Design of annular fuel for high power density BWRs

Enabling high power density in the core of Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) is economically profitable for existing or new reactors. In this work, we examine the potential for increasing the power density in BWR plants by switching from the current solid fuel to annular fuel cooled both on its inside and outside surfaces. The GE 8x8 bundle dimensions and fuel to moderator ratio are preserved as a reference to enable applications in existing reactors. A methodology is developed and VIPRE code calculations are performed to select the best annular fuel bundle design on the basis of its Critical Power Ratio (CPR) performance. Within the limits applied to the reference solid fuel, the CPR margin in the 5x5 and 6x6 annular fuel bundles is traded for an increase in power density. It is found that the power density increase with annular fuel in BWRs may be limited to 23%. This is smaller than possible for PWRs due to the different mechanisms that control the critical thermal conditions of the two reactors. The annular fuel could still be a profitable alternative to the solid fuel due to neutronic and thermal advantages.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Morra, Paolo

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Mujid S. Kazimi.

• Nuclear 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/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34448

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34448