Optimized core design of a supercritical carbon dioxide-cooled fast reactor

Spurred by the renewed interest in nuclear power, Gas-cooled Fast Reactors (GFRs) have received increasing attention in the past decade. Motivated by the goals of the Generation-IV International Forum (GIF), a GFR cooled by supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2), fueled with Light Water Reactor spent fuel transuranics, and directly coupled with a Brayton cycle is under investigation as part of a larger research effort at MIT. While the original GFR chosen by the GIF is a 600MWth version using Helium as a coolant, the work presented here is for a 2400 MWt, core using S-CO2 as a coolant, which has comparable thermal efficiency (-45%) at much lower temperatures (650TC v. 8500C) A reactor core for use in this direct cycle S-CO2 GFR has been designed which satisfies established neutronic and thermal-hydraulic steady state design criteria, while concurrently supporting the Gen-IV criteria of sustainability, safety, proliferation, and economics. Use of innovative Tube-in-Duct (TID) fuel has been central to accomplishing this objective, as it provides a higher fuel volume fraction and lower fuel temperatures and pressure drop when compared to traditional pin-type fuel. Further, this large fuel volume fraction allows for a large enough heavy metal loading for a sustainable core lifetime without the need for external blankets, enhancing the proliferation resistance of such an approach. Use of Beryllium Oxide (BeO) as a diluent is explored as a means for both power shaping and coolant void reactivity (CVR) reduction in fast reactors. Results show that relatively flat power profiles can be maintained throughout a batch-loaded "battery" core life using a combination of enrichment and diluent zoning, due to the slight moderating effect of the BeO.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Handwerk, Christopher S. (Christopher Stanley), 1974-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Michael J. Driscoll and Pavel Hejzlar.

• Nuclear Science and Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/41291
• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Identifier URI

http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/41291

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/41291