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Research Reactor Core Conversion from the Use Of IAEA-TECDOC-324 RESEARCH REACTOR CORE CONVERSION HIGHLF O E YFROUS ENRICHEE MTH D URANIUM TO THE USE OF LOW ENRICHED URANIUM FUELS GUIDEBOOK ADDENDUM: HEAVY WATER MODERATED REACTORS PREPARED BY A CONSULTANTS' GROUP, COORDINATED AND EDITED BY THE PHYSICS SECTION INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY A TECHNICAL DOCUMENT ISSUEE TH Y DB INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, VIENNA, 1985 RESEARCH REACTOR CORE CONVERSION FROM THE USE OF HIGHLY ENRICHED URANIUM TO THE USE OF LOW ENRICHED URANIUM FUELS GUIDEBOOK ADDENDUM: HEAVY WATER MODERATED REACTORS IAEA, VIENNA, 1985 IAEA-TECDOC-324 Printe IAEe th AustriAn y i d b a January 1985 85-00193 Pleas aware eb Missine th tha l al t g Pages in this document were originally blank pages FOREWORD e proliferatio th n vieI f o w n concern f highlo e yus s e causeth y b d enriched uranium (HEU) and in anticipation that the supply of HEU to research and test reactors wil more b l e restricte e futureth n i dGuidebooa , n o k Research Reactor Core Conversio f Highlo e nyUs froEnrichee th m d Uraniuo t m w EnricheLo f o de thUraniuUs e m Fuel IAEA-TECDOC-233( s e s issueth )wa y b d International Atomic Energy Agency in August 1980. IAEA-TECDOC-233 addressed primarily research and test reactors that are moderated by light water. In consideration of the special features of heavy water moderated researc d tesan ht reactors, this documen s beeha t n prepare Addendun a s a d m to IAEA-TECDOC-233 to assist operators and physicists from these reactors in determining whether conversion to the use of low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel design s technicalli s y feasibl r theifo e r specific reactor assiso t d n i t,an making a smooth transition to the use of LEU fuel designs where appropriate. This Addendum to IAEA-TECDOC-233 has been prepared and coordinated by the International Atomic Energy Agency, with contributions from different organizations e expertTh . s from these organizations have participatea n i d serie f o sConsultants ' Meeting d havan se assiste n preparini d g this text. The safety and licensing aspects of core conversions for both light wate d heavan r y water moderated researc d tesan ht reactor e addressear s d in a separate guidebook currently being prepared under the auspices of the IAEA. CONTRIBUTING ORGANIZATIONS Argonne National Laboratory ANL United States of America Atonic Energy Research Establishment HARWELL United Kingdom Australian Atomic Energy Commission AAEC Australia Brookhaven National Laboratory BNL United States of America Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories CRNL Canada InstituLaun vo Paue- x ltMa Langevin ILL France/Federal Republic of Germany/United Kingdom Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute JAERI Japan Risp National Laboratory RIS0 Denmark The contributing organizations would like to thank the following organizations for infor- mation referenced in the chapter on fuel development and demonstration: Babcock & Wilcox (USA), CEA (France), CEN-Crenoble (SILOE; France), CEN-Saclay (OSIRIS; France), CERCA (France), CNEA (Argentina) (HFN ,EC R Petten Netherlands)e Th ; , EG&G Idaho (USA) (SAPHIRR ,EI ; Switzerland), GA Technologies (USA), GKSS (FRG-2; FRG), Helsingor Vaerft, now ATLAS A/S (Denmark), HMI (BER-2; FRG), IPEN (IAE-R1; Brazil), KFA-Juelich (FRJ-1, FRJ-2; FRG), KURRI (Japan), NUKEM (FRG), ÖFZS (ASTRA; Austria), ORNL (ORR; USA), Studsvik (R2; Sweden), Texas Instruments (USA) (FRMM ,TO ; FRG), UM (FNR; USA). e IAE gratefu s Th contributionAi e th r lfo s volunteere thesy db e organization thankd san s their experts for preparing the detailed investigations and for evaluating and summarizing the results presente n thii d s Guidebook Addendum. PREFACE GuidebooA Researcn ko h Reactor Core Conversio Highlf o e nyUs Fro e mTh Enrichew EnricheLo f o de d UraniuUs Uraniu e Th mo mT Fuels (IAEA-TECDOC-233) was issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency in August 1980. This document contain widsa e variet informatiof o y physicse th n o n , thermal- hydraulics, fuels fued ,an l cycle economic lighr fo s t water moderated researc d teshan t reactors. n consideratioI speciae th f no l feature heavf so y water moderated research and test reactors (hereafter referre heavs a o t yd water research reactors), this Addendu IAEA-TECDOC-23o mt s beeha 3n prepare assiso t d t operatord san physicists from these reactor determininn si g whether conversion from HEUo t * LEU* fuel designs is technically feasible for their specific reactor, and to assis makinn i t gsmoota U fue LE lf ho design transitioe us e s th wher o nt e appropriate. The organization of this Addendum follows that of IAEA-TECDOC-233 as closely as possible in order to provide a consistent presentation of the infor- minimizo matiot d repetitioe an n eth f informatioo n n tha commos i t boto t n h heavy water and light water research reactors. Distinctive features of the heavy water reactors are addressed where applicable. e followinTh g paragraphs provid n outlinea f thieo t si Addendu w ho d an m usee b conjunction i dn ca n with IAEA-TECDOC-233. 1 General Considerations IAEA-TECDOC-233, Section 1.5, provides a summary of the main activities neede preparo t dtypicaa r fo e l conversion. These activitie commoe l sar al o nt research and test reactors. It is possible for the studies that are outlined e performetb o e reactoth y b dr operators/physicists themselves witr o e , th h aid of laboratories which have offered technical assistance. Section 1 of this Addendum contains descriptions of the design features of heavy water research reactors usin U fue d descriptiongHE lan e th f so reduced enrichment programmes in those countries for which the programmes describeart eno IAEA-TECDOC-233n i d . 2. Reactor Studies and Benchmark Calculations The core conversion studies presented in this Addendum pertain only to specific reactors, as generic models did not appear necessary or appropriate. The methods and procedures of IAEA-TECDOC-233 have been followed in general, but adaptations have been mad eacr efo h reacto accommodato t r specias eit l design feature operationad an s l requirements. The results of the specific reactor conversion studies are summarized in Section 2. Detailed information on the methods and procedures used and the results obtainevarioue th r sfo d reactor e presentesar Appendicen i d sA through E. Benchmark problems for both the neutronics and safety-related parameters of heavy water research reactors were defined and calculated in order to compar accurace calculationae th e th f yo l method variouse th use n i ds research centres benchmare Th . k specification (Appendix F-0 idealisen bases a )i n o d d 6 elemen2 t core, surrounde heavy b d y wate graphitd ran e reflectors d operatin,an g at 10 MW. The fuel element consists of four concentric fuel tubes surrounded aluminun ba y m wrapper U tube LE e resultcalculation e Th d .th an f so U HE r fo s fuels are summarized in Section 2.4 and are described in detail in Appendix F. firsa s A t ste corn i p e conversion s recommendei t ,i d that reactor operators/ physicists use their own methods and codes to calculate this benchmark problem, and to compare results. 3. Fuel Development and Demonstration Status IAEA-TECDOC-233 contains at Section 1.4.2, Chapter 3, and Appendix H, informatio statuse th n no , development potential d commercia,an l availability of fuels with high uranium density as of August 1980. Much of this information is applicabl heavo t e y water reactor fuel ligho wels t a s s tla water reactor fuels. Sectio f thio ns3 Addendum summarize statue th s fuef so l developmend an t demonstratio y 198 Ma r fue 4f fo o l s elemenna t geometries thausee botn ar ti d h light wate heavd ran y water research reactors that currently utiliz U fueleHE . 4 IAEA Assistance contactede b e IAEn Th ca A , through official channels provido ,t e coordi- nating assistance between reactor organization d thosan s e laboratories which have offered technical assistance for conversion studies on specific reactors. If necessary, the IAEA can also provide fellowships to visit those laboratories for joint studies on core conversions. For simplicity followine ,th g definitions have been adopted onlthir yfo s publication. The legal definition of highly enriched uranium is uranium with equal to or greater than 20 wt% 235U. HEU - Highly Enriched Uranium (>70 wt% 235U) ME Mediu- U m Enriched 235 % UraniuUwt )5 (4 m Enrichew LELo U- 235d% UraniuUwt ) 0 «2 m CONTENTS Page 1. General Considérations ............................................. 9 1.1 Introduction ..................................................9 1.2 Design Feature Heavf o s y Water Reactors Usin FueU gHE l ........9 1.2.1 DIDO-Type Reactors ..................................... 10 1.2.2 MTR-Type Reactors ...................................... 12 1.2.3 Other Reactors ........................................4 .1 1.3 Reduced Enrichment Programmes ................................. 17 1.3.1 The Reduced Enrichment Programmes of France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Japan, and the United States ...... 17 1.3.Reducee Th 2 d Enrichment Programm Australif eo a .........7 .1 1.3.3 The Reduced Enrichment Programme of Canada ............. 18 1.3.Reducee Th 4 d Enrichment Programm Denmarf o e k ...........9 .1 1.3.Reducee Th 5 d Enrichment Programm Unitee th f deo Kingdo1 2 . m 2. Reactor Studies and Benchmark Calculations ......................... 22 2.1 Overview ...................................................... 22 2.2 Results from Reactor Studies ..................................3 2 2.3 Calculated and Estimated MEU and LEU Densities for Conversion of Specific Reactors ..............................
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