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Concept
Clementine (nuclear reactor)
Summary
Clementine was the code name for the world's first fast-neutron reactor, also known as the Los Alamos fast plutonium reactor. It was an experimental-scale reactor. The maximum output was 25 kW and was fueled by plutonium and cooled by liquid mercury. Clementine was located at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Clementine was designed and built in 1945–1946 and first achieved criticality in 1946 and full power in March 1949. The reactor was named after the song "Oh My Darling, Clementine." The similarities to the song were that the reactor was located in a deep canyon and the reactor operators were 49'ers, as 49 (last digits of element 94, isotope 239) was one of the code names for plutonium at the time.
The primary goal of Clementine was to determine nuclear properties of materials for nuclear weapons research after the Manhattan project. A number of other experiments were performed at the reactor, including investigation of the feasibility of civilian breeder reactors, and measuring neutron cross sections of various materials.
The core was contained in a long mild steel cylinder that had an inside diameter of and a wall thick. The fuel assembly was in diameter tall and contained 55 fuel elements. Each fuel element was composed of δ-phase plutonium-239. They were each diameter and long. The fuel elements were clad in thick plain carbon steel. The core was located at the bottom of the steel cylinder.
The core was cooled by liquid mercury. The maximum thermal output was 25 kW. The mercury was circulated through the core and out to a mercury-water heat exchanger at a maximum flow rate of by an induction type electromagnetic pump with no moving parts.
The reactor core was wrapped in a series of neutron reflectors and shielding structures, starting with a 15 cm (6 in.) thick cylindrical blanket of natural uranium immediately surrounding the core. This blanket was open at the top and bottom and could be moved up and down. Next was a 15.2 cm (6 in.) thick steel reflector and 10 cm (4 in.) of lead.
Official source
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