Issue |
EPJ Web Conf.
Volume 247, 2021
PHYSOR2020 – International Conference on Physics of Reactors: Transition to a Scalable Nuclear Future
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 19003 | |
Number of page(s) | 8 | |
Section | Small Modular Reactors (Special session) | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202124719003 | |
Published online | 22 February 2021 |
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202124719003
HIGH-PERFORMANCE MULTI-BATCH FUEL MANAGEMENTS FOR THE ADVANCED SOLUBLE-BORON-FREE ATOM CORE
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
xuanha@kaist.ac.kr
seongdong@kaist.ac.kr
yongheekim@kaist.ac.kr
* Corresponding author
Published online: 22 February 2021
The autonomous transportable on-demand reactor module (ATOM), a 450 MWth PWR-type small modular reactor (SMR), is under development at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). The ATOM core is designed for soluble-boron-free and passive autonomous load-following operations by utilizing successfully an advanced reactivity control technology, centrally-shielded burnable absorber (CSBA). To enhance the ATOM core safety, CrAl-coated Zircaloy-4 is adopted as an accident-tolerant-fuel cladding. For a long operational cycle, the reference ATOM core has primarily accomplished with a single-batch fuel management (FM). In this paper, for more flexible operation and enhanced fuel utilization, various multi-batch FMs are investigated while the core performance is maintained in terms of both neutronic and safety aspects. These aspects are refueling pattern, cycle length, burnup reactivity swing, discharge burnup, axial and radial power peaking factor (PPF), total PPF, and temperature coefficients. Several refueling types are examined: In-out (low leakage), out-in (flattened power), and randomly scattered schemes. In addition, new heavy reflector designs, ZrO2 and PbO, are introduced instead of stainless steel reflector for an improved core performance. Moreover, a new CSBA loading pattern is also proposed for an effective reactivity control of multi-batch FM strategy. Numerical results show that with a two-batch FM the cycle length can achieve above 2 years with an average discharge burnup of 40 GWd/tU, while the burnup reactivity swing remains less than 1,200 pcm. On top of that, the coolant and fuel temperature coefficients are highly negative at the beginning of cycle and power profile is comparable to that with the single-batch FM. All calculations in these multi-physics assessments of the ATOM core are performed using a Monte Carlo-diffusion hybrid code system based on Monte Carlo Serpent 2 and nodal diffusion COREDAX codes.
Key words: ATOM / Soluble Boron Free / CSBA / Heavy Reflector / Multi-Batch Fuel Management
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2021
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