S1C reactor

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The S1C reactor was a prototype naval reactor designed for the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The S1C designation stands for:

The Windsor site was located at 1000 Prospect Hill Rd. (the address was later changed to 2000 Day Hill Road) on a 530 acre tract purchased by Combustion Engineering in 1955.

File:S1C Windsor Site -- June 1987.jpg
Windsor Site in June 1987

This nuclear reactor was built in Windsor, Connecticut as a prototype for the experimental USS Tullibee (SSN-597) submarine, though that boat was in fact powered by a S2C reactor. Unusual for a nuclear submarine propulsion plant, steam turbines powered generators, which in turn powered an electric motor. This eliminated the need for reduction gears and their associated underwater noise. The USS Tullibee was an early advanced-design, fast-attack submarine constructed by Electric Boat and commissioned in 1960.

Throughout the Cold War, the S1C Prototype nuclear submarine propulsion plant at the Windsor Site (41°52'45.08" N 72°43'02.55" W) supported the submarines and surface ships of the Navy’s nuclear fleet by testing new equipment and training Naval propulsion plant operators. S1C was the prototype for the USS Tullibee. The S1C Prototype was operated at the Windsor Site from 1959 until 1993. During that time, over 14,000 Naval operators were trained there, including Admiral Kirkland H. Donald early in his career. [1]student there in mid 1970's.

Full cleanup of the S1C site was recently declared to be complete by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in 2006.[2] Remediation of the site was undertaken by Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL), based out of Schenectady, New York. KAPL had taken over operation of the S1C site in the 1960s after expiration of the Navy's original contract with C-E.[citation needed]

The reactor was situated on land and known as the S1C Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU). Except for its size and electric drive, the system layout was very similar to the S5W reactor used in most nuclear-powered submarines at the time.

References

  1. The middle reactor core fuel assembly was never changed at refueling to test for a "fuel element failure". This is where neutron irradiation causes the fuel element to break down releasing radioactive fuel and fission products into the primary coolant.
  2. DOE Reactor Site Returns To Green Field Conditions - First Unrestricted Release Of A Nuclear Power Site

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