Investigation of the Fuel Shape Impact on the MTR Reactor Parameters Using the OpenMC Code

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The work has merit, since these models take a long time to be done, but some details need to be improved by the author:

Figure 7, in addition to not providing any relevant information, does not have enough resolution to see anything. I suggest removing that figure.

The temperatures used in the simulation are not described in the text for each simulated state.

Are the keff and flow values at early life (BOC)? No xenon equilibrium ? Cold zero power? Hot  zero power? Hot full power?

The previous questions are valid for the other simulations, always say what state the reactor is in.

Would it be possible to increase the number of stories to reduce the uncertainties of the flow? Maybe use the MCNP meshtal card to put together a more uniform distribution? Are there any machine limitations to have done the simulations with such a large uncertainty? How many stories are used?

I suggest quantifying the results obtained in the conclusion, the information was very qualitative.

Author Response

We would like to thank the reviewer for his/her thoughtful comments and efforts towards improving our manuscript.

We attache a pdf of point-by-point response. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

I recommend the manuscript for publication. However, I recommend improvements in its presentation. Figure 4 could be improved with labels. For example, what do the circles represent in Figure 4(a) and 4(b)? Same goes with Figure 7(a) and 7(b).

Author Response

We would like to thank the reviewer for his/her thoughtful comments and efforts towards improving our manuscript.

We attache a pdf of point-by-point response. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

It is a clear and well-written paper.

Author Response

We would like to thank the reviewer for his/her comments.