PRELIMINARY NEUTRONICS CALCULATIONS FOR CONVERSION OF THE TEHRAN RESEARCH REACTOR CORE FROM HEU TO LEU FUEL

The 5-MW highly enriched uranium (HEU)-fueled Tehran Research Reactor is considered for conversion to high-density, low-enriched uranium (LEU) fueL A preliminary neutronics calculation is performed as part of the con version goal. In this study, two cores are considered: the HEU reference core and a proposed LEU core similar to the reference core, using standardized U3Si2 plates with the option of different U-235 loadings. Various possibilities are investigated for the con version of HEU to LEU fuel elements with 20% enriched U-235 loadings of 207 to 297 g U-235/element. For the same equilibrium cycle length, the fuels are compared for flux, power distribution, burnup, and reactivity.