Irradiation of a Thorium-Plutonium Rodlet: Experiment and Benchmark Calculations
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2013

A benchmark exercise for thoriumeplutonium fuel, based on experimental data, has been carried out. A thoriumeplutonium oxide fuel rodlet was irradiated in a PWR for four consecutive cycles, to a burnup of about 37 MWd/kgHM. During the irradiation, the rodlet was inserted into a guide tube of a standard MOX fuel assembly. After the irradiation, the rod was subjected to several PIE measurements, including radiochemical analysis. Element concentrations and radial distributions in the rodlet, multiplication factors and distributions within the carrier assembly of burnup and power were calculated. Four participants in the study simulated the irradiation of the MOX fuel assemblies including the thorium eplutonium rodlet using their respective code systems; MCBurn, HELIOS, CASMO-5 and ECCO/ERANOS combined with TRAIN. The results of the simulations and the measured results of the radiochemical analysis were compared and found to be in fairly good agreement when the calculated results were calibrated to give the same burnup of the thoriumeplutonium rodlet as that experimentally measured. Average concentrations of several minor actinides and fission products were well reproduced by all codes, to the extent that can be expected based on known uncertainties in the experimental setup and the cross section libraries. Calculated results which could not be confirmed by experimental measurement were compared and only two significant anomalies were found, which can probably be addressed by limited modifications of the codes.

Simulation

LWR

Plutonium

Benchmark

Experiment

Thorium

Författare

Klara L Insulander Björk

Chalmers, Teknisk fysik, Nukleär teknik

Siegfried Mittag

Helmholtz

Rahim Nabbi

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Andrei Rineiski

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Oliver Schitthelm

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Barbara Vezzoni

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Progress in Nuclear Energy

0149-1970 (ISSN)

Vol. 66 73-79

Drivkrafter

Hållbar utveckling

Ämneskategorier

Annan teknik

Annan fysik

Styrkeområden

Energi

DOI

10.1016/j.pnucene.2013.03.014

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Senast uppdaterat

2020-09-15