Monte-Carlo Code (MCNP) Modeling of the Advanced Test Reactor Applicable to the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Test Irradiation

Mixed oxide (MOX) test capsules prepared with weapons-derived plutonium have been irradiated to a burnup of 50 GWd/t. The MOX fuel was fabricated at Los Alamos National Laboratory by a master-mix process and has been irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Previous withdrawals of the same fuel have occurred at 9, 21, 30, and 40 GWd/t. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) manages this test series for the Department of Energy's Fissile Materials Disposition Program (FMDP). The fuel burnup analyses presented in this study were performed using MCWO, a well-developed tool that couples the Monte Carlo transport code MCNP with the isotope depletion and buildup code ORIGEN-2. MCWO analysis yields time-dependent and neutron-spectrum-dependent minor actinide and Pu concentrations for the ATR small I-irradiation test position. The purpose of this report is to validate both the Weapons-Grade Mixed Oxide (WG-MOX) test assembly model and the new fuel burnup analysis methodology by comparing the computed results against the neutron monitor measurements.