Abstract
In this work a parametric study was carried to increase the production of radioisotopes in the IEA-R1 research reactor. The changes proposed to implement in the IEA-R1 reactor core were the substitution of graphite reflectors by beryllium reflectors, the removal of 4 fuel elements to reduce the core size and make available 4 additional locations to be occupied by radioisotope irradiation devices. The key variable analyzed is the thermal neutron flux in the irradiation devices. The proposed configuration with 20 fuel elements in an approximately cylindrical geometry provided higher average neutron flux (average increment of 12.9 %) allowing higher radioisotope production capability. In addition, it provided 4 more positions to install irradiation devices which allow a larger number of simultaneous irradiations practically doubling the capacity of radioisotope production in the IEA-R1 reactor. The insertion of Be reflector elements in the core has to be studied carefully since it tends to promote strong neutron flux redistribution in the core. A verification of design and safety parameters of the proposed core was carried out. The annual fuel consumption will increase about 17 % and more storage space for spent fuel will be required.
Highlights
The demand for radiopharmaceuticals and industrial radioisotopes in Brazil is mostly supplied by imports including the important radiopharmaceuticals 99mTc, 131I and 177Lu used in more than 80 % of nuclear medicine procedures worldwide [1]
The radioisotope production in any reactor can be achieved through design changes that increase the thermal neutron flux in its several irradiation devices and an important constraint is the maximum power level of the core that is limited by the existing reactor heat removal system
Results for configurations E02 and E03 show the impact on thermal neutron flux due to reflector changes compared to configuration E01 taken as the current core configuration design
Summary
The demand for radiopharmaceuticals and industrial radioisotopes in Brazil is mostly supplied by imports including the important radiopharmaceuticals 99mTc, 131I and 177Lu used in more than 80 % of nuclear medicine procedures worldwide [1]. One possible alternative is to increase radioisotope production in the IEA-R1 reactor [4] through design changes in the core that increase the neutron flux in irradiation positions. The radioisotope production in any reactor can be achieved through design changes that increase the thermal neutron flux in its several irradiation devices and an important constraint is the maximum power level of the core that is limited by the existing reactor heat removal system. The IEA-R1 reactor has currently 4 irradiation devices with 1 located in the left side of the core, 2 located in its right side and 1 located in its core center and two types of reflector elements (Be and grafita as neutron reflector material) [4,7]
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