Determination of βeff for ININ's TRIGA Reactor

Abstract

The value of βeff for Training Research Isotopes of General Atomics (TRIGA) Mark III reactor, belonging to the National Institute of Nuclear Researches (ININ), is reported. The TRIGA Mark III reactor core was simulated with MCNP6 to deduce the effective multiplication factor (keff) for critical state and after a small insertion of positive reactivity (∼0.20 $). To perform more realistic simulations, we had to incorporate in the composition of the low-enrichment uranium (LEU) fuel element the produced poisons in a time period of six years, considering the operation time in days, during which the reactor was operating at maximum power (1 MWth). The calculation of the βeff value was obtained with the keff results, calculated with the code, and the reactor periods measured experimentally. We also obtained directly the βeff value, through the card of MCNP6 to calculate keff (KOPTS) card of the MCNP6 code in order to compare both values.