Thermal power calibration and correlation of reactor tank constant with pool water level of TRIGA mark–II research reactor

Abstract

The aim of this research is to calibrate the thermal power, perform heat loss calculations from reactor pool to the environment and validate the change of reactor tank constant with the change of reactor pool water height of the BAEC TRIGA Research Reactor (BTRR) at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), Ganakbari, Savar, Dhaka. The thermal power calibration of BTRR is performed by calorimetric method (rate of temperature rise) on July’14. It is found that the calculated thermal power after adding the heat loss from reactor pool to environment is 98 kW i.e. 2% less than the indicated power of the reactor and is within the safety margin of the power channels of BTRR. Reactor tank constant was also calculated for normal pool level which is 8.1026 m; 10 cm and 18 cm below from normal pool level. For normal pool level, reactor tank constant is found to be 3.755^oC/100 kW-h. For 10 cm and 18 cm below from normal pool level, the tank constant is found to be 3.808^oC/100 kW-h and 3.826^oC/100 kW-h respectively. A correlation of reactor tank constant with pool water level is established.