Abstracts and Available Papers Presented at the
2002 International RERTR Meeting

COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN OF PARAMETERS OF IRT-2M FUEL WITH ENRICHMENT BELOW 20% FOR LOW POWER RESEARCH REACTORS

K. MATĚJKA, Ľ. SKLENKA, I. ŠKOLA

Department of Nuclear Reactors, Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering,
CTU in Prague, Czech Republic

ABSTRACT

This article focuses briefly on characteristics of a possible procedure during reduction of fuel enrichment of two research reactors in the Czech Republic, i.e., LVR-15 research reactor (power up to 15 MW) at NRI Rez and VR-1 training reactor (power up to 5 kW) at CTU Prague. Both reactors are now operating with fuel enriched to 36% of ²³⁵U. While the LVR-15 reactor uses Russian IRT-2M fuel, the VR-1 reactor has been operating on IRT-3M fuel for five years already. The goal for both reactors until now was to use Russian IRT-4M fuel with ²³⁵U enrichment below 20%. The original idea that the LVR-15 reactor would go through the IRT-3M fuel during the transition to IRT-4M fuel now seems baseless. The article hence shows a possible solution to the current situation for the VR-1 reactor. A convenient solution (based on consultations with the Russian producer) could be a preparation of fuel of IRT-2M geometry with enrichment to 20% of ²³⁵U. Such a fuel would not be intended for power research reactors in the first step but for reactors with power up to 100 – 200 kW. The article presents a proposal of this fuel (said proposal was created on the basis of many years’ standing experience of operation at VR-1 reactor) and verifying calculations for selected configurations. As for enrichment, matrix, and content of uranium the proposal is based on verified capability of the Russian producer. Emphasis is placed on the necessity of the fuel having a long lifetime in the light water reactors.

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