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Title: Mechanical design of core components for a high performance light water reactor with a three pass core

Conference ·
OSTI ID:20979654
 [1]; ;  [2]; ;  [3]
  1. EnBW Kernkraft GmbH, Kernkraftwerk Philippsburg, D-76661 Philippsburg (Germany)
  2. University of Karlsruhe, 76133 Karlsruhe (Germany)
  3. Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institute for Nuclear and Energy Technologies, 76021 Karlsruhe (Germany)

Nuclear reactors using supercritical water as coolant can achieve more than 500 deg. C core outlet temperature, if the coolant is heated up in three steps with intermediate mixing to avoid hot streaks. This method reduces the peak cladding temperatures significantly compared with a single heat up. The paper presents an innovative mechanical design which has been developed recently for such a High Performance Light Water Reactor. The core is built with square assemblies of 40 fuel pins each, using wire wraps as grid spacers. Nine of these assemblies are combined to a cluster having a common head piece and a common foot piece. A downward flow of additional moderator water, separated from the coolant, is provided in gaps between the assemblies and in a water box inside each assembly. The cluster head and foot pieces and mixing chambers, which are key components for this design, are explained in detail. (authors)

Research Organization:
American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
OSTI ID:
20979654
Resource Relation:
Conference: Advanced nuclear fuel cycles and systems (GLOBAL 2007), Boise - Idaho (United States), 9-13 Sep 2007; Other Information: Country of input: France; 6 refs; Related Information: In: Proceedings of GLOBAL 2007 conference on advanced nuclear fuel cycles and systems, 1873 pages.
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English