Mission MOX Fuel Physics Design--Preliminary Equilibrium MOX Assembly Design and Expected Operating Power for Existing Balakovo Fuel Management Scheme

Technical Report · Fri Sep 28 04:00:00 EDT 2001

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/814307· OSTI ID:814307

Pavlovichev, A M ^[1]

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1. ORNL

Among various versions of excess weapons-grade plutonium handling the most preferred in Russia is its burning in power reactors. This is accounted for by the desire to utilize the power value of weapons-grade plutonium and the potentialities of the existing nuclear industry complex. In Russia the versions of burning weapons-grade plutonium in the VVER-, BN-, and HTGR-type power reactors are being developed. However the analysis of the current structure of nuclear power and the energy strategy reveals that in the coming years the VVER-1000-type (designs B-320 and B-392) as well as the VVER-640 reactor (design B-407) now under development appear to be the most promising for this purpose. The experience with the use of mixed uranium/plutonium fuel in the LWR, gained in the West and the preliminary studies carried out in Russia show that weapons-grade plutonium may be actually used as fuel for the Russian VVER reactors. At present Russia has 7 operating VVER-1000 of total installed capacity 7 GWe, 11 reactors of this type are in operation in Ukraine, and 2 in Bulgaria. Before 2003 it is planned to put into operation 2 VVER-1000 units more in Russian and at least 2 units in Ukraine.

• Research Organization: ORNL Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 814307
• Report Number(s): ORNL/SUB/00-85B99398V-11
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
BULGARIA
CAPACITY
DESIGN
FUEL MANAGEMENT
NUCLEAR INDUSTRY
NUCLEAR POWER
PHYSICS
PLUTONIUM
POWER REACTORS
UKRAINE