Core Physics Characteristics of Extended Enrichment and High Burnup Boiling Water Reactor Fuel

Journal Article · Fri Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 2025 · Journal of Nuclear Engineering

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/jne6010004· OSTI ID:2538341

Mertyurek, Ugur ^[1]; Cumberland, Riley ^[1]; Wieselquist, William A. ^[1]

---

1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

This paper presents the highlights of boiling water reactor (BWR) core physics studies performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as part of a series of studies conducted to compare low-enriched uranium (LEU) with LEU+ fuel. The studies analyzed isotopic fuel content, lattice parameters (Phase 1), and core physics (Phase 2) to identify challenges in operation, storage, and transportation for BWRs and pressurized water reactors (PWRs). Because of a lack of publicly available lattice and core designs for modern BWR fuel assemblies and reactor cores, several optimized lattice designs were generated, and different core loading strategies were investigated. Twelve optimized lattice designs with ²³⁵U enrichments ranging from 1.6% to 9% and gadolinia loadings ranging from 3 to 8 wt% were used to model axial enrichment and geometry variations in fuel assemblies for core designs. Each core shares a common set of approximations in design and analysis to allow for consistent comparisons between LEU and LEU+ fuel. The objective is to highlight anticipated changes in core behavior with respect to the reference LEU core. The results of this study show that the differences in LEU and LEU+ core reactor physics characteristics are less significant than the differences in lattice physics characteristics reported in the Phase 1 studies.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USNRC
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 2538341
• Journal Information: Journal of Nuclear Engineering, Journal Name: Journal of Nuclear Engineering Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 6; ISSN 2673-4362
• Publisher: MDPI
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
BWR
HALEU
LEU+
PARCS
POLARIS
SCALE