A study of criticality and thermal loading in a conceptual micronuclear heat pipe reactor for space applications
Neutronic analysis of a conceptual heat pipe-cooled micronuclear reactor with 70 % enriched uranium nitride fuel is carried out by modeling the core and peripheral control drum movement to estimate the power distribution. The core configuration results in non-uniformities and hotspots. For...
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2020-01-01
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doaj-b2d2d549b9af47dc92e8fb6b0293980d2021-02-05T08:17:18ZengVINCA Institute of Nuclear SciencesNuclear Technology and Radiation Protection1451-39941452-81852020-01-0135320821510.2298/NTRP2003208A1451-39942003208AA study of criticality and thermal loading in a conceptual micronuclear heat pipe reactor for space applicationsAziz Umair0Koreshi Zafar U.1Sheikh Shakil R.2Khan Hamda3Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Air University, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Mechatronics Engineering, Air University, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Mechatronics Engineering, Air University, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Sciences and Humanities, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Islamabad, PakistanNeutronic analysis of a conceptual heat pipe-cooled micronuclear reactor with 70 % enriched uranium nitride fuel is carried out by modeling the core and peripheral control drum movement to estimate the power distribution. The core configuration results in non-uniformities and hotspots. For the heat removal, empirical formulae have been used in the case of sodium, lithium, and potassium working fluids. The neutronic simulation was carried out by the OpenMC code. It has been found that the radial flux peaking as high as ~20 % can occur at various stages of the drum movement. The novelty of this research is the investigation of the effect of variable enrichment on the overall system multiplication, which can form the basis for optimal fuel distribution. It has been found that non-uniform fuel distribution can mitigate peaking factors, and thus reduce the hotspots. This analysis is useful for the design optimization of compact micro nuclear reactors for underwater, portable and space propulsion systems.http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/1451-3994/2020/1451-39942003208A.pdfmicronuclear reactor heat pipecore neutronicsmonte carlo simulation |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Aziz Umair Koreshi Zafar U. Sheikh Shakil R. Khan Hamda |
spellingShingle |
Aziz Umair Koreshi Zafar U. Sheikh Shakil R. Khan Hamda A study of criticality and thermal loading in a conceptual micronuclear heat pipe reactor for space applications Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection micronuclear reactor heat pipe core neutronics monte carlo simulation |
author_facet |
Aziz Umair Koreshi Zafar U. Sheikh Shakil R. Khan Hamda |
author_sort |
Aziz Umair |
title |
A study of criticality and thermal loading in a conceptual micronuclear heat pipe reactor for space applications |
title_short |
A study of criticality and thermal loading in a conceptual micronuclear heat pipe reactor for space applications |
title_full |
A study of criticality and thermal loading in a conceptual micronuclear heat pipe reactor for space applications |
title_fullStr |
A study of criticality and thermal loading in a conceptual micronuclear heat pipe reactor for space applications |
title_full_unstemmed |
A study of criticality and thermal loading in a conceptual micronuclear heat pipe reactor for space applications |
title_sort |
study of criticality and thermal loading in a conceptual micronuclear heat pipe reactor for space applications |
publisher |
VINCA Institute of Nuclear Sciences |
series |
Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection |
issn |
1451-3994 1452-8185 |
publishDate |
2020-01-01 |
description |
Neutronic analysis of a conceptual heat pipe-cooled micronuclear reactor with
70 % enriched uranium nitride fuel is carried out by modeling the core and
peripheral control drum movement to estimate the power distribution. The core
configuration results in non-uniformities and hotspots. For the heat removal,
empirical formulae have been used in the case of sodium, lithium, and
potassium working fluids. The neutronic simulation was carried out by the
OpenMC code. It has been found that the radial flux peaking as high as ~20 %
can occur at various stages of the drum movement. The novelty of this
research is the investigation of the effect of variable enrichment on the
overall system multiplication, which can form the basis for optimal fuel
distribution. It has been found that non-uniform fuel distribution can
mitigate peaking factors, and thus reduce the hotspots. This analysis is
useful for the design optimization of compact micro nuclear reactors for
underwater, portable and space propulsion systems. |
topic |
micronuclear reactor heat pipe core neutronics monte carlo simulation |
url |
http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/1451-3994/2020/1451-39942003208A.pdf |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT azizumair astudyofcriticalityandthermalloadinginaconceptualmicronuclearheatpipereactorforspaceapplications AT koreshizafaru astudyofcriticalityandthermalloadinginaconceptualmicronuclearheatpipereactorforspaceapplications AT sheikhshakilr astudyofcriticalityandthermalloadinginaconceptualmicronuclearheatpipereactorforspaceapplications AT khanhamda astudyofcriticalityandthermalloadinginaconceptualmicronuclearheatpipereactorforspaceapplications AT azizumair studyofcriticalityandthermalloadinginaconceptualmicronuclearheatpipereactorforspaceapplications AT koreshizafaru studyofcriticalityandthermalloadinginaconceptualmicronuclearheatpipereactorforspaceapplications AT sheikhshakilr studyofcriticalityandthermalloadinginaconceptualmicronuclearheatpipereactorforspaceapplications AT khanhamda studyofcriticalityandthermalloadinginaconceptualmicronuclearheatpipereactorforspaceapplications |
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1724284019556745216 |