The central void reactivity in the Oak Ridge enriched uranium (93.2) metal sphere
The central reactivity void worth was measured in the Oak Ridge unmoderated and unreflected uranium (93.20 wt% {sup 235}U) metal sphere by replacement measurements in a small (0.460-cm-diam) central spherical region in an 8.7427-cm-radius sphere. The central void worth was 9.165 {+-} 0.023 cents using the delayed neutron relative abundances and decay constants of Keepin, Wimett, and Zeigler to obtain the reactivity in cents from the stable reactor period measurements using the Inhour equation. This value is slightly larger than measurements with GODIVA 1 with larger cylindrical samples of uranium (93.70 wt% {sup 235}U) in the center: 135.50 {+-} 0.12 cents/mole for GODIVA 1 and 138.05 {+-} 0.34 cents/mole for the Oak Ridge sphere measurements, and the difference could be due to sample size effect. The central worth in {Delta}k units was calculated by neutron transport theory methods to be 6.02 {+-} 0.01 x 10{sup {minus}4} {Delta}k. The measured and calculated values are related by the effective delayed neutron fraction. The value of the effective delayed neutron fraction obtained in this way from the Oak Ridge sphere is 0.00657 {+-} 0.00002, which is in excellent agreement with that obtained from GODIVA 1 measurements, where the effective delayed neutron fraction was determined as the increment between delayed and prompt criticality and was 0.0066. From these Oak Ridge measurements, using the delayed neutron parameters of ENDF-B/VI to obtain the reactivity from the stable reactor period measurements, the central void worth is 7.984 {+-} 0.021 cents, and the inferred effective delayed neutron fraction is 0.00754. This central void worth and effective delayed neutron fractions are 14.2% higher than those obtained from use of the Keepin et al. delayed neutron data and produce a value of delayed neutron fraction in disagreement with GODIVA 1 measurements, thus questioning the usefulness of the relative abundances and decay constants of the six-group delayed neutron parameters of ENDF-B/VI for uranium for obtaining the reactivity from the measured reactor period using the Inhour equation.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-96OR22464
- OSTI ID:
- 656695
- Report Number(s):
- ORNL/TM-13349; ON: DE98003639; TRN: 98:010946
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Mar 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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