Neutronic Parameter Analysis of Plate-Type Fueled TRIGA 2000 Reactor by MCNPX

A novel simulation to calculate the neutronic parameters of the TRIGA 2000 reactor using plate-type fuel has been performed. The plate fuel used was produced by the Indonesian Nuclear Industry (PT INUKI) with U3Si2-Al material. Neutronic parameters based on INUKI's plate-type fuel dimension and the current TRIGA's configuration were simulated using MCNPX. The simulation was performed by modeling the complete reactor's configuration on a fresh fuel core state. We obtained the kinetic parameter values from the simulation, i.e., delayed neutron fraction of 8.11x10-3, a prompt neutron lifetime of 2.0551x10-4 s, and an average neutron generation time of 1.87x10-4 s. The excess reactivity of the reactor was 9.02 %Delta k/k, while reactivity in the one -stuck-rod state was below-0.5 $ with an average value of-3.40 %Delta k/k (-4.19 $). The average thermal neutron flux peak occurred at the central irradiation position with the value of 3.0x1013 to 3.1x1013 n/(cm2 s). The reactor has a power peaking factor of 1.379 in the control rod position of 0 % on D3 fuel. The reactor had a negative feedback reactivity coefficient, except for the moderator coefficient. These results suggest that the current configuration of plate-type fuel met the nuclear reactor neutronic safety standards.(c) 2023 Atom Indonesia. All rights reserved