Computational tracking of BN-600 operation

Computational tracking of BN-600 operation is described. The high quality of computational tracking is largely due to the nature of a fast reactor, in this case BN-600. Unlike reactors with a thermal neutron spectrum, in a fast reactor, because the prompt and delayed fission neutrons as well as the absorbed neutrons are almost in the same energy range as the fast neutrons, a computational cell can be confidently homogenized and the reactor is strongly coupled to the neutron field. These are the reasons why the behavior of the reactor can be successfully predicted by means of computational programs which are based on the diffusion approximation neglecting the anisotropy of the interaction of the neutrons and the heterogeneity of the medium.     

Operation experience of the BN-600 fast reactor

This paper presents the main operating experience of the BN-600 Power Unit, which has been under operation since 1980 as a part of the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant situated in Zarechny town, Sverdlovsk Region, Russia.Theperformance of the core, the reactor, the fuel handling systems, the steam generator unit, the sodium and steam circuits, and the electrical equipment is highlighted. The technological procedures and the events which occurred, including sodium leaks, are also considered.     

Experience with60Co production in BN-600

The basic results of test of two methods of producing ⁶⁰ Co in BN-600 reactors—in fuel assembly type experimental irradiation setups in the side breeding zone and in experimental compensating control rods in the core—are reported. It is confirmed that the production of ⁶⁰ Co with specific activity at the level 100 kCi/g without disruption of the normal operating conditions of the power-generating unit is possible in the core and side breeding zone of a high-power fast-neutron reactor. 1 table. I. V. Kurchatov Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 86, No. 3, pp. 216–219, March 1999.     

Reactivity Coefficients in BN-600 Core with Minor Actinides

In 1999, the IAEA has initiated a Coordinated Research Project on “Updated Codes and Methods to Reduce the Calculational Uncertainties of the LMFR Reactivity Effects.” Three benchmark models representing different modifications of the BN-600 fast reactor have been sequentially established and analyzed, including a hybrid core with highly enriched uranium oxide and MOX fuel, a full MOX core with weapons-grade plutonium, and a MOX core with plutonium and minor actinides coming from spent nuclear fuel. The paper describes studies for the latter MOX core model. The benchmark results include core criticality at the beginning and end of the equilibrium fuel cycle, kinetics parameters, spatial distributions of power, and reactivity coefficients obtained by employing different computation tools and nuclear data. Sensitivity studies were performed to better understand in particular the influence of variations in different nuclear data libraries on the computed results. Transient simulations were done to investigate the consequences of employing a few different sets of power and reactivity coefficient distributions on the system behavior. The obtained results are analyzed in the paper.     

A nuclear-physics method of composition analysis for the wall surface of a BN-600 steam generator

Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 68, No. 3, pp. 204–206, March, 1990.     

Investigation of the spatial-power effect of reactivity in the BN-600 reactor

The results of experimental and computational investigations of the spatial-power effect of reactivity in the BN-600 reactor are presented. It is shown that the spatial-power effect of reactivity depends on the reactor power and the value, sign, and location of introduction of the reactivity perturbation 4 figures, 1 table, 3 references. I. V. Kurchatov Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 88, No. 4, pp. 243–246, April. 2000.     

Operating experience with a power-generating unit with a BN-600 reactor

Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant. Main Science Center of the Russian Federation — Physics and Power Engineering Institute. OKBM. Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 80, No. 5, pp. 330–337, May, 1996.     

30 Years of experience in operating the BN-600 sodium-cooled fast reactor

Experience in operating the BN-600 sodium-cooled fast reactor during its nominal service life as well as its service life extension period, an additional 15 years, is described. Information is presented on the performance indicators which were achieved and deviations from the normal operating regime which occurred when the reactor was first started up. The degree to which they affect the safety and technical-economic performance of the facility is evaluated. It is concluded on the basis of an analysis of the BN-600 operating experience that sodium-cooled fast reactors have now been mastered commercially and that their prospects for further development are good.