33.5K
views
69
authors
14
articles
Editors
5
Impact
Loading...
2,456 views
4 citations
4 × 3 Burn-up zone spatial location diagram.
Original Research
30 August 2022

SMART is an integral small pressurized water nuclear reactor design with a rated power output of 100 MWe from 330 MWth, but it needs a higher power output for the United Kingdom energy market. This study applies Monte Carlo code OpenMC to build a full-core model and innovatively adjust the simulation coefficients to approach the reactor operating conditions. The analysis results point out the reasonable optimization’s technical direction. The model’s sensitivity to ENDF and JEFF nuclear data libraries and spatial division is tested and verified. Then it performs a series of simulations to obtain the core’s neutronic parameters, such as neutron energy and spatial distributions, effective neutron multiplication factor keff and its variation versus depletion. The analysis found that the initially designed core’s keff is 1.22906, and the temperature reactivity defect is 11612 pcm. In 1129 full-power operating days, the keff will decrease to 0.99126, and the reactor depletes 8.524 × 1026 235U atoms. However, the outermost fuel assemblies’ 235U depletion rate is lower than 45% in this extended refuelling cycle, and their ending enrichment is higher than 2.4%. That means the fuel economy of the original design’s two-batch refuelling scheme core layout is insufficient. Improving the thermal neutron fluence in these assemblies may optimize the SMART power performance effectively.

4,142 views
2 citations
Original Research
24 August 2022
Neutronics performance improvement based on the small lead-based fast reactor SLBR-50
Chen Zhao
4 more and 
Xingjie Peng
Radial core configuration in the height-to-diameter ratio analysis.

The design of high-performance lead-based fast reactors (LFRs) has become a hotspot in the advanced reactor system. This study evaluates the neutronics performance improvement based on the small LFR SLBR-50. Parameter sensitivity analyses are conducted, including height-to-diameter ratio (H/D), reflector assembly arrangement, and pitch-to-diameter ratio in fuel assembly, fuel material, and fuel enrichment partitioning. Numerical results of eigenvalue in burnup procedure, assembly power distribution, and energy spectrum are analyzed using the Monte-Carlo code RMC. Our findings indicate that the fuel material, fuel partitioning, and H/D are the three most important factors in LFR design. The neutronics performance analyses will assist in LFR design.

2,455 views
2 citations
Recommended Research Topics
Frontiers Logo

Frontiers in Energy Research

Nuclear Thermal Hydraulic and Two-Phase Flow
Edited by Jun Wang, Kaiyi Shi, Zhaoming Meng, Shripad T Revankar
73.9K
views
57
authors
13
articles
Frontiers Logo

Frontiers in Energy Research

Reactor Fuels, Materials and Systems under Extreme Environments
Edited by Wenzhong Zhou, Zhang Chunyu, Shanfang Huang, Zeyun Wu, Shripad T Revankar
89.6K
views
141
authors
29
articles
Frontiers Logo

Frontiers in Energy Research

Experimental and Simulation Research on Nuclear Reactor Thermal-Hydraulics
Edited by Liangming Pan, Luteng Zhang, Jun Wang, Wei Ding
43.1K
views
74
authors
15
articles
Frontiers Logo

Frontiers in Energy Research

Multi-Physics and Multi-Scale Modeling and Simulation Methods for Nuclear Reactor Application
Edited by Xingjie Peng, Qingming He, Jingang Liang, Shichang Liu, Jiankai Yu
23.8K
views
59
authors
10
articles
Frontiers Logo

Frontiers in Energy Research

Experimental and Simulation Research on Nuclear Reactor Thermal-Hydraulics, Volume II
Edited by Liangming Pan, Wei Ding, Longxiang Zhu, Jun Wang
15.7K
views
51
authors
9
articles