Core concepts for zero-sodium-void-worth core'' in metal fuelled fast reactor

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:6018181

Chang, Y I; Hill, R N; Fujita, E K; Wade, D C ^[1]; Kumaoka, Y; Suzuki, M; Kawashima, M ^[2]; Nakagawa, H ^[3]

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1. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
2. Toshiba Corp., Tokyo (Japan)
3. Japan Atomic Power Co., Tokyo (Japan)

Core design options to reduce the sodium void worth in metal fueled LMRs are investigated. Two core designs which achieve a zero sodium void worth are analyzed in detail. The first design is a pancaked'' and annular core with enhanced transuranic burning capabilities; the high leakage in this design yields a low breeding ratio and small void worth. The second design is an axially multilayered annular core which is fissile self-sufficient; in this design, the upper and lower core regions are neutronically decoupled for reduced void worth while fissile self-sufficiency is achieved using internal axial blankets plus external radial and axial blanket zones. The neutronic performance characteristics of these low void worth designs are assessed here; their passive safety properties are discussed in a companion paper. 16 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 6018181
• Report Number(s): ANL/CP-73871; CONF-911001--13; ON: DE91018619
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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