Performance and safety evaluation of a mixed-spectrum reactor design

Abou-Jaoude, A.; Stauff, N. E.; Erickson, A.

doi:10.1016/j.anucene.2018.10.057

Title: Performance and safety evaluation of a mixed-spectrum reactor design

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Abstract

Mixed-spectrum reactors (MXR) have been investigated for a wide variety of applications. Typical MXR core designs are based on fast configurations with moderating material inserted within localized regions of the core. Limited analysis has been conducted on assessing important performance and safety aspects. Three main safety-related metrics are devised in this article to validate the feasibility of MXR designs. A long-lived MXR variant was taken as a case study for this analysis. Reactivity feedback mechanisms were evaluated, along with power peaking effects and fast flux damage. Neutron transport simulations found that distortions are manageable in all three areas, with notable improvements in fluence limits and Doppler broadening coefficients. In conclusion, power peaking effects can be significantly dampened by slight addition of gadolinium in the fuel and by carefully selecting the reflector material.

Authors:

Abou-Jaoude, A. ^[1]; Stauff, N. E. ^[2]; Erickson, A. ^[3]

Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)
Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

Publication Date:: Wed Nov 13 00:00:00 EST 2019

Research Org.:: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)

OSTI Identifier:: 1546764

Alternate Identifier(s):: OSTI ID: 1636438

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Annals of Nuclear Energy (Oxford)

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Name: Annals of Nuclear Energy (Oxford); Journal Volume: 126; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0306-4549

Publisher:: Elsevier

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS; long-lived reactor; mixed-spectrum; power peaking; reactivity feedback; reactor physics

Citation Formats


                    Abou-Jaoude, A., Stauff, N. E., and Erickson, A. Performance and safety evaluation of a mixed-spectrum reactor design.  United States: N. p., 2019. 
Web.  doi:10.1016/j.anucene.2018.10.057.

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                    Abou-Jaoude, A., Stauff, N. E., & Erickson, A. Performance and safety evaluation of a mixed-spectrum reactor design.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2018.10.057

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                    Abou-Jaoude, A., Stauff, N. E., and Erickson, A. Wed .  
"Performance and safety evaluation of a mixed-spectrum reactor design".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2018.10.057.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1546764.

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@article{osti_1546764,

  title        = {Performance and safety evaluation of a mixed-spectrum reactor design},

  author       = {Abou-Jaoude, A. and Stauff, N. E. and Erickson, A.},

  abstractNote = {Mixed-spectrum reactors (MXR) have been investigated for a wide variety of applications. Typical MXR core designs are based on fast configurations with moderating material inserted within localized regions of the core. Limited analysis has been conducted on assessing important performance and safety aspects. Three main safety-related metrics are devised in this article to validate the feasibility of MXR designs. A long-lived MXR variant was taken as a case study for this analysis. Reactivity feedback mechanisms were evaluated, along with power peaking effects and fast flux damage. Neutron transport simulations found that distortions are manageable in all three areas, with notable improvements in fluence limits and Doppler broadening coefficients. In conclusion, power peaking effects can be significantly dampened by slight addition of gadolinium in the fuel and by carefully selecting the reflector material.},

  doi          = {10.1016/j.anucene.2018.10.057},

  journal      = {Annals of Nuclear Energy (Oxford)},

  number       = C,

  volume       = 126,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Wed Nov 13 00:00:00 EST 2019},

  month        = {Wed Nov 13 00:00:00 EST 2019}

}

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2018.10.057

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