Olde Camp NRTS

Remembering the SL-1 Accident 52 Years Later

By Ken Moore

July 19, 2013

I was a young engineer working at the MTR (Materials Testing Reactor) for Phillips Petroleum Company, a contractor to the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, in the research group headed by Deslonde deBoisblanc and my direct supervision was Bill Byron. As I now remember, this was the time era when I was programming the IBM 650 computer to solve the reactor kinetics equations for hypothetical rod ejection accidents. When the SL-1 reactor accident occurred the night of January 3, 1961, I had been working at the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS) for about four years.

Continue reading “The SL-1 Accident 52 Years Later”

by Dan Hughes

As I have mentioned from time to time, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in general, and Lance Agee in particular, played major roles in the success of the R & D for water reactor operation and safety undertaken by some of the various companies that arose as the great exodus from Camp NRTS got underway in the mid 1970s.

I’ll give some of my recollections in the following notes.

Continue reading “Energy Incorporated, Electric Power Research Institute, Lance Agee, and RETRAN”

by Dan Hughes
This is the second of a few posts that summarize some of the activities within the New Analysis Development Activity (NADA) group in the early- to mid-1970s.

They were best of exciting times. We were decades ahead of the world.

They were the worst of times. Management at the USNRC dismissed the very significant number of years of experience and expertise represented by the group members. That same USNRC had paid for the advances that they threw out the window.

Update Tuesday June 22, 2017: This post might make more sense after reading Part 0

Update Tuesday April 18, 2017: I have corrected the nomenclature based on information from Chuck Solbrig.

Continue reading “Models, Methods, and Software Research at Olde Camp NRTS: Part 1”

by Dan Hughes

This post is Part 0 of a few that summarize some of the activities that occurred not long after I started work for the Atomic Energy Division of Phillips Petroleum Company at Camp NRTS. The cast includes George Brockett, Larry Ybarrondo, and Chuck Solbrig, with appearances by a host of others.

All are welcomed to jump in and fix my screw-ups.

Continue reading “Models, Methods, and Software Research at Olde Camp NRTS: Part 0”

by Dan Hughes

ABOUT:
The Good Olde Good Tyme days of Thermal Hydraulics at the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS), frequently and fondly referred to as Camp NRTS.

This blog is a part of the Loosely Organized Gathering scheduled for Sunday August 20, 2017, in Idaho Falls, Idaho. This morning it occurred to me that we could try catching up and keeping up by way of this blog. There are two ways for you to contribute as follows: (1) comment on posts, and (2) provide a post. For the latter, send a text file along with JPG versions of any photos and PDF versions of reports and papers to me and I’ll make a post. If you would rather construct your post within WordPress, let me know and I’ll set you up. (At least I think that can be done.)

Contributions from all are warmly welcomed and greatly appreciated. All topics are open for presentation and discussion. The people and their activities, both personal and professional, including both the serious and the frivolous. And yes, I’ve heard that some legend grade frivolous activities might have been a part of the wide and deep camaraderie back in the good olde days at Camp NRTS. I never did any, of course.

I’ll start off. I’m not sure where to start, but here goes.

Continue reading “Welcome to Olde Camp NRTS”