Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Evaluation of fuel fabrication and the back end of the fuel cycle for light-water- and heavy-water-cooled nuclear power reactors

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5946587· OSTI ID:5946587
The classification of water-cooled nuclear reactors offers a number of fuel cycles that present inherently low risk of weapons proliferation while making power available to the international community. Eight fuel cycles in light water reactor (LWR), heavy water reactor (HWR), and the spectral shift controlled reactor (SSCR) systems have been proposed to promote these objectives in the International Fuel Cycle Evaluation (INFCE) program. Each was examined in an effort to provide technical and economic data to INFCE on fuel fabrication, refabrication, and reprocessing for an initial comparison of alternate cycles. The fuel cycles include three once-through cycles that require only fresh fuel fabrication, shipping, and spent fuel storage; four cycles that utilize denatured uranium--thorium and require all recycle operations; and one cycle that considers the LWR--HWR tandem operation requiring refabrication but no reprocessing.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-26
OSTI ID:
5946587
Report Number(s):
ORNL/TM-6685
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English