NEUTRON-PHYSICAL CALCULATION OF THE VVER-1000 ON MOX-FUELED REACTOR

Abstract

The use of mixed uranium-plutonium fuel in thermal reactors makes it possible to effectively use highly toxic weapons-grade plutonium for peaceful purposes. The world's reserves of such plutoni-um are a serious problem. The use of this fuel in thermal reactors significantly reduces the amount of enriched uranium needed, as well as to dispose of plutonium-239. The plutonium processed in this way can be reused in fast reactors. In that way, a significant part of nuclear waste can be used in the process of energy release, and the number of potential radioactive waste that would otherwise be buried in the soil will also decrease. The paper presents the results of the neutron-physical calculation of the VVER-1000 reactor on mixed uranium-plutonium fuel for three fuel assemblies: 30%, 50% and 70% MOX fuel from the total amount of the produced substance. The total enrichment is 5%, which will not make critical changes to the reactor operation. Effective multiplication coefficients are obtained for all variations in several approximations: the 4-factor method, the multigroup approximation. The neutron spectrum for the multigroup approximation is obtained. Xenon and samarium poisoning of the reactor was calculated. The analysis of the kinetics of the reactor and the change in the neutron flux at different input reactivity is presented. The possibility of using the selected assemblies on real power plants and the degree of plutonium reproduction during reactor operation are evaluated