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DTRA’s advancements in nuclear and radiological detection
A new, more complex nuclear age has begun. Echoing the tensions of the Cold War amid rapidly evolving nuclear and radiological threats, preparedness in the modern age is a contest of scientific innovation. The Research and Development Directorate (RD) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is charged with winning this contest.
Mark T. Robinson
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 4 | Number 3 | September 1958 | Pages 270-287
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE58-A25528
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A simple phenomenological theory is presented to describe the xenon poisoning of a molten fluoride fueled nuclear reactor which is sparged with a suitable inert gas. The extension of the theory to removal of other fission product species is indicated. The theory is illustrated by a parametric study. It is found that arbitrarily low levels of Xe135 can be achieved by adequate sparging of the fuel. Such sparging also frees these reactors from the trouble-some rise of the xenon poisoning during shutdowns. No reactivity transients of a serious nature are likely to result from changes in the rates of the xenon removal processes.