Effect of reduced enrichment on the fuel cycle for research reactors
The new fuels developed by the RERTR Program and by other international programs for application in research reactors with reduced uranium enrichment (<20% EU) are discussed. It is shown that these fuels, combined with proper fuel-element design and fuel-management strategies, can provide at least the same core residence time as high-enrichment fuels in current use, and can frequently significantly extend it. The effect of enrichment reduction on other components of the research reactor fuel cycle, such as uranium and enrichment requirements, fuel fabrication, fuel shipment, and reprocessing are also briefly discussed with their economic implications. From a systematic comparison of HEU and LEU cores for the same reference research reactor, it is concluded that the new fuels have a potential for reducing the research reactor fuel cycle costs while reducing, at the same time, the uranium enrichment of the fuel.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31-109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 6342782
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-820420-12; ON: DE83007775
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International ENS/ANS conference on nuclear energy with emphasis on fuel cycles, Brussels, Belgium, 26 Apr 1982
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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