Fuel Element Burning Experiment: Operation Weiner Roast

1959 film, with transcript

Catalog description: This film describes an experiment at the National Reactor Testing Station, Idaho, in which aircraft reactor fuel elements, together with other materials, were melted in a simulated aircraft crash. The experiment consisted of two phases: the first (Phase A) used jet fuel as the combustible and the second (Phase B) used Thermite to produce high temperature to assure melting. In Phase A, melting did not occur, and no radioactivity was released. In Phase B, melting did occur, with the release of a small amount of activity (10,000 curies of fission products) in the National Reactor Testing Station out to a distance of V2 mile. The total experiment provided preliminary experimental data upon which to base further experiments and to make very preliminary estimates of the hazards of mobile reactors in an accident situation. (The film should be of interest to persons concerned with: the release of fission products from radioactive fuel elements when the element is completely melted; the results obtained by the destruction of fuel elements containing significant fission products; development of aircraft reactors; and generalized safety research. The film should be of particular interest to personnel associated with organic-moderated facilities in which fire hazard is a factor, radiological health and safety activities, the Radiological Assistance Program, etc

This is film 88149 in our catalog.

Show transcript
00:32 PLANS FOR OPERATION WIENER ROAST WERE MADE HERE
00:51 AT THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION BUILDING IN IDAHO FALLS.
00:55 AND THE EXPERIMENTS WERE CONDUCTED AT THE NATIONAL REACTOR TESTING STATION
00:59 53 miles away in the Valley of the Lost River Mountains.
01:05 Although these pictures were taken in the middle of March,
01:08 the peaks were still covered with snow.
01:11 Careful preparations were made to approximate actual conditions,
01:14 so the body of a real airframe was brought to the Twin Buttes Desert.
01:23 To record essential data, weather stations were set up
01:27 and direct gamma reading instruments strategically located.
01:34 From inside the airframe, the jet fuel oil can be seen at the bottom.
01:50 For better burning, holes were cut in the sides of the fuselage.
01:54 The nuclear fuel element had to be kept centered in the flame
01:59 so the jet fuel oil was arranged in a teardrop shape
02:03 and to check biological effects of the experiment
02:06 arrangements were made with the local volunteer rabbit corps
02:10 They didn't mind a bit Intensity of radiation
02:26 was measured by direct gamma reading instruments placed three feet above
02:30 the ground. By using portable electrical instruments and mobile
02:34 power supplies, it was possible to get around and monitor the results
02:38 from almost any point in the test area.
02:42 Filters were used to sample the solid material in the air.
02:47 Before and after both phases of the experiment,
02:50 radiation measurements were made by means of walk-ins along eight radial lines.
02:56 To study the upper air, blimps were set up to heights of five hundred, one thousand, and fifteen hundred feet.
03:04 Attached to each were a series of vacuum jars, which were automatically opened,
03:09 samples taken, and then automatically recorked
03:12 for analysis at a more convenient time.
03:21 The most difficult part of the operation was considered to be the accurate placing of the hot fuel element.
03:27 Proper test position was accomplished by using a crane with a 90-foot boom.
03:32 before the final decision was made to proceed with this experiment five trials were necessary
03:42 equipment and procedures were studied personnel were briefed and detailed observations were made
03:49 of the weather conditions the terrain and particularly the burning characteristics of
03:54 jet fuel oil.
04:03 It is a credit to the skill of the operator that he was able to put the fuel element into
04:07 a relatively small red funnel, despite an annoying 15-mile-an-hour wind.
04:14 This shows the position of the fuel element.
04:20 Before the experiment could be started, conditions had to be just right.
04:24 everything had to be checked and rechecked.
04:31 The instrumentation was made within a 45 degree sector.
04:35 If the experiment was repeated, this would be increased to 90 or perhaps even 180 degrees.
04:46 Unfavorable winds caused delay, and smudge pots were set out to determine whether the
04:51 the wind on the ground was the same as indicated by the blimps.
04:57 After postponing the experiment for four successive days, word was given to begin, and the first
05:03 blimp was sent aloft to its designated height.
05:16 thermite starters were needed to set the oil on fire, because jet fuel has a tendency to
05:21 develop resistance to combustion when it remains overnight in cold weather. Previous attempts
05:28 with black powder proved to be ineffective, so a battery of five thermite starters were
05:33 installed, and each one of them ignited successfully.
05:41 When ignited, the blaze is clearly visible, but automobile tires were needed to produce
05:47 a large volume of dense black smoke.
06:00 As the jet fuel oil burns vigorously, it envelops the nuclear fuel element.
06:11 The purpose of Phase A was to simulate the crash of a nuclear-powered aircraft.
06:33 The airframe used in the experiment is the fuselage of an actual plane.
06:38 The skin is made of magnesium.
06:40 And the supporting members are aluminum.
06:44 The white smoke is the metallic oxide created by the intense heat.
06:57 As the inferno continued, most of the magnesium and aluminum melted.
07:02 Most of it did not burn away.
07:10 This quadropod rig was custom designed to help keep the fuel element upright throughout the experiment.
07:22 But without consulting any of the scientists, a workman substituted a brass nut for one of the steel ones he had damaged.
07:30 As you will see later on, the brass nut melted and one of the legs of the quadropod collapsed.
07:36 This caused difficulty in precise evaluation of data.
07:40 the flame continued
07:53 for almost two hours and as the fire
07:56 raged furiously the temperature soared to 2250 degrees Fahrenheit
08:01 higher than in any of the previous trials
08:04 by at least another hundred degrees it should be noted
08:08 that none of the preliminary work involved the use of actual materials.
08:13 Prior to Operation Wiener Roast, the mock-ups did not include an airframe,
08:18 nor was the nuclear fuel element included in the stainless steel container.
08:23 Not until final agreement was reached by the planning committee
08:26 was any scientific attempt made to determine what would happen
08:30 if a radioactive fuel element was subjected to conditions
08:34 simulated by the crash of a nuclear-powered plane.
08:37 with direct gamma reading instruments, fallout plates, and the rabbits acting as biological
08:44 indicators, air samples were taken as far as one mile downwind. It had been anticipated that if
08:52 there was a comparatively small amount of radioactivity, about five or ten percent, the loss
08:58 could be easily verified. All that was required was to check the results of the walk-ins before
09:05 and after the experiment. Even though the wind kept shifting back and forth through
09:10 approximately 40 degrees, there was no difficulty in obtaining all the essential data.
09:23 The first time this experiment was mocked up, a circular pond of jet fuel oil was used,
09:28 but with a 12 mile an hour wind, the fire stayed beyond the end of the container. However,
09:35 with a teardrop shape, a maximum flame was maintained around the fuel element.
09:44 At the bottom of the fuselage, the white metallic oxide flame may be seen. This,
09:49 together with the automobile tires, made quite a sight, visible all over the upper Snake River Valley.
09:55 The ground wind at the time had a swing of close to 20 degrees.
10:07 The test crew was fully prepared for this set of circumstances
10:10 and took the precaution of tying the blimps to trucks,
10:13 which just had to move back and forth to keep the apparatus in the main plume of the smoke.
10:25 The airframe was expected to melt down completely and collapse,
10:45 but the quadropod was carefully designed to hold the fuel element in a constantly vertical position
10:50 to allow for the walk-ins along the radials
10:53 for checking the loss of radioactive materials.
10:57 However, when one of the legs gave way, the fuel element fell and the radial picture was distorted.
11:03 For a time, it appeared that the loss was as high as 50 percent
11:07 because the radiation field went down immediately.
11:11 The truth was discovered before the experiment was concluded.
11:15 That ring is the top of the stainless steel rope
11:18 holding the fuel element.
11:19 In a certain sense, it's almost unfortunate
11:24 that there was no release of radioactivity
11:27 No opportunity was presented to measure the spread of radioactivity
11:31 Originally, it was assumed that if the nuclear fuel element
11:35 did catch on fire and burn radioactive materials would follow in the trail of the smoke
11:41 This conclusion is still not certain
12:19 At the end of the experiment,
12:32 only one problem remained unanswered.
12:35 How could the fuel element be safely removed
12:38 from the molten mass of magnesium and aluminum?
12:49 After examining the nature of the melted metal,
13:03 some of the crew went back to the shop and made a couple of special tools.
13:08 This one is a long stick with a hook on the end.
13:11 And with the use of manpower alone, the fuel element was pulled loose from the solidified metal.
13:20 This view is somewhat distorted because the telephoto lens makes the men appear closer than they actually were.
13:33 The other tool made in the instrument shop was a grappling hook,
13:37 now being held at just the right angle by those ropes,
13:40 so that the crane can pick up the fuel element.
13:49 This tricky operation took only an hour and a half
14:08 because the operator had such acute depth perception.
14:13 That time includes the making of the tools.
14:15 in addition to some dirt on the fuel element formed by a coat of melted magnesium and aluminum
14:23 a small triangular hole was discovered in the cladding this indicated a puncture when the
14:30 fallout plates were developed the amount of radioactivity indicated was insignificant
14:35 the air samples registered nothing with the exception of the two places where the fuel
14:41 element fell survey instruments could not detect anything
14:51 incidentally the shape of the fuel element is still classified
14:54 so there are no close-ups of this procedure
14:59 another thing not shown in this film was the initial attempt to drop the fuel element into
15:04 the garbage can it fell off the hook the first time and had to be done over
15:09 This is the second time around. There was no difficulty.
15:17 The garbage can was then put into a shielded container
15:21 and taken to the hot room where there were facilities for comprehensive examination.
15:29 Results of phase A demonstrated that there is no release of radioactivity
15:34 when a nuclear fuel element has been subjected to the intense heat of burning jet fuel oil
15:39 combined with other reactor materials under these test conditions.
15:58 The second phase of the experiment was organized to determine the effects of extreme heat
16:03 on a nuclear fuel element.
16:06 This time it was planned to raise the temperature to 5,600 degrees Fahrenheit.
16:11 And the curies were increased to 10,000, twice the amount used in Phase A.
16:17 Although no radioactive materials were used during the trials,
16:21 everyone had a chance to preview the nature of the events
16:24 to be observed during the actual experiment.
16:33 The demanding nature of Phase B required about 10 mock-ups like this
16:40 to guarantee an enclosure that would last a minute and a half.
17:03 If there had been any contamination of the area,
17:26 previous arrangements had been made to use another site for Phase B.
17:31 Actually, the only changes needed were fresh filter papers and a new set of rabbits.
17:36 The instrumentation remained the same.
17:44 The test pipes were lined with close to three inches of magnesium,
17:49 filled with iron filings, steel wool, and thermite.
17:52 To intensify the heat, oxygen was added by means of a cylinder connected to the pipe
18:01 and the valves were turned mechanically from a distance of 200 yards.
18:52 As the experiment proceeded, not all the well-rehearsed movements ran smoothly.
19:01 For one thing, the wind freshened up to about 20 miles an hour,
19:04 and the crane operator had trouble hitting the funnel, even though it was painted red.
19:10 To further complicate the situation, the fuel element stuck twice
19:13 before it was successfully lowered down into the interior of the pipe.
19:17 Despite these minor delays, the second phase of the experiment began within an
19:23 hour and a half after the completion of Phase A.
19:36 After the preliminary radial walk-ins, the thermite charge was set off, and the
19:42 first smoke went sailing in a direction which the rest of the smoke did not
19:45 follow. This went all the way to the Westinghouse plant, five miles in the distance. This is a
19:53 closer view of the thermite starter. The closer shots appear darker because of differences in
19:59 photographic exposure among the three cameras. With the exception of the smoke which drifted
20:05 to the Westinghouse plant, everything went according to plan and resembled the pattern
20:10 of the trial mock-ups.
20:13 Watching from the field as dust descended, it looked like a spectacular display of fireworks,
20:19 complete with Roman candle.
20:23 But there were drawbacks, too.
20:25 None of the blimps was in a position to get an air sample.
20:29 They were all too high and out of the path of the downwind.
20:33 This was somewhat disappointing because great pains had been taken
20:37 to make sure the survey instruments would be able to record the results.
20:42 Since radioactivity can easily be detected if there is 1,000 curies per distance mile,
20:48 10,000 curies were put into that torch.
20:52 In this phase of the experiment, the integrity of the fuel element was completely violated,
20:58 and the release was estimated to be up to 10%.
21:01 The great bulk of the activity remained within a radius of 50 feet,
21:06 but with survey instruments, it was discovered on the ground and on sagebrush for about 2,000 feet.
21:13 Activity was well contained in a plume of about 25 degrees
21:17 and couldn't be found beyond 2,000 feet,
21:21 except for the air filter samples in the neighborhood of the Westinghouse site.
21:26 Nothing definite could be determined from the radial walk-ins after the experiment
21:30 because of the shift in the winds.
21:33 All that could be determined was proof of fission products all over the ground.
21:38 Final lab reports later on proved the radioactive material
21:42 was largely ruthenium, cesium, and the halogens, including iodine.
21:47 It was all over in 90 seconds, but it was an unforgettable experience.
21:53 Next day, the whole site was cleaned up in less than three hours.
21:57 The area was bulldozed, the earth put into a dumpster truck trailer,
22:01 and then hauled to the burial ground.
22:08 Results of Phase B of Operation Wiener Roast
22:11 indicated that with a temperature of approximately 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit
22:16 and under the test conditions, the upper limit of radioactivity released was 10%,
22:23 with most of this staying within a half mile of the release point.