Pre-conceptual thermal-hydraulics and neutronics studies on sodium-cooled oxide and carbide cores

Using the integrated safety analysis platform, static calculation on neutronics (incl. reactivity coefficients) and thermal-hydraulic characteristics for both oxide and carbide reference cores have been conducted. The quantities evaluated include: keff, coolant heat-up, void, and Doppler reactivity coefficients, axial and radial expansion reactivity coefficients, pin-by-pin calculated power profiles, average and peak channel temperatures. This paper presents the tools and the models applied in the study together with the relevant results for the oxide and carbide core.