Designing a new fuel for HFIR - performance parameters for LEU core configurations

An engineering design study for a fuel that would enable the conversion of the High Flux Isotope Reactor from highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium fuel is ongoing as part of an effort sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration through the Global Threat Reduction Initiative. Given the unique fuel and core design and high power density of the reactor and the requirement that the impact of the fuel change on the core performance and operation be minimal, this conversion study presents a complex and challenging task, requiring improvements in the computational models currently used to support the operation of the reactor and development of new models that would take advantage of newly available simulation methods and tools. The computational models used to search for a fuel design that would meet the requirements for the conversion study and the results obtained with these models are presented and discussed. Estimates of relevant reactor performance parameters for the low enriched uranium fuel core are presented and compared to the corresponding data for the currently operating highly enriched uranium fuel core.