Nuclear Burning Wave Reactor: Smooth Start-Up Problem

Abstract

The search for a smooth start-up method preventing the excessive increase of neutron flux and power production in the prospective fast reactor at the stage of establishing the self-sustained nuclear burning wave (NBW) regime is carried out. The problem is studied by means of numerical simulation of the initiation and evolution of NBW in such a reactor. For this simulation we use the deterministic approach based on solving the non-stationary neutron diffusion equation using the effective multi-group approximation together with a set of burn-up equations for fuel components and equations of nuclear kinetics for precursor nuclei of delayed neutrons. The special composition of the ignition zone composition that provides a smooth start-up of the NBW reactor is proposed. The features of the initial stage of the NBW reactor are studied in detail.

Keywords

• fast reactor
• nuclear burning wave
• , smooth start-up method
• intrinsic safety