Physics Study of Canada Deuterium Uranium Lattice with Coolant Void Reactivity Analysis

Abstract

This study presents a coolant void reactivity analysis of Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU)-6 and Advanced Canada Deuterium Uranium Reactor-700 (ACR-700) fuel lattices using a Monte Carlo code. The reactivity changes when the coolant was voided were assessed in terms of the contributions of four factors and spectrum shifts. In the case of single bundle coolant voiding, the contribution of each of the four factors in the ACR-700 lattice is large in magnitude with opposite signs, and their summation becomes a negative reactivity effect in contrast to that of the CANDU-6 lattice. Unlike the coolant voiding in a single fuel bundle, the 2 × 2 checkerboard coolant voiding in the ACR-700 lattice shows a positive reactivity effect. The neutron current between the no-void and voided bundles, and the four factors of each bundle were analyzed to figure out the mechanism of the positive coolant void reactivity of the checkerboard voiding case. Through a sensitivity study of fuel enrichment, type of burnable absorber, and moderator to fuel volume ratio, a design strategy for the CANDU reactor was suggested in order to achieve a negative coolant void reactivity even for the checkerboard voiding case.