Nuclear Science and Engineering / Volume 55 / Number 1 / September 1974 / Pages 51-57
Technical Paper / dx.doi.org/10.13182/NSE74-A23965
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Results are presented from a series of criticality experiments with homogeneous plutonium-uranium fuel mixtures with plutonium content in the range of 5 to 8 wt%. The H:(Pu+U) atomic ratios covered a range from 19.5 to a high of 80.7: the experiments provide data in the region of moderation where the minimum critical volume occurs for homogeneous plutonium-uranium systems with a plutonium content of 8 wt%. The minimum critical spherical radius for material containing 8 wt% Pu in PuO2-UO2-water mixtures was determined to be 14.98 cm., The criticality factors were computed with neutron transport theory and Monte Carlo calculations, using the DTF-IV and the KENO-II codes with both ENDF/B-II and ENDF/B-III version cross sections. The calculated values were found to be within ±2% of unity.