Transient Fuel Tests in BR-2 with the Pressurized Water Capsule: Decomposing Gamma-Heating and Nuclear Fission Contributions

Research outputpeer-review

Abstract

The Pressurized Water Capsule (PWC) enables to perform various types of power transients on pin type fuel in the BR-2 reactor at SCK CEN. The PWC concept relies on an external thermal balance (the Calorimetric Device, CD) which uses accurate flow and temperature measurements to determine total deposited power in the capsule. Power is deposited in the capsule from various contributors, such as fission events, gamma absorption and non-fission capture reactors. Decomposing the measured heat in the power deposited in the fuel test segment on one side, and the power deposited in the structures of the capsule on the other, is key in obtaining a high-quality on-line measurement of the pin power. The PWC is equipped with both a gamma thermometer as well as four Self-Powered Neutron Detectors (SPND) at various axial positions. Measurements of these instruments during several qualification tests have been investigated and compared with neutron-gamma calculations of the BR-2 core with MCNP that determine the distribution of the power in fuel, coolant and structural components of the PWC. This paper presents some highlights of the SPND and gamma thermometer results.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of TopFuel 2022 Light Water Reactor Fuel Performance Conference
PublisherAmerican Nuclear Society
Pages711-718
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9780894487941
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022
EventTopFuel 2022 Light Water Reactor Fuel Performance Conference - Raleigh
Duration: 9 Oct 202213 Oct 2022

Publication series

NameProceedings of TopFuel 2022 Light Water Reactor Fuel Performance Conference

Conference

ConferenceTopFuel 2022 Light Water Reactor Fuel Performance Conference
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityRaleigh
Period2022-10-092022-10-13

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Fuel Technology
  • Nuclear Energy and Engineering

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