A full-scale, stainless-steel replica of one of the four fuel bundles designed for the core of a 10 MW (thermal) SLOWPOKE reactor. The SLOWPOKE series of reactors were pool-type unpressurized reactors cooled by natural circulation of light water. The first units were built with a power of a few watts (up to 20 kW) and were built largely for university installations where they were used primarily for neutron activations. The ultra-safe operating mode lead to the development of higher power units which might be used for district heating, particularly in remote northern regions where heating is very expensive. Designs were completed for units with powers in the range of 2-10 MW and a 2 MW unit was built and operated at the Whiteshell Laboratories.
The bundle consists of forty-nine, 13.1 mm diameter, fuel elements each approximately 75 cm in length. The outside measurement of the square bundle is 13.3 cm and the overall length of the assembly is 87.6 cm.
