Neutron fluence effects on SLOWPOKE-2 beryllium reflector composition and reactivity

Abstract

Within the scope of the conversion process from HEU to LEU of the Jamaican SLOWPOKE-2 reactor (JM-1), the effects of the neutron fluence on the beryllium reflector composition, and the corresponding effect on reactivity throughout the life of the reactor core, have been studied. Two different methods have been used and compared involving MCNP5, ORIGEN2.2, ORIGEN-S and COUPLE codes, reaching excellent agreement between them. The neutron flux profile and energy spectrum specific to the beryllium reflectors of this reactor design have been taken into account to analyze several scenarios, comprising both real and hypothetical conditions and involving different initial reflector compositions and reactor burnups. The analysis has been extended to provide estimates for the similar MNSR reactor design and compared with previously published predictions for the Syrian MNSR. The results show small overall reactivity effects in most cases, being dominated by impurity depletion as opposed to poison buildup, contrarily to what generally occurs in beryllium reflected reactors of far higher power and to MNSR predictions. The resulting reactivity increases are typically of less than 0.4mk for usual impurity levels and maximum HEU core burnup achievable.