Investigation of the feasibility of using thorium-carbon monoxide fuel as accident-tolerant fuel in small advanced high temperature reactor

IF 2.5 3区工程技术 Q1 NUCLEAR SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Annals of Nuclear Energy Pub Date : 2026-08-01 Epub Date: 2026-03-06 DOI:10.1016/j.anucene.2026.112266

Shlash A. Luhaib , Nassar Alnassar , Sultan J. Alsufyani , A. Saftah , Norah Alsairy , Mohamed Y.M. Mohsen , Sitah Alanazi , A. Abdelghafar Galahom

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The global shortage of uranium, coupled with the increasing demand for clean energy and enhanced nuclear reactor safety, underscores the need to explore alternative accident-tolerant fuel (ATF) types. Thorium-carbon monoxide fuels are suggested to be used in the TRISO particle in one of the most promising Generation IV reactor, the small advanced high temperature reactor (SmAHTR). A three-dimensional SmAHTR core was modelled using the MCNPX code to examine its neutronic characteristics at the suggested fuels. The neutronic burn-up performance of the proposed fuels is analyzed during 1450 effective full power days (EFPDs). The effect of using Thorium-carbon monoxide fuels on the reactivity, actinides, non-actinides concentration and the reactivity temperature coefficient was examined. The radial power distribution through the core of the SmAHTR was analyzed to verify the feasibility of the suggested fuels. The results assured the potential advantage of using (Th-²³⁸U,²³³U-²³⁵U)CO and (Th-rgPu)CO (30 wt%) in SmAHTR reactor.

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采用钍-一氧化碳燃料作为先进小型高温反应堆耐事故燃料的可行性研究

全球铀短缺，加上对清洁能源的需求不断增加和核反应堆安全性的提高，强调了探索替代性耐事故燃料（ATF）类型的必要性。在最有前途的第四代反应堆之一——小型先进高温反应堆（SmAHTR）中，建议在TRISO颗粒中使用钍-一氧化碳燃料。使用MCNPX代码对三维SmAHTR堆芯进行建模，以检查其在建议燃料下的中子特性。在1450个有效满功率日（efpd）期间，对所提燃料的中子燃烧性能进行了分析。考察了钍-一氧化碳燃料对反应性、锕系元素、非锕系元素浓度和反应性温度系数的影响。通过对SmAHTR堆芯径向功率分布的分析，验证了所推荐燃料的可行性。结果表明，在SmAHTR反应器中使用（Th-238U,233U-235U）CO和（Th-rgPu）CO （30 wt%）具有潜在的优势。

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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.