TRIPOLI-4 criticality calculations for MOX fuelled SNEAK 7A and 7B fast critical assemblies

Conference · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2012

OSTI ID:22105886

Lee, Y. K. ^[1]

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1. Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, CEA-Saclay, DEN/DANS/DM2S/SERMA, 91191 Gif sur Yvette Cedex (France)

A prototype Generation IV fast neutron reactor is under design and development in France. The MOX fuel will be introduced into this self-generating core in order to demonstrate low net plutonium production. To support the TRIPOLI-4 Monte Carlo transport code in criticality calculations of fast reactors, the effective delayed neutron fraction {beta}eff estimation and the Probability Tables (PT) option to treat the unresolved resonance region of cross-sections are two essentials. In this study, TRIPOLI-4 calculations have been made using current nuclear data libraries JEFF-3.1.1 and ENDF/B-VII.0 to benchmark the reactor physics parameters of the MOX fuelled SNEAK 7A and 7B fast critical assemblies. TRIPOLI-4 calculated K{sub eff} and {beta}eff of the homogeneous R-Z models and the 3D multi-cell models have been validated against the measured ones. The impact of the PT option on K{sub eff} is 340 {+-} 10 pcm for SNEAK 7A core and 410 {+-} 12 pcm for 7B. Four-group spectra and energy spectral indices, f8/f5, f9/f5, and c8/f5 in the two SNEAK cores have also been calculated with the TRIPOLI-4 mesh tally. Calculated spectrum-hardening index f8/f5 is 0.0418 for SNEAK 7A and 0.0315 for 7B. From this study the SNEAK 3D models have been verified for the next revision of IRPhE (International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments). (authors)

• Research Organization: American Nuclear Society, Inc., 555 N. Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, Illinois 60526 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22105886
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
BENCHMARKS
COMPUTER CODES
CRITICALITY
CROSS SECTIONS
DELAYED NEUTRON FRACTION
DESIGN
FAST NEUTRONS
FAST REACTORS
FISSION
FRANCE
MIXED OXIDE FUELS
MONTE CARLO METHOD
NUCLEAR DATA COLLECTIONS
PLUTONIUM
PLUTONIUM REACTORS
PROBABILITY
REACTOR PHYSICS
ZERO POWER REACTORS