Experimental Estimation of Moderator Temperature Coefficient of the IPEN-MB-01 Reactor

The aim of this article is to present the procedure for the experimental estimation of the Moderator Temperature Coefficient of Reactivity of the IPEN/MB-01 Research Reactor, a parameter that has an important role in the physics and the control operations of any reactor facility. At the experiment,...

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Main Author: Rubens Cavalcante da Silva
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR) 2019-06-01
Series:Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/615
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author Rubens Cavalcante da Silva
author_facet Rubens Cavalcante da Silva
author_sort Rubens Cavalcante da Silva
collection DOAJ
description The aim of this article is to present the procedure for the experimental estimation of the Moderator Temperature Coefficient of Reactivity of the IPEN/MB-01 Research Reactor, a parameter that has an important role in the physics and the control operations of any reactor facility. At the experiment, the IPEN/MB-01 reactor went critical at the power of 1W (1% of its total power), and whose core configuration was 28x26 rectangular array of UO2 fuel rods, inside a light water (moderator) tank. In addition, there was a heavy water (D2O) reflector installed in the West side of the core to obtain an adequate neutron reflection along the experiment. The moderator temperature was increased in steps of 4oC, and the measurement of the mean moderator temperature was acquired using twelve calibrated thermocouples, placed around the reactor core. As a result, the mean value of -4.81 pcm/°C was obtained for such coefficient. The curves of ρ(T) (Reactivity x Temperature) and  (Moderator Temperature Coefficient of Reactivity x Temperature) were developed using data from an experimental measurement of the integral reactivity curves through the Stable Period and Inverse Kinetics Methods, that was carried out at the reactor with the same core configuration. Such curves were compared and showed a very similar behavior between them.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2319-0612
language English
publishDate 2019-06-01
publisher Brazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)
record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-ca68308467ee42f4a3f59f64e763642e2025-08-20T03:27:36ZengBrazilian Radiation Protection Society (Sociedade Brasileira de Proteção Radiológica, SBPR)Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences2319-06122019-06-0172B (Suppl.)10.15392/bjrs.v7i2B.615470Experimental Estimation of Moderator Temperature Coefficient of the IPEN-MB-01 ReactorRubens Cavalcante da Silva0University of São PauloThe aim of this article is to present the procedure for the experimental estimation of the Moderator Temperature Coefficient of Reactivity of the IPEN/MB-01 Research Reactor, a parameter that has an important role in the physics and the control operations of any reactor facility. At the experiment, the IPEN/MB-01 reactor went critical at the power of 1W (1% of its total power), and whose core configuration was 28x26 rectangular array of UO2 fuel rods, inside a light water (moderator) tank. In addition, there was a heavy water (D2O) reflector installed in the West side of the core to obtain an adequate neutron reflection along the experiment. The moderator temperature was increased in steps of 4oC, and the measurement of the mean moderator temperature was acquired using twelve calibrated thermocouples, placed around the reactor core. As a result, the mean value of -4.81 pcm/°C was obtained for such coefficient. The curves of ρ(T) (Reactivity x Temperature) and  (Moderator Temperature Coefficient of Reactivity x Temperature) were developed using data from an experimental measurement of the integral reactivity curves through the Stable Period and Inverse Kinetics Methods, that was carried out at the reactor with the same core configuration. Such curves were compared and showed a very similar behavior between them.https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/615ipen/mb-01moderator temperature coefficientexperimental measurement
spellingShingle Rubens Cavalcante da Silva
Experimental Estimation of Moderator Temperature Coefficient of the IPEN-MB-01 Reactor
Brazilian Journal of Radiation Sciences
ipen/mb-01
moderator temperature coefficient
experimental measurement
title Experimental Estimation of Moderator Temperature Coefficient of the IPEN-MB-01 Reactor
title_full Experimental Estimation of Moderator Temperature Coefficient of the IPEN-MB-01 Reactor
title_fullStr Experimental Estimation of Moderator Temperature Coefficient of the IPEN-MB-01 Reactor
title_full_unstemmed Experimental Estimation of Moderator Temperature Coefficient of the IPEN-MB-01 Reactor
title_short Experimental Estimation of Moderator Temperature Coefficient of the IPEN-MB-01 Reactor
title_sort experimental estimation of moderator temperature coefficient of the ipen mb 01 reactor
topic ipen/mb-01
moderator temperature coefficient
experimental measurement
url https://bjrs.org.br/revista/index.php/REVISTA/article/view/615
work_keys_str_mv AT rubenscavalcantedasilva experimentalestimationofmoderatortemperaturecoefficientoftheipenmb01reactor