BM reactor
The BM ( Russian БМ ) was a nuclear reactor that was used in Soviet submarines of Project 705 . The reactor was cooled with a lead-bismuth alloy (liquid metal cooled).
The thermal power of the reactor was 155 MW th . The degree of enrichment of the uranium used was 90%. The melting point of the alloy used was 124 ° C, the boiling point 1679 ° C.
The cooling circuits of the reactors therefore had to be constantly heated to over 124 ° C with the help of steam generators in order to prevent the coolant from solidifying. If this supply of heat failed due to malfunctions, the coolant solidified and made the reactor unusable. Subsequent liquefaction of solidified coolant was not possible, so that in two cases the reactor "froze" and broke down in the manner described.
The reactor core with the fuel elements was enclosed with a beryllium layer to slow down the neutrons. The control rods contained boron and europium .
The BM-40A reactor had a total of two cooling circuits. In the modified OK-550, however, there were three circuits.
The reactor was developed by OKB Gidropress in cooperation with IPPE .
Whereabouts
The reactors were used on submarines between 1968 and 1997. The fuel rods were removed from the reactors between 1997 and 2007 and transferred to long-term storage facilities.
Individual evidence
- ↑ legion.wplus.net, viewed June 5, 2001
- ↑ Alfa class Attack Submarine (Nuclear Powered )
- ^ Povl L. Ølgaard: The Potential Risks from Russian Nuclear Ships. (PDF; 951 kB) Risø National Laboratory, Denmark 2001, p. 15 and p. 17.
- ^ Technical and Proliferation-Related Aspects of the Dismantlemant of Russian Alfa-Class Submarines. (English; PDF; 195 kB) p. 164.
- ↑ Viktor Akhunov: Major achievements and current state of activities under the Russian Program for Comprehensive NPS Dismantlement and Remediation of Radioactively Contaminated Sites. (PDF; 449 kB) iaea.org, 2007, viewed on June 6, 2011.