Cross section generation and physics modeling in a feasibility study of the conversion of the high flux isotope reactor core to use low-enriched uranium fuel

Conference · Sat Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2006

OSTI ID:22039515

Ellis, R J; Gehin, J C; Primm, Iii, R T ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States)

A computational study has been initiated at ORNL to examine the feasibility of converting the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) from highly enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. The current study is limited to steady-state, nominal operation and are focused on the determination of the fuel requirements, primarily density, that are required to maintain the performance of the reactor. Reactor physics analyses are reported for a uranium-molybdenum alloy that would be substituted for the current fuel - U{sub 3}O{sub 8} mixed with aluminum. An LEU core design has been obtained and requires an increase in {sup 235}U loading of a factor of 1.9 over the current HEU fuel. These initial results indicate that the conversion from HEU to LEU results in a reduction of the thermal fluxes in the central flux trap region of approximately 9 % and in the outer beryllium reflector region of approximately 15%. Ongoing work is being performed to improve upon this initial design to further minimize the impact of conversion to LEU fuel. (authors)

• Research Organization: American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22039515
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
ALUMINIUM
BERYLLIUM
CROSS SECTIONS
DENSITY
DESIGN
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
HFIR REACTOR
HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
NEUTRON FLUX
SLIGHTLY ENRICHED URANIUM
STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS
THERMAL NEUTRONS
URANIUM 235
URANIUM OXIDES U3O8
URANIUM-MOLYBDENUM FUELS