Simulations of advanced reactor cores in research light water reactor LR-0

Highlights: • Light water reactor in support of fast reactor technology development. • Comparison of fast spectrum tails of fast reactors and light water reactor tail in large dry channel. • Proposal of sensitive spectral indices for fast spectrum comparison in different systems. - Abstract: A design verification by basic neutronic experiments is an integral part of maturing a reactor concept. Before building a demonstrator unit, it is useful to design and carry out verification and validation work concerning the modeling tools as well as nuclear data in a mock-up simulating the environment in an advanced reactor. The focus of this paper is to show how the experimental research light water reactor LR-0 is used in development work connected to a wide range of advanced reactor concepts: High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGR), Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR) Lead Cooled Fast Reactor (LFR), and Gas Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR). Results show that a large channel in a light water research reactor with appropriate neutron filter can be used for studies of basic reactor physics in the fast part of the neutron spectrum of some more advanced systems.