Loss of coolant analysis for the tower shielding reactor II

The operational limits of the Tower Shielding Reactor-II (TSR-II) have been revised to account for placing the reactor in a beam shield, which reduces convection cooling during a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). This paper reports on a detailed heat transfer analysis performed to set operating time limits which preclude fuel damage during a LOCA. Since a LOCA is survivable, the pressure boundary need not be safety related, minimizing seismic and inspection requirements. Measurements of reactor component emittance for this analysis revealed that aluminum oxidized in water may have emittances much higher than accepted values, allowing higher operating limits than were originally expected. These limits could be increased further with analytical or hardware improvements