An experiment containing weapons-grade mixed-oxide (WG-MOX) fuel has been designed and is being irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). The ability to accurately predict fuel pin performance is an essential requirement for the MOX fuel test assembly design. Detailed radial fission power and temperature profile effects and fission gas release in the fuel pin are a function of the fuel pin's temperature, fission power, and fission product and actinide concentration profiles. In addition, the burnup-dependent profile analyses in irradiated fuel pins is important for fuel performance analysis to support the potential licensing of the MOX fuel made from WG-plutonium and depleted uranium for use in U.S. reactors.

The MCNP Coupling With ORIGEN2 burnup calculation code (MCWO) can analyze the detailed burnup profiles of WG-MOX and reactor-grade mixed-oxide (RG-MOX) fuel pins. The validated code MCWO can provide the best-estimate neutronic characteristics of fuel burnup performance analysis. Applying this capability with a new minicell method allows calculation of detailed nuclide concentration and power distributions within the MOX pins as a function of burnup. This methodology was applied to MOX fuel in a commercial pressurized water reactor and in an experiment currently being irradiated in the ATR. The prediction of nuclide concentration profiles and power distributions in irradiated MOX pins via this new methodology can provide insights into MOX fuel performance.