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**delnisfernan** · 03-14-2011, 01:43 AM

Here's an NYTimes slideshow that provides a basic review of the Fukushima reactor design. Unfortunately it doesn't offer a detailed view of the core itself and its geometry. You would think NBC would be able to get this information from its former parent company, since General Electric built all of these reactors.

The Crippled Japanese Nuclear Reactors - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

The latest update is that Reactor No 1 did not have some of its control rods inserted far enough in before the steam pressure increased to a point that it exposed the fuel rods up to a meter, which caused the fuel cladding to interact with the steam.

If this is true, this is the source of the hydrogen blast. When the engineers vented the reactor vessel, the pressurized hydrogen oxidized and the rapid oxidation was the source of the explosion at Reactor Unit 1.

They are swearing up and down that the seawater pumping is cooling off the core and overmoderating the fuel (killing off the melt). I hope that's true. Water is a neutron moderator, so if one is not careful, water at the wrong temperature or pressure in a boiler reactor can actually accellerate a nuclear reaction, not slow it down.

Reactor Unit 3 is feared to be undergoing the exact same process. If this is the case, another explosion might be likely at the plant. Hopefully the explosion will be exactly the same as Reactor 1 and sheer the roof off but leaving the reactor vessel intact, and they can depressurize the core and continue flooding it until the metals have cooled off. I wonder about the MOX fuel type though. Sea water with boric acid mixed in it can still be a problem with a reactor using plutonium in the fuel.

NYT is also running a report of 2 additional nuclear reactor cooling problems on top of the Fukushima reactors running on TV.

03-14-2011, 01:43 AM	#7
delnisfernan Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 544 Senior Member	Here's an NYTimes slideshow that provides a basic review of the Fukushima reactor design. Unfortunately it doesn't offer a detailed view of the core itself and its geometry. You would think NBC would be able to get this information from its former parent company, since General Electric built all of these reactors. The Crippled Japanese Nuclear Reactors - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com The latest update is that Reactor No 1 did not have some of its control rods inserted far enough in before the steam pressure increased to a point that it exposed the fuel rods up to a meter, which caused the fuel cladding to interact with the steam. If this is true, this is the source of the hydrogen blast. When the engineers vented the reactor vessel, the pressurized hydrogen oxidized and the rapid oxidation was the source of the explosion at Reactor Unit 1. They are swearing up and down that the seawater pumping is cooling off the core and overmoderating the fuel (killing off the melt). I hope that's true. Water is a neutron moderator, so if one is not careful, water at the wrong temperature or pressure in a boiler reactor can actually accellerate a nuclear reaction, not slow it down. Reactor Unit 3 is feared to be undergoing the exact same process. If this is the case, another explosion might be likely at the plant. Hopefully the explosion will be exactly the same as Reactor 1 and sheer the roof off but leaving the reactor vessel intact, and they can depressurize the core and continue flooding it until the metals have cooled off. I wonder about the MOX fuel type though. Sea water with boric acid mixed in it can still be a problem with a reactor using plutonium in the fuel. NYT is also running a report of 2 additional nuclear reactor cooling problems on top of the Fukushima reactors running on TV.
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