Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the
1996 International RERTR Meeting

PROGRAM OF CONVERTING IEA-R1 BRAZILIAN
RESEARCH REACTOR FROM HEU TO LEU

Jose Augusto Perotta
Divisao de Engenharia do Nucleo
E-mail: [email protected]

Paulo Ernesto de Oliveria Lainetti
Departamento de Tecnologia de Combustiveis
E-mail: [email protected]

Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN- CNEN/SP
Travessa R400 - Cidade Universitaria, Sao Paulo - SP - Brazil - 05598/900

ABSTRACT

IEA-R1 is a pool type research reactor that operates since 1957 at IPEN-CNEN/SP in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Although designed to operate a 5 MW it has been operating, since the beginning, at 2 MW and has been used for radioisotope production and research. The earlier cores used LEU MTR fuels but in the late 60's it was changed to HEU MTR fuels. Since the 80's up to now the reactor has been changing its core from HEU to LEU fuels. IPEN has been producing and qualifying its own LEU MTR fuels, made with U₃O₈-Al dispersion fuel plates with 1.9 gU/cm³. Two-thirds of the IEA-R1 core are already occupied with the IPEN fuels. IPEN is now producing U₃O₈-A1 dispersion fuel plates with 2.3 gU/cm³ and will also produce U₃Si₂-Al dispersion fuel plates with 3.0 gU/cm³ as a planned optimization of IEA-R1 core and upgrade of the reactor power from 2 to 5 MW in order to increase the radioisotope production. In 1997 IEA-R1 is planned to have only LEU fuels in the core.

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