What is the “positive void coefficient”?
The positive void effect was an important contributor to the 1986 Chernobyl accident. A positive void effect refers to the rapid increase in reactor power that occurs when voids form in the coolant that is used to remove heat from the reactor core. The increase in reactor power makes it difficult to control the reactor increasing the chance of an explosion and release of radioactivity. CANDU reactors – like those at the Pickering nuclear station – share this inherent design flaw with the Chernobyl RBMK reactor design.
