Cobalt production in RAPS-1

At present in RAPS-1 radioisotope Co60 is produced by irradiating Co59 in the adjusters which perform the function of regulation of reactivity, power and xenon override. But the manrem expenditure of the crew handling the charge and discharge of the adjusters is going to be prohibitively high. It is therefore proposed to irradiate Co59 in the fuel channel positions. The physics optimisation study for such irradiation is presented. The burnup penalty and loss of power are estimated to produce the required quantity of Co60 after optimising the number of cobalt pencils in a bundle and the positions of the cobalt producing channels in the reactor core. (author)