Detailed axial power profiles in a MOX fuel experiment in the Advanced Test Reactor
- Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies, Idaho Falls, ID (United States). Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Lab.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has chosen two options to dispose of surplus weapons-grade (WG) plutonium (WGPu). One option is to burn the WGPu in mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel in light water reactors. An average power test (<10 kW/ft) of WG-MOX fuel was inserted in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) in February 1998. A high power test (<15 kW/ft) of WG-MOX fuel in ATR will follow the average-power test. The ability to accurately predict fuel power is essential in the high-power WG-MOX fuel capsule design for the test in ATR. Detailed fission power and temperature profiles may influence gallium migration in WG-MOX fuel pins. Most of the fission heat generated in the MOX fuel capsules will transfer radially to the water coolant. However, because of the short length (15.24 cm) of the MOX fuel pellet stacks, some of the fission heat will transfer through the end pellets axially. Compounded with peak fission power local-to-average ratios (LTAR) at the ends of MOX fuel stacks, the hot spot created may exceed the design limit. Therefore, the prediction of the axial fission power profiles over the MOX fuel stacks at the beginning of life (BOL) and end of life (EOL) are important for MOX fuel performance analysis and capsule design for testing in ATR. Continuous-energy MCNP linked with ORIGEN2 can generate the burnup-dependent cross sections and fission power distribution for fuel burnup analysis while accurately including the effects of self-shielding. This approach is very important for the prediction of plutonium content and LTAR in MOX fuel pellet stacks with HfO{sub 2} ends. MCWO can accurately determine fuel pin power distributions in the ATR experiment when the MOX fuel and HfO{sub 2} are depleted simultaneously. This is significant because the authors quickly provided the customer with the required detailed power distributions within the MOX pins using the new approach. The MOX fuel pin with HfO{sub 2} can flatten the axial power profiles from BOL to EOL and meet the MOX test assembly design requirement.
- OSTI ID:
- 298342
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-981106-; ISSN 0003-018X; TRN: 99:001973
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 79; Conference: American Nuclear Society winter meeting, Washington, DC (United States), 15-19 Nov 1998; Other Information: PBD: 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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