Metrics for the Evaluation of Light Water Reactor Accident Tolerant Fuel
The safe, reliable and economic operation of the nation’s nuclear power reactor fleet has always been a top priority for the nuclear industry. Continual improvement of technology, including advanced materials and nuclear fuels, remains central to the industry’s success. Enhancing the accident tolerance of LWRs became a topic of serious discussion following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, resulting tsunami, and subsequent damage to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant complex. The overall goal of accident tolerant fuel (ATF) development is to identify alternative fuel system technologies to further enhance the safety, competitiveness, and economics of commercial nuclear power. The complex multiphysics behavior of LWR nuclear fuel in the integrated reactor system makes defining specific material or design improvements difficult; as such, establishing desirable performance attributes is critical in guiding the design and development of fuels and cladding with enhanced accident tolerance. The U.S. Department of Energy is sponsoring multiple teams to develop ATF concepts within multiple national laboratories, universities, and the nuclear industry. Concepts under investigation offer both evolutionary and revolutionary changes to the current nuclear fuel system. This paper summarizes technical evaluation methodology proposed in the U.S. to aid in the optimization and down-selection of candidate ATF designs. This methodology will continue to be refined via input from the research community and industry, such that it is available to support the planned down-selection of ATF concepts in 2016.
- Research Organization:
- Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- DOE - NE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC07-05ID14517
- OSTI ID:
- 1173097
- Report Number(s):
- INL/CON-14-32179
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2014 Water Reactor Fuel Performance Meeting / Top Fuel / LWR Fuel Performance Meeting,Sendai, Japan,09/14/2014,09/17/2014
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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