The SLOWPOKE-2 originally used 93% highly enriched uranium in the form of 28% uranium-aluminium alloy with aluminium cladding, and then in 1985 a new low enriched uranium design (~19.9 % enriched) was commissioned using ceramic UO2 fuel.
The core is an assembly of about 200-300 fuel pins, only 22 cm diameter and 23 cm high, surrounded by a fixed beryllium annulus and a bottom beryllium slab.
Criticality is maintained as the fuel burns up by adding beryllium plates in a tray on top of the core.
The reactor core sits in a pool of regular light-water, 2.5 m diameter by 6 m deep, which provides cooling via natural convection.
In addition to passive cooling, the reactor has a high degree of inherent safety; that is, it can regulate itself through passive, natural means, such as the chain reaction slowing down if the water heats up or forms bubbles.
These characteristics are so dominant, in fact, that the SLOWPOKE-2 reactor is licensed to operate unattended overnight (but monitored remotely).
Most SLOWPOKES are rated at a nominal 20 kW, although operation at higher power for shorter durations is possible.
The SLOWPOKE-2 originally used 93% highly enriched uranium in the form of 28% uranium-aluminium alloy with aluminium cladding, and then in 1985 a new low enriched uranium design (~19.9 % enriched) was commissioned using ceramic UO2 fuel. The core is an assembly of about 200-300 fuel pins, only 22 cm diameter and 23 cm high, surrounded by a fixed beryllium annulus and a bottom beryllium slab. Criticality is maintained as the fuel burns up by adding beryllium plates in a tray on top of the core. The reactor core sits in a pool of regular light-water, 2.5 m diameter by 6 m deep, which provides cooling via natural convection. In addition to passive cooling, the reactor has a high degree of inherent safety; that is, it can regulate itself through passive, natural means, such as the chain reaction slowing down if the water heats up or forms bubbles. These characteristics are so dominant, in fact, that the SLOWPOKE-2 reactor is licensed to operate unattended overnight (but monitored remotely). Most SLOWPOKES are rated at a nominal 20 kW, although operation at higher power for shorter durations is possible.
SLOWPOKE reactor