TRU transmutation in thorium-based heterogeneous PWR core
- Department of Nuclear Engineering, Kyung Hee University, YoungIn-shi, Gyeonggi-do, 449-701 (Korea, Republic of)
A thorium-based seed and blanket design concept for a conventional pressurized light water reactor (PWR) was proposed to enhance the proliferation resistance potential and fuel cycle economics. The KTF core was satisfied with neutronic and thermal-hydraulic design limit of conventional PWR, APR-1400. In order to evaluate transmutation capability of a thorium-based KTF core, U/Zr seed fuel mixed with 10% TRU which come from 1,000 MWe power reactor after 10 years decay was proposed and analyzed by transmutation indices such as D{sub j}, TEX and SR. KTF core showed an extended fuel cycle burnup; average burnup of seed was 79.5 MWd/kgHM and blanket was 94.6 MWd/kgHM. It means that residence time of TRU in the core could be long enough for transmutation when TRU is mixed in seed fuel. The amount of TRU production from conventional PWR could be transmuted in the KTF-TRU core, especially Am-241 isotope is remarkably transmuted by capture reaction. Even isotopes of curium were cumulated in the core during the burnup, however, KTF-TRU core could reduce the TRU in spent fuel by using well-thermalized neutron spectrum. Proliferation resistance potential of thorium based transmutation fuel is slightly increased. About 31% reduction of TRU amount was measured from reduced plutonium production from U-238. Total amount of Am-241 was reduced significantly, but total amount of minor actinide (MA) was reduced by 28% of its initial loading mass. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21160761
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: ICAPP'04: 2004 international congress on advances in nuclear power plants, Pittsburgh, PA (United States), 13-17 Jun 2004; Other Information: Country of input: France; 7 refs; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 2004 international congress on advances in nuclear power plants - ICAPP'04, 2338 pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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