Nuclear and Reactor Physics

Course Code: NE-6103

Kazi Kamrun Naher Ononna
Lecturer, NE
CUET
Reactor Theory (Nuclear parameter)

Neutron poisons
Neutron poisons
❑DEFINE the following terms:
• Burnable poison
• Non-burnable poison
• Chemical shim
❑EXPLAIN the use of burnable neutron poisons in a reactor core.
❑ LIST the advantages and disadvantages of chemical shim over fixed
burnable poisons.
❑STATE two reasons why fixed non-burnable neutron poisons are used
in reactor cores.
❑STATE an example of a material used as a fixed non-burnable neutron
poison
Neutron poisons

In some reactors, neutron-absorbing materials called poisons are intentionally

designed into the reactor for specific purposes. Some of these poisons deplete as
they absorb neutrons during reactor operation, and others remain relatively
constant.
Neutron poisons
Fixed Burnable Poison
During operation of a reactor the amount of fuel contained in the core
constantly decreases. If the reactor is to operate for a long period of
time, fuel in excess of that needed for exact criticality must be added
when the reactor is built.

The positive reactivity due to the excess fuel must be balanced with
negative reactivity from neutron-absorbing material.
➢Moveable control rods containing neutron-absorbing material are
one method used to offset the excess fuel. Using control rods alone to
balance the excess reactivity may be undesirable or impractical for
several reasons. One reason for a particular core design may be that
there is physically insufficient room for the control rods and their
large mechanisms.
Neutron poisons
➢To control large amounts of excess fuel without adding additional
control rods, burnable poisons are loaded into the core.

Burnable poisons are materials that have a high neutron absorption

cross section that are converted into materials of relatively low
absorption cross section as the result of neutron absorption.

Due to the burnup of the poison material, the negative reactivity of the
burnable poison decreases over core life. Ideally, these poisons should
decrease their negative reactivity at the same rate the fuel's excess
positive reactivity is depleted.
Neutron poisons

Fixed burnable poisons are generally used in the form of compounds of

boron or gadolinium that are shaped into separate lattice pins or
plates, or introduced as additives to the fuel. Since they can usually be
distributed more uniformly than control rods, these poisons are less
disruptive to the core power distribution
Neutron poisons
Soluble poisons or chemical shim
Soluble poisons or chemical shim produce a spatially uniform neutron
absorption when dissolved in the water coolant

The most common soluble poison in commercial pressurized water reactors

(PWR) is boric acid, which is often referred to as "soluble boron," or simply
"solbor."

The boric acid in the coolant decreases the thermal utilization factor, causing
a decrease in reactivity. By varying the concentration of boric acid in the
coolant (a process referred to as boration and dilution), the reactivity of the
core can be easily varied.
➢If the boron concentration is increased, the coolant/moderator absorbs
more neutrons, adding negative reactivity.
➢If the boron concentration is reduced (dilution), positive reactivity is
added.
Neutron poisons
The changing of boron concentration in a PWR is a slow process and is used
primarily to compensate for fuel burnout or poison buildup. The variation in
boron concentration allows control rod use to be minimized, which results in a
flatter flux profile over the core than can be produced by rod insertion. The
flatter flux profile is due to the fact that there are no regions of depressed flux
like those that would be produced in the vicinity of inserted control rods.

DOE reactors typically do not use soluble neutron poisons during normal
operation. Some DOE reactors do, however, include emergency shutdown
systems that inject solutions containing neutron poisons into the system that
circulates reactor coolant. Various solutions, including sodium polyborate and
gadolinium nitrate, are used.
Neutron poisons
Fixed burnable poisons possess some advantages over chemical shim. Fixed burnable poisons
may be discretely loaded in specific locations in order to shape or control flux profiles in the
core. Also, fixed burnable poisons do not make the moderator temperature reactivity
coefficient less negative as chemical shim does. With chemical shim, as temperature rises and
the moderator expands, some moderator is pushed out of the active core area. Boron is also
moved out, and this has a positive effect on reactivity. This property of chemical shim limits the
allowable boron concentration because any greater concentration makes the moderator
temperature coefficient of reactivity positive
Chemical shim has several advantages over fixed burnable poisons.
✓Has a spatially uniform effect
✓Possible to increase or decrease amount of poison in the core during reactor operation
Fixed burnable poisons have several advantages over chemical shim
✓Can be used to shape flux profiles
✓Do not have an adverse effect on moderator temperature coefficient
Neutron poisons
Non-burnable poison
A non-burnable poison is one that maintains a constant negative reactivity worth over
the life of the core.
While no neutron poison is strictly non-burnable, certain materials can be treated as
non-burnable poisons under certain conditions. One example is hafnium. The removal
(by absorption of neutrons) of one isotope of hafnium leads to the production of
another neutron absorber, and continues through a chain of five absorbers. This
absorption chain results in a long-lived burnable poison which approximates non-
burnable characteristics.
Neutron poisons
Non-burnable poison
Absorbers with low neutron absorption cross sections can also be treated as non-
burnable under most conditions.
It is possible to make the reactivity of a poison material that is usually a burnable
poison more uniform over core life through the use of self-shielding. In self-shielding,
the poison material is thick enough that only the outer layer of the poison is exposed to
the neutron flux.
❖The absorptions that take place in the outer layers reduce the number of neutrons
that penetrate to the inner material. As the outer layers of poison absorb neutrons
and are converted to non-poison materials, the inner layers begin absorbing more
neutrons, and the negative reactivity of the poison is fairly uniform.
Neutron poisons
Non-burnable poison

The normal use of fixed non-burnable poisons is in power shaping, or to prevent

excessive flux and power peaking near moderator regions of the reactor.