Fuel cycle impacts of accident tolerant fuels

Conference · Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2016

OSTI ID:22765201

Todosow, M.; Cuadra, A.; Raitses, G. ^[1]; Brown, N. ^[1]; Worrall, A.; Powers, J.; Jubin, R. ^[2]; Taiwo, T.; Kim, T.; Fei, T.; Stauff, N. ^[3]; Wigeland, R.; Dixon, B. ^[4]

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1. Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States)
2. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37830 (United States)
3. Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States)
4. Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID 83415 (United States)

This paper discusses the impact of several accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) options on the fuel cycle performance of once-through LWRs compared to current uranium oxide-Zircaloy fueled commercial LWRs. Desirable characteristics of proposed ATF concepts include higher thermal conductivity, enhanced fission product retention, and reduced reaction kinetics and hydrogen generation in loss of coolant conditions. ATF concepts that have been proposed target changes to the fuel and/or cladding. Broadly speaking, the options can be summarized as follows: -) UO{sub 2} pellet fuels with increased thermal conductivity to lower temperatures, -) high-density pellet fuels (e.g., nitrides and/or silicides), -) fully ceramic microencapsulated (FCM) fuels, -) metallic fuel with high fissile density and high thermal conductivity, -) coatings on Zircaloy cladding, -) total elimination of the Zircaloy as cladding and replacement with a ceramic, and -) composite cladding including for instance layered Zircaloy and SiC and molybdenum. We can draw 4 conclusions. First, other than SiC, the other cladding options will result in a reactivity penalty requiring either thinner cladding or increased fissile loading. Secondly, silicide fuels have a higher density than UO{sub 2} and can allow longer cycle lengths for the same enrichment or a reduction in the enrichment for a given cycle length. Thirdly, while the pellet fuels yield very similar results, the FCM fuel is dramatically different due to the low fuel loading. Fourthly, we have to note that in order to achieve the maximum benefit from a particular fuel-clad combination, it requires consideration of the characteristics of each. For example, a cladding with a relatively high absorption (e.g., FeCrAl) would benefit from a high density fuel such as U{sub 3}Si{sub 2}.

• Research Organization: American Nuclear Society - ANS, 555 North Kensington Avenue, La Grange Park, IL 60526 (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22765201
• Resource Relation: Conference: TOP FUEL 2016: LWR fuels fuels with enhanced safety and performance, Boise, ID (United States), 11-15 Sep 2016; Other Information: Country of input: France; 13 refs.; Related Information: In: TOP FUEL 2016 Proceedings| 1670 p.
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
42 ENGINEERING
ABSORPTION
ACCIDENT-TOLERANT NUCLEAR FUELS
CERAMICS
CLADDING
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
DENSITY
ENRICHMENT
FISSION YIELD
FUEL CYCLE
FUEL PELLETS
LOADING
LOSS OF COOLANT
MOLYBDENUM
NITRIDES
REACTION KINETICS
SILICON CARBIDES
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
URANIUM DIOXIDE
URANIUM SILICIDES
ZIRCALOY