Once-through thorium fuel cycle evaluation for TVA's Browns Ferry-3 Boiling Water Reactor

Technical Report · Sat May 01 00:00:00 EDT 1982

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5338321· OSTI ID:5338321

Hopkins, G C ^[1]

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1. comp.

This report documents benchmark evaluations to test thorium lattice predictive methods and neutron cross sections against available data and summarizes specific evaluations of the once-through thorium cycle when applied to the Browns Ferry-3 BWR. It was concluded that appreciable uncertainties in thorium cycle nuclear data cloud the ability to reliably predict the fuel cycle performance and that power reactor irradiations of ThO/sub 2/ rods in BWRs are desirable to resolve uncertainties. Benchmark evaluations indicated that the ENDF/B-IV data used in the evaluations should cause an underprediction of U-233/ThO/sub 2/ fuel reactivity, and, therefore, the results of the preliminary evaluations completed under the program should be conservative.

• Research Organization: General Electric Co., San Jose, CA (USA). Nuclear Fuel and Services Div.
• DOE Contract Number: ET-79-A-02-5117
• OSTI ID: 5338321
• Report Number(s): GEAP-25506; ON: DE82019886
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
BWR TYPE REACTORS
REACTOR KINETICS
THORIUM CYCLE
BENCHMARKS
BURNUP
CRITICALITY
REACTIVITY COEFFICIENTS
TEST FACILITIES
THORIUM OXIDES
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
FUEL CYCLE
KINETICS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
REACTORS
THORIUM COMPOUNDS
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
210100* - Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Light-Water Moderated
Boiling Water Cooled