Multiphysics Analysis of Spherical Fast Burst Reactors

Coupling neutronics to thermomechanics is important for the analysis of fast burst reactors because the criticality and safety study of fast burst reactors depends on the thermomechanical behavior of fuel materials. For instance, the shutdown mechanism or the transition between supercritical and sub...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nuclear science and engineering 2009-10, Vol.163 (2), p.132-143
Main Authors: Kadioglu, Samet Y., Knoll, Dana A., de Oliveira, Cassiano
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
CONTRACTION
CRITICALITY
DIFFUSION
Energy
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Exact sciences and technology
fast burst reactors
FISSION
Fission nuclear power plants
GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy
multi-physics
neutron diffusion
NEUTRONS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
PULSED REACTORS
REACTIVITY INSERTIONS
SAFETY
TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS
VERIFICATION
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Summary:Coupling neutronics to thermomechanics is important for the analysis of fast burst reactors because the criticality and safety study of fast burst reactors depends on the thermomechanical behavior of fuel materials. For instance, the shutdown mechanism or the transition between supercritical and subcritical states is driven by the fuel material expansion or contraction. The material expansion is due to the temperature gradient that results from fission power. In this paper, we introduce a numerical model for coupling of neutron diffusion and thermomechanics in fast burst reactors. The goal is to have a better understanding of the relation between the reactivity insertion and the thermomechanical response of fuel materials. We perform a nondimensional analysis of the coupled system that provides insight into the behavior of the transient. We also provide a semianalytical solution model to the coupled system for partial verification of our numerical solutions. We studied material behavior corresponding to different levels of reactivity insertion.
ISSN:0029-5639
1943-748X
DOI:10.13182/NSE09-07