Utilizing Simulation and Experiment for In-core Gamma Heat Estimation of the McMaster Nuclear Reactor

Abstract

Overheating reactor core is an unpleasant scenario that all reactor-safety designers seek to avoid since this could lead to damage to reactor components which may lead to an accident. Efforts are therefore put in place to reduce all uncertainties that can influence this condition. It is known that about 90% of the heat generation in any reactor core is deposited in the fuel due to the kinetic energy of the fission products and some heavy particles. However, gamma ray is the only particle which can escape out of the fuel and deposit in somewhere rather than the fuel. This paper will present the proposal of the PhD thesis to investigate and track all the gamma rays in McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR) along with preliminary results that have achieved for reactor core follow. Simulation and Measurement will be applied to estimate the gamma heating in the MNR reactor.