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Advanced fuels for the near boiling inherently safe power reactor

Abstract

A conceptual design of an inherently safe nuclear power reactor - the Near Boiling (NB) Nuclear Reactor - has been recently developed in order to provide the Victoria Class Submarines with electrical power for life-maintenance, navigation and weaponry systems. This will allow some under-ice operations in the Canadian Arctic and therefore uphold and reinforce Canada's sovereignty. Designed to complement the diesel electric power generation and as a result, to extend the operational envelope of the submarines, the Near Boiling Reactor employs TRISO fuel particles containing UO{sub 2} enriched to 20 w/o in {sup 235}U and light water as moderator. The purpose of this research project is to investigate fuel enrichment distributions in the reactor core, in addition to advanced thorium-based fuels in order to optimize the flux distribution and burn-up control of the NB, and to prolong the life expectancy of the core by making it coincide with the submarine complete overhaul and docking period. In a first stage, a uniform distribution of ThO{sub 2} and UO{sub 2} at an optimized ratio and concentration will be modeled using WIMS-AECL and MCNP-5. The second phase will consist in modeling diverse seed-blanket arrangements, with use of thorium in the blanket and enriched  More>>
Authors:
Deschenes, M [1] 
  1. Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario (Canada)
Publication Date:
Jul 01, 2005
Product Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: 26. Annual CNS conference; 29. CNS/CNA student conference. Proceedings, Toronto, Ontario (Canada), 12-15 Jun 2005; Other Information: 16 refs., 5 figs; Related Information: In: 26th Annual CNS conference; 29th CNS/CNA student conference, 168 Megabytes pages.
Subject:
21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS; EBWR REACTOR; NUCLEAR FUELS; SUBMARINES; THORIUM CYCLE; URANIUM DIOXIDE; WATER MODERATED REACTORS
OSTI ID:
20874434
Research Organizations:
Canadian Nuclear Society, Toronto, Ontario (Canada); Canadian Nuclear Association, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)
Country of Origin:
Canada
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
Other: ISBN 0-919784-82-8; TRN: CA0700116041957
Availability:
Available from the Canadian Nuclear Society, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)
Submitting Site:
CANN
Size:
9 pages
Announcement Date:
Jun 18, 2007

Citation Formats

Deschenes, M. Advanced fuels for the near boiling inherently safe power reactor. Canada: N. p., 2005. Web.
Deschenes, M. Advanced fuels for the near boiling inherently safe power reactor. Canada.
Deschenes, M. 2005. "Advanced fuels for the near boiling inherently safe power reactor." Canada.
@misc{etde_20874434,
title = {Advanced fuels for the near boiling inherently safe power reactor}
author = {Deschenes, M}
abstractNote = {A conceptual design of an inherently safe nuclear power reactor - the Near Boiling (NB) Nuclear Reactor - has been recently developed in order to provide the Victoria Class Submarines with electrical power for life-maintenance, navigation and weaponry systems. This will allow some under-ice operations in the Canadian Arctic and therefore uphold and reinforce Canada's sovereignty. Designed to complement the diesel electric power generation and as a result, to extend the operational envelope of the submarines, the Near Boiling Reactor employs TRISO fuel particles containing UO{sub 2} enriched to 20 w/o in {sup 235}U and light water as moderator. The purpose of this research project is to investigate fuel enrichment distributions in the reactor core, in addition to advanced thorium-based fuels in order to optimize the flux distribution and burn-up control of the NB, and to prolong the life expectancy of the core by making it coincide with the submarine complete overhaul and docking period. In a first stage, a uniform distribution of ThO{sub 2} and UO{sub 2} at an optimized ratio and concentration will be modeled using WIMS-AECL and MCNP-5. The second phase will consist in modeling diverse seed-blanket arrangements, with use of thorium in the blanket and enriched uranium in the seed. A modern optimization method will be used to reach final configurations. (author)}
place = {Canada}
year = {2005}
month = {Jul}
}