Abstract
The current program in Russia to increase the fuel consumption of fast reactors and increase its burn-out causes the transition to new structural materials, which, in turn, leads to changes in the neutron-physical characteristics of reactors. In particular, the drop in the reactivity reserve noted in the BN-600 reactor of the Beloyarsk NPP at the end of 76 operational cycles, as will be shown below, is due to the transition to a new type of shell steel with an increased content of nickel, which strongly affects the reactivity. Design support for the operation of the BN-600 and BN-800 fast reactors, as well as the experiments carried out on them, is performed by IPPE. This article presents the results of a calculated analysis of the expected changes in the reactivity reserve at the end of 76 operational cycles when replacing the shell steel in BN-600. In addition, the influence of experimental assemblies located in the core on the reactivity reserve of the BN-600 is analyzed. Analysis of calculations of the actual loading of the BN-600 reactor at 76 operational cycle using the methods of the 1st-order perturbation theory, strict perturbation theory, and the Monte Carlo method showed that a partial transition at 76 operational cycle to EK-164 shell steel leads to a decrease in the reactivity margin by 0.030±0.004 %Δk/k. Replacement of steel for the entire core will reduce the reactivity margin by ~0.12 %Δk/k, which is confirmed by Monte Carlo calculations. The calculated reactivity margin obtained at the end of 76 operational cycles for the hot state of the BN-600 reactor is in good agreement with the measured reactivity margin.
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