Impact of fuel fabrication and fuel management technologies on uranium utilization
- Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
Uranium utilization in commercial pressurized water reactors is a complex function of original NSSS design, utility energy requirements, fuel assembly design, fuel fabrication materials and fuel management optimization. Fuel design and fabrication technologies have reacted to the resulting market forcing functions with a combination of design and material changes. The technologies employed have included ever-increasing fuel discharge burnup, non-parasitic structural materials, burnable absorbers, and fissile material core zoning schemes (both in the axial and radial direction). The result of these technological advances has improved uranium utilization by roughly sixty percent from the infancy days of nuclear power to present fuel management. Fuel management optimization technologies have also been developed in recent years which provide fuel utilization improvements due to core loading pattern optimization. This paper describes the development and impact of technology advances upon uranium utilization in modem pressurized water reactors.
- OSTI ID:
- 182102
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-940501-; ISSN 0003-018X; TRN: 95:004487-0130
- Journal Information:
- Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Vol. 70, Issue Suppl.1; Conference: 9. Pacific basin nuclear conference, Sydney (Australia), 1-5 May 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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