École Nationale Supérieure de
Techniques Avancées

Abstract

This internship aims to study the neutronic of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) which are based on Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) technology such as NuScale Power Module and NUWARD. These reactors are original because they are composed by a small core which is surrounded by a heavy neutronic reflector. Thus, in order to prepare the future works of IRSN, it is important to check if its calculation tools are appropriated to stydy this type of core. Deterministic computation accuracy is estimated thanks to comparisons with Monte-Carlo calculations, because deterministic codes are suited for French PWR and don't have a benchmark report for SMR. Deterministic codes were then used to study the influence of the size of the core, the composition of the neutronic reflector and the loading plan on the neutronic characteristics and safety parameters of the core. Finally, the evolution of these characteristics and parameters was studied during a normal operation cycle with two management modes: one with soluble boron (NuScale mode) and the other one without soluble boron (NUWARD mode).