Total fission energy depending on VVER-1000 fuel burnup

Abstract

To calculate the energy deposition in a nuclear reactor’s core, it is necessary to calculate the value of the energy released per one fission act. Simplified methods for calculating the total fission energy are still used in many computer codes. They do not take into detailed account some of the physical phenomena occurring in nuclear fission and their time dependence. In this work, we used a calculation method that takes into account these physical features in order to obtain the dependence of the total fission energy and its components on the fuel burnup of VVER-1000. The calculation for the model of 16ZSH type fuel assembly using the methodology of the Fisencor.pl program (based on the MCU-PTR code) demonstrated that total fission energy increases with the fuel burnup. During the interval between refuelling, total fission energy increases by 3% from 199.7 to 206.4 MeV per one fission. Application of the proposed method for calculating the total fission energy will allow to enhance the precision of nuclear fuel isotopic composition calculations.