Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the
2004 International RERTR Meeting
THE VALMONT EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMME FOR THE NEUTRONICS QUALIFICATION OF THE UMO/AL FUEL FOR THE JULES-HOROWITZ-REACTOR
C. Döderlein, M. Antony, D. Blanchet, J. Di Salvo,
JP. Hudelot, N. Huot, A. Santamarina, P. Sireta, G.
Willermoz
CEA Cadarache, F-13108 Saint Paul lez Durance –
France
ABSTRACT
The proper and safe estimation of the uncertainties associated with the results of neutronics calculations is crucial for the design studies of the future Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR). However, the neutronics characteristics of this innovative core and, in particular, the use of the new UMo/Al fuel preclude the use of the existing qualification databases. The need for specific experimental data for this fuel was met by the VALMONT programme, which consisted in the precise measurement of the reactivity effect of fuel samples in the MINERVE reactor. These measurements, corroborated by -spectroscopic analysis on irradiated UMo/Al fuel, allow to qualify the HORUS3D/N neutronics calculation route for this fuel. Moreover, the application of the representativity method allowed to reduce the uncertainty on the reactivity, due to the uncertainties of the basic nuclear data of the Uranium isotopes, by a factor of 3.
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Contact:
Dr. Jordi Roglans-Ribas
Technical Director, RERTR Department
Nuclear Engineering Division – 362
Argonne National Laboratory
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