TREAT Transient Analysis Benchmarking for the HEU Core

Technical Report · Thu May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1224988· OSTI ID:1224988

Kontogeorgakos, D. C. ^[1]; Connaway, H. M. ^[1]; Wright, A. E. ^[1]

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1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

This work was performed to support the feasibility study on the potential conversion of the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) at Idaho National Laboratory from the use of high enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to the use of low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. The analyses were performed by the GTRI Reactor Conversion staff at the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The objective of this study was to benchmark the transient calculations against temperature-limited transients performed in the final operating HEU TREAT core configuration. The MCNP code was used to evaluate steady-state neutronics behavior, and the point kinetics code TREKIN was used to determine core power and energy during transients. The first part of the benchmarking process was to calculate with MCNP all the neutronic parameters required by TREKIN to simulate the transients: the transient rod-bank worth, the prompt neutron generation lifetime, the temperature reactivity feedback as a function of total core energy, and the core-average temperature and peak temperature as a functions of total core energy. The results of these calculations were compared against measurements or against reported values as documented in the available TREAT reports. The heating of the fuel was simulated as an adiabatic process. The reported values were extracted from ANL reports, intra-laboratory memos and experiment logsheets and in some cases it was not clear if the values were based on measurements, on calculations or a combination of both. Therefore, it was decided to use the term “reported” values when referring to such data. The methods and results from the HEU core transient analyses will be used for the potential LEU core configurations to predict the converted (LEU) core’s performance.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1224988
• Report Number(s): ANL/GTRI/TM-14/11; 121903; TRN: US1500842
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM
PROMPT NEUTRONS
TRANSIENTS
TREAT REACTOR
BENCHMARKS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONFIGURATION
CONVERSION
NUCLEAR FUELS
ADIABATIC PROCESSES
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
REACTIVITY COEFFICIENTS
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
HEATING
REACTOR KINETICS
LIFETIME
PEAKS
PERFORMANCE
CONTROL ROD WORTHS
TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
REACTOR CORES
ENERGY DEPENDENCE
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
SLIGHTLY ENRICHED URANIUM
HEU
MCNP
benchmarking