PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS ON UTILIZATION OF THORIUM AND U-ZrH/sub/1.6 IN PUSPATI TRIGA REACTOR CORE

  • Abdul Hannan Damahuri Universiti Tenaga Nasional
  • Hassan Mohamed, Dr Universiti Tenaga Nasional
  • Abdul Aziz Mohamed, Assoc Prof Dr Universiti Tenaga Nasional
  • Mohamad Hairie Rabir Malaysian Nuclear Agency
  • Faridah Mohamad Idris, Dr Malaysian Nuclear Agency
Keywords: Thorium, TRIGA, MCNP, burnup calculation

Abstract

Abstract

Thorium is one of the potential elements for becoming a nuclear fuel for various types of nuclear power plants such as Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), High-temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTR) and Fast Neutron Reactor (FNR). This paper proposes to use Thorium and Uranium Zirconium Hydride (U-ZrH1.6) as fuels for the PUSPATI TRIGA Reactor (RTP), which is currently operated by the Malaysian Nuclear Agency (MNA). The work was carried out using the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) Transport code. In the simulation, Thorium fuel rods were placed together with U-ZrH1.6 fuel rods in 11 different variations, which have a different Thorium mass. Results, such as, effective criticality keff, neutron flux, and cycle length were estimated and compared to those of the experimental and simulation of the original core RTP. The neutron flux of each core with Thorium displays hardly any differences when Thorium is added. Similarly, from the criticality and burnup calculations, these cores show minimal increase in criticality and cycle length.

AbstraK

Thorium merupakan satu elemen yang berpotensi untuk menjadi bahan bakar nuklear dalam reaktor janakuasa nuklear seperti reaktor lebur garam (MSR), reaktor gas suhu tinggi (HTGR) dan reaktor neutron laju (FNR). Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menggunakan Thorium dan Uranium Zirconium Hydride (U-ZrH1.6) sebagai bahan bakar bagi Reaktor TRIGA PUSPATI (RTP), yang dikendalikan oleh Agensi Nuklear Malaysia. Kajian ini dilakukan menggunakan Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) kod. Dalam simulasi in, bahan bakar Thorium diletakkan bersama bahan bakar U-ZrH1.6 dalam 11 variasi yang berbeza dan mempunyai kadar jisim torium yang berlainan. Hasil daripada kajian ini adalah kritikal keff, fluks neutron, dan panjang kitaran reaktor yang dikira dan dibandingkan dengan eksperimen dan simulasi teras reaktor RTP yang sedia ada. Fluks neutron dalam setiap teras menunjukkan sedikit kelainan apabila ditambah dengan Thorium. Ini juga berlaku kepada kritikaliti dan pengiraan pembakaran iaitu teras menunjukkan kenaikan yang minima dalam kritikaliti dan panjang kitaran.

Author Biographies

Abdul Hannan Damahuri, Universiti Tenaga Nasional

College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

Hassan Mohamed, Dr, Universiti Tenaga Nasional

College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Abdul Aziz Mohamed, Assoc Prof Dr, Universiti Tenaga Nasional

College of Engineering, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan IKRAM-UNITEN, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

Mohamad Hairie Rabir, Malaysian Nuclear Agency

Reactor Technology Centre, Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Faridah Mohamad Idris, Dr, Malaysian Nuclear Agency

Reactor Technology Centre, Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Published
2018-12-30
How to Cite
Damahuri, A. H., Mohamed, H., Mohamed, A., Hairie Rabir, M., & Mohamad Idris, F. (2018). PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS ON UTILIZATION OF THORIUM AND U-ZrH/sub/1.6 IN PUSPATI TRIGA REACTOR CORE. JOURNAL of NUCLEAR and Related TECHNOLOGIES, 15(2), 22-30. Retrieved from https://jnrtmns.net/index.php/jnrt/article/view/20
Section
Articles