Abstract-CABRI is an experimental pulse reactor operated by CEA at the Cadarache research center and funded by the French Nuclear Safety and Radioprotection Institute (IRSN).For the purpose of the CABRI International Program (CIP), operated and managed by IRSN under an OECD/NEA framework it has been refurbished since 2003 to be able to provide experiments in prototypical PWR conditions (155 bar, 300 °C) in order to study the fuel behavior under Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA) conditions. This paper first reminds the objectives of the power commissioning tests performed on the CABRI facility. The design and location of the neutron detectors monitoring the core power are also presented.Then it focuses on the different methodologies used to calibrate the detectors and check the consistency and co-linearity of the measurements.Finally, it presents the methods used to check the linearity of the neutron detectors up to the high power levels (~20 GW) reached during power transients. Some results obtained during the power tests campaign are also presented.
In a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR), the rod ejection is a design basis accident for uncontrolled evolution of the nuclear reaction. In case of failure of a rod mechanism, the rod ejection is caused by the pressure differential between the primary loop (155 bar) and the confinement's enclosure (atmospheric pressure). It leads to a local power transient and a fast fuel temperature increase. The power transient is limited by the reactivity feedbacks before the automatic reactor shutdown. The CABRI experimental pulsed reactor is funded by the French Nuclear Safety and Radioprotection Institute (IRSN) and is operated by CEA at the Cadarache research center. It is designed to study fuel rods behavior under Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA) conditions. The tested fuel rod is placed at the center of the CABRI core, inside a pressurized water loop reproducing PWR conditions. CABRI is a pool type reactor, made of 1487 UO 2 fuel rods and controlled by 6 Hafnium control rods. A specific device allows the fast depressurization of 3 He contained in 4 transient rods to reproduce control rods ejection conditions. Based on a BEPU approach, we developed a tool, named SPARTE, for CABRI power transients calculation. This tool is based on point kinetics, simplified thermal-hydraulics and thermal-mechanics. It computes the global behavior of the core by the calculation of a mean fuel rod. It includes models of reactivity insertion specific to the CABRI transient rods system, variable
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