Burnup calculations for the HOMER-15 and SAFE-300 reactors

The Heatpipe Power System (HPS) is a near-term low-cost space fission power system. As the U-235 fuel of the HPS is burned, higher actinides and fission products will be produced. This will cause changes in system reactivity, radioactivity, and decay power. One potential concern is that gaseous fission products may exert excessive pressure on the fuel pin cladding. To evaluate these issues, simulations were run in MONTEBURNS. MONTEBURNS is an automated tool that links the Monte Carlo transport code MCNP with the radioactive decay and burnup code ORIGEN2. This paper describes the results of these simulations, as well as how those results compare with the current experimental database of irradiated materials.