Neutronic feasibility study for neutron flux upgrading of Tehran research reactor

The present work is concerned on neutron flux increasing in Tehran Research Reactor (TRR). TRR is a 5 MW pool-type research reactor with plate type fuels in which the light water is used as both the coolant and moderator. The main goal of this paper is reaching to the average thermal neutron flux of the order of 10^14 #.cm^−2 .s^−1 in the central irradiation box. Combination of the TRR power upgrading with the compact core can enable us to reach a neutron flux higher than 1.5 × 10^14 #.cm^−2 .s^−1 without violating the neutronic and thermal-hydraulic safety criteria. The compact core, with 19 and 5 standard and control fuel elements respectively, is used as a base for the neutronic analyses. Compact core with 26 fuel assemblies fulfilled all neutronic and operation criteria. Considering thermal hydraulic aspect from previous study lets TRR to be upgraded to 8.5 MW, resulting in neutron thermal flux greater than 1.5 × 10^14.