Publications

Experiments with partially-reflected square-pitched arrays of water-moderated 6.9 percent enriched UO2 fuel rods

Harms, Gary A.; Miller, Allison D.; Ford, John T.; Campbell, Rafe C.

The Seven Percent Critical Experiment (7uPCX) at Sandia National Laboratories was designed to provide benchmark criticality and reactor physics data for water-moderated pin-fueled nuclear reactor cores in the 5 to 10 percent enrichment range. Approach-to-critical experiments were performed on nineteen partially-reflected arrays of pure water-moderated and -reflected fuel rods with a fuel-to-water volume ratio of 0.67. Those configurations are described and the results of the measurements are reported in this paper.