Optimization of Small Long Life Gas Cooled Fast Reactors with Natural Uranium as Fuel Cycle Input

Abstract

In this study gas cooled reactor system are combined with modified CANDLE burn-up scheme to create small long life fast reactors with natural circulation as fuel cycle input. Such system can utilize natural Uranium resources efficiently without the necessity of enrichment plant or reprocessing plant. Therefore using this type of nuclear power plants optimum nuclear energy utilization including in developing countries can be easily conducted without the problem of nuclear proliferation. In this paper, optimization of Small and Medium Long-life Gas Cooled Fast Reactors with Natural Uranium as Fuel Cycle Input has been performed. The optimization processes include adjustment of fuel region movement scheme, volume fraction adjustment, core dimension, etc. Due to the limitation of thermal hydraulic aspects, the average power density of the proposed design is selected about 75 W/cc. With such condition we investigated small and medium sized cores from 300 MWt to 600 MWt with all being operated for 10 years without refueling and fuel shuffling and just need natural Uranium as fuel cycle input. The average discharge burn-up is about in the range of 23-30% HM.

The Effectiveness of Basic Physics Experiment Module Based on Guided Inquiry Model in Improving Hard Skills and Soft Skills of Prospective Physics Teachers

“…Another design of GFR during burnup process shows the density of Plutonium-239 that has not been generated up to the tenth year of burnup time, due to Nitride Uranium natural fuel availability or without Uranium-235 enrichment done (Ariani et al, 2013).…”

“…According to Su'ud and Sekimoto (2013), the criticality of the GFR reactor was also achieved in the GFR design with 800 MWt of uranium nitride fueled power using a CANDLE burnup strategy yielding a k eff value of > 1 (1.002 to 1.007). Other studies on the GFR reactor design can also reach critical conditions at k eff > 1 (1.001 to 1.050) using natural nitride uranium for ten years of refueling (Ariani et al, 2013). Excess reactivity states that there is an excess reactor reactivity due to an increase in k eff value in the reactor core.…”

“…The most important aspect in designing a nuclear reactor is the neutron analysis which is related to the neutron behavior in the reactor core (Ariani et al, 2013). The description of the physical condition of the neutron in the reactor core is explained by the multi-group diffusion equation as follows (Stacey, 2007):…”

Neutronic Design of Uranium-Plutonium Nitride Fuel-Based Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR)

“…According to Su'ud and Sekimoto (2013), the criticality of the GFR reactor was also achieved in the GFR design with 800 MWt of uranium nitride fueled power using a CANDLE burnup strategy yielding a k eff value of > 1 (1.002 to 1.007). Other studies on the GFR reactor design can also reach critical conditions at k eff > 1 (1.001 to 1.050) using natural nitride uranium for ten years of refueling (Ariani et al, 2013). Excess reactivity states that there is an excess reactor reactivity due to an increase in k eff value in the reactor core.…”

The study of capability natural uranium as fuel cycle input for long life gas cooled fast reactors with helium as coolant

“…The reactor cores are subdivided into several parts with the same volume in the axial directions. The previous study shows that Modified CANDLE concept was successfully applicable to long-life fast reactor with natural uranium as fuel cycle input [1,5,6]. This technology allows for the reactor which has been operating, furthermore it only need supply natural uranium as fuel cycle.…”