Analysis of fuel management for conceptual design of the TRIGA 2000 conversion core

The board benefits of using research reactors have led many countries to build new research reactors. The current trend is a multipurpose reactor type with a compact core to obtain a high neutron flux at a relatively low power. Research reactors in Indonesia are relatively old. Therefore, it is necessary to design a new research reactor as an alternative or design modification, one day to replace the existing research reactor. The purpose of this research is to complement the TRIGA Bandung core design data as one of the important parameters needed to compile the SAR and the requirements for design licensing. The calculations were carried out to understand the operating pattern and in-core fuel management level of the TRIGA Bandung reactor with an optimal equilibrium core configuration consisting of 16 fuels and 4 control rods with a 5x5 core grid and 2 MW power. The fuel management calculation for the TRIGA Bandung core design was carried out for U₃Si₂-Al fuel with a density of 2.96 gU/cc. The calculations were carried out with the WIMSD-5B and BATAN-FUEL program codes. The calculation results show that with one and two operating patterns, none of the operating parameters are exceeded. However, this cannot be used to increase the burn-up fraction. In this case there is no significant increase in the burn-up fraction by changing the core configuration, only extending the operating cycle. (author)