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U.S. Department of Energy
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PLUTONIUM FUEL REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATION OF THE MTR

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:4322238
An approximate equation for the fuel content of Pu/sup 239/ per assembly needed to give the same charge life as a stated content of U/sup 235/ is derived by a perturbation method. Current MTR practice requires refueling after 400 Mwd operation. About 180 grams of U/sup 235/ per fuel assembly are required. On this basis about 125 grams of Pu/sup 239/ per assembly are predicted. The initial critical position for the Pu/sup 239/ fueled reactor is estimated to occur when the shim rods are in 1.5 inches deeper than in the U/sup 235/ system. This will aggravate the hot spot problems. The equations used here are derived using a number of approximations. It is believed that the predicted Pu/sup 239/ fuel content is fairly good, but the estimate of the initial shim rod level relative to the U/sup 235/ fueled reactor as only qualitative. Certainly at start-up the shims will be more deeply inserted in the Pu/sup 239/ system. (auth)
Research Organization:
Phillips Petroleum Co. Atomic Energy Div., Idaho Falls, Idaho
DOE Contract Number:
AT(10-1)-205
NSA Number:
NSA-12-008725
OSTI ID:
4322238
Report Number(s):
IDO-16378
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English