Abstract
The Lead-cooled Fast Reactor is one of the three technologies selected by the Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform that can meet future European energy needs. Several LFR concepts are now in design phase, such as MYRRHA and ALFRED, and accurate nuclear data are required for the neutronic and safety assessment of the fast reactor designs. In this work, an assessment of the evolution of the importance of neutron-induced reactions along the cycle of a reference LFR design (i.e., ALFRED) with the state-of-the-art JEFF-3.3 nuclear data library is performed. Sensitivity analyses have been carried out with MCNP6 code in order to identify the most relevant isotopes and reactions from the neutronic point of view at BoL, BoC and EoC. Furthermore, an uncertainty quantification has been performed with the SUMMON system to study the evolution of uncertainties in the keff along the reactor cycle. The results from this work provide an exhaustive picture on the influence of nuclear data on core criticality performance, identifying key quantities and nuclear data needs relevant to achieve an improved safety level for LFR.
Highlights
The Gen-IV International Forum [1] has identified and selected six nuclear energy systems for further research and development that can help meet the world’s future energy needs
The Lead-cooled Fast Reactor is one of the three technologies selected by the Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform that can meet future European energy needs
Advanced Lead-cooled Fast Reactor European Demonstrator (ALFRED) is a 300 MWth small-size pool type reactor cooled by lead, with the core, primary pumps and steam generators contained within the reactor vessel
Summary
The Gen-IV International Forum [1] has identified and selected six nuclear energy systems for further research and development that can help meet the world’s future energy needs. Several LFR concepts are in design phase in Europe, such as the Multipurpose hYbrid Research Reactor for High-tech Applications (MYRRHA) [3] and the Advanced Lead-cooled Fast Reactor European Demonstrator (ALFRED) [4]. For the design and safety assessment of these advanced nuclear systems, accurate nuclear data are of fundamental importance [5]. An assessment of the evolution of the importance of neutron-induced reactions along the cycle of a reference LFR design (i.e., ALFRED) with the state-of-the-art JEFF-3.3 nuclear data library [6] has been performed to identify possible nuclear data needs. An uncertainty quantification has been performed with the SUMMON system [8, 9] to study the evolution of uncertainties in the effective neutron multiplication factor along the reactor cycle
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