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Title: JM-1 SLOWPOKE-II Research Reactor Supporting Analysis Report for the Conversion from HEU to LEU

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1463234· OSTI ID:1463234
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2]
  1. Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
  2. Univ. of West Indies, Kingston (Jamaica)

The JM-1 research reactor (SLOWPOKE-2 type) at the International Centre for Nuclear and Environmental Sciences (ICENS) of the University of West Indies, in Kingston (Jamaica), was successfully converted from HEU to LEU fuel on September 2015. As part of the work to produce the corresponding Safety Analysis Report (SAR), which was to be reviewed and approved by the Jamaican regulator in order to provide authorization for the reactor commissioning, a detailed safety analysis was carried out. This analysis, involving a variety of calculations, is summarized in the present report; describing the basic methodology and the obtained results. The report covers both the neutronic and thermal hydraulic aspects of the analysis, for which MCNP and PLTEMP/ANL codes, respectively, were used. On one hand, the HEU core was modeled and analyzed, subsequently comparing the obtained results with the available experimental data. On the other hand, the modifications involved with the change to an LEU core were introduced into the models and the results examined to ensure that the differences in the expected behavior did not negatively affect the reactor safety or performance. In fact, the LEU core was found to present significant advantages in different areas. Consequently, the present report provided a solid basis for the SAR.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Counterterrorism and Counterproliferation
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1463234
Report Number(s):
ANL/RTR/TM-17/4; 144261; TRN: US1901667
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English