Transuranium isotopes production and their effect on the three-dimensional core calculation

Abstract

The operation of a nuclear power reactor necessarily implies the consumption or burnup of reactor fuel by fission and capture, which give rise to a decrease in the reactivity of the reactor. The effect of americium formation on the criticality of a thermal power reactor using two types of fuel is studied. The three-dimensional core calculation is used to calculate the production of the transuranium isotopes and their effect on the effective multiplication factor ( K eff). This effect cannot be neglected for thermal power reactors with UO 2PuO 2 fuel (3.11% after 70 weeks of operation). The effect of the transuranium isotopes on the K eff for a thermal power reactor with UO 2 fuel is about 0.0018% and can be neglected.