Liquid-Hydrogen Explosions in Closed Vessels

Liquid-hydrogen/solid-air explosions have been carried out In a closed volume to assess the possible hazards of an explosion In an in-pile nuclear experiment. At A.E.R.E. Harwell there are a number of current and prospective nuclear-physics experiments that use chambers adjacent to the reactor core, filled with liquid hydrogen in order to moderate the reactor neutron flux and produce collimated beams of low-energy neutrons. These moderator chambers are generally surrounded by a vacuum tube of up to 7 ft in length and 4 to 12 in. in diameter.