Applying U.S. metal fuel experience to new fuel designs for fast reactors

Journal Article · 10 March 2024 · Progress in Nuclear Energy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2024.105135 · OSTI ID:2328501

Crawford, Douglas C.  ^[1]; Porter, Douglas L. ^[1]

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1. Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

With the increasing interest in small modular reactors or microreactors, developers are working to design and submit licensing approval requests of U–10Zr-fueled fast reactors. The developers and their proponents cite prior metal fuel experience (worldwide, but U.S. experience in particular for many developers) as the motivation and justification for their reactor concepts. The experience with metal fuel deployment in sodium-cooled fast reactors as well as the underlying irradiation testing database, provide a suitable basis for analytically justifying the use of metal fuel in new reactors. The evolution of metal fuel design and capability illustrates the importance of key fuel design parameters to consider in new applications of the prior experience: fuel smeared density, plenum-to-fuel volume ratio, the ratio of cladding radius to thickness, fuel composition, and cladding and duct materials. In-service operating and deployment conditions to be considered include fuel linear heat generation rate, fuel temperature, cladding temperature, peak burnup and peak fast fluence. Fuel designs and in-service conditions that are bounded by the database and experience are most easily addressed, but deviations from those previous parameters and conditions can be addressed by considering impacts on previously established behavior and applying other mitigating conservatisms, as appropriate. Here, the authors recommend any new deployment proceed with fuel surveillance and monitoring to mitigate risk, application of conservative measures to address uncertainties, and a fuel qualification program that addresses a range of in-service operating conditions with production fuel. The work reported should be of interest to students and regulators unfamiliar with metal fuel in fast reactors.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC07-05ID14517
• OSTI ID: 2328501
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 2322605
• Report Number(s): INL/JOU--23-75646-Rev000; {"","Journal ID: ISSN 0149-1970"}
• Journal Information: Progress in Nuclear Energy, Journal Name: Progress in Nuclear Energy Journal Issue: - Vol. 171; ISSN 0149-1970
• Publisher: ElsevierCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English