Monju reactor physics experiments in the restart core

Kitano, Akihiro ; Okawachi, Yasushi ; Kishimoto, Yasufumi*; Hazama, Taira 

The Japanese prototype fast breeder reactor Monju has restarted its operation in May, 2010 after 14-year interruption. This paper summarizes reactor physics experiments in the restart core, for criticality, control rod worth, and isothermal temperature coefficient. The largest change from the previous core, a core before the interruption, is in the contents of Pu and Am. The content of Pu has halved and that of Am doubled through the Pu decay during the interruption. The calculation accuracy on the transition from the previous core to the restart core is investigated. The transition is best simulated with JENDL-4 among three nuclear data; JENDL-3.3, JENDL-4, and ENDF/B-VII. The difference mainly appears in Pu fission and Am capture cross sections. It is confirmed that the reactor physics data measured in the Monju restart core is valuable to verify nuclear data of the two nuclides.