Transmutation rates in the annulus gas of pressure tube water reactors

CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) reactor utilizes Pressure Tube (PT) fuel channel design and heavy water as a coolant. Fuel channel annulus gas acts as an insulator to minimize heat losses from the coolant to the moderator. Since fuel bundles are continuously under high neutron fluxes, annulus gas nuclides undergo different nuclear transformations generating new composition of the gas that might have different physical properties which are undesirable for the annulus system. In addition, gas nuclides become radioactive and lead to an increase of the radioactive material inventory in the reactor and consequently to an increase of radiation levels. Pressure Tube Reactor (PTR) and Pressure Tube Supercritical Water Reactor (PT SCWR) fuel channel models have been developed in Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) code. Neutron fluxes in the fuel channel annulus gas have been obtained by simulating different types of neutron sources in both PTR and PT SCWR fuel channels. Transmutation rates of annulus gases have been calculated for different gases (CO₂, N₂, Ar and Kr) at different pressures and temperatures in both fuel channels. The variation of the transmutation rates, neutron fluxes and gas densities in the annulus gas have been investigated in PTR and PT SCWR fuel channels at constant pressures and different temperatures. MCNP code along with NIST REFPROP [14] and other software tools have been used to conduct the calculations. (author)