Experimental validation of reaction rate distributions for a SVEA-96+ BWR assembly with hafnium control blades

The accurate estimation of reactor physics parameters related to the presence of cruciform absorber blades in boiling water reactors (BWRs) is important for safety assessment and for achieving flexible operation during the cycle. Characteristics that are affected significantly include distributions of the total fission (Ftot) and 238U capture (C8) rates for controlled regions. Representative experimental investigations have been performed in the framework of the LWR-PROTEUS programme. In particular, the LWRPROTEUS I-2A experiments concerned the neutronics characterisation of a SVEA-96+ BWR assembly controlled with a hafnium (Hf) blade under full-density water moderation conditions. The current paper presents the comparisons of the measured Ftot and C8 pin-wise distributions with a variety of stochastic and deterministic calculations: (a) MCNPX2.5 using recent nuclear data libraries (JEFF-3.1, ENDF/BVI.8, and JENDL-3.3), (b) PHOENIX4 using ENDF/B-VI.3, (c) BOXER using JEF-1, (d) CASM04 using JEF-2.2, and (e) HELIOS 1.6 using ENDF/B-VI.l. The calculation/experiment comparisons show standard deviations from 1.2% (MCNPX2.5) up to 1.9% (BOXER) for the prediction of the Ftot distribution, the highest individual discrepancy (7.6% with BOXER) being seen close to the "Hf-vertex." The C8 comparisons show systematically better agreement than those of Ftot, the lowest standard deviations being 1.0% (BOXER) and the highest only 1.4% (HELIOS). In addition, sensitivity studies highlight the greater importance of modelling aspects, compared with that of nuclear data libraries, for the achievement of satisfactory and validated Ftot and C8 predictions.

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Rakesh Chawla, Fabian Jatuff, Michaël Plaschy, Flavio Dante Giust
2009
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https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/151889?ln=en

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Related concepts (2)

Nuclear reactor physics

Nuclear reactor physics is the field of physics that studies and deals with the applied study and engineering applications of chain reaction to induce a controlled rate of fission in a nuclear reactor for the production of energy. Most nuclear reactors use a chain reaction to induce a controlled rate of nuclear fission in fissile material, releasing both energy and free neutrons.

Boiling water reactor

A boiling water reactor (BWR) is a type of light water nuclear reactor used for the generation of electrical power. It is the second most common type of electricity-generating nuclear reactor after the pressurized water reactor (PWR), which is also a type of light water nuclear reactor. The main difference between a BWR and PWR is that in a BWR, the reactor core heats water, which turns to steam and then drives a steam turbine. In a PWR, the reactor core heats water, which does not boil.