Improvement of the Neutron-Physical Characteristics of the VVR-Ts Reactor by Substituting a Beryllium Reflector for Some Fuel Assemblies in the Core

Abstract

The results of computational studies of the possibility of using beryllium reflectors to improve the neutronphysical characteristics of the VVR-Ts reactor, which is used at the Karpov Research Institute of Physical Chemistry to produce radionuclides, are presented. The calculations showed that in principle beryllium can be used by substituting it for some number of standard fuel assemblies. This made it possible to decrease the number of fuel assemblies from 70 in the standard core to 59 in a modified core and increase the run time to 14 days. The calculations also indicate that the neutron flux density in the experimental channels can be increased significantly, which is important for increasing the production of radionuclides. The hermophysical aspects of the modified core are not studied.