LAUSR

Abstract Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has designed a second-generation Hybrid-Low Power Research Reactor (H-LPRR), which can be used as a critical assembly and conventional research reactor simultaneously. Particularly, the fuel assemblies and the reflectors of the H-LPRR are designed to stand alone without any supporting equipment and to replace each other. Its eight irradiation holes are located on the edge of the core and are applicable to neutron activation analysis and radioisotope production. In this study, some of the important nuclear characteristics are provided such as the control absorber rod worth, shutdown margin, safety reactivity factor, which are calculated by using the MCNP6.1 code with the ENDF/B-VII.0 library. Following a reactivity insertion accident, the power trend as a function of the time was also analyzed using the RELAP5/MOD3.3 code. The main safety parameters of the H-LPRR and MNSR were compared to quantitatively evaluate the neutronics performance of the H-LPRR. From these results, it can be confirmed that the H-LPRR possesses high performance in terms of nuclear design and safety analysis, and it can be a suitable option for countries considering replacement of existing and aging low power research reactors.