Inversion Point of the Isothermal Reactivity Coefficient with Increasing System Temperature in a Heterogeneous Core Lattice of a Light Water Reactor

As part of efforts to develop coupled multiphysics experiments for the benchmark of modern multiphysics reactor simulators, a low-power and open-pool type of light water reactor at the Walthousen Reactor Critical Facility (RCF) was reconfigured with additional equipment, and its neutronic characteristics were fully surveyed. A water loop system was designed and installed to pass through the central region of the reactor core, making the central region overmoderated. The overmoderation would lead to a positive temperature reactivity feedback in the modified reactor configuration. This phenomenon is observed when the system temperature is between 10.69°C and 28.70°C. The inversion point of the isothermal reactivity coefficient is at 28.70°C ± 1.07°C. At this temperature, competition between the negative and positive thermal effects on reactivity compensate each other, and the isothermal reactivity coefficient becomes negative at temperatures higher than the inversion point. This paper presents the experimental determination of the isothermal reactivity and reactivity coefficient at different temperatures as well as the inversion point in the modified RCF reactor configuration. To obtain the best-quality results possible, special attention is given to the choice and adaptation of all the available methods for data postprocessing of experiment measurements. Neutron flux denoising is performed with multivariate wavelet transforms and principal component analysis. The Inverse Kinetics Method is applied to derive reactivity from the neutron flux measurements. To provide accurate and high-fidelity experiment benchmark data for modern code validation, in-depth experimental uncertainty quantification is developed. The results of the experiments show the mixed effects of system temperature on reactor reactivity due to the combined effects of Doppler broadening in the fuel, S(α,β) thermal scattering physics, and change in water density and can be used to validate previously developed cross-section interpolation models in the low-temperature range and positive isothermal reactivity coefficient conditions.