Estimation of the fuel temperature reactivity coefficient of the UMass-Lowell research reactor based on empirical and theoretical point reactor kinetics models

Highlights: • The measured reactivity is estimated with an inverse point reactor kinetics method. • The fuel temperature reactivity coefficient is estimated from a linear relation of the reactivities. • The estimated coefficient is validated with experimental data using reactor point kinetics. Modeling nuclear reactors for simulating transients can be very challenging for a lot of reasons, e.g. space–time representation, heterogeneity, etc. Reactor-specific design and data may also be required for the facility being analyzed. Although reactor point kinetics theory is usually a method of choice in analyzing such transients, a reactor's specifications are required to achieve meaningful results. This work describes a unique method for estimating the fuel temperature reactivity coefficient for use with the point reactor kinetics model of the UMass-Lowell Research Reactor. The computed coefficient is later validated with experimental data.