Development of a Zero-Power U-233 Molten Salt-Fueled Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiment
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Reed, Kristina
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Abstract
The pursuit of Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) concepts by industry and academia has necessitated the development of computational methods, tools and resources suitable for MSR modeling and simulation. Evaluated reactor physics benchmark experiments are necessary for assessing the accuracy of a given code and nuclear data set to adequately represent a reactor system. With MSR reactor physics benchmark experiments in very short supply, available experimental MSR data must be utilized to develop benchmarks in support of the licensing and research needs, which are paramount to the commercialization of MSRs. Thus, the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE), an extension of the Molten Salt Reactor Program (MSRP) led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the 1960s, should be utilized to the fullest extent for the creation of evaluated reactor physics benchmark experiments. The primary outcome of this dissertation research is the development of such a benchmark that uses available data from the U-233-fueled zero-power test in the MSRE. An evaluated benchmark report based on the dissertation results will be submitted to the International Reactor Physics Evaluation Project (IRPhEP) Technical Review Group (TRG), upon completion of this dissertation, for review and potential inclusion in the IRPhEP handbook (IRPhE) [1]. This submission aims to address the scarcity of available evaluated MSR benchmarks for reactor physics and neutronics codes, as the zero-power U-235 criticality experiment for the MSRE is currently the only evaluated MSR benchmark in the IRPhE handbook.
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2022-12-13
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Dissertation