Thermal behaviour of the IPR-R1 TRIGA nuclear reactor

Abstract

Experimental and analytical studies have been performed at the Nuclear Technology Development Center - CDTN (Belo Horizonte) to find out the temperature distribution in the IPR-R1 TRIGA research nuclear reactor, as a function of power and position in the reactor core. The basic safety limit for the TRIGA reactor system is the fuel temperature, both in steady-state and pulsed mode operation. The time dependence of temperature will not be considered here, hence only the steady-state temperature profile will be studied. The experimental results for fuel and coolant temperatures in the reactor core, at different reactor power levels, have been compared with theoretical data and some results from other TRIGA reactors.