Calculation studies of coated particles performance in sodium-cooled fast reactor
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N. V. Maslov
Abstract
This paper presents results of calculation studies of the viability of coated particles in the conditions of the reactor core on fast neutrons with sodium cooling, justifying the development of the concept of the reactor BN with microspherical fuel. Traditional rod fuel assemblies with pellet MOX fuel in the core of a fast sodium reactor are directly replaced by fuel assemblies with micro-spherical mixed (U,Pu)C-fuel. Due to the fact that the micro-spherical (U, Pu)C fuel has a developed heat removal surface and that the design solution for the fuel assembly with coated particles is horizontal cooling of the microspherical fuel, the core has additional possibilities of increasing inherent (passive) safety and improve the competitiveness of BN type of reactors. It is obvious from obtained results that the microspherical (U, Pu)C fuel is limited with the maximal burn-up depth of ∼11% of heavy atoms in conditions of the sodium-cooled fast reactor core at the conservative approach; it gives the possibility of reaching stated thermal-hydraulic and neutron-physical characteristics. Such a tolerant fuel makes it less likely that fission products will enter the primary circuit in case of accidents with loss of coolant and the introduction of positive reactivity, since the coating of microspherical fuel withstands higher temperatures than the steel shell of traditional rod-type fuel elements.
Kurzfassung
In diesem Beitrag werden Ergebnisse von Berechnungen zum Einfluss von beschichteten Partikeln im Reaktorkern eines Natrium gekühlten schnellen Reaktors auf die Leistung vorgestellt. Die Ergebnisse rechtfertigen die Entwicklung des Konzepts des Reaktors BN mit mikrosphärischem Brennstoff. Traditionelle Stabbrennelemente mit MOX-Brennstoff-Pellets im Kern eines schnellen Natriumreaktors werden direkt durch Brennelemente mit mikrosphärischem gemischten (U,Pu)C-Brennstoff ersetzt. Aufgrund der Tatsache, dass der mikrosphärische (U, Pu)C-Brennstoff eine weiterentwickelte Wärmeabfuhroberfläche hat und dass die Konstruktionslösung für das Brennelement mit beschichteten Partikeln eine horizontale Kühlung des mikrosphärischen Brennstoffs ist, hat der Kern zusätzliche Möglichkeiten zur Erhöhung der inhärenten (passiven) Sicherheit und zur Verbesserung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit des BN-Reaktor-typs. Aus den Ergebnissen lässt sich erkennen, dass der mikrokugelförmige (U, Pu)C-Brennstoff bei konservativer Auslegung auf eine maximale Abbrandtiefe von ∼11% der schweren Atome begrenzt ist und dass damit die angegebenen thermohydraulischen und neutronenphysikalischen Eigenschaften erreicht werden können. Solch ein toleranter Brennstoff macht es unwahrscheinlicher, dass Spaltprodukte im Falle von Unfällen mit Kühlmittelverlust und der Einführung von positiver Reaktivität in den Primärkreislauf eindringen, da die Beschichtung des mikrokugelförmigen Brennstoffs höheren Temperaturen standhält als die Stahlhülle von traditionellen stabförmigen Brennelementen.
References
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© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston, Germany
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Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- The simulation research on the natural circulation operation characteristic of FNPP in rolling and inclined condition
- Establishment of analysis methodology of RADTRAD for Maanshan PWR ATWS
- Calendar of Events
- CFD simulation of subcooled boiling flow in PWR 5 ⨯ 5 rod bundle
- Effectiveness assessment of improvement measures in physical protection system monitoring center
- A study on accumulator analysis for the valve performance evaluation system of nuclear power plants
- Calculation studies of coated particles performance in sodium-cooled fast reactor
- Effect of using graphene/water based nanofluid on heat transfer in heat exchangers with rotating straight inner tube
- Radiation shielding properties of mortars containing heavyweight particles
- Improvement of the passive efficiency calibration of the segmented gamma scanner
- Investigation of level density parameter dependence for some 233U, 235U, 237U, 239U, 249Cf, 251Cf, 237Pu and 247Cm nuclei in neutron fission cross sections with the incident energy up to 20 MeV
- Establishment of analysis methodology for ionizing mattresses using RESRAD-BUILD code
- Editorial
