Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Reactivity balance for a soluble boron-free small modular reactor

  • van der Merwe, Lezani (Department of Nuclear Power Plant Engineering, KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School) ;
  • Hah, Chang Joo (Department of Nuclear Power Plant Engineering, KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School)
  • Received : 2017.12.25
  • Accepted : 2018.01.29
  • Published : 2018.06.25
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Abstract

Elimination of soluble boron from reactor design eliminates boron-induced reactivity accidents and leads to a more negative moderator temperature coefficient. However, a large negative moderator temperature coefficient can lead to large reactivity feedback that could allow the reactor to return to power when it cools down from hot full power to cold zero power. In soluble boron-free small modular reactor (SMR) design, only control rods are available to control such rapid core transient. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether an SMR would have enough control rod worth to compensate for large reactivity feedback. The investigation begins with classification of reactivity and completes an analysis of the reactivity balance in each reactor state for the SMR model. The control rod worth requirement obtained from the reactivity balance is a minimum control rod worth to maintain the reactor critical during the whole cycle. The minimum available rod worth must be larger than the control rod worth requirement to manipulate the reactor safely in each reactor state. It is found that the SMR does have enough control rod worth available during rapid transient to maintain the SMR at subcritical below k-effectives of 0.99 for both hot zero power and cold zero power.

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References

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