Chemical Module - Xenon generation and disintegration [Upgrade I]

  Chemical Module - Xenon generation and disintegration [Upgrade I]

Patch notes: V 0.2.15.134

Variations in power during reactor operation:

During normal reactor operation, it is important to consider the transient behavior of Xe-135, especially during power variations. Any variation in power (increase or decrease) of a nuclear reactor in operation produces a temporary behavior of Xe-135 for a period that will depend on the magnitude of such variation.

For example, if the reactor's operating power is increased, the concentration of Xe-135 initially decreases and then increases to its new equilibrium concentration value. Conversely, if the reactor power is reduced, Xe-135 initially increases, then decreases to the new equilibrium value.

During this temporary period, it is necessary to move the control rods or introduce liquid poisons into the water where the fuel elements are submerged, much more than usual.

In the game simulation, these variations are set at 5 minutes for each significant power change.

Simulations and behaviors of the current version:

  • Degradation of Xenon by lifetime.

  • Temporary degradation of Xenon due to power increase.

  • Indirect xenon degradation due to the presence of boric acid.

  • Xenon increase due to reactivity, when equilibrium state has not yet been reached.

  • Increase in Xenon due to low temperature during shutdown.

  • Temporary increase of Xenon due to power decrease.

Effects of boric acid:

  • Reduces core reactivity: Boric acid absorbs neutrons, reducing the number of neutrons available for uranium fission.

  • Decreases xenon production: Reduced reactivity also decreases the rate of xenon production through uranium-235 fission.

  • Increases xenon decay rate: The concentration of xenon in the core begins to decrease as it decays into cesium-135.

  • Power recovery: As the xenon concentration decreases, core reactivity increases. This allows the reactor to fission more uranium and generate more power.