Using ORIGEN/KENO to calculate burnup credit for spent-fuel pool criticality analyses

Journal Article · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1994 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

OSTI ID:89141

Rombough, C T; Martonak, S H; Walkin, J

Due to delays in the U.S. Department of Energy high-level waste storage program, the spent-fuel pool at the Rancho Seco nuclear power plant was reracked in 1985 so that nearly twice as many fuel assemblies could be stored. Since the fuel assemblies would be much closer together, the racks were impregnated with Boraflex, a compound containing boron to absorb neutrons and reduce the effective multiplication constant, k{sub eff}. In 1993, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a letter to all licensees using Boraflex to advise them that under certain conditions, the Boraflex absorber may deteriorate and may not provide the necessary negative reactivity. Since the Rancho Seco spent-fuel pool contained only burned fuel assemblies and there were no plans to store any fresh fuel assemblies, it was possible that the pool would remain subcritical if the increase in multiplication caused by the loss of Boraflex were offset by the decrease in multiplication caused by the burnup in the fuel. Consequently, in early 1994, a detailed criticality analysis was performed to accurately account for the actual burnup in the fuel to see if the spent-fuel pool would remain subcritical in the unlikely event that all of the Boraflex absorber were lost.

• OSTI ID: 89141
• Report Number(s): CONF-941102--
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Vol. 71; ISSN 0003-018X; ISSN TANSAO
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
ABSORPTION
BORON
BURNUP
CRITICALITY
FISSION PRODUCTS
MULTIPLICATION FACTORS
O CODES
REACTIVITY
S CODES
SPENT FUEL ELEMENTS
SPENT FUEL STORAGE
SUBCRITICAL ASSEMBLIES