Development of a start-up core for sustaining rotational fuel shuffling strategy for a nitride fueled lead-cooled fast reactor

IF 1.9 3区工程技术 Q1 NUCLEAR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Annals of Nuclear Energy Pub Date : 2025-03-27 DOI:10.1016/j.anucene.2025.111379

Alexandru Catalin Stafie, Toru Obara

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study investigates a start-up core design for a lead-cooled fast reactor employing a Rotational Fuel-shuffling Breed-and-Burn (RFBB) strategy using High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) nitride fuel. Based on the Westinghouse Lead-cooled Fast Reactor, the reactor can achieve and maintain criticality using natural uranium as feed fuel for a refueling interval of 1050 EFPD. Analysis indicates an equilibrium discharge burnup of

\sim 230 MWd/kgHM

. The refueling strategy gradually replaces HALEU fuel with natural uranium assemblies, ensuring stable power profiles during the transition cycles. The reactivity control system can insert at least

\sim 15 $

negative reactivity. Thermohydraulic assessments confirm effective heat removal, with peak fuel temperatures within operational limits. The study addresses proliferation risks from weapons-grade plutonium generation by proposing strategies for fuel reutilization and fuel assembly optimization. The study confirms the feasibility of the start-up core to sustain the RFBB mode while suggesting the potential for further optimization to control excess reactivity and enhance proliferation resistance.

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来源期刊

Annals of Nuclear Energy 工程技术-核科学技术

CiteScore

4.30

自引率

21.10%

发文量

632

审稿时长

7.3 months

期刊介绍： Annals of Nuclear Energy provides an international medium for the communication of original research, ideas and developments in all areas of the field of nuclear energy science and technology. Its scope embraces nuclear fuel reserves, fuel cycles and cost, materials, processing, system and component technology (fission only), design and optimization, direct conversion of nuclear energy sources, environmental control, reactor physics, heat transfer and fluid dynamics, structural analysis, fuel management, future developments, nuclear fuel and safety, nuclear aerosol, neutron physics, computer technology (both software and hardware), risk assessment, radioactive waste disposal and reactor thermal hydraulics. Papers submitted to Annals need to demonstrate a clear link to nuclear power generation/nuclear engineering. Papers which deal with pure nuclear physics, pure health physics, imaging, or attenuation and shielding properties of concretes and various geological materials are not within the scope of the journal. Also, papers that deal with policy or economics are not within the scope of the journal.