Publication

Analysis Of Pin Removal Experiments Conducted In A Supercritical Light Water Reactor-Like Test Lattice

2013
Journal Articles

Abstract

A comprehensive program of integral experiments, largely based on the measurement of reaction rate distributions, was carried out recently in the PROTEUS zero-power research reactor at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, employing a fuel lattice resembling that of a supercritical light water reactor. The present paper reports on the analysis of a complementary set of measurements, in which the reactivity effects of removing individual pins from the unperturbed, heterogeneously moderated reference lattice were investigated. It has been found that the detailed Monte Carlo modeling of the whole reactor using MCNPX is able-as in the case of the reaction rate distributions to reproduce the experimental results for the pin removal worths within the achievable statistical accuracy. A comparison of reduced-geometry calculations between MCNPX and the deterministic light water reactor assembly code CASMO-4E has revealed certain discrepancies. On the basis of a reactivity decomposition analysis of the differences between the codes, it has been suggested that these could be due at least partly to CASMO-4E deficiencies in calculating the effect, upon pin removal, of the extra moderation in the neighboring fuel pins.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/1135f968-3cfd-439e-b269-faea79e86d99

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2013
Journal Articles

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/1135f968-3cfd-439e-b269-faea79e86d99

About this result

Ontological neighbourhood

Energy engineering

Nuclear power: Topics in nuclear power

Related concepts (23)

Light-water reactor

The light-water reactor (LWR) is a type of thermal-neutron reactor that uses normal water, as opposed to heavy water, as both its coolant and neutron moderator; furthermore a solid form of fissile elements is used as fuel. Thermal-neutron reactors are the most common type of nuclear reactor, and light-water reactors are the most common type of thermal-neutron reactor. There are three varieties of light-water reactors: the pressurized water reactor (PWR), the boiling water reactor (BWR), and (most designs of) the supercritical water reactor (SCWR).

Nuclear reactor

A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a fission nuclear chain reaction or nuclear fusion reactions. Nuclear reactors are used at nuclear power plants for electricity generation and in nuclear marine propulsion. Heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid (water or gas), which in turn runs through steam turbines. These either drive a ship's propellers or turn electrical generators' shafts. Nuclear generated steam in principle can be used for industrial process heat or for district heating.

Supercritical water reactor

The supercritical water reactor (SCWR) is a concept Generation IV reactor, designed as a light water reactor (LWR) that operates at supercritical pressure (i.e. greater than 22.1 MPa). The term critical in this context refers to the critical point of water, and must not be confused with the concept of criticality of the nuclear reactor. The water heated in the reactor core becomes a supercritical fluid above the critical temperature of 374 °C, transitioning from a fluid more resembling liquid water to a fluid more resembling saturated steam (which can be used in a steam turbine), without going through the distinct phase transition of boiling.

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