If properly done, some of the funding could be provided by external sources. Some progress has been sade in terms of arranging for a post-doctoral fellow.

The campus administration has identified two areas of emphasis for esinence

-- saterials engineering and science and flexible manufacturing.

The specific research equipment needs of the Reactor Facility are listed in Table 9.

Table 9. Research Equipment Needs Of the UNR Reactor Facility (in '87 dollars) 1133 Estimated Cost Intrinsic Germanius Detector $10.000 Microcomputer-based Multichannel Analyzer 16.500 Isotope Identification Package 3.000 Printer / Plotter 2.000 TOTAL $31.500 The instructional equipment needs are shown in Table 10.

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I 20 Table 10. Instructional Equipment Needs Of the UMR Reactor Facility (in '87 dollars) 111R Estimated Cost Digital Pulse Generator $ 1.800 Curve Tracer 700 X-Y Plotter 1.960 X-Y Plotter Interface t60 Eberline Rascal

• Neutron Meter 3.000 Air Sampler 1.200 I TOTAL $ 9.120

• or equivalent The staff of the UCLA Reactor graciously contributed six compensated ion chambers and one log N amplifier to the UMR Reactor. That gift was sincerely appreciated and helped to replenish valuable spare parts supply.

Instructional equipment that has been acquired in order to replace obsolete equipment this past year is shown in Table II.

Table II. Instructional Equipment Acquired In 1986-87 (in '87 dollars)

LLRn CQRL Ge(L1) Detector $8,000.00 IBM Personal Computer $3,500.00

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I 21 In conclusion for a reasonable sum of money the UMR Reactor could be developed into a viable research facility which could benefit the midwest region of the nation. By the end of the S-year program the research staff would be built up to a level so that they could be self-supporting on research grants and contracts.

In particular, it would enhance the neutron activation analysis capability of the UMR Reactor Facility if the present pneumatic system were modified so that samples could be transferred directly from the core to the Ge(Li) detector.

Likewise, it voteli be beneficial to have an automatic sample handling system so that a large number of samples could be inserted into the Ge(L1) detector and counted. We would also like to develop prompt neutron activation analysis capabilities. The hardware necessary for the suggested improvements would be requested on research proposals prepared by the reactor staff or in cooperation with other researchers.

The U.S. Department of Energy supports the UMR Reactor through the University Reactor Sharing Program. We received $12.000 financial support this year. Several groups from Linn Technical Institute have come or will come to campus for a day each. Other schools are expected to use the reactor for education or research before the end of the contract in August. We hope to be selected for an extension of that program.

There are currently four licensed senior operators and one reactor operator l at the facility. This is the highest level of licensed staff at the f acility in many years. Unfortunately, the Reactor Operator will be graduating with his M.S.

degree and leaving in May.

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22 I 1 In terms of modifications to the facility which are planned, they include several which have been mentioned in prior Progress Reports. We do plan to install the new solid-state magnet power supply, linear power channel and solid-state power range (safety) channels that were purchased several years ago and not installed because we were in the midst of re-licensing. Without a doubt, the solid-state devices should be more reliable than the present vacuum tube ones, which were original equipment.

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g a Nuclear Reactor Facihty UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-ROLLA Nuclear Reactor Rolla. Missouri 65401 0249 Telephone- (314) 341-42 36 April 27, 1987 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington. D.C. 20545 RE: License R-79, University of Missouri-Rolla Reactor Docket No. 50123.

Dear Sirs:

The following Progress Report for the University of Missouri-Rolla Reactor (R-79) for the period of April 1, 1986 to March 31.

1987, is sent for your review and inspection.

Sincer ely ,

k U Albert E. Bolon Reactor Director, SO k

Milan Straka Reactor Manager. SO 1p Enclosure (10 copies) h) io i an eQ ual C CDOf turhty 105t<tutron