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Abstract

The goal of this study is to test the ability of the BAEC 3 MW TRIGA Mark-II research reactor, intended to run at its steady state full power 3 MWth with suitable safety limits. The neutronics design safety margins of the core were calculated based on the deterministic method. Two methods have been applied, and they are (i) the collision probability lattice transport code SRAC-PIJ for the region averaged group coefficients of fuel and non-fuel units separately, and (ii) the neutron diffusion theory code SRAC-CITATION for global core computations. The realistic calculated safety margin features of the BAEC TRIGA core are effective multiplication factor (Keff), surplus reactivity (ρex), efficacy of control rod, shutdown margin (SDM), safety reactivity factor (SRF) and fuel temperature reactivity coefficient (FTC). The calculated results were evaluated with the experimental data, as well as the values provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the results obtained from the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) and WIMS-CITATION simulations. The IAEA safety principle says that the safety reactivity factor of a research reactor should be greater than 1.5 and the calculated values of SRF are 1.588 and 1.589, which exceeds 1.5 and also indicates that the reactor exhibits improved operational and safety characteristics, which echoes that the SRAC2006 code system yields the physical TRIGA core model truthfully. Therefore, the analysis gratifies each safety margin feature of existing core arrangement of 3 MW TRIGA Mark-II research reactor following IAEA safety viewpoints for its effective safe operation.

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