Experimental Validation of Neutronic Parameters of the MBIR Reactor Core at the BFS-1 Critical Facility

UDC: 621.039.5

The paper presents results of simulating the core of the MBIR multi-purpose fast research reactor at the BFS-1 critical facility. Simulations were carried out in accordance with recommendations from the Federal Budgetary Institution ”Scientific and Engineering Centre for Nuclear and Radiation Safety”, Rostekhnadzor’s scientific and technical support body. The simulation results are presented for the smallest possible critical configuration and the starting reactor core.

Studying the neutronic parameters in conditions of the smallest possible critical configuration allows the criticality calculation uncertainty caused by the error in the specification for fuel in fuel assemblies (FA) to be estimated highly accurately. Another advantage of the measurements made on the smallest possible critical configuration is that the worth values for individual control rods and different combinations of CR systems are measured with no absorber in the core due to cocked position of the control rods at this stage. Such measurements reveal the CR interference at the most, which can be later used to recover the worth of CR systems from the measurements of individual control rods when it is not technically feasible to measure it. The critical assembly that simulates the initial fuel loading is used for experiments aimed at investigating how different types of fuel affect the reactivity of the critical assembly and the worth of the control rod mock-ups. Different reactivity effects from loading fuel rod mock-ups with alternative fuel types are found and checked against the coordinates of mock-ups for MBIR’s experimental devices.

The results obtained from the measurements of the core neutronic parameters will be used to prove the safe implementation of the future research programme and to verify and validate computer codes.

neutronic parameters critical facility control rods critical assembly measurement method reactivity effects experimental device

Link for citing the article: Klinov D.A., Gulevich A.V., Mikhaylov G.M., Bednyakov S.M., Bezborodov A.A., Tretyakov I.T. Experimental Validation of Neutronic Parameters of the MBIR Reactor Core at the BFS-1 Critical Facility. Izvestiya vuzov. Yadernaya Energetika. 2024, no. 4, pp. 25-33; DOI: https://doi.org/10.26583/npe.2024.4.02 (in Russian).

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