Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the
2002 International RERTR Meeting

NEUTRONIC PERFORMANCE OF THE U-Mo FUEL TYPE IN THE REPLACEMENT RESEARCH REACTOR

Eduardo Villarino and Daniel Hergenreder

Nuclear Engineering Division INVAP SE.

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the general neutronic characteristics of the Replacement Research Reactor (RRR) for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). An important neutronic characteristic of the RRR design is that it can safely handle two different types of LEU Fuel Assemblies (FA): the already internationally qualified U₃Si₂ fuel type with a Uranium density of 4.8 g/cm³, and the under qualification U-Mo fuel type with higher densities. This paper presents the fuel assembly characteristics and makes emphasis on the neutronic behavior of the new fuel type for different Uranium densities and Molybdenum contents. It compares the neutronic characteristics of the new fuel assembly with respect to the standard U₃Si₂ fuel type. The comparison includes the cycle length, several safety variables and irradiation fluxes.

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