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India’s PFBR attains criticality at last
Prime Minister Narendra Modi proclaimed it “a proud moment for India” when on April 6 the 500-MWe, sodium-cooled Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) achieved initial criticality. This milestone, which comes some 22 years after the continually delayed PFBR project began, marks India’s entrance into the second stage of its three-stage nuclear program, which has the ultimate goal of supporting the country’s nuclear power program with its significant thorium reserves.
Joseph Bessis
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 63 | Number 1 | May 1977 | Pages 96-101
Technical Note | doi.org/10.13182/NSE77-A27010
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The proposed calculation method is unsophisticated but rapid. The first part (computer code CRITIC), which is based on the Fermi age equation, evaluates the number of neutrons per fission emitted from a moderated critical assembly and their energy spectrum. The second part (computer code NARCISSE), which uses the current albedo for concrete, evaluates the product of neutron reflection on the walls and calculates the fluence resulting at any point in the room and its energy distribution by 21 groups. The results obtained are shown to compare satisfactorily with those obtained through the use of a Monte Carlo program.