Reactor Containment: Preliminary Considerations for the HTR System

The objectives of the containment of water and gas-cooled reactors are examined and the relative merits of the various options are discussed. The impact of these options on an HTR system is then examined more closely in terms of the overall safety of the system. It is concluded that the advantages of a pressure tight containment are outweighed by the problems presented to the designer and operator. The need for a specification on what duty a containment of any type (vented or pressure type) is supposed to perform is necessary and further work is proposed to examine this and to support the contention that vented containment is the solution best suited to an HTR. (author)