Startup of In-Hospital Neutron Irradiator

In-hospital Neutron Irradiator (IHNI) was specially designed for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT), the rated power of IHNI is 30kW, corresponding to the neutron flux density 1×10¹²n·cm⁻²·s⁻¹ in reactor core. IHNI is an undermoderated reactor of pool-tank type, and UO₂ with enrichment of 12.5% as fuel, light water as coolant and moderator, and metallic beryllium as reflector. The fission heat produced by the reactor is removed by the natural convection. On the both sides of the reactor core, there are two neutron beams, one is thermal neutron beam, and the other opposite to the thermal beam, is epithermal neutron beam. A small thermal neutron beam is specially designed for the measurement of blood boron concentration by the Prompt Gamma Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA). The decay constants and shares of six group of ordinary delayed neutron and nine group of photoneutron were obtained by WIMS code. Based on that, the relationship between the reactivity and the reactor period was calculated through the inhour equation. In this way, the excess reactivity and the reactivity worthies of the components (control rod, water, etc) in the core are obtained by periodic method during the startup of the reactor. The six test experiments were completed during startup, The test results show that the maximum continuous operation time at full power is 12h; the excess reactivity at cold clean state of the core is 4.2mk; The radiation levels at technical rooms are within the specified values at full power operation. When the positive reactivity with 4.2 mk is inserted into the reactor suddenly, the power will be increased to peak power, and then, it will turn to the normal value due to the negative temperature effect, this experiment shows the inherent safety of IHNI.