Transient analyses for HEU and LEU designs of the FRM-II.
An Alternative LEU Design for the FRM-II proposed by the RERTR Program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has a compact core consisting of a single fuel element that uses LEU silicide fuel with a uranium density of 4.5 g/cm{sup 3} and has a power level of 32 MW. Both the HEU design by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the alternative LEU design by ANL have the same fuel lifetime (50 days) and the same neutron flux performance (8 x 10{sup 14} n/cm{sup 2}-s in the reflector). LEU silicide fuel with 4.5 g/cm{sup 3} has been thoroughly tested and is fully-qualified, licensable, and available now for use in a high flux reactor such as the FRM-II. Several issues raised by TUM have been addressed in Refs. 1-4. The conclusions of these analyses are summarized below. In this paper, two typical design basis transients are analyzed: control rod withdrawal at different power levels and loss of primary flow. The results show that the HEU and the LEU cores behave in a similar manner and both have excellent safety margins. Based on the excellent results for the Alternative LEU Design that were obtained in all analyses, the RERTR Program reiterates its conclusion that there are no major technical issues regarding use of LEU fuel instead of HEU fuel in the FRM-II and that it is definitely feasible to use LEU fuel in the FRM-II without compromising the safety or performance of the facility.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 11046
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/TD/CP-97462
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Fluxes at experiment facilities in HEU and LEU designs for the FRM-II.
An alternative LEU design for the FRM-II