Course 22106

Module 13

Reactivity Control

13.1 MODULE OVERVIEW 3

13.2 MODULE OBJECTIVES 3

13.3 REACTIVITY MECHANiSMS 4

13.3.1 Reactor Regulation And Protection............•...•...•............................•................4

13.3.2 Requirements For Reactivity Mechanisms For Reactor Regulation 5

13.4 IN-CORE REACTIVITY CHANGES 7

13.5 METHODS OF REACTIVITY CONTROL 11

13.6 REACTIVITY MECHANiSMS 12

13.6.1 Automatic Reactor Regulation 14

13.6.2 Xenon Override 16

13.6.3 Long-term Reactivity Control 17

13.6.4 Equifibrium Fuel Bumup 20

13.6.5 Shutdown Systems 21

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13.7 FACTORS AFFECTING (;ONTROL ROD WORTH 25

13.7.1 Dependence Of Control Rod Worth On Position Of Rod In Core 26

13.7.2 Variation Of Rod Worth With Degree Of Insertion-The Differential

Rod Worth .............................................................................•....................... 28

13.7.3 Interaction Of Rods With Each Other-Rod Shadowing

And Anlishadowing .•..............................................................•....................... 29

~~!t/C;;J\I~J5:~•••••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ~~

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Notes & References

-
13.1 MODULE OVERVIEW

Reactivity control mechanisms are needed for reaetor regulation Reactivity IllgUIaIion
and for reaetor protection. The principal objectives of this
module are to analyze the requirements for reaetivity regulation
arising from changes in the operating conditions of the reactor,
and to discuss how these requirements can most efficiently be
met. We start by using the knowledge accumulated by study of
earlier modules to summarize the reactivity changes expected
over the operational life of the reactor. We then discuss possible
ways to vary reactivity in terms of the six-factor formula and
describe in detail the methods of reactivity control actually used,
noting the advantages and disadvantages of each. Finally, we
look at the requirements for shutdown systems, comparing the Shutdown systems
reactivity depth and response time of the three mechanisms used
in CANDU reaCtors-moderator dump, shut-off rods and poison
injection.

13.2 MODULE OBJECTIVES

Mter studying this module, you should be able to:

i) Distinguish between the requirements for reactor

regulation and reactor protection.

ii) Ust the principal sources of reactivity variation which

arise during reactor operation.

iii) Identify the terms in the six-factor formula which might

be most conveniently varied to compensate for the above
changes.

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Noles & References

iv) List some advantages and disadvantages of the various·

methods used for automatic reactor regulation, long-term
reactivity control and fuel burnup.

v) List the advantages and disadvantages of moderator

dump, shut-off rods and poison injection for reactor
shutdown.

13.3 REACTIVITY MECHANISMS

13.3.1 Reactor Regulation And Protection

Reactivity mechanisms represent the final control elements which

" leglllalicn and protedicn cause changes in the neutron multiplication constant k (or
reactivity Ale) and therefore in reactor power. There are two
separate requirements of reactivity mechanisms which are fulfilled
by independent systems. These requirements are:

a) Reactor regulation

The four basic functions of the reactor regulation

systems are:

i) Maintain k = 1 for steady power operation.

ii) Provide small changes (+ve or - ve) in k to

change reactor power.

iii) Prevent the development of flux oscillations.

iv) Provide power setback and stepback in the

event that certain operating parameters are
• outside the normal regulating range of values.

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Notes & References

b) Reactor protection

The principal purpose of the protective system is to

insert a large amount of negative reactivity for rapid
shutdown of the reactor (trip) in the event that one or
more operating parameters are outside the acceptable
range of values.

The use of separate systems for reactor regulation and safety is a

cornerstone of the safety philosophy of CANDU reactors. In
fact, from a practical viewpoint no single system can adequately
fulfill all requirements for reactor regulation, let alone regulation
and protection together.

13.3.2 Requirements For Reactivity

Mechanisms For Reactor Regulation

The complex physical and nuclear changes occurring in the core

during reactor operation mean that an effective regulating system
will have to consist of more than one type of reactivity
mechanism. A convenient breakdown of the various in-core
reactivity changes which require compensating and regulating
controls is listed in Table 13.1 and grouped in tenns of the two
most important parameters of any reactivity mechanism, namely:

i) reactivity worth (or depth) &: (mk) which must be

somewhat larger than the reactivity change for which the
mechanism must compensate or control, and

ii) opertUional time interval, or the time during which the

mechanism must be able to supply or remove reactivity,
which will determine the reactivity insertion rate
(sometimes called the ramp reactivity rate), &: per unit
time (mk/s).

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Notes & References

Each tabulated reactivity change is briefly described below and .

the typical worths necessary to control these changes as they
occur in CANDU stations are shown for comparison in
Table 13.2. Where these values change from fresh fuel to
equilibrium fuel conditions, the difference is noted.

,mmary 01 operational reactivity

anges
TABLE 13.1

In-core reactivity changes

Source of In-c:ore DepU\(6k) TIme Interval

reactivity changes
a) Power changes, hot medium (. vel minutes
shutdown to hot full
power

b) Fuel and coolant medium (+ve,·ve) seconds, minutes

temperature
changes

c) Moderator medium (+ve,-ve) minutes

temperature change

d) Fresh fuel bum up large (·ve) 6 -7 months

e) EquiUbrium xenon large (-ve) 40 hoUlS

load build up

1) Xenon transient buDd large (-ve) <12 hours

up

g) Aux oscillations medium (+ve,·ve) 15 - 30 hours

h) Equilibrium fuel bum small (-ve) days (continuous)

up

I) Plutonium and medium (+ve) 300 hours

samarium build up

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Notes & References

- 13.4 IN-CORE REACTIVITY CHANGES

a) Power changes (See Module 12)

Power changes

Reactivity changes as the temperatures of the fuel and coolant

increase when power increases from a hot shutdown condition to
a hot full-power condition. Under normal (that is, non-excursion)
conditions, there will be a negative reactivity change called the
power coefficient ofreactivity (see Figure 12.10). This is
tabulated in Table 13.2. In order to maintain criticality, an equal
but opposite reactivity worth must be supplied by some other
means (for example, by removing an equivalent reactivity worth
from the zone control system).

b) Fuel and coolant temperature change (see Module 12)

Temperature changes

As the fuel and coolant are heated from a cold shutdown

condition (about 25°C) to a hot shutdown condition (about
290°C), reactivity decreases substantially for the fresh core but
increases somewhat for the equilibrium core (Figure 12.10).

c) Moderator temperature changes (See Module 12)

Normally, moderator temperature is kept fairly constant

(typically 70°C maximum in the calandria and 40°C at the heat
exchanger outlets) but variation can be obtained by changing the
rate of heat removal from the heat exchangers. The sign of the
accompanying coefficient depends on poison content for a
freshly-fuelled core, but it is always positive for an equilibrilim
core.

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Notes & References

d) Fresh fuel bumup (See"Module 7)

ash fuel bumup
As the fuel burns up from the fresh to the equilibrium condition
over a period of about six months, there is a large increase in
negative reactivity load due to the build up of Pu-240 and long-
lived neutron absorbing fission products (not including Xe-135),
and to depletion of fissile material (Figure 7.7). This is a slow
but continuous reactivity change.

lIIOIl
e) Equilibrium xenon load build up (See Module 11)

Following start-up after a long reactor shutdown (>2-3 days), an

equilibrium reactivity load (up to -28 mk) will be built up due to
an accumulation of Xe-135 in the fuel.

f) Xenon transient buildup (See Module 11)

Within 12 hours of a reactor shutdown (or large derating due to

load-following or operational problems), there is a very large
transient rise in Xe-135 poison concentration (up to - 80 mk
above the equilibrium level at Pickering). To enable us to restart
the unit, xenon override capability is provided to compensate for
this negative reactivity. The reactor can be restarted if the
override reactivity can be inserted within a time period after
shutdown known as the override time. Actual reactivities
available and the override time thus obtained are listed in
Table 13.2.

g) Flux oscillations (See Module 11)

Localired flux or power changes in the core (from, for example,

refuelling part of a channel or movement of a control rod), can
initiate quite large undamped power swings (xenon oscillations)
with periods between 15 and 30 hours.

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Notes & References

- The zone control system is used to counter these unbalanced

reactivity loads in various regions of the core. Total reactivity
worths of these systems are shown in Table 13.2. The zone
control systems are also used for bulk power control.

h) Equilibrium fuel bumup (See Module 7)

EquHibrium fuel bumup

At equilibrium fuel burnup. when the operating target excess

reactivity is reached. fission products continue to build up and
fissile material continues to be depleted. Continuous on-power
refuelling is. of course, the most important method of
compensating for this continual depletion of fissile material at
equilibrium burnup. The rate of reactivity loss for CANDU
reactors without refuelling is shown in Table 13.2 and. for
comparison. the reactivity increases due to the refuelling of a
single typical central channel are also listed.

i) Plutonium and samarium buildup (See Modules 7 Pu and Sm blildup

and 11)

After shutdown, plutonium builds up from the decay of

neptunium, adding positive reactivity. and samarium builds up
from the decay of promethium, adding negative reactivity. The
overall effect is positive, as shown in Table 13.2.

As you can see. the range of reactivity depths and insertion rates
makes it impractical to try to design a single control mechanism.

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 Table 13.2
Comperlson Of StlItIon Ructlvlty Lollds
R8lICl1vIty Worth Change Plckarlng Bruce Lepresu Darlington Gentllly-2
A&B A&8
a) Power coefficient fresh fuel ·7mk ·9mk ·6.1 mk ·9 mk ·9 I1'k
(hot shutdown-hot equlUbrium fuel ·3mk ·3.5 mk ·3mk ·3mk ·3mk
fuR power)

b) Fuel and coolanl fresh fuel ·8mk ·9mk -6 mk ·7mk ·1.5 mk

(1emperefure 25°C equHlbrium fuel +2.5mk +3mk +3mk +2.5mk +8mk
10 275 °C)

c) Moderator fresh fuel -0.06 mkrC -0.07 mkrC +0.045 mkrC -0.097 mkrC +0.045 mkrC
tamperature (Nole 1)
coefIIcIent equHlbrium fual +0.08 mkrC +0.09 'mkrC +0.097 mkrC +0.057 mkrC +0.097 mkrC

d) Fresh fuel bumup ·25mk ·22mk ·20mk ·22 mk ·20mk

e) Xe EquHlbrlum load ·28mk ·28mk ·28mk ·28mk ·28mk
f) Xe Peak load ·98mk ·133 mk ·138 mk ·143 mk ·l36mk
Xe 0ven1de capability Note 2) +18mk +15mk +15mk +18mk +15mk
Xe 0ven1de lime 45 min. 40 min. 30 min. 30 min. 30 min.
g) Zone conlrol reactivity worth 5.4mk 6mk 7.1 mk 7mk 7.111lk
h) ReactMtyJoss (eqUilibrium fuel) -0.3 mklday ·0.5 mklday ·0.41 mklday -0.41 mklday ·0.41 mklday
Reacllvlty gain per refualllld central +0.2mk +O.2mk +0.2mk +0.1 mk +O.2mk
channal
I) Plutonium and samarium +8mk +6mk +6mk +6mk +6mk
buIldup

NOTES: 1) WIll depend on polson content; Lepreau and <3-2 values are w~h 8.5 mglkg bolOn In moderator.
2) New elernanls only; will decrease by 30% at end·of·llle bumup.

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Notes & References

13.5 METHODS OF REACT!VITV

CONTROL

Before we can discuss reactivity mechanisms, we must look at the

theoretical methods of reactivity control. Recalling that
Reactivity control and the six-factol
formula
k= epTJfAA
we will examine which of the six factors we can use to change or
control reactivity.

First, thefastfissionfactor (e) and the resolUUlce escape

probability (p) cannot be easily varied. They depend on the
amount of U-238 present and the lattice spacing in the reactor.
Therefore we will make no attempt to control reactivity by
controlling e or p.

Next is the reproduction/actor (fI). From equation (5.4)

l:f(fuel)
TJ = v l:. (fuel)

If we increase the amount of fissile material present, we will

increase fl. That is, more neutrons will be produced per neutron
absorbed by the fuel.

Thermal utilizotion (f) is the fraction of thermal neutrons

absorbed by the fuel to those absorbed in the whole core. From
equation 5.5

f = l:. (fuel) ell (fuel)

l:. (total reactor) ell (total reactor)

If we increase or decrease the amount of non-fuel absorption, we

vary f and hence the reactivity. Variation of neutron absorption
is by far the most common method of control.

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Notes & References

Finally. we have the fast and thermal non-leakage probabilities

(At. At). If we vary the leakage of neutrons from the reactor, we
will vary reactivity.

13.6 REACTIVITY MECHANISMS

In order to discuss the reactivity mechanisms currently in use, we

shall divide them into five groups based on their basic function in
the reactor. The five functional groups are:

,aclMty med1anisms i) Automatic reactor regulation - (includes bulk power

and zone control).

ii) Xenon override.

iii) Long-term reactivity control - (includes fresh fuel

burnup. the buildup of equilibrium xenon and the
buildup of plutonium and samarium after shutdown).

iv) Equilibrium fuel burnup.

v) Shutdown systems.

For each category. we will discuss the methods !1sed and the
significant advantages and disadvantages of those methods. Table
13.3 indicates the systems used at each station and the reactivity
depth of each system. .

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Table 13.3

Reactivity Control Systems For CANDU Reactors

Pickering Bruce Pickering Bruce Point

A A B B Lepreau Darlington Gentllly-2

Reactor Primary 14 LiqUid Control 14 Liquid Control 14 liqUid Control 14 Liquid Control 14 liqUid Control 14 Liquid Control 14 Liquid Control
Zones (5.4 mk) Zones Zones Zones Zones Zones Zones
Regulation (6 mk) (6 mk) (6 mk) (7mk) (7 mk) (7 mk)
(NOle 1) secondary 4 Control 4 Control 4 Control 4 Control 4 Control 4 Control
Absorbers (7 Absorbers (10 Absorbers (9.5 Absorbers (10.8 Absorbers (8 Absorbers (10.3
mk) mk) mk) mk) mk) mk)
Xenon Override 18 Adjusler 21 Adjuster 15 Adjuster 21 Adjuster 24 Adjuster 21 Adjuster
Rods Rods Rods Rods Rods Rods
(10 mk) (18 mk) (18 rnk) (15 mk) (16 mk) (15 mk)
Long-term Reacllvity Moderator Polson Addnion (Variable reactivity depending on poison concentration)
Control
Equnlbrium Fuel Bumup All stations use on-power refuelling
Shutdown SDS1 11 Shu10ff Rods 30 Shu10ff Rods 28 Shutoff Rods 32 Shutoff Rods 28 Shu10ff Rods 32 Shutoff Rods 28 Shutoff Rods
(24 mk) (40 mk) (48 mk) (69 mk) (82 mk) (66 mk) (83.5 mk)
Systems SDS2 Moderator Dump Polson Injection Poison Injection Poison Injection Poison Injection Poison Injection Poison Injection
(Note 2) (55 mk in 2.9 s) (N/A) (55 mk in 2.9 s) (95 mk in 3 s) (59 mk in 5 s) (46 mk in 0.75 s)

NOTES: (1) The primary system is normally used for reactor regulation. If the primary system is unavailable or has insufficient reactivity depth, the secondary
system will act automatically.
(2) Operation of the dump system al Pickering A is not entirely independent of the shutoff rods.

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Notes & References

13.6.1 Automatic Reactor Regulation

Jlomalic regulation
The following methods may be used (the first is included for
completeness only, as it is no longer used in practice):

a) Moderator level control

Small changes in moderator level alter the thickness of the

reflector on top of the reactor, thus varying leakage.

Advantages

i) Easily added to systems using moderator dump as a

backup emergency shutdown mechanism.

Disadvantages

i) Zone control is not possible.

ii) Lowering the moderator level distorts the overall flux

distribution.

b) Control absorbers

Solid rods, composed of cadmium in stainless steel, which can be

operated vertically in the core. Because they are parasitic
absorbers, the control absorbers change the thermal utilization.

Advantages

i) Provide additional negative reactivity at minimal cost.

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Notes & References

- Disadvantages

i) In-core guide tubes represent permanent reactivity loss

(fuel burnup loss).

c) liquid zone control (LZC)

Zone control compartments inside the reactor which contain a

variable amount of light water (a mild neutron absorber). Varying
the amount of light water in the LZC system varies parasitic
absorption and hence the thermal utilization.

Advantages

i) Individual zone levels can be independently varied for

zone control.

ii) Operating equipment is mainly outside containment and

therefore accessible (with due regard to radiation levels)
during reactor operation.

iii) Cooling is easily accomplished.

iv) There is only slight distortion of the overall flux pattern.

Disadvantages

i) Requires special design to ensure that the zones fail safe

(that is, fill).

ii) In-core structure represents a reactivity (or fuel burnup)

loss.

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Notes & References

13.6.2 Xenon Override

Adjuster rods. whose primary purpose is to provide flux

flattening. can also be used as a positive reactivity shim or for
xenon override. These are rods of a neutron-absorbing material
(cobalt or stainless steel). They are normally fully inserted in the
reactor thus increasing parasitic absorption (decreasing f).
Positive reactivity is provided by withdrawing the adjuster rods.

Advantages

i) Adjuster rods serve the dual function of providing flux

flattening (radial and axial) as well as xenon override.

ii) There is no significant decrease in reactivity worth over

normal lifetime.

Disadvantages

i) Presence of adjusters results in a fuel burnup penalty of

about 8%. (The adjusters reduce f and so we must
increase one of the other factors. Thus 11 is increased by
reducing the attainable burnup.)

ii) Withdrawal of adjusters causes local flUx peaking and

may impose restraints on power output.

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Notes & References

- 13.6.3 Long-term Reactivity Control
Long-tenn reactivily control

The method of long-term reactivity control currently in use is the

addition of soluble poison to the moderator. While solid rods
could be used for this purpose, soluble poison systems are
cheaper and cause no flux distortions. However, adding poison
to the moderator reduces the flux reaching the ion chambers
sufficiently that the power reading from out-of-core ion chambers
must be corrected for the presence of the poison.

The poisons used are boron (in the form of boric acid) and Poisons
gadolinium (in the form of gadolinium nitrate). Boron and
gadolinium in their natural forms have two and seven isotopes
respectively. Most of the isotopes have relatively small
absorption cross-sections for thermal neutrons, but boron has one
strongly-absorbing isotope (B-lO) and gadolinium two (Gd-155
and Gd-157). The relevant data are given in Table 13.4.

Table 13.4

Strongly-absorbing isotopes of boron and gadolinium

Isotope Natural abundance (%) Thermal absorption cross-section (b)

8-10 19.9 3840

Gd-155 14.8 6.1 x 10'
Gd-157 15.65 2.55 x 10'

The liquid poisons are added to the moderator in a controlled

manner and are removed either by burnup in the neutron flux or
by ion exchange. The burnup rate of each poison is proportional
to its cross-section. Since the cross-section of boron is lower
than that of gadolinium, it is more suitable for dea1ing with
longer-term reactivity variations, like those associated with fresh
fuel burnup. Gadolinium, on the other hand, is used as
compensation for medium-term reactivity variations, such as
. xenon transients. The situations for which each poison is used
are summarized in Table 13.5.

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Notes & References

Boron has the disadvantage that its removal by ion exchange is

much slower than that of gadolinium. and much more expensive
because it uses significantly more ion exchange resin. A
disadvantage of gadolinium is that it interferes with the aqueous
recombination of the D 2 and O2 produced by radiolysis of the
D 20. which leads to a build up of these in the cover gas.

Table 13.5 Soecific wDlications of moderator ooisons

ppIications 01 boron and APPLICATION POISON & WHY CHOSEN WHY POISON ADDED
3doIinilrn Bama ..

Fresh fuel bumup simulation slow boron bumup rate in To compensate for extra
neutron flux and slow IX reactivity of fresh fuel, due to
prior to initial startup and
boron removal rate closely absence of longer Dved
during initial operation when
match slow fuel bumup rate fission product poisons and to
the unit contains fresh fuel.
and slow fuel fission compensate for the plutonium
loroduct buildup. ,oeak in fresh fuel.

IBnmn-

During fuelling bumup rate and removal To compensate for the extra
rate of boron more closely reactivily of new fresh
match reactivity changes of bundles. in part due to
new fuel. absence of longer lived
fission product poisons.

-
During overfuelling (fuelling again bumup rate and To compensate for extra
machine reactivity shim removal rate of boron more reactivity of the excess fuel.
control). closely match reactivity
changes of new fuel•
.
During an extended outage IX removal rate is faster. To make the reactor deeply
(guaranteed shutdOwn). Gadolinium is more soluble subcrilical. To compensate
!than
boron and has a for loss of xenon and other
higher negative mk worth reactivily effects.
per ppm dissolved.

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Notes & References

- Gadolinium-

Following startup after a xenon will build up at To compensate for lack of

poison outage (xenon almost the same rate as xenon after the poison
transient). gadolinium is burned out in outage.
neutron flux. The slight
mismatch can be
compensated by adding Gd
from Gd tank or removing
Gd with IX column.

Gadolinium-

After a large increase in will bum out at almost the Large increase in power after
power following sustained same rate as xenon builds sustained low power
operation at a lower power up. operation will initially
level. decrease the xenon level,
due to increased neutron flux.
The poison, if required, will
compensate for the loss of
xenon. Xenon will, over time,
increase to a new higher
equilibrium concentration.

The concentration of boron or gadolinium in the moderator can

be measured by chemical sampling. Once the poison has been
exposed to irradiation at power, however, its reactivity worth is
no longer proportional to its concentration, due to the depletion
of the higher cross-section isotopes, which burn up more rapidly
than the others. The situation for boron and gadolinium differs,
as explained below.

Boron: The process by which boron-10 is removed is the

B-10(n,lX)Li-7 transmutation reaction. Chemical sampling
will measure only the remaining boron concentration, without
indicating the proportion of boron-10 remaining. Consequently,
the total reactivity worth is uncertain, since we cannot be sure
how much of the reduction in boron concentration is due to
burnup and how much to purification by the ion exchange
columns.

IIoduIe 13. PtIge 19

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Notes & References

Gado1jnjum: .This situation is different, because neutron

absorption by Gd-ISS and Gd-IS7 simply leads to Gd-IS6 and
Gd-ISS. Consequently, the overall gadolinium concentration
does not change with irradiation. The reactivity worth, however,
will still decrease owing to the preferential burnup of the high
absorption isotopes. Again, the total reactivity worth of the
poison will be uncertain, since we cannot be sure how much
Gd-ISS and Gd-IS7 have been burnt up.

13.6.4 Equilibrium Fuel Burnup

quilibrium fuel bumup

On-power refuelling is used in all large CANDUs. This keeps

the amount of fissile material approximately constant by
replacing irradiated fuel with fresh fuel more or less
continuously. This system has several distinct advantages over
batch refuelling:

i) No downtime for refuelling

ii) Better average fuel burnup

iii) Better flux shaping

iv) Failed fuel can be removed easily without a shutdown.

v) It avoids the very large poison shim that is required if

batch refuelling is used.

There are some disadvantages, mainly the high capital cost of the
refuelling machines and their high maintenance costs.

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If the refuelling machines are unavailable for some reason, the

reactor can continue to operate for only a limited time. The
CANDU 600, for example, conSumes about 0.4 mk per day (that
is, the reactivity worth of the fuel diminishes at that rate). If the
LZC were at 50% at full power in an equilibrium condition, about
2 mk of excess reactivity would be available. This would give
approximately five days of running before shim operation by
removal of a bank of adjusters would be necessary. With
adjusters out of core, a small power reduction (derating) may be
required because of the loss of flux flattening.

13.6.5 Shutdown Systems

Early CANDU designs had a single shutdown system. As the Shutdown systems
design of the reactor became more sophisticated, the requirement
for extremely high reliability dictated that two independent
shutdown systems be provided. There are presently three types
of shutdown systems available.

a) Shutoff rods Shutoff reds

These are hollow cylinders of neutron-absorbing material

(normally cadmium sheathed in stainless steel) which can be
dropped into the reactor under gravity. Their presence greatly
increases parasitic absorption which reduces thermal utilization.

Advantages

i) Rapid reactivity insertion as required for protection in

certain worst-case accidents. Figure 13.1(a) shows
reactivity versus time for CANDU 600 shutoff rods.
Note that the rods have inserted more than -60 mk in
2 seconds.

ii) Rapid recovery from a trip is possible (about 3 minutes

to withdraw rods).

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Notes & References

0 Simulation Assumes Only

26 of 28 Rods are
-10 Working
:2'
..5.
t
-20
&:- (a)
-30
~as Shutoff Rods
II> -40 Current to Fully Inserted
a: Shutoff Rod
-50
-60
Clutches in
interrupted at
0.305 seconds
, I I I '"
,
t
I IIIII " ,
0.1 1.0 10.0 100.0

Total TIme from Header Break (seconds)

0 1 Helium Tank Valves

Open at 0.731
second
-10
-20

-30 No poison dispersion

:2' was allowed in the
.5. -40 (b)
slmulation after 2.3
~ -50 seconds; dIspersion
>
of poison tends to
11
II>
-60 increase the
a: -70 reaetivlty of
shutdown system
-80 .... No.2 stiR further.
-90 ----
-100

0 5 10 15

TIme from Reactor Inlet

Header Break (seconds)
Figure 13.1: Reactivity transients following (a) shutoff rod
insertion and (b) poison injection in CANDU 600. (The initial
rise in reactivity shown is due to the fact that the calculation
started with a header break causing reactivity to increase.)
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Notes & References

- Disadvantages

i) In some of the earlier plants, there was insufficient

negative reactivity to ensure a long-tenn shutdown. Rods
provided the initial drop and then, if recovery from the
trip was not possible, moderator poisoning was required
to ensure continued shutdown.

ii) This is a complex system (relative to moderator dump)

and is subject to mechanical failure.

b) Poison injection Poison injection

Poison (gadolinium) is injected into the moderator under high

pressure. This causes a large reduction in the thermal utilization.

Advantages

i) Rapid insertion of reactivity coupled with great

shutdown depth. Figure 13.1(b) shows reactivity versus
time for a CANDU 600 injection system. Note that
about - 95 mk is injected in 3 seconds.

Disadvantages

i) Poison must be removed from the moderator by ion

exchange which is costly and slow (about 12 hours). If
the reactor is shut down by poison injection, a xenon
poison-out will occur before moderator poison can be
removed.

ii) Requires careful control of moderator chemistry so that

when the gadolinium nitrate is injected, it will not
precipitate.

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Notes & References

iii) There is no direct indication of the readiness of the

shutdown system available to the operator in the control
room (the current procedure is manual sampling for
subsequent analysis in the chemistry lab).

oderator dump c) Moderator dump

In some of the older plants. moderator dump is used as a backup

for the shutoff rods.

Advantages

i) Simple, fail safe with gravity system.

ii) Absolute shutdown is guaranteed; with the moderator

dumped, the core cannot be made critical.

Disadvantages

i) Slow for a large reactor. Figure 13.2 shows reactivity

versus time for moderator dump at Pickering A. Note
that in the ftrst two seconds only -2 mk of reactivity has
been inserted.

ii) The time required to pump the moderator back into the
calandria is so long in a large reactor (typically around
50 minutes) that a poison out is very likely.

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Notes & References

Dump-Open
·20 at 0.6 second

2 4 6 6 W 12 M m
Time frcm _ l o t Dump SIgnal (I)

Figure 13.2: Reactivity transient following a moderator dump

-------- - ---------
13.7 FACTORS AFFECTING CONTROL
ROD WORTH

The reactivity change produced by a control rod depends on a

number of factors. including:

i) the location of the rod (for instance. whether it is near

the centre of the core or its edge).

ii) the degree of insertion of the rod into the core.

. iii) the interaction of the rod with the other rods present in
the core. .

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Notes & References

These three aspects are considered in the following sections.

13.7.1 Dependence Of Control Rod Worth

On Position Of Rod In Core

A control rod is typically a cylindrical rod made of some material

Jepelldence 01 conbo/ rod worth
XlIltion with a high absorption cross-section for thermal neutrons, for
example, boron in stainless steel. The worth of a control rod is
the reactivity change produced when the rod is inserted in the
reactor. This depends, among other things, on the position of the
rod in the core. First. let's consider the worth of a single shutoff
rod inserted into the high-flux region at the centre of the core
(Figure 13.3). Since the rod is an effective absorber of neutrons,
the thermal flux in the region around it goes down significantly.
If the reactor is to continue operating at the same bulk: power with
the rod inserted, the regulating system has to compensate for the
decreased flux in the central region by raising the flux in the
outer regions, as shown in Figure 13.4. The result is to displace
the flux towards the edge of the core, which will lead to a greater
thermal neutron leakage.

Core

Figure 13.3: Control rod inserted into central core region

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Notes & References

-
Flux Flux

Before After

Position on Axis Position on Axis

Figure 13.4: Thermal flux shape before and after insertion of

rod

The worth of a rod therefore results from a combination of two

factors: (1) increased neutron absorption in the region where it
has been inserted, and (2) increased leakage caused by the flux
distortion produced by the rod. The magnitude of each factor
will depend on the placement of the rod in the core. Suppose that
the rod is placed as shown in Figure 13.5. The absorption effect
is obviously less than in the previous case because there are
fewer neutrons to be absorbed when the rod is near the edge of
the core. The regulating system therefore must increase the flux
in the rest of the core by a relatively smaller amount to maintain
bulk power (Figure 13.5). The flux distortion, and therefore the
increase in neutron leakage, will also be less than when the rod
was inserted into a high-flux region. The overall effect is that the
rod worth will be considerably less than if it were in the central
region.

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Notes & References

Flux

Core

Position on AxIs

Figure 1~.s: Thennal flux shape when rod is inserted near edge
of core

_._--_._------------_.__._.._--_.__.._--_.....__.__._-.-

13.7.2 Variation Of Rod Worth With Degree

Of Insertion-The Differential Rod
Worth

Let's examine how one would expect the reactivity effect of an

adjuster rod to vary as it is gradually inserted into the reactor.
We can describe this quantitatively by introducing a factor
known as the differential rod worth, which may be defined as the
reactivity worth of, say, each extra millimetre of rod added to the
core.

If we start with the rod completely withdrawn, the initial

movement will produce relatively little effect, since the rod is
entering a region where the neutron flux is quite small. As it
enters further into the core, the differential worth (worth per
millimetre) steadily rises, reaching a rpaximum as the leading end
reaches the core centre. As the end of the rod progresses beyond
that point, the differential worth decreases again, reaching a
minimum at the fully inserted position.

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Notes & References

The variation of the total reactivity worth of the rod, as a function

of its position, is shown in Figure 13.6. The differential worth is
represented by the slope of this curve, which, as you can see, is
greatest when the end of the rod reaches the centre line of the
core.

In passing, we might note that the partial movement of a rod or a

bank of rods into the core will produce the same distortion of the
thennal flux shape as described in the previous section, but in the
vertical direction. The flux in the upper part of the core will be
reduced relative to the flux in the lower part.

o+w--.--.--=r=::;::".....,....---,.-r--,.-.....,....---,.-r---r--
400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 -so ·100 ·150 ·200

lliIlanco _ to co_line (em)

Figure 13.6: Reactivity worth of rod as a function of position

..--_..__._-

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Notes & References

13.7.3 Interaction Of Rods With Each Other-

Rod Shadowing And Antishadowing

The worth of a control rod placed in some location depends on

whether the overall flux shape has already been distorted by
onlIllIllld interaction
inserting one or more other rods. To illustrate, suppose that we
have inserted a single rod into a high-flux region of the core, as
shown in the top portion of Figure 13.7. After the regulating
system has compensated for the insertion of the rod, the flux
shape will be distorted as shown.

Flux

Ru><

PoIIltion on AxIs

Flux

PoIIltionon_

Flgure 13.7: Rod shadowing and anti-shadowing

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Noles & References

- Suppose that we now insert a second identical rod Quite close to
the first one, as in the middle illustration in Figure 13.7. Since it
will be entering a region where the flux has already been
depressed by the first rod, it will absorb fewer neutrons than it
could have if the other rod were not there. In addition, the
presence of the second rod will reduce the flux in the
neighbourhood of the first one, thereby reducing its worth
compared to the situation where it was the only rod in the core.

Thus, if each rod on its own had a worth of, say, x mk, the worth
of the two in combination will be less than 2x. The reduction in
individual worth of each rod because another is nearby is known
as rod shadowing. Rod shadowing

Consider now what would have happened if the second rod had
been inserted into a region far away from the first one, for
example, at the peak of the distorted flux distribution produced
by the former, as in the bottom illustration in Figure 13.7.
Because it is going into a region where the neutron flux has been
increased by the action of the first rod, it can absorb more
• neutrons than if it were the only rod in the core. The combined
worth of the two rods will then be greater than 2x. This increase
in the worth of each rod due to the presence of the other is known
as rod antishadowing. Rod anlishadowlng

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ASSIGNMENT'
1. Without looking at your notes. list the various sources of
in-core reactivity change for which the reactivity
mechanisms of the reactor will be required to
compensate.

2. Write the six-factor formula. Identify the terms that can

conveniently be adjusted to provide reactivity control.
and list the practical ways of doing this.

3. Imagine that a Bruce reactor trips. inserting - 40 mk of

reactivity. The heat transport system is maintained at
normal operating temperature. Using the information in
Table 13.2. would you expect the reactor to remain
permanently shut down: (a) if it contains fresh fuel. and
(b) if it contains equilibrium fuel?

4. How would the answers to the previous question be

altered if the heat transport system were cooled down?

5. Ust three applications each for (a) boron and (b)

gadolinium as soluble poisons.

6. Simple chemical analysis for boron or gadolinium is not

considered sufficient to determine the reactivity worth of
moderator poison. Explain why.

7. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of moderator

dump. shutoff rods and poison injection for reactor
shutdown.

8. Could the state of the fuel (that is. fresh or equilibrium)

make any difference to the ability of the reactor to
override xenon? Explain your answer.

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