Calculation of Design Parameters for an Equilibrium LEU Core in the NBSR

A plan is being developed for the conversion of the NIST research reactor (NBSR) from high-enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. Previously, the design of the LEU fuel had been determined in order to provide the users of the NBSR with the same cycle length as exists for the current HEU fueled reactor. The fuel composition at different points within an equilibrium fuel cycle had also been determined. In the present study, neutronics parameters have been calculated for these times in the fuel cycle for both the existing HEU and the proposed LEU equilibrium cores. The results showed differences between the HEU and LEU cores that would not lead to any significant changes in the safety analysis for the converted core. In general the changes were reasonable except that the figure-of-merit for neutrons that can be used by experimentalists shows there will be a 10% reduction in performance. The calculations included kinetics parameters, reactivity coefficients, reactivity worths of control elements and abnormal configurations, and power distributions.