THE STARTUP OF THE DODEWAARD NATURAL CIRCULATION BOILING WATER RECEPTOR - EXPERIENCES

Because of its similarity to the simplified boiling water reactor (SB WR), the Dodewaard natural circulation boiling water reactor (BWR) is of special interest to further development of the SB WR design. It has become especially important to gain more insight into the Dodewaard B WR behavior during startup, paying special attention to its stability . Therefore, special instrumentation was used by means of which a seri es of measurements were taken during the two startups in February and June 1992. The results obtained from these measurements are used to de epen insight in to the recirculation flow and the stability of the rea ctor during startup under conditions with a normal pressure/power traj ectory. They have already shown a very early recirculation flow onset during low-power operation and no indication of reactor instability. F urthermore, they will be used as a basis for the research program inve stigating the reactor behavior under different pressure/power conditio ns, which is scheduled for next year.