Study of Kinetics Characteristics of a Pressure-Tube Supercritical-Water Reactor

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The Pressure-Tube Supercritical-Water-Cooled Reactor (PT-SCWR) is one of the major nuclear-reactor concepts pursued as part of the cooperative international endeavour known as the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), to which Canada is a party. Supercritical-Water-Cooled reactors operate at higher temperatures and pressures than current-generation reactors and, consequently, offer the promise of higher thermal efficiency. In order to analyze the safety attributes of the PT-SCWR and to design its control and safety systems, its kinetics characteristics need to be assessed. This project will study four aspects related to the kinetics of the PT-SCWR: The values of the full-core kinetics parameters (delayed neutron fractions and generation time); the sensitivity of the kinetics parameters to variations in local fuel and coolant properties; the flux modes and modal core parameters necessary for the control and flux mapping systems; and the decay-heat characteristics of the SCWR fuel. The research results will contribute to the design and analysis of the PT-SCWR Generation IV advanced reactor concept, which is part of Canada's Gen IV National Program and its international commitments under GIF. At the same time, the tools developed as part of the project are applicable to other reactor types, and will also be applicable to the safety analysis of CANDU reactors in current use.