Safety Analysis of the New Core-Moderator Assembly for the Penn State Breazeale Nuclear Reactor
Open Access
- Author:
- Wargon, Matthew David
- Graduate Program:
- Nuclear Engineering
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- None
- Committee Members:
- Kenan Unlu, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
- Keywords:
- Breazeale
Nuclear
Reactor
RELAP5-3D
MCNP6
Safety
Analysis - Abstract:
- In the ever-evolving world of nuclear engineering, new technology is constantly being discovered and developed to further benefit mankind. New technology is introduced every day, which can be used to perform new, exciting, and innovative research. The Penn State Breazeale Reactor at the Radiation Science and Engineering Center is no exception to wanting to be at the forefront of nuclear science and technology. The facility currently has plans that call for a major expansion and overhaul of its current neutron beam lab facility, which include a new core-moderator assembly and new neutron beam ports. Past analyses have completed the design and some analysis of this new core and moderator tank assembly, but the work has not yet been finalized. Before installation of the core-moderator assembly, the thermal-hydraulic behavior of this new system must be analyzed. The goal of this work is to use a combination of MCNP6 and RELAP5-3D®to confirm the results of prior analyses of this new core-moderator assembly, and to generate a safety analysis report. MCNP6 will be used to calculate relevant neutronic core parameters, and RELAP5-3D® will be used to perform a thermal-hydraulic safety analysis of the system. The results of the thermal-hydraulic safety analysis were chiefly compared to the work of Dr. Dündar Uçar, the original designer of the new assembly. After comparing the results of the RELAP5-3D®analysis to past work and in-core measurements, it was concluded that the RELAP5-3D®results were sufficiently accurate, and the past work can also be confirmed as accurate. While Dr. Uçar’s work was not able to calculate a sufficient fuel temperature, a proper value was calculated in RELAP5- 3D® that is considered a good match when compared to previous experimental measurements. This work shows that, at least from a steady-state standpoint, the proposed new design for PSBR will operate safely under all normal conditions.