Conceptual analyses of neutronic and equilibrium refueling parameters to develop a cost-effective multi-purpose pool-type research reactor using WIMSD and CITVAP codes

In this paper, neutronic and equilibrium refueling parameters of a multi-purpose cost-effective research reactor have been studied and analyzed. It has been tried to provide periodic and long-term requirements of the irradiating applications coherently. The WIMSD5B and CITVAP codes are used to calculate neutronic parameters and simulate fuel management strategy. The used nuclear data, codes, and calculating methods have been severally benchmarked and verified, successfully. Fundamental concepts, design criteria, and safety issues are introduced and discussed, coherently. Design criteria are selected to gain the most economic benefits per capital costs via minimum required reactor power. Accurate, fast and simplified models have been tried for an integrated decision making and analyses using deterministic codes. Core management, power effects, fuel consumption and burn up effects, and also a complete simulation of the fuel management strategy are presented and analyzed. Results show that the supposed reactor core design can be promisingly suitable in accordance with the commercial multi-purpose irradiating applications. It also retains Operating Limits and Conditions (OLCs) due to standard safety issues, conservatively where safety parameters are calculated using best estimate tools. Such reactor core configuration and integrated refueling task can effectively enhance the Quality Assurance (QA) of the general irradiating applications of the current MTR within their power limits and corresponding OLCs.