ML101810255

Kansas State University, Triga Mk-II Nuclear Reactor Facility, License Amendment Request to the Allowed 235U Inventory

ML101810255
Person / Time
Site:	Kansas State University
Issue date:	06/23/2010
From:	Geuther J Kansas State University
To:	Document Control Desk, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
References
Download: ML101810255 (2)

Text

23 June 2010 K~STATE. - -

Department of Mechanical F and Nuclear Engineering US Nuclear Regulatory Commission 3002 Rathbone Hall ATTN: Document Control Desk Manhattan, KS 66506-5205 785-532-5610 Washington, DC 20555-0001 Fax: 785-532-7057 Re: License R-88, Docket 50-188 To Whom it May Concern:

This letter is a request for an upgrade to the allowed 235U inventory at the Kansas State University TRIGA Mk-II nuclear reactor facility.

Background Information According to the facility license renewal paragraph 2.C.2., the University is licensed 'to receive, possess, and use up to 4.20 kilograms of contained uranium-235 at enrichments less than 20% in connection with operation of the reactor and up to 90 grams of uranium-235 at any enrichment for fission chambers and reactor experiments." As of 31 March 2010, the facility possessed 3.98 kilograms of uranium-235 for use in connection with the operation of the reactor. We plan on receiving six new fuel elements with higher fuel loading than our current elements (12% uranium by weight versus 8.5% uranium by weight). These fuelelements will be used to increase the maximum power of the reactor fro< th&curirent mnaximuri'steadyate power of about 500kW twbec16serthe icense hmltof 1i250 kW, pending Pffrtier anhays is d apIprov alto revisions to6the 'Tehnical Si6cificatioi'sand Safety An'a'#sisReport. .

Request for License Amendment We expect each new element to contain 52.0 grams of 235U, bringing our total inventory to 4.29 kilograms. This value may fluctuate depending on the as-built specifications of the fuel. In order to accommodate the new fuel elements with a small amount of margin for uncertainty in as-built loading, we request that our license be amended to allow an inventory of 4.40 kilograms of contained 235U at enrichments less than 20% in connection with reactor operations. .

Additional Work to be Performed The increase in the licensed 235U inventory is only one of several work items that must be performed prior to installing higher-load fuel in the core. Work is currently underway to verify that the increased fuel load does not cause the power peaking in any element to exceed the value considered in .the SAR accident analysis, or to invalidate the SAR in any other way. Somechangesv*ill be required to the SAR and Technical Specifications, as neither ref&ýencesp cifis seiof 1 °2o-la6ded fuel iin the K-SU rea.rj... T .isOl. wi e conmpleted, and changest the T.S and SAR apD.y.ed. prio.r, o'the !nstalatlon Qf higheirload fuel'in

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Reactor Safeguards Committee Action The proposed license amendment has been approved by the Reactor Safeguards Committee.

Sincerely, Je 'ey A. Geuther, Manager KSU Nuclear Reactor Facility (785)532-6657 112 Ward Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506 cc: USNRC Region IV Office Greg Schoenebeck, Inspector