Assessment of a MOX Fuel Assembly Design for a BWR Mixed Reload
| Autor: | R.T. Perry, Javier Ortiz-Villafuerte, J. Ramón Ramírez, Gustavo Alonso |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2006 |
| Předmět: |
Nuclear and High Energy Physics
Fissile material Nuclear fuel 020209 energy Nuclear engineering chemistry.chemical_element 02 engineering and technology Nuclear reactor Uranium Condensed Matter Physics law.invention Plutonium chemistry.chemical_compound 020303 mechanical engineering & transports 0203 mechanical engineering Nuclear Energy and Engineering chemistry law 0202 electrical engineering electronic engineering information engineering Environmental science Uranium oxide Boiling water reactor MOX fuel |
| Zdroj: | Nuclear Technology. 156:247-255 |
| ISSN: | 1943-7471 0029-5450 |
| DOI: | 10.13182/nt06-a3788 |
| Popis: | Reprocessing benefits are still being debated from the standpoint of economy. However, it is a clear option to reduce the amount of depleted fuel assemblies and a reduction of the reactor plutonium inventories. Several mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel concepts have been considered as an option for mixed-fuel reload assemblies in boiling water reactors in the past. In this work, a new MOXfuel assembly design is proposed. The design is based on the use of a proportional fissile ratio between equivalent fissile plutonium ( 239 Pu + 241 Pu) and fissile uranium ( 235 U). This is referred to as the PUF ratio. Furthermore, the moderation ratio will be increased in the assembly as a way to reduce the possible impact of using MOXfuel on the reactivity control systems. The design and performance of the MOX fuel assembly and the mixed core are presented and discussed. The new design, for the cases considered, can increase the MOX batch reload up to 52 MOX assemblies, in comparison with the 24 assemblies from a design that does not increase the moderation ratio. The use of the combined PUF ratio and increased moderation ratio for the MOX assembly allows for a reduction in the average enrichment of fissile plutonium to 4.68 wt%, instead of the 6.75 wt% necessary without increasing the moderation ratio. Both MOX designs produce the same amount of energy during the proposed cycle length and satisfy the same thermal limits. Some comparisons are performed between the core with this MOX fuel assembly and the core that uses only standard uranium assemblies. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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