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Research reactors as a source of neutrons and gamma rays have a great potential for doing original applied physics studies such as solid state, nuclear properties, neutron crystallography, neutron dosimetry, neutron radiography, neutron activation analysis - (NAA), metallurgy and reactor physics.
The HEU fuel of nearly all research reactors have to be replaced by lower enriched uranium fuel, namely 20%, in near future. In the conversion of HEU to LEU fuel analytical and experimental studies should be made to assist decision makers on fuel loading and on changes necessary in the core configuration to be implemented to meet present and future researcher’s demands.
In this study, neutronic calculations of the present HEU fueled core was performed. Reactivity, group flux distribution, burnup pattern and power distribution in the core were obtained. In the continuation of the calculations neutronic, thermal hydraulic and kinetics of the HEU and LEU fueled cores will be investigated in order to achieve a consistent results for fuel replacement.