Abstract
A new 37-element PHWR fuel bundle, which can produce Molybdenum-99 (99Mo) when irradiated inside a PHWR, has recently been proposed (Nichita and Haroon, 2016). The modified 37-element fuel bundle uses High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) at the periphery of fuel pellets and has been shown to be neutronically and thermal-hydraulically equivalent to the standard CANDU bundle for steady-state conditions.The first step towards comparing the behavior of the molybdenum-producing bundle (MPB) and the standard CANDU bundle (SCB) under transient conditions is a comparison of their reactivity feedback effects. This study calculates and compares the reactivity effects of the two bundles over a wide range of perturbations in coolant density, moderator density, coolant temperature, moderator temperature, fuel temperature and moderator poison concentration (boron and gadolinium), for burnups ranging from zero to 7500 MWd/t(U) (discharge burnup). An analysis of reactivity coefficients based on linear perturbation theory is also included.The study concludes that the reactivity effects of the MPB are very similar (within 1 mk) to those of the SCB over a wide range of perturbations at all burnups (zero to discharge burnup).
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