Research on the application of burnable poison ZrB2 and Gd2O3 in a small modular lead-based thermal reactor

In this article, the analysis on use of burnable poison in a small modular lead-based thermal reactor has been carried out to achieve effective control of reactivity. The burnup characteristics of burnable poison ZrB2 and Gd2O3 were investigated and compared. The results show that ZrB2 is better than Gd2O3 for flatting the keff curve, while the depletion rate of Gd2O3 is much faster than ZrB2. Reducing the poison content in poison rods and increasing the number of poison assemblies can speed up the poison depletion. Based on the results, an optimized core (with the use of burnable poison) which can give a more flat keff curve with the burnup reactivity swing less than 3303 pcm was given. And the influences of the burnable poison on the main parameters of the optimized core scheme such as power distribution and reactivity coefficient were analyzed. The results show that with the use of burnable poison, the radial power distribution becomes more flat and the coolant void effect and fuel temperature reactivity become more negative.