INVESTIGATION OF THE POSSIBILITY OF IRRADIATING SAMPLES IN THE UPPER PART OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL CHANNELS OF THE IVG.1M RESEARCH REACTOR

The design of the IVG.1M research reactor provides the possibility for long-term irradiation of small samples (60/160 mm) in the upper part of the water-cooled technological channels. The placement of samples in these positions ensures low heat generation and does not affect significantly the reactor’s reactivity. However, this capability has not been utilized. The conversion of the reactor to low-enriched uranium fuel resulted in an increased reactivity margin, making the use of additional irradiation positions of interest for expanding the reactor’s experimental capabilities. To justify this possibility, neutron-physical characterization of these positions must be performed using computational modeling. The existing reactor model is limited to the core and does not include structural components located above it. This work is devoted to extending the computational model of the IVG.1M reactor and evaluating the neutron-physical characteristics of the additional irradiation positions.

1. Zhanbolatov O. M. [et al.] Development of scenarios for controlling the fuel campaign of the IVG. 1M reactor with LEU-fuel // Journal of Physics: Conference Series. – IOP Publishing, 2022. – Vol. 2155. – No. 1. – P. 012017.

2. Sabitova R. [et al.] Results of Experiments under the Physical Start-Up Program of the IVG. 1M Reactor // Energies. – 2023. – Vol. 16. – No. 17. – P. 6263.

3. Opisanie reaktora IVG.1M: otchet (Deliverable 2.1 under Contract 0J-30461-0001A) / DGP IAE RGP NYaTs RK; ruk. A.D. Vurim, A.N. Kolbaenkov, V.S. Gnyrya. – Kurchatov, 2010.– 42 p.

4. Reaktor IVG.1M.00.000TO: tekhnicheskoe opisanie No. P 37897 / NIKIET. – Moscow, 1989.

5. Vodookhlazhdaemyy tekhnologicheskiy s nizkoobogashchennym toplivom (VOTK-NOU): poyasnitel'naya zapiska k tekhnicheskomu proektu. VShKL.5064 13.002PZ / AO NII NPO «Luch»; razrab. A.V. Bazyuk.– 2021. Podol'sk.

6. «Komp'yuternaya model' reaktora IVG.1M dlya statsionarnykh neytronno-fizicheskikh raschetov»: Svidetel'stvo o gosudarstvennoy registratsii prav na ob"ekt avtorskogo prava. – No. 2757 Irkimbekov R. A., Zhagiparova L.K, Vurim A.D. Kotov V.M., Prozorova I.V.; zayavl. 03.08.17; opubl. 24.08.18, IS 4006. – 1 p.

7. Irkimbekov, R. A. i dr. Neytronno-fizicheskaya model' reaktora IVG.1M: razrabotka i verifikatsiya po kriticheskomu sostoyaniyu / Zhagiparova L. K., Kotov V. M., Vurim A. D., Gnyrya V. S. // Atomnaya energiya. –– 2019. – Vol. 127. – No. 2. – P. 63–69.

8. Korpus v sbore IVG.1: pasport 1013.00.000P / PO «Izhorskiy zavod». –Inv. No. 3299.– 1971.

9. Ekran verkhniy IVG.1 19.070 PCh, inv. No. 11.129-4644., 56 p.

10. VShKL.506 143 002 TP. Kanal vodookhlazhdaemyy tekhnologicheskiy s nizkoobogashchennym toplivom (VOTK-NOU).

11. Ponkratov Yu., Gordienko Yu., Baklanov V., Tulubayev Ye., Koyanbayev Ye., Bochkov V., Saparbek E. Investigation of tritium and helium generation and release from tin-lithium alloy under neutron irradiation // Journal of Nuclear Materials. – 2025. Art. 615155995. – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2025.155995