Preliminary Study on Zirconium Hydride in Shielding Design of Small Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor

Zirconium hydride was selected as the shielding material at the small sodium-cooled fast reactor (SSFR) side to reduce the shielding thickness of the SSFR side. The shielding properties of zirconium hydride in the case of the energy spectrum of the SSFR core region and the side shielding thickness with zirconium hydride and boron carbide were calculated by using the one-dimensional discrete ordinate method (ANISN code). The results indicate that the shielding thickness of the SSFR side shielded with zirconium hydride and boron carbide (the volume ratio of boron carbide is less than 0.3) is reduced by about 20% compared with boron carbide and stainless steel. The mixed shielding material of zirconium hydride and boron carbide has good shielding performance and can reduce the shielding thickness of the SSFR side.