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Optimization of Burnable Poison-Loading in a PWR with Carbon Coated Particle Fuel

Conference ·
OSTI ID:21167787
;  [1]
  1. Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita 13, Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628 (Japan)
With the growth in population and energy demand for not only electricity but also ordinary heat source for human lives on the one hand, the global climate crisis on the other hand, we have to establish consensus of available energy resources in accordance with sustainable development. With regards to this fact, effective use of nuclear energy is indispensable. From this point of view, an innovative PWR concept that uses carbon-coated particle fuels moderated by graphite as that of HTGR but cooled by pressurized light water has been studied. The aim of this concept is to take both the best advantages of fuel integrity against fission products release and the reliability of PWR technology based on the long operational experience. The purpose of this study is to optimize loading pattern of burnable poison (BP) in the proposed core in order to suppress excess reactivity during a cycle. Although there are many parameters to be determined for optimization of the usage of BP, the emphasis is put here on loading patterns of Gadolinia in an assembly and in the core. We investigated the burnup characteristics of the core varying the amount of BP in a fuel rod, the number of BP-rods in an assembly, and the number of BP-assemblies in the core. The result suggested that Gadolinia was more suitable for this reactor than Boron as BP, and it was possible to make the reactivity swing negligible by combining at least three kinds of BP-assemblies in which the amount of Gadolinia was different. Therefore the requirement for the number of control rods was reduced and it meant that Control Rod Programming would become easier. (authors)
Research Organization:
American Nuclear Society, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
OSTI ID:
21167787
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English