A Simplified Supercritical Fast Reactor with Thorium Fuel. (10th March 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Peng; Wang, Kan; Yu, Ganglin
• Other Names: Cai Jiejin Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: Science and technology of nuclear installations. Volume 2014(2014)
• Publication Date: 2014-03-10
• Subjects: Nuclear engineering -- Periodicals; Nuclear facilities -- Periodicals; Nuclear engineering; Nuclear facilities; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 621.48
• DOI: 10.1155/2014/405654
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1687-6075

Abstract

Abstract : Super-Critical water-cooled Fast Reactor (SCFR) is a feasible option for the Gen-IV SCWR designs, in which much less moderator and thus coolant are needed for transferring the fission heat from the core compared with the traditional LWRs. The fast spectrum of SCFR is useful for fuel breeding and thorium utilization, which is then beneficial for enhancing the sustainability of the nuclear fuel cycle. A SCFR core is constructed in this work, with the aim of simplifying the mechanical structure and keeping negative coolant void reactivity during the whole core life. A core burnup simulation scheme based on Monte Carlo lattice homogenization is adopted in this study, and the reactor physics analysis has been performed with DU-MOX and Th-MOX fuel. The main issues discussed include the fuel conversion ratio and the coolant void reactivity. The analysis shows that thorium-based fuel can provide inherent safety for SCFR without use of blanket, which is favorable for the mechanical design of SCFR.