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Burn-up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor

Thorium fuel is presently a globally known future nuclear fuel alternative, having good neutronic, physical and chemical properties in addition to its spent nuclear fuel characteristic proliferation resistance. This research focused on the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxi...

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Main Authors: Uguru, Edwin H., Abdul Sani, Siti F., Khandaker, Mayeen U., Rabir, Mohamad H., Karim, Julia A., Onah, Daniel U., Bradley, David A.
Format: Article
Published: John Wiley & Sons 2021
Subjects:
TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/28656/
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spelling my.um.eprints.286562022-03-01T06:59:32Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/28656/ Burn-up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor Uguru, Edwin H. Abdul Sani, Siti F. Khandaker, Mayeen U. Rabir, Mohamad H. Karim, Julia A. Onah, Daniel U. Bradley, David A. TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering Thorium fuel is presently a globally known future nuclear fuel alternative, having good neutronic, physical and chemical properties in addition to its spent nuclear fuel characteristic proliferation resistance. This research focused on the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle, utilising three fissile enrichment zones, a departure from the conventional single enrichment. The aim was to determine the range of three fissile zones adequate for thorium-uranium fuel cycle; investigating the performance efficiency of the fuel neutronic and inherent safety parameters in response to temperature differentials, which determines the viability of the fuel and core composition. Use was made of the MCNPX 2.7 code integrated with the CINDER90 fuel depletion code for steady-state and burn-up calculations. The k(eff), moderator temperature coefficient (MTC) and fuel temperature coefficient (FTC) of reactivity are affected by the range of fissile enrichment and fuel temperature which decreased with their respective increases. The MTC for all the moderator temperatures was within 0 to -40 pcm/K design value for UO2 fuel. Similarly, the FTC was within -3.5 to -1 pcm/K design value for all the fuel temperatures except after 2000 days, where a positive reactivity feedback was introduced. At similar to 86 MWd/kgHM single discharge burn-up, the result shows that similar to 90% of the initial fissile load was utilised for energy production at the normal reactor operating temperature (600 K) with a slight reduction at higher fuel temperature. The total fissile inventory ratio (FIR), U-233/kg-Th-232 and Pu-239/kg-U-238 inventory ratios were significantly large and increased with burn-up. It is remarkable that the FIR and the(233)U/kg-Th-232 inventory ratio did not reach conversion equilibrium until exit burn-up. The large percentage fuel utilisation supports the advantage of fissile enrichment zoning in a thermal nuclear reactor core, making the chosen novel three fissile enrichment zones for thorium-uranium fuel cycle reliable. John Wiley & Sons 2021-06-25 Article PeerReviewed Uguru, Edwin H. and Abdul Sani, Siti F. and Khandaker, Mayeen U. and Rabir, Mohamad H. and Karim, Julia A. and Onah, Daniel U. and Bradley, David A. (2021) Burn-up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor. International Journal of Energy Research, 45 (8, SI). pp. 12013-12028. ISSN 0363-907X, DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/er.6000 <https://doi.org/10.1002/er.6000>. 10.1002/er.6000
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
spellingShingle TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
Uguru, Edwin H.
Abdul Sani, Siti F.
Khandaker, Mayeen U.
Rabir, Mohamad H.
Karim, Julia A.
Onah, Daniel U.
Bradley, David A.
Burn-up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor
description Thorium fuel is presently a globally known future nuclear fuel alternative, having good neutronic, physical and chemical properties in addition to its spent nuclear fuel characteristic proliferation resistance. This research focused on the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle, utilising three fissile enrichment zones, a departure from the conventional single enrichment. The aim was to determine the range of three fissile zones adequate for thorium-uranium fuel cycle; investigating the performance efficiency of the fuel neutronic and inherent safety parameters in response to temperature differentials, which determines the viability of the fuel and core composition. Use was made of the MCNPX 2.7 code integrated with the CINDER90 fuel depletion code for steady-state and burn-up calculations. The k(eff), moderator temperature coefficient (MTC) and fuel temperature coefficient (FTC) of reactivity are affected by the range of fissile enrichment and fuel temperature which decreased with their respective increases. The MTC for all the moderator temperatures was within 0 to -40 pcm/K design value for UO2 fuel. Similarly, the FTC was within -3.5 to -1 pcm/K design value for all the fuel temperatures except after 2000 days, where a positive reactivity feedback was introduced. At similar to 86 MWd/kgHM single discharge burn-up, the result shows that similar to 90% of the initial fissile load was utilised for energy production at the normal reactor operating temperature (600 K) with a slight reduction at higher fuel temperature. The total fissile inventory ratio (FIR), U-233/kg-Th-232 and Pu-239/kg-U-238 inventory ratios were significantly large and increased with burn-up. It is remarkable that the FIR and the(233)U/kg-Th-232 inventory ratio did not reach conversion equilibrium until exit burn-up. The large percentage fuel utilisation supports the advantage of fissile enrichment zoning in a thermal nuclear reactor core, making the chosen novel three fissile enrichment zones for thorium-uranium fuel cycle reliable.
format Article
author Uguru, Edwin H.
Abdul Sani, Siti F.
Khandaker, Mayeen U.
Rabir, Mohamad H.
Karim, Julia A.
Onah, Daniel U.
Bradley, David A.
author_facet Uguru, Edwin H.
Abdul Sani, Siti F.
Khandaker, Mayeen U.
Rabir, Mohamad H.
Karim, Julia A.
Onah, Daniel U.
Bradley, David A.
author_sort Uguru, Edwin H.
title Burn-up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor
title_short Burn-up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor
title_full Burn-up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor
title_fullStr Burn-up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor
title_full_unstemmed Burn-up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor
title_sort burn-up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium-uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a westinghouse small modular reactor
publisher John Wiley & Sons
publishDate 2021
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/28656/
_version_ 1735409567794200576
score 13.211869

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