A High-performance Soluble-boron-free Small Modular Reactor Core

Abstract

This paper documents results of a neutronic design study of a soluble-boron-free (SBF) small modular reactor (SMR) core. The design specifically utilizes region-wise BigT absorbers as the substitute for the soluble-boron reactivity control. The analyses clearly demonstrate high-performance potential of the SBF SMR design as the burnup reactivity swing over its 52-month cycle is well within the desired range for a successful SBF operation (i.e., < 1,000 pcm). In addition, relatively uniform power profiles, both radially and axially, are obtained throughout the simulated cycle. All assembly branch and multi-physics core calculations in this study were completed using the Monte Carlo Serpent and Coredax diffusion codes with ENDF/B-V7.1 library.