Atomic Energy in Australia
Atomic Energy in Australia
复制标题
澳大利亚的原子能
DOI：
10.1038/207694a0
复制
发表时间：
1965
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
S. Weintroub
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
S. Weintroub
I 964, deals with the production of uranium in Australia, research activities at the Lucas Heights Research Establishment and in Australian universities, and generally with international relationships and nuclear power developments in various countries. The financial statement records that capital expenditure was reduced by f! Ome£ Al 75,000, but that research expenditure increased by about£ A270, 000 to nearly£ A3 million, largely because of the introduction of improved salary scales for the staff and the increased cost of recruitment of staff. The net operating and capital expenditure for the year was£ A, 3,473,862, an increase of£ A, 287,000 over the previous year. The advance to the Rum Jungle Project was reduced, however, from£ Al· 58 million to£ A720, 000. Uranium continued to be in over-supply throughout the world, but the major cut-backs in production required to stabilize the industry in the Western World are now completed. It is expected that since output will continue to fall as individual mines close down, no additional drastic changes will be necessary, and that in the early l 970's world requirements for nuclear fuel will increase again quite rapidly. During 1963 about 1,200 short tons of uranium oxide were produced and sales during this period were valued at approximately£ A5· 5 million. Only one sales contract remained in operation in June 1964, and although the United Uranium NL expected to complete production during 1964, the final deliveries under the£ A5 million contract with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority will extend into 1965. Treatment of stockpiled uranium ore at Rum Jungle is expected to continue at the present level for several years. The Commission's main research progra= e is devoted to the investigation of the technical and economic feasibility of a high-temperature, carbon dioxide-cooled, beryllium oxide-moderated, power reactor of the pepple-bed type. The fuel elements consist of a dispersion of thorium oxide and commercial plutonium oxide in beryllia, and the core of the reactor comprises a large number of spheres or pepples, about 1 in. in diameter, of the fuel material. Four different engineering designs of the reactor system are being studied and these are shown diagrallUilatically in the annual report. Although considerable effort has been devoted to the various engineering and theoretical physics problems involved, including tho development of computer codes for core nuclear studies, the Commission specifically states in the report that there is no commitment to construct a power reactor in Australia. At the Lucas Heights Research Establishment the high wmtron flux materials testing reactor, Hifar, continued operation at a power output of 11-MW (thermal) on a 28-day cycle for the whole year, except for a two-month m'lojor overhaul period. The small low-power reactor, Moata, was used mainly for experiments asrnciated with the performance of systems moderated with beryllium oxide. Alterations were made in the control rod read-out
