# Nuclear Science and Techniques

《核技术》(英文版) ISSN 1001-8042 CN 31-1559/TL     2019 Impact factor 1.556

Nuclear Science and Techniques ›› 2018, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (12): 174

• NUCLEAR ENERGY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING •

### Determination of fuel burnup distribution of a research reactor based on measurements at subcritical conditions

Quang Binh Do 1 • Hoai-Nam Tran 2 • Quang Huy Ngo 1 • Giang T. T. Phan 2

1. 1 Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, 1 Vo Van Ngan, Thu Duc, HCMC, Vietnam
2 Institute of Fundamental and Applied Sciences, Duy Tan University, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
• Contact: Hoai-Nam Tran E-mail:tranhoainam4@dtu.edu.vn
• Supported by:

This work was supported by National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) of Vietnam under Grant 103.04-2016.30.

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Quang Binh Do, Hoai-Nam Tran, Quang Huy Ngo, Giang T.T. Phan. Determination of fuel burnup distribution of a research reactor based on measurements at subcritical conditions.Nuclear Science and Techniques, 2018, 29(12): 174

Abstract:

This paper presents the determination of the fuel burnup distribution of the Dalat nuclear research reactor (DNRR) using a method of measurements at subcritical conditions. The method is based on the assumption of linear dependence of the reactivity on the burnup of fuel bundles and the measurements at subcritical conditions. The measurements were taken for seven selected fuel bundles in two different measuring sequences. The measured burnup values have also been compared with the calculations for verifying the method and the measurement procedure. The results obtained with the three detectors have a good agreement with each other with a discrepancy less than 1.0%. The errors of the measured burnup values are within 6%. Comparison between the calculated and measured burnup values shows that the discrepancy of the C/E ratio is within 9% compared to unity. The results indicate that the method of measurements at subcritical conditions could be well applied to determine the relative burnup distribution of the DNRR.