Neutronics Analysis of Cold Critical KRUSTY Experiments using MCNP and Serpent

Conference · Tue Jun 09 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.13182/t122-32642· OSTI ID:1908676

Smith, Kristin Nichole ^[1]; Hutchinson, Jesson D. ^[2]; Cutler, Theresa Elizabeth ^[2]; Sanchez, Rene Gerardo ^[2]; Tsvetkov, Pavel ^[1]

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1. Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
2. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) is a prototype designed as a proof of concept for NASA’s Kilo power program, which was funded in order to create a small reactor for various space applications such as providing power for a colony on Mars or the moon and eventually as a possible option for powering rockets on deep space missions. KRUSTY was tested at the National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) located at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) from November 2017, through March 2018. The experimental campaign was conducted in four phases: com ponent critical experiments, cold critical experiments, warm critical runs, and high temperature demonstration. The component critical and cold critical experiments were used to determine the worth of the beryllium oxide (BeO) reflector rings and the boron carbide (B4C) control rod disks under different conditions. These conditions were altered by the addition and subtraction of other components in the assembly. The component critical phase was performed at atmospheric pressure and had four solid support rods spanning the center core; whereas the cold critical phase had the center core placed in a vacuum chamber and eight sodium-filled heat pipes spanning the center core region. This summary discusses the static neutronic analysis completed on the cold critical phase of the campaign using MCNP^® and Serpent. These two codes were used to assess any potential differences or biases in the simulation results. Understanding these potential biases is a key step toward the final goal of being able to fully analyze the transient experiments performed during phases 3 and 4 of the campaign.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
• DOE Contract Number: 89233218CNA000001
• OSTI ID: 1908676
• Report Number(s): LA-UR-20-24160
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 122, Issue 1; Conference: 2020 ANS Annual Meeting , Held Virtually (United States), 8-11 Jun 2020; Related Information: https://www.ans.org/meetings/am2020/session/view-64/; ISSN 0003-018X
• Publisher: American Nuclear Society
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP)
Integral Experiments
Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY)
Beryllium Oxide (BeO)
Boron Carbide (B4C)
National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC)
Nevada National Security Site (NNSS)
Kilopower Program
Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport (MCNP)
Serpent