Fuel burnup calculation for HEU and LEU cores of Ghana MNSR

Boafo, Emmanuel; Akaho, E.H.K.; Nyarko, B.J.B.; Birikorang, S.A.; Quashigah, G.K.

doi:10.1016/j.anucene.2011.12.027

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…BURNPRO is a deterministic code written in Fortran which is based on the three neutron energy group approach namely fast, resonance and thermal. It calculates the fuel burnup of the 90.2% enriched core of GHARR-1 and estimates the concentrations of actinides formed as a result of burnup (Boafo et al, 2012). The densities of the isotopes determined by BURNPRO were supplied as input to the existing MCNP input deck for core analysis.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Effect of Fuel Burnup on Control Rod Worth for HEU and LEU Cores of Gharr-1

Boafo¹,

Alhassan²,

Akaho³

et al. 2013

RJASET

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An important parameter in the design and analysis of a nuclear reactor is the reactivity worth of the control rod which is a measure of the efficiency of the control rod to absorb excess reactivity. During reactor operation, the control rod worth is affected by factors such as the fuel burnup, Xenon concentration, Samarium concentration and the position of the control rod in the core. This study investigates the effect of fuel burnup on the control rod worth by comparing results of a fresh and an irradiated core of Ghana's Miniature Neutron Source Reactor for both HEU and LEU cores. In this study, two codes have been utilized namely BURNPRO for fuel burnup calculation and MCNP5 which uses densities of actinides of the irradiated fuel obtained from BURNPRO. Results showed a decrease of the control rod worth with burnup for the LEU while rod worth increased with burnup for the HEU core. The average thermal flux in both inner and outer irradiation sites also decreased significantly with burnup for both cores.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Effect of Fuel Burnup on Control Rod Worth for HEU and LEU Cores of Gharr-1

Boafo¹,

Alhassan²,

Akaho³

et al. 2013

RJASET

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“…The International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation (INFCE) documents use similar arguments (IAEA, 1980). It has a fuel burn-up of about 1% and is designed to have a core life of 10 years until the next cycle operation when operating at maximum ow rate for 2.5 hours a day, 5 days a week (Table 3.1) (Boafo et al, 2012). It was created primarily for neutron activation analysis (NAA) and minimal radioisotope generation (Jonah et al, 2005 and2006).…”

Section: High Enriched Uranium (Heu) and Low Enriched Uranium (Leu)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to the aging lifespan of the core, controlled beryllium shims have been placed to the top aluminum tray to compensate for the loss of reactivity caused by fuel burn up and the accumulation of ssion products. (Boafo et al, 2012). The Nigeria Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (NIRR-1) is a tank-in-pool type reactor (Fig.…”

Section: High Enriched Uranium (Heu) and Low Enriched Uranium (Leu)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nigerian Research Reactor-1 (NIRR-1) Core Life-time Analysis using Winfrith Improved Multigroup Scheme-Argonne National Lab (WIMS-ANL) and REactor BUrnup System-Argonne National Lab (REBUS-ANL) Computer Code

Balami

2022

Preprint

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The core of the Nigeria Research Reactor-1 has been converted from Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) fuel to Low Enriched Uranium (LEU); nevertheless, a core lifetime analysis of the converted HEU and current LEU fuel is required. The core lifetime analysis of the NIRR-1 converted HEU and current LEU cores was carried out using the Winfrith Improved Multigroup Scheme-Argonne National Laboratory (WIMS-ANL) and Reactor BUrnup System-Argonne National Laboratory computer codes in this work (REBUS-ANL). One group cross section was generated using the WIMS-ANL. For core lifetime analysis, these group cross sections were employed in the REBUS-ANL programme. A simple reactivity rundown was performed to estimate the core lifetime for HEU and LEU cores at two power levels using the REBUS-ANL code (full and half power). The lifetime of the LEU core was predicted to be approximately 11.91 percent longer than that of the HEU core at full power and 11.81 percent at half power based on the results obtained. This is in good agreement with the value 11 percent reported in the literature, indicating that the selected LEU core can be operated for a longer period of time than the HEU core.

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“…Nu clear fuel burnup cal cu la tions give an im portant in sight into the con sump tion and buildup of radionuclides dur ing and af ter fuel fis sion in the nuclear re ac tor core. Fuel burnup is one of the cru cial reac tor core pa ram e ters in the op er a tion of nu clear re actors [2]. Dur ing the pro cess of fis sion in the re ac tor core, radionuclides are gen er ated through the fis sion of a fis sile or fis sion able ma te rial, trans mu ta tion of a par ent iso tope or de cay of a par ent iso tope to the isotope of in ter est [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fuel burnup is one of the cru cial reac tor core pa ram e ters in the op er a tion of nu clear re actors [2]. Dur ing the pro cess of fis sion in the re ac tor core, radionuclides are gen er ated through the fis sion of a fis sile or fis sion able ma te rial, trans mu ta tion of a par ent iso tope or de cay of a par ent iso tope to the isotope of in ter est [2]. Fuel burnup cal cu la tions are re quired for mon i tor ing key re ac tor pa ram e ters such as re ac tiv ity and power dis tri bu tion and also for the deter mi na tion of fis sile ma te ri als pres ent at any mo ment dur ing and af ter the fis sion pro cess [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burnup simulations of different fuel grades using the MCNPX Monte Carlo code

et al. 2014

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Global energy problems range from the increasing cost of fuel to the unequal distribution of energy resources and the potential climate change resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. A sustainable nuclear energy would augment the current world energy supply and serve as a reliable future energy source. This research focuses on Monte Carlo simulations of pressurized water reactor systems. Three different fuel grades - mixed oxide fuel (MOX), uranium oxide fuel (UOX), and commercially enriched uranium or uranium metal (CEU) - are used in this simulation and their impact on the effective multiplication factor (Keff) and, hence, criticality and total radioactivity of the reactor core after fuel burnup analyzed. The effect of different clad materials on Keff is also studied. Burnup calculation results indicate a buildup of plutonium isotopes in UOX and CEU, as opposed to a decline in plutonium radioisotopes for MOX fuel burnup time. For MOX fuel, a decrease of 31.9% of the fissile plutonium isotope is observed, while for UOX and CEU, fissile plutonium isotopes increased by 82.3% and 83.8%, respectively. Keff results show zircaloy as a much more effective clad material in comparison to zirconium and stainless steel.

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Fuel burnup calculation for HEU and LEU cores of Ghana MNSR

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

Assessing the Effect of Fuel Burnup on Control Rod Worth for HEU and LEU Cores of Gharr-1

Assessing the Effect of Fuel Burnup on Control Rod Worth for HEU and LEU Cores of Gharr-1

Nigerian Research Reactor-1 (NIRR-1) Core Life-time Analysis using Winfrith Improved Multigroup Scheme-Argonne National Lab (WIMS-ANL) and REactor BUrnup System-Argonne National Lab (REBUS-ANL) Computer Code

Burnup simulations of different fuel grades using the MCNPX Monte Carlo code

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