Calculation of the core parameters measured during the commissioning of the OPAL Reactor

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Date
2010-05-12
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
American Nuclear Society
Abstract
The OPAL Research reactor is a multi-purpose open-pool type reactor. The nominal fission power of the reactor is 20 MW. It was commissioned during the second half of the year 2006. The reactor has several nuclear safety related design criteria that have to be experimentally verified during Stage B of the commissioning of the reactor. The present work presents the measurements carried out during the Stage B of the commissioning of the OPAL reactor, and the numerical verification of the calculated values using the design calculation methodology against these measured values. A brief description of the OPAL reactor, its commissioning plan, its nuclear safety related design criteria and the calculation and the experimental methodology are presented. The measured values and a comparison with the calculated is also given.
Description
Keywords
OPAL Reactor, Reactor commissioning, Radiation protection, Design, Safety engineering, Research reactors
Citation
Villarino, E. A., Hergenreder, D. F., Braoudakis, G., & Ersez, T. (2010). Calculation of the core parameters measured during the commissioning of the OPAL Reactor. Presentation to the International Conference on the Physics of Reactors 2010 (PHYSOR2010), 9th – 14th May 2010. In Proceedings of the Advances in Reactor Physics to Power the Nuclear Renaissance, (Vol. 4, pp. 2772-2781). Sheraton Station Square Hotel: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America.