Analysis of the FLUOLE-2 Program: UOX/MOX Core Loading Configurations
SourceThe FLUOLE-2 program is a set of benchmark-type experiments dedicated to neutron attenuation analysis with the aim of improving the TRIPOLI-4® Monte Carlo code validation. This two-year program has been developed by the CEA (Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives) to be representative of 900 MWe and 1450 MWe pressurized water reactors. For that purpose, different stainless steel structures have been designed and appropriately positioned inside the EOLE facility. EOLE is a pool-type zero power reactor composed of a cylindrical aluminum vessel with an overstructure of stainless steel that is able to contain various types of core and related structures. This critical mock-up is located at the Cadarache CEA center. For the FLUOLE-2 experiment, the core has been designed as a 29-by-29-pin square lattice of fuel rods. Different kinds of dosimeters (cobalt, gold, tin, rhodium, indium, iron, nickel, titanium, aluminum, and vanadium) were irradiated inside and outside the core. This paper is focused on two stages of the FLUOLE-2 program where the EOLE core is made up of two types of fuel rods: uranium oxide and mixed oxide. Analyses were carried out using TRIPOLI-4® Monte Carlo code and the following nuclear data: Joint Evaluated Fission and Fusion 3.1.1 for neutron transport, International Reactor Dosimetry File 2002, or the Japanese Evaluated Nuclear Data Library/A-96 for dosimeter activation.