Material tradeoffs to minimize flooding reactivity

In the GE 100 KWe SP-100 design, the array of fuel pins in the core was surrounded by a thin neutron barrier made of a mixture of Nb-1 percent Zr and 20 percent B4C. The purpose of this barrier was to prevent the return to the reactor of thermalized neutrons in the event of a reactor flooding accident. Neutronically, the barrier produced a reduction in k sub eff of 15 percent. However, a mixture of Nb-1 percent Zr and B4C is a development item and may not be possible to produce. Several alternatives to this design were investigated. These include the use of W-26 percent Re for the fuel barrier and the introduction of fuel pin ducts made of Ta-8 percent W-2 percent Hf, Hf-10 percent Nb or pure Re. The use of W-26 percent Re for the fuel barrier material in place of W, and the use of T111, Hf-10 percent Nb, or Re duct material in place of Nb-1 percent Zr or Nb-1 percent Zr-20 percent B4C were found to substantially decrease k sub eff in the flooding situation. The best choice neutronically for duct material is Hf-10 percent Nb, because of its small impact on the k sub eff of the normal core.