Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] May I ask for expert opinions?

["F. Marc de Piolenc" <piolenc@archivale.com>]

Ah, Congress! With almost infallible acumen, they have succeeded in
torpedoing nearly every government project with any merit at all.

And sadly, the rules are different for government. Every time a
government agency screws up, it gets more budget and more authority.

Best,
Marc

Jay K. Jeffries wrote:
> Marc,
> 
> The /NR-1/ hull was extended by 30 feet later in its life which allowed
> room for greater habitability and more scientific missions.  The core
> was about the size of an office desk round metal trash can and was
> composed of 4 shortened S5W core modules with highly-enriched fuel.   As
> you note, a smaller reactor compartment will require less shielding due
> to the overall smaller volume but the thickness of the shielding cannot
> be reduced.  While the reactor is critical and undersea, the typical
> radiation exposure is less than while on the surface as the cosmic ray
> exposure is shielded by the seawater.  There was a reactor vessel system
> built for an /NR-2/ but after our Congress got wind of this sub that was
> funded outside of Congressional oversight, further development was
> halted.  The decommissioning of this national resource due to its
> expensive operating budget and the need for refueling/replacement of the
> reactor vessel was a loss to both the Navy and to the scientific community.
> 
> R/Jay
> 
>  
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org
> [mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org] On Behalf Of F. Marc de
> Piolenc
> Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2010 5:54 PM
> To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org
> Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] May I ask for expert opinions?
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> I don't doubt that. Still, it is amazing that they were able to shoehorn
> a conventional two-loop, light-water reactor and its auxiliaries into
> such a small package. Now imagine a reactor running on highly-enriched
> fuel, with a much smaller core size. Perhaps gas cooled, so only one
> coolant loop is needed. And shield weight and volume drops rapidly with
> shrinking core size.
> 
>  
> 
> Marc
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
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