Experimental  Estimation of Moderator Temperature Coefficient of the IPEN-MB-01 Reactor

Rubens Cavalcante da Silva

doi:10.15392/bjrs.v7i2B.615

Authors

Rubens Cavalcante da Silva University of São Paulo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15392/bjrs.v7i2B.615

Keywords:

IPEN/MB-01, Moderator Temperature Coefficient, Experimental Measurement

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the procedure for the experimental estimation of the Moderator Temperature Coefficient of Reactivity of the IPEN/MB-01 Research Reactor, a parameter that has an important role in the physics and the control operations of any reactor facility. At the experiment, the IPEN/MB-01 reactor went critical at the power of 1W (1% of its total power), and whose core configuration was 28x26 rectangular array of UO₂ fuel rods, inside a light water (moderator) tank. In addition, there was a heavy water (D₂O) reflector installed in the West side of the core to obtain an adequate neutron reflection along the experiment. The moderator temperature was increased in steps of 4^oC, and the measurement of the mean moderator temperature was acquired using twelve calibrated thermocouples, placed around the reactor core. As a result, the mean value of -4.81 pcm/°C was obtained for such coefficient. The curves of ρ(T) (Reactivity x Temperature) and (Moderator Temperature Coefficient of Reactivity x Temperature) were developed using data from an experimental measurement of the integral reactivity curves through the Stable Period and Inverse Kinetics Methods, that was carried out at the reactor with the same core configuration. Such curves were compared and showed a very similar behavior between them.

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