Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the
1997 International RERTR Meeting

HYPOTHETIC APPROACHES TO FUEL TEST UNDER
RERTR PROGRAM IN THE MIR REACTOR

V. A. Kuprienko, V. A. Starkov, O.S. Benderskaya
and A. P. Malkov

State Scientific Centre Research Institute of Atomic Reactors
(SSC RIAR), Dimitrovgrad, Russia

ABSTRACT

Hypothetic variants of organizing the tests of MR type experimental fuel assemblies (EFA) with reduced enrichment fuel in the MIR reactor core are considered.

The first one is characterized by within - the - core movement of EFA from campaign to campaign, i.e. approximately in every month, thus, together with the standard working fuel assemblies (FA) forming the required energy release level in the reactor loop experimental channels. In this case the FA power, in the course of fuel burning out in it, drops significantly, which increases the total test duration till the required final burnup is achieved.

In the second case EFA occupies the loop cell and within the whole test period the FA placement in the core is constant, and its power is sustained as close to the nominal one as possible by the reactor means. Use of the second method is restricted by its high cost.

A combined test regime is proposed.