Criticality Benchmark Guide for Light-Water-Reactor Fuel in Transportation and Storage Packages (NUREG/CR-6361, ORNL/TM-13211)

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Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: December 1996
Date Published: March 1997

Prepared by:
J. J. Lichtenwalter*, S. M. Bowman, M. D. DeHart, C. M. Hopper

Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Managed by Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corp.
Oak Ridge, TN 37831–6370

*Appointee of U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory Cooperative Postgraduate Research Training Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

Prepared for:
Spent Fuel Project Office
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001
NRC Job Code B0009

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Abstract

This report is designed as a guide for performing criticality benchmark calculations for light-water-reactor (LWR) fuel applications. The guide provides documentation of 180 criticality experiments with geometries, materials, and neutron interaction characteristics representative of transportation packages containing LWR fuel or uranium oxide pellets or powder. These experiments should benefit the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff and licensees in validation of computational methods used in LWR fuel storage and transportation concerns. The experiments are classified by key parameters such as enrichment, water/fuel volume, hydrogen-to-fissile ratio (H/X), and lattice pitch. Groups of experiments with common features such as separator plates, shielding walls, and soluble boron are also identified. In addition, a sample validation using these experiments and a statistical analysis of the results are provided. Recommendations for selecting suitable experiments and determination of calculational bias and uncertainty are presented as part of this benchmark guide.