Statistical calculation of hot channel factors

It is a conventional practice in the design of nuclear reactors to introduce hot channel factors to allow for spatial variations of power generation and flow distribution. Consequently, it is not enough to be able to calculate the nominal temperature distributions of fuel element, cladding, coolant, and central fuel. Indeed, one must be able to calculate the probability that the imposed temperature or heat flux limits in the entire core are not exceeded. In this paper, statistical methods are used to calculate hot channel factors for a particular heterogeneous geometry, Material Testing Reactor (MTR). Tehran Research Reactor (TRR) is used as a case for the present parametric study. The obtained results from this method are compared with the other statistical methods. It is shown that among the statistical methods available, the semi-statistical method is the most reliable one.