• Title/Summary/Keyword: Research Reactors

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Analysis of Fuel Options in TRIGA Reactor

  • Lee, Un-Chul;Lee, Chang-Kun;Lee, Ji-Bok;Kim, Jin-Soo;Lee, Sang-Kun;Jun, Byung-Jin;Chung, Bub-Dong
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.11 no.1
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    • pp.29-45
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    • 1979
  • In this paper. nuclear characteristics of TRIGA Mark-III has been analyzed in detail for six different fuel options. Presently, 70 w/o enriched FLIP fuels are adopted for TRIGA core to improve fuel lifetime. However, such highly enriched fuels are not easily obtained due to nonproliferation treaty. This research examines the possible substitution for FLIP fuels with high density fuels without reducing the nuclear performance. This work will provide long-time plan for TRIGA operation.

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Enhancing utilization and ensuring security: Insights to compromise contradicting conditions in new research reactors

  • Alrammah, Ibrahim
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.53 no.5
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    • pp.1479-1482
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    • 2021
  • Research reactors are typically well-suited for outreach activities at different levels. However, unplanned seeking to increase the utilization of a research reactor may result in weakening the nuclear security of this facility. Research reactor staff might be in shortage of a functional nuclear security culture; specifically, there might be a conviction that the necessities of research can be given the priority over consistence with security procedural requirements. Research reactors are usually parts of bigger institutes or research labs of different activities. Moreover, the employments of research reactors are usually with the purpose that easy entry to the reactor premises is fundamental. So, they could be co-situated in places with different sorts of activities, mostly under similar security arrangements. The co-area of research reactor offices among different kinds of research labs introduces explicit security issues, the effects of which should be viewed as when building up a nuclear security framework. Notwithstanding potential security vulnerabilities presented in the design, research reactors frequently have devices kept promptly accessible to encourage research and education. The accessibility of these sorts of hardware could be used by an authorized person to commit an unapproved activity or cause harm. This paper aims to present insights to compromise contradicting conditions in new research reactors in which both enhancing utilization and ensuring security are satisfied.

Safety Classification of Systems, Structures, and Components for Pool-Type Research Reactors

  • Kim, Tae-Ryong
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.48 no.4
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    • pp.1015-1021
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    • 2016
  • Structures, systems, and components (SSCs) important to safety of nuclear facilities shall be designed, fabricated, erected, and tested to quality standards commensurate with the importance of the safety functions. Although SSC classification guidelines for nuclear power plants have been well established and applied, those for research reactors have been only recently established by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Korea has operated a pool-type research reactor (the High Flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor) and has recently exported another pool-type reactor (Jordan Research and Training Reactor), which is being built in Jordan. Korea also has a plan to build one more pool-type reactor, the Kijang Research Reactor, in Kijang, Busan. The safety classification of SSCs for pool-type research reactors is proposed in this paper based on the IAEA methodology. The proposal recommends that the SSCs of pool-type research reactors be categorized and classified on basis of their safety functions and safety significance. Because the SSCs in pool-type research reactors are not the pressure-retaining components, codes and standards for design of the SSCs following the safety classification can be selected in a graded approach.

Assessment of supervision monitoring for radiation environment around the typical research reactors in China

  • Li, Sa;Wang, Haipeng;Zhang, Yanxia
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.53 no.12
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    • pp.4150-4157
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    • 2021
  • The supervision mode, monitoring basis and monitoring scheme of radiation environment monitoring concerning typical research reactors in China were investigated in this study. Summary and analysis were concluded of the present situation of supervised monitoring of radiation environment, such as monitoring objects, points, frequency and so on, based on the relevant data of monitoring points of four typical research reactors in China. Some experiences and existing problems were analyzed concerning the supervised monitoring of China's research reactors. Tips on topics related to strengthen the monitoring of radiation environment around the research reactors has noted.

Risk-informed design optimization method and application in a lead-based research reactor

  • Jiaqun Wang;Qianglong Wang;Jinrong Qiu;Jin Wang;Fang Wang;Yazhou Li
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.55 no.6
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    • pp.2047-2052
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    • 2023
  • Risk-informed approach has been widely applied in the safety design, regulation, and operation of nuclear reactors. It has been commonly accepted that risk-informed design optimization should be used in the innovative reactor designs to make nuclear system highly safe and reliable. In spite of the risk-informed approach has been used in some advanced nuclear reactors designs, such as Westinghouse IRIS, Gen-IV sodium fast reactors and lead-based fast reactors, the process of risk-informed design of nuclear reactors is hardly to carry out when passive system reliability should be integrated in the framework. A practical method for new passive safety reactors based on probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) and passive system reliability analyze linking is proposed in this paper. New three-dimension frequency-consequence curve based on risk concept with three variables is used in this method. The proposed method has been applied to the determination optimization of design options selection in a 10 MWth lead-based research reactor(LR) to obtain one optimized system design in conceptual design stage, using the integrated reliability and probabilistic safety assessment program RiskA, and the computation resources and time consumption in this process was demonstrated reasonable and acceptable.

Carbon-based Materials for Atomic Energy Reactor

  • Sathiyamoorthy, D.;Sur, A.K.
    • Carbon letters
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.36-39
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    • 2003
  • Carbon and carbon-based materials are used in nuclear reactors and there has recently been growing interest to develop graphite and carbon based materials for high temperature nuclear and fusion reactors. Efforts are underway to develop high density carbon materials as well as amorphous isotropic carbon for the application in thermal reactors. There has been research on coated nuclear fuel for high temperature reactor and research and development on coated fuels are now focused on fuel particles with high endurance during normal lifetime of the reactor. Since graphite as a moderator as well as structural material in high temperature reactors is one of the most favored choices, it is now felt to develop high density isotropic graphite with suitable coating for safe application of carbon based materials even in oxidizing or water vapor environment. Carboncarbon composite materials compared to conventional graphite materials are now being looked into as the promising materials for the fusion reactor due their ability to have high thermal conductivity and high thermal shock resistance. This paper deals with the application of carbon materials on various nuclear reactors related issues and addresses the current need for focused research on novel carbon materials for future new generation nuclear reactors.

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Investigating Dynamic Parameters in HWZPR Based on the Experimental and Calculated Results

  • Nasrazadani, Zahra;Behfarnia, Manochehr;Khorsandi, Jamshid;Mirvakili, Mohammad
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.48 no.5
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    • pp.1120-1125
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    • 2016
  • The neutron decay constant, ${\alpha}$, and effective delayed neutron fraction, ${\beta}_{eff}$, are important parameters for the control of the dynamic behavior of nuclear reactors. For the heavy water zero power reactor (HWZPR), this document describes the measurements of the neutron decay constant by noise analysis methods, including variance to mean (VTM) ratio and endogenous pulse source (EPS) methods. The measured ${\alpha}$ is successively used to determine the experimental value of the effective delayed neutron fraction as well. According to the experimental results, ${\beta}_{eff}$ of the HWZPR reactor under study is equal to 7.84e-3. This value is finally used to validate the calculation of the effective delayed neutron fraction by the Monte Carlo methods that are discussed in the document. Using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP)-4C code, a ${\beta}_{eff}$ value of 7.58e-3 was obtained for the reactor under study. Thus, the relative difference between the ${\beta}_{eff}$ values determined experimentally and by Monte Carlo methods was estimated to be < 4%.