Neutronics Analysis of Ghana Research Reactor-1 Low Enriched Uranium Core Using MCNP5 Code
Date
2017-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Ghana
Abstract
The neutronic and kinetic analysis of Ghana Research Reactor-1 (GHARR-1) low
enriched uranium (LEU) core was carried out using MCNP5 transport code. The
changes in the fuel enrichment from 12.5 % to 13.0 % and some components such as
the type of fuel, cladding material which have direct influence on the neutronic
parameters, require re-evaluation of the neutronic safety analysis of the reactor. The
analysis include reactivity, delayed neutron fraction, control rod worth, moderator
coefficient of reactivity and the neutron flux distribution in the inner and outer
experimental channels at half power (17 kW) and full power (34 kW). The
configuration with 335 fuel pins gave the excess reactivity of 4.03 mk which is
comparable to the high enriched uranium (HEU) core. The results also revealed that,
the neutron flux distribution in the inner irradiation channels are also comparable to the
flux distribution of the high enriched uranium (HEU) core. Based on the results
presented in this study, it can be concluded that the safety analysis of Ghana Research
Reactor-1 LEU core is good and reliable replacement for the HEU core.
Description
Keywords
Neutronics Analysis, Fuel, Reactor-1 Low Enriched Uranium Core