The control of the temperature in material samples irradiated in a material testing reactor requires the knowledge of the nuclear heating caused by the energy deposition by neutrons and photons interacting in the irradiation device structures. Thus, a neutron–photonic three-dimensional calculation scheme has been developed to evaluate the nuclear heating in experimental devices irradiated in the core of the OSIRIS MTR reactor (CEA/Saclay Center). The aim is to obtain a predictive tool for the nuclear heating estimation in irradiation devices. This calculation scheme is mainly based on the TRIPOLI-4 three-dimensional continuous-energy Monte Carlo transport code, developed by CEA (Saclay Center). An experimental validation has been carried out on the basis of nuclear heating measurements performed in the OSIRIS core. After an overview of the experimental devices irradiated in the OSIRIS reactor, we present the calculation scheme and the first results of the experimental validation.
In the perspective of irradiation experiments in the future Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR), the Instrumentation Sensors and Dosimetry Laboratory of CEA Cadarache (France) is developing a numerical tool for SPND design, simulation and operation. In the frame of the SPND numerical tool qualification, dedicated experiments have been performed both in the Slovenian TRIGA Mark II reactor (JSI) and very recently in the French CEA Saclay OSIRIS reactor, as well as a test of two detectors in the core of the Polish MARIA reactor (NCBJ). A full description of experimental setups and neutron-gamma calculations schemes are provided in the first part of the paper. Calculation to experiment comparison of the various SPNDs in the different reactors is thoroughly described and discussed in the second part. Presented comparisons show promising final results.
Two calorimeter devices are used in the OSIRIS Material Testing Reactor (CEA-Saclay center) for the nuclear heating measurements. The first one is a fixed five-stage calorimeter device. The second one is an innovative mobile probe called "CALMOS". The design of these devices is different (in particular their geometry), implying modifications on the local neutron and photon fluxes and hence on nuclear heating measured values. The measurements performed by the two calorimeter devices cannot directly be compared; this requires perfect irradiation conditions in the reactor core, especially for the core loading and the control element positions. Simulation is here a good help to perform a fully relevant comparison. In this paper, differences between calorimeter devices in terms of nuclear heating and particle fluxes are evaluated using the TRIPOLI-4 Monte-Carlo code. After a description of the OSIRIS reactor and the design of the two calorimeter devices, the nuclear heating calculation scheme used for simulation will be introduced. Different simulations and results will be detailed and analyzed to determine the calorimeter geometry impact on the measured nuclear heating.
Neutron and gamma flux levels are key parameters in nuclear research reactors. In Material Testing Reactors, such as the future Jules Horowitz Reactor, under construction at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA Cadarache, France), the expected gamma flux levels are very high (nuclear heating is of the order of 20 W/g at 100 MWth). As gamma rays deposit their energy in the reactor structures and structural materials it is important to take them into account when designing irradiation devices. There are only a few sensors which allow measurements of the nuclear heating [1-2]; a recent development at the CEA Cadarache allows measurements of the gamma flux using a miniature ionization chamber (MIC) [3]. The measured MIC response is often compared with calculation using modern Monte Carlo (MC) neutron and photon transport codes, such as TRIPOLI-4 and MCNP6. In these calculations only the production of prompt gamma rays in the reactor is usually modelled thus neglecting the delayed gamma rays. Hence calculations and measurements are usually in better accordance for the neutron flux than for the gamma flux. In this paper we study the contribution of delayed gamma rays to the total MIC signal in order to estimate the systematic error in gamma flux MC calculations. In order to experimentally determine the delayed gamma flux contributions to the MIC response, we performed gamma flux measurements with CEA developed MIC at three different research reactors: the OSIRIS reactor (MTR-70 MWth at CEA Saclay, France), the TRIGA MARK II reactor (TRIGA-250 kWth at the Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia) and the MARIA reactor (MTR-30 MWth at the National Center for Nuclear Research, Poland). In order to experimentally assess the delayed gamma flux contribution to the total gamma flux, several reactor shut down (scram) experiments were performed specifically for the purpose of the measurements. Results show that on average about 30 % of the MIC signal is due to the delayed gamma rays. In this paper we describe experiments in each of the three reactors and how we estimate delayed gamma rays with MIC measurements. The results and perspectives are discussed.
Nuclear heating evaluation by Monte-Carlo simulation requires coupled neutron-photon calculation so as to take into account the contribution of secondary photons. Nuclear data are essential for a good calculation of neutron and photon energy deposition and for secondary photon generation. However, a number of isotopes of the most common nuclear data libraries happen to be affected by energy and/or momentum conservation errors concerning the photon production or inaccurate thresholds for photon emission sections. In this paper, we perform a comprehensive survey of the three evaluations JEFF3.1.1, JEFF3.2T2 (beta version) and ENDF/B-VII.1, over 142 isotopes. The aim of this survey is, on the one hand, to check the existence of photon production data by neutron reaction and, on the other hand, to verify the consistency of these data using the kinematic limits method recently implemented in the TRIPOLI-4 Monte-Carlo code, developed by CEA (Saclay center). Then, the impact of these inconsistencies affecting energy deposition scores has been estimated for two materials using a specific nuclear heating calculation scheme in the context of the OSIRIS Material Testing Reactor (CEA/Saclay).
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