A test was run to determine the compatibility of this type of thermocouple with graphite and impure helium. Nuclear calculations indicated that from a reactivity standpoint, molybdenum-sheathed thermocouples with a niobium coating would be superior to tantalumsheathed thermocouples for fuel-element applications. Tests of a porous filter of new design show that this filter is significantly less susceptible to plugging by graphite dust than the previous filter. A study was performed to determine the effect on maximum fuel temperature of nonhornogeneous fuel loadings. It was found that the maximum flux tilt occurs when more ยป control is being shifted from one ring of rods to another, and that this tilt would result in increases of 4% in the peak power and 8% in the integrated power in the hottest fuel elements. Other calculations were performed to investigate the magnitude of flux tilts resulting from misalignment of the shim rods during normal operations. A series of calculations was performed to evaluate the effect on core life of changes in the core design or in basic neutron cross sections. Element III-B generated a total of 225 Mw-hr of fission heat, about 30% of the heat generated by a corresponding lengih of an average Peach Bottom element in three years at 80% load factor. The more important developments in the HTGR program are summarized.
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