Army Nuclear Power Program

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US Army Engineer Reactors Group letterhead USAERGletterhead.JPG
US Army Engineer Reactors Group letterhead

The Army Nuclear Power Program (ANPP) was a program of the United States Army to develop small pressurized water and boiling water nuclear power reactors to generate electrical and space-heating energy primarily at remote, relatively inaccessible sites. The ANPP had several accomplishments, but ultimately it was considered to be "a solution in search of a problem." The U.S. Army Engineer Reactors Group managed this program and it was headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The program began in 1954 as the Army Reactors Branch and had effectively terminated by about 1977, with the last class of NPP operators graduating in 1977. Work continued for some time thereafter either for decommissioning of the plants or placing them into SAFSTOR (long term storage and monitoring before decommissioning). The current[ when? ] development of small modular reactors has led to a renewed interest in military applications. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Background

There was interest in the possible application of nuclear power to land-based military needs as early as 1952. A memo from the Secretary of Defense, dated 10 February 1954, assigned the Army the responsibility for "developing nuclear power plants to supply heat and electricity at remote and relatively inaccessible military installations." The Secretary of the Army established the Army Nuclear Power Program and assigned it to the Corps of Engineers. [4]

The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 made the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) responsible for R&D in the nuclear field, so that the ANPP then became a joint interagency 'activity' of the Department of the Army (DA) and the AEC. When the Atomic Energy Act was revised in 1954, Paragraph 91b authorized the Department of Defense to obtain special nuclear material for use in defense utilization facilities. The focus of the Army Nuclear Power Program was on power production facilities while the Naval Reactors Program concentrated on nuclear propulsion for submarines and ships. On 9 April 1954 the Chief of Engineers established the US Army Engineer Reactors Group to perform the missions assigned by DA. Essentially, these missions were to: [4]

In a Department of the Army Approved Qualitative Materiel Development Objective for Nuclear Power Plants, dated 7 January 1965, these objectives were stated for the program: [4]

The AEC ultimately concluded that the probability of achieving the objectives of the Army Nuclear Power Program in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost was not high enough to justify continued funding of its portion of projects to develop small, stationary, and mobile reactors. Cutbacks in military funding for long-range research and development because of the Vietnam War led the AEC to phase out its support of the program in 1966. The costs of developing and producing compact nuclear power plants were so high that they could be justified only if the reactor had a unique capability and filled a clearly defined objective backed by DOD. After that, the Army's participation in nuclear power plant research and development efforts steadily declined and eventually stopped altogether. [5]

List of plants

Eight plants were constructed. Due to the requirement for a small physical size, all these reactors other than the MH-1A used highly enriched uranium (HEU). The MH-1A had more space to work with, and more weight-carrying capacity, so this was a low-enrichment reactor; i.e., larger and heavier. The MH-1A was briefly considered for use in Vietnam, but the idea of anything nuclear in Vietnam was quickly rejected by the State Department. [4]

The plants are listed in order of their initial criticality. See the gallery of photos in the next section. Sources for this data include the only known book on the ANPP, by Suid, [6] and a DOE document. [7]

SM-1
Ft. Belvoir Virginia SM1nuclearpowerplant.JPG
SM-1
Ft. Belvoir Virginia
SL-1
NRTS, Idaho SL1nuclearpowerplant.JPG
SL-1
NRTS, Idaho
On January 3, 1961, the reactor was being prepared for restart after a shutdown of eleven days over the holidays. Maintenance procedures were in progress which required the main central control rod to be manually withdrawn a few inches to reconnect it to its drive mechanism; at 9:01 p.m. this rod was suddenly withdrawn too far, causing SL-1 to go prompt critical instantly. In four milliseconds, the heat generated by the resulting enormous power surge caused fuel in the core to explosively vaporize. The nuclear fission reaction directly heated the water, flashing a large amount into steam. Melting aluminum reacted with water producing hydrogen gas. The exploding fuel plates, violent metal-water reaction, and expanding water vapor pressed upwards on the water above the core, sending a pressure wave that struck the top of the reactor vessel. The force impinged on the lid of the reactor vessel, causing water and steam to spray from the top of the vessel. This extreme form of water hammer propelled top head shielding, remnants of fuel plates, five loose shield plugs, a nozzle flange, and the entire reactor vessel upwards. A later investigation concluded that the 26,000-pound (12,000 kg) vessel had jumped 9 feet 1 inch (2.77 m) in the air before striking the overhead bridge crane drive shaft. The vessel settled back into its original location, leaving little evidence of this except scattered debris. [8] [9] The spray of water and steam knocked two operators onto the floor, killing one and severely injuring another. One of the loose shield plugs on top of the reactor vessel impaled the third man through his groin and exited his shoulder, pinning him to the ceiling. [9] The victims were Army Specialists John A. Byrnes (age 27) and Richard Leroy McKinley (age 22), and Navy Seabee Construction Electrician First Class (CE1) Richard C. Legg (age 26). [10]
It was later established that Byrnes (the reactor operator) had lifted the rod and caused the excursion, Legg (the shift supervisor) was standing on top of the reactor vessel and was impaled and pinned to the ceiling, and McKinley, the trainee who stood nearby, was later found alive by rescuers. All three men succumbed to injuries from physical trauma; the radiation from the nuclear excursion would have given the men no chance of survival.
This was the only fatal incident at a US nuclear power reactor, which destroyed the reactor. This incident was important in the development of commercial power because future designs prevented the core from going critical with the removal of a single rod.
PM-2A
Camp Century, Greenland PM2Anuclearpowerplant.jpg
PM-2A
Camp Century, Greenland

In 1961, after the SL-1 plant explosion, General Alvin Luedecke, the General Manager of the AEC, temporarily prevented the startup of the PM-2A until an interlock could be installed on the central control rod. While the interlock could be operated by personnel, General Luedecke would have to be notified first. [14] The PM-2A was the only reactor besides SL-1 that had a central control rod that could startup the reactor on its own.

We gave explicit instructions on the 8th of January that this reactor, which was shut down at the time, would not be started until we had reviewed the situation. It was necessary for us to issue instructions to modify mechanisms of the PM-2A so that no single rod could be raised to a point where criticality could automatically occur. [14]

PM-2A successfully powered Camp Century for three years. The pressure vessel was also used to investigate neutron embrittlement in carbon steel. This plant was shut down 19631964. However despite the reactor's successes, Project Iceworm was never fielded and Camp Century was later abandoned.

PM-1 Nuclear Power Plant, Sundance Air Force Station PM1nuclearpowerplant.jpg
PM-1 Nuclear Power Plant, Sundance Air Force Station
PM-3A
McMurdo Station, Antarctica PM3Anuclearpowerplant.JPG
PM-3A
McMurdo Station, Antarctica
The PM-3A (Portable, Medium-power, 3rd generation) was a plant installed to provide power for the McMurdo Base in Antarctica. During 19701971, it achieved a world-record power run. It was one of the first shore-based power plants to use solid-state equipment. The PM-3A was not operated by the Army, but was under the NAVFAC (Naval Facilities Engineering Command), the shore-based power division of the US Navy. Although the majority of the personnel were Navy, the PM-3A was a tri-service stationing. For 1970-1971, there was an Army sergeant and an Air Force sergeant stationed with the crew. The plant was air-cooled with the condensers and fan units running glycol. Waste heat was also used for desalination using vacuum flash distillation. The reactor was located in buried tanks in the ground.
The plant suffered from a multitude of problems, including a fire and coolant leakage. It was shut down in September 1972. [17] [18] After decommissioning, the plant was cut into pieces and transported to the US for burial. The soil surrounding the tanks had become radioactive, so it was also removed and transported to Port Hueneme Naval Base, California, where it was incorporated into asphalt pavement.
SM-1A
Ft. Greely, Alaska SM1Anuclearpowerplant.JPG
SM-1A
Ft. Greely, Alaska
MH-1A
Power Barge Sturgis, Gunston Cove, Ft. Belvoir, MH1Anuclearpowerplant.JPG
MH-1A
Power Barge Sturgis, Gunston Cove, Ft. Belvoir,
MH-1A control room simulator MH1Asimulator.JPG
MH-1A control room simulator

Key to the codes:

Of the eight built, six produced operationally useful power for an extended period. Many of the designs were based on United States Naval reactors, which were proven compact reactor designs.[ citation needed ]

Timeline

SM-1
SM-1A
SL-1
PM-1
PM-2A
PM-3A
MH-1A
ML-1
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
Initial criticality to shutdown (approximate)

Significant accomplishments

References for this list include the DOE document, [7] the Suid book, [6] and the Briefing Book. [4]

Nuclear power plant operator training

The Nuclear Power Plant Operator Course (NPPOC) was conducted at Ft. Belvoir. Applicants for the program were enlisted men who had to commit to serving a minimum of two years after completion of training. The requirements for admission to the NPPOC included aptitude test scores at least as stringent as those required for admission to Officer Candidate School. [22] Over 1,000 Nuclear Power Plant operators were licensed between the years 1958 through 1977. The NPPOC was an intense and academically challenging year-long course. [23]

See also

References

  1. Pfeffer, Robert A; Macon, William A (September–October 2001). "Nuclear Power: An Option for the Army's Future". Army Logistician. 33 (5). Archived from the original on 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
  2. Trakimavičius, Lukas. "Is Small Really Beautiful?The Future Role of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) In The Military" (PDF). NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-07-31. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
  3. COL Paul E. Roege - Can nuclear energy fill critical gaps in the military energy portfolio? @ TEAC3 - YouTube
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Army Nuclear Power Program: Past, Present, Future. A briefing document prepared and presented to the Ad Hoc Study Group of the Army Scientific Advisory Panel, 10–11 February 1969
  5. Pfeffer, Macon, Nuclear Power: An Option for the Army's Future, Army Logistician, PB 700-01-5, Vol 33, Issue 5, Sept/Oct 2001, retrieved from Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine on January 30, 2009
  6. 1 2 Suid, L. H., The Army's Nuclear Power Program: The Evolution of a Support Agency, Greenwood (1990), ISBN   978-0-313-27226-4
  7. 1 2 Office of the Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs (January 2001), Highly Enriched Uranium: Striking A Balance - A Historical Report On The United States Highly Enriched Uranium Production, Acquisition, And Utilization Activities From 1945 Through September 30, 1996 (Revision 1 (Redacted For Public Release) ed.), U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, retrieved 2009-06-13
  8. Stacy, Susan M. (2000). Proving the Principle - A History of The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, 1949-1999 (PDF). U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office. Chapter 15. ISBN   0-16-059185-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-07.
  9. 1 2 IDO-19311 Final Report of SL-1 Recovery Operation, Idaho Test Station, General Electric Corporation, July 27, 1962.
  10. "Nuclear Experts Probe Fatal Reactor Explosion". Times Daily. January 5, 1961. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  11. "PM-2A Nuclear Plant Sets Continuous Power Record" (PDF). Army Research and Development Magazine. Vol. 4, no. 4. Headquarters, Department of the Army. April 1963. p. 26. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2013.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  12. PM-2A
  13. Mironov, N.; Kostogarov, S.; Mamedov, A. M.; Lokhanin, G. N.; Sinitsyn, V. I.; Lokhanin, G. N.; Sinitsyn, V. I. (1961). "News of science and technology" . The Soviet Journal of Atomic Energy. 9 (4): 873–887. doi:10.1007/BF01832133. S2CID   189794486.
  14. 1 2 Radiation Safety and Regulation Hearings, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, US Congress, June 12–15, 1961, including SL-1 Accident Atomic Energy Commission Investigation Board Report, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy Congress of the United States, First Session on Radiation Safety and Regulation, Washington, DC, see page 185.
  15. CHARACTERISTICS OF PM-1 (SUNDANCE)
  16. Antarctic Environmental Awareness Pages
  17. "PM-3A Design and Construction". Adams Atomic Engines, Inc. Oct 1996. Archived from the original on 2 December 1998. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  18. Spindler, Bill. "The Antarctic Environmental Awareness Pages". Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  19. "Westinghouse to decommission US prototype reactor". World Nuclear News. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  20. "Dismantling of mothballed Alaskan nuclear plant to resume". Nuclear Engineering International. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  21. "Floating Nuclear Plant Sturgis Dismantled". The Maritime Executive. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  22. Suid, p. 36
  23. "PPS History". Archived from the original on 2009-01-09. Retrieved 2009-02-26.