Title: Safety analysis of spent fuel storage facility for BAEC TRIGA research reactor using MCNP5

Authors: Md. Abdul Malek Soner; Md. Rakibul Hasan; Abdullah Al Mahmud; Nusrat Jahan; Mohammad Mezbah Uddin; Ashraful Haque; Mohamad Hairie Rabir

Addresses: Centre for Research Reactor (CRR), Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), Ganakbari, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' Centre for Research Reactor (CRR), Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), Ganakbari, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' Centre for Research Reactor (CRR), Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), Ganakbari, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' Centre for Research Reactor (CRR), Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), Ganakbari, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' Centre for Research Reactor (CRR), Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), Ganakbari, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' Centre for Research Reactor (CRR), Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), Ganakbari, Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' Nuclear and Reactor Physics Section, Reactor Technology Division, Malaysian Nuclear Agency, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract: Storage of the spent nuclear fuel of research reactors is always a challenge as storage could be needed for more than 50 years until a decision is made about the disposal. This paper describes the research work to analyse safety features of the wet type spent fuel storage facility for BAEC TRIGA Research Reactor (BTRR). MCNP5 code was used to design 7×7 array for BTRR fuel storage. The fuel pitch distance was found to be 10 cm (centre to centre) to maintain subcritical condition and K_eff 0.645 (less than recommended value 0.8). The modelled design was able to withstand full load capacity of fuel. The large shielding margin space of the water height between 2.5 to 5 metre can be used for experiment, testing and upside fuel movements from racks. From the results, the designed spent fuel storage facility seems suitable for storing spent fuels.

Keywords: BTRR; criticality; spent fuel; wet storage.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNEST.2024.142744

International Journal of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology, 2024 Vol.17 No.2/3, pp.99 - 115

Received: 11 Dec 2023
Accepted: 19 Apr 2024
Published online: 20 Nov 2024 *

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