Steady-state and transient core feasibility analysis for a thorium-fuelled reduced-moderation PWR performing full transuranic recycle

Lindley, Ben; Ahmad, Ali; Zainuddin, N. Zara; Franceschini, Fausto; Parks, Geoffrey T.

doi:10.1016/j.anucene.2014.05.027

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Spatial separation can be achieved in a number of ways: for example, heterogeneous loading of fuel within a single assembly where Th-TRU pins may be placed at the centre of the assembly and Th-U3 pins at the periphery (TCUP), or through whole assembly heterogeneity (WATU) ( Figure 1). Studies comparing TCUP to WATU showed that both designs allowed a satisfactory discharge burnup to be achieved while maintaining a negative Moderator Temperature Coefficient (MTC); however, reactivity was found to become positive for a beyond design basis loss of coolant accident (LOCA) (Lindley, et al, 2014a) (Lindley, et al, 2014b). Adequate shutdown margins were achievable in both cases, though this required the use of B10-enriched B4C rods.…”

Section: Viable Technologies For Pu Dispositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effect of Am241 on UK plutonium recycle options in thorium-plutonium fuelled LWRs – Part I: PWRs

Morrison

Parks

2020

Annals of Nuclear Energy

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UK plutonium is expected to be managed using uranium-plutonium (U-Pu) mixed oxide (MOX) fuels in Light Water Reactors (LWRs). However, studies have shown that thorium-plutonium (Th-Pu) may be preferential. Research has mostly focussed on recycle of reactor grade Pu with limited minor actinide (MA) content. This study will determine if large quantities of americium (Am) in UK Pu may be restrictive to recycle schemes by determining the effect this has on reactivity feedback coefficients, fissile loading and incineration potential. Addition of Am is shown to result in predictable trends in reactivity feedback coefficients and spatial separation of Am and Pu is found to offer potential advantages over uniformly loaded fuel in terms of maximising fissile loading and incineration. Separation may also offer benefits in terms of targeting Am destruction, particularly if multiple recycle schemes are pursued, as this would maximise the fissile loading requirements while keeping reactivity feedback coefficients negative.

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Section: Viable Technologies For Pu Dispositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…TCUP (left) and WATU (right) designs for spatial separation of TRU (blue) and U3 (green)(Lindley, et al, 2014b) …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of Am241 on UK plutonium recycle options in thorium-plutonium fuelled LWRs – Part I: PWRs

Morrison

Parks

2020

Annals of Nuclear Energy

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“…Studies have noted that at epithermal and fast energy ranges, the effect of increasing neutron energy on the fission-to-capture ratio is smallest when using a thorium-based fuel cycle. 11,[23][24][25] The main disadvantage of the thorium cycle is the lack of 233 U in nature, which necessitates preparation of 233 U in thorium-based reactors or accelerators. In addition, thorium is more abundant than rival elements, and thorium dioxide has greater thermal conductivity and a higher melting point than uranium dioxide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12,18,21,22 Lindley et al have contributed greatly to research into RMWRs loaded with thorium-fueled and transuranic isotopes. 11,[23][24][25] The main disadvantage of the thorium cycle is the lack of 233 U in nature, which necessitates preparation of 233 U in thorium-based reactors or accelerators. Another difference between the thorium-fueled reactors and the uranium-plutonium fuel cycle is the more pronounced positive reactivity introduction during long shutdowns due to the 27-day half-life of 233 Pa, an intermediate product of the absorption on a neutron in 232 Th.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptual design of an innovative reduced moderation thorium‐fueled small modular reactor with heavy‐water coolant

et al. 2019

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Summary This paper presents an innovative conceptual design for small modular reactors, the reduced‐moderation small modular reactor (RMSMR), for the sustainable use of nuclear resources. The concept is established by a modification of the well‐understood pressurized water reactor technology. A reduced‐moderation lattice and heavy‐water coolant are used to yield an epithermal‐to‐fast neutron spectrum, which is beneficial for attaining a large conversion ratio and reducing the burnup reactivity swing throughout the core lifetime. Two‐dimensional pin cell and three‐dimensional core burnup calculations are performed to systematically analyze the neutronics influences of important parameters, such as the coolant type, moderator‐to‐fuel ratio, and fuel type. The RMSMR adopts a three‐zone uranium‐thorium dioxide fuel configuration to flatten the power distribution and ensure a negative void coefficient. The radial and axial blanket regions are found to enhance the breeding effect. The proposed RMSMR can sustain power generation of 100 MWe for 7 years without refueling and achieve a conversion ratio of 0.85 at the end of the cycle. Numerical simulations indicate that the proposed concept has satisfactory shutdown margins and reactivity coefficients and conservative thermal‐hydraulic safety. The RMSMR may be a promising candidate to fill the gap between light‐water reactors and fast breeder reactors.

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“…PANTHER contains inbuilt multi-objective optimization algorithms which facilitate PWR [23] and VVER [24] core design. These have recently been applied to the non-standard case where PWRs are highly loaded with Pu [25,26] and have been shown to facilitate low power peaking core design under challenging circumstances.…”

Section: Modelling Of Accident Tolerant Fuel With Answers Softwarementioning

confidence: 99%

Reactor physics modelling of accident tolerant fuel for LWRs using ANSWERS codes

Lindley

Kotlyar

Parks

et al. 2016

EPJ Nuclear Sci. Technol.

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Abstract. The majority of nuclear reactors operating in the world today and similarly the majority of near-term new build reactors will be LWRs. These currently accommodate traditional Zr clad UO 2 /PuO 2 fuel designs which have an excellent performance record for normal operation. However, the events at Fukushima culminated in significant hydrogen production and hydrogen explosions, resulting from high temperature Zr/steam interaction following core uncovering for an extended period. These events have resulted in increased emphasis towards developing more accident tolerant fuels (ATFs)-clad systems, particularly for current and near-term build LWRs. R&D programmes are underway in the US and elsewhere to develop ATFs and the UK is engaging in these international programmes. Candidate advanced fuel materials include uranium nitride (UN) and uranium silicide (U 3 Si 2 ). Candidate cladding materials include advanced stainless steel (FeCrAl) and silicon carbide. The UK has a long history in industrial fuel manufacture and fabrication for a wide range of reactor systems including LWRs. This is supported by a national infrastructure to perform experimental and theoretical R&D in fuel performance, fuel transient behaviour and reactor physics. In this paper, an analysis of the Integral Inherently Safe LWR design (I 2 S-LWR), a reactor concept developed by an international collaboration led by the Georgia Institute of Technology, within a US DOE Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) Integrated Research Project (IRP) is considered. The analysis is performed using the ANSWERS reactor physics code WIMS and the EDF Energy core simulator PANTHER by researchers at the University of Cambridge. The I 2 S-LWR is an advanced 2850 MWt integral PWR with inherent safety features. In order to enhance the safety features, the baseline fuel and cladding materials that were chosen for the I 2 S-LWR design are U 3 Si 2 and advanced stainless steel respectively. In addition, the I 2 S-LWR design adopts an integral configuration and a fully passive decay heat removal system to provide indefinite cooling capability for a class of accidents. This paper presents the equilibrium cycle core design and reactor physics behaviour of the I 2 S-LWR with U 3 Si 2 and the advanced steel cladding. The results were obtained using the traditional two-stage approach, in which homogenized macroscopic cross-section sets were generated by WIMS and applied in a full 3D core solution with PANTHER. The results obtained with WIMS/PANTHER were compared against the Monte Carlo Serpent code developed by VTT and previously reported results for the I 2 S-LWR. The results were found to be in a good agreement (e.g. <200 pcm in reactivity) among the compared codes, giving confidence that the WIMS/PANTHER reactor physics package can be reliably used in modelling advanced LWR systems.

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Steady-state and transient core feasibility analysis for a thorium-fuelled reduced-moderation PWR performing full transuranic recycle

Cited by 13 publications

References 19 publications

The effect of Am241 on UK plutonium recycle options in thorium-plutonium fuelled LWRs – Part I: PWRs

The effect of Am241 on UK plutonium recycle options in thorium-plutonium fuelled LWRs – Part I: PWRs

Conceptual design of an innovative reduced moderation thorium‐fueled small modular reactor with heavy‐water coolant

Reactor physics modelling of accident tolerant fuel for LWRs using ANSWERS codes

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