What does this research mean for the field?

Enriched gadolinia, when used at the same concentration as natural gadolinium, provides superior suppression of initial excess reactivity and better overall neutronic performance in NuScale small modular reactor cores. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

Verify a NuScale small modular reactor core model using MCNPX 2.7 and evaluate alternative burnable absorbers against standard natural gadolinium.

September 6, 2026Nuclear Technology

NuScale SMR Core Verification via MCNPX2.7 and Assessment of Alternative Burnable Absorbers Beyond Natural Gadolinium

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Authors

MMM. Abobakr Mohamed HAHanan Akhdar MEMoamen G. El‐Samrah

Discussion

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Overview

Computational modeling demonstrates enhanced reactivity suppression by enriched gadolinium in NuScale SMR cores, indicating improved safety and fuel utilization.

Key Points

Verify a NuScale small modular reactor core model using MCNPX 2.7 and evaluate alternative burnable absorbers against standard natural gadolinium.
Benchmarked the MCNPX 2.7 reactor model against published neutronic data for core criticality, power distribution, and fuel burnup.
Simulated alternative burnable absorbers including erbium and enriched gadolinium at standard concentrations, as well as enriched gadolinium at half concentration to match baseline initial excess reactivity.
Model verification demonstrated agreement with published benchmark studies across criticality, flux distribution, and fuel burnup parameters.
Enriched gadolinia at equivalent concentrations to natural gadolinium produced superior suppression of beginning-of-cycle excess reactivity while preserving reactivity coefficients.

Cite This Study

Mohamed et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9d1e6328139818eab211cd https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2026.2724782

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September 6, 2026Nuclear Technology

NuScale SMR Core Verification via MCNPX2.7 and Assessment of Alternative Burnable Absorbers Beyond Natural Gadolinium

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

MMM. Abobakr Mohamed HAHanan Akhdar MEMoamen G. El‐Samrah

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Computational modeling demonstrates enhanced reactivity suppression by enriched gadolinium in NuScale SMR cores, indicating improved safety and fuel utilization.

Key Points

Verify a NuScale small modular reactor core model using MCNPX 2.7 and evaluate alternative burnable absorbers against standard natural gadolinium.
Benchmarked the MCNPX 2.7 reactor model against published neutronic data for core criticality, power distribution, and fuel burnup.
Simulated alternative burnable absorbers including erbium and enriched gadolinium at standard concentrations, as well as enriched gadolinium at half concentration to match baseline initial excess reactivity.
Model verification demonstrated agreement with published benchmark studies across criticality, flux distribution, and fuel burnup parameters.
Enriched gadolinia at equivalent concentrations to natural gadolinium produced superior suppression of beginning-of-cycle excess reactivity while preserving reactivity coefficients.

Cite This Study

Mohamed et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a9d1e6328139818eab211cd https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2026.2724782

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