Design of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant steam generators

Three steam generation systems are employed in the Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant to produce electrical power for delivery to the Tennessee Valley Authority grid. Each steam generator system contains two parallel operating evaporators and one superheater. These vertical shell and tube heat exchangers are arranged in a hockey stick configuration and are identical in design except for inlet water orifice inserts added to the evaporators to ensure flow stability. Alloy 21/4 Cr--1 Mo was selected as the material of construction for the sodium-water boundary on the basis of its excellent resistance to water side stress corrosion and fabricability. Development programs are underway to confirm the ability of the steam generators to operate with departure from nucleate boiling, obtain necessary mechanical and physical properties for design, confirm corrosion and decarburization design allowances, and develop reliable fabrication and inservice inspection techniques