The use of MOX caramel fuel mixed with 241Am, 242mAm and 243Am as burnable absorber actinides for the MTR research reactors

The MOX (UO2&PuO2) caramel fuel mixed with 241Am, 242 mAm and 243Am as burnable absorber actinides was proposed as a fuel of the MTR-22 MW reactor. The MCNP4C code was used to simulate the MTR-22 MW reactor and estimate the criticality and the neutronic parameters, and the power peaking factors before and after replacing its original fuel (U3O8-Al) by the MOX caramel fuel mixed with 241Am, 242 mAm and 243Am actinides. The obtained results of the criticality, the neutronic parameters, and the power peaking factors for the MOX caramel fuel mixed with 241Am, 242 mAm and 243Am actinides were compared with the same parameters of the U3O8-Al original fuel and a maximum difference is −6.18% was found. Additionally, by recycling 2.65% and 2.71% plutonium and 241Am, 242 mAm and 243Am actinides in the MTR-22 MW reactor, the level of 235U enrichment is reduced from 4.48% to 3% and 2.8%, respectively. This also results in the reduction of the 235U loading by 32.75% and 37.22% for the 2.65%, the 2.71% plutonium and 241Am, 242 mAm and 243Am actinides, respectively.