System of nuclear reactivity control using the external magnetic field

Authors: Alekseev D.I.
Published in issue: #12(89)/2023
DOI: 10.18698/2541-8009-2023-12-955
Category: Power, Metallurgic and Chemical Engineering | Chapter: Nuclear power plant
Keywords: nuclear reactor, polarization, diffusion coefficient, spin, magnetic field, microscopic cross section, albedo, neutron reflector
Published: 25.01.2024

Increasing safety requirements to reactor facilities being designed and developed necessitates introduction of systems capable of preventing the beyond-design-basis accidents. The paper describes a reactivity control system for the molten salt reactor based on using the polarized magnetic neutron reflector. Main technical advantages are formulated, and a comparison with the traditional control methods is made for the security system under consideration. Basic physical laws and experimental data affecting the neutrons transfer in the polarized reflector material are summarized. Qualitative assessment of the negative reactivity introduced by altering the reflector diffusion coefficient during its magnetization was obtained.

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