Regarding 750MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor core using MOX fuel, safety-enhancement measures have been examined to reduce the risk of core damage under UTOP(Unprotected Transient over Power) and ULOF(Unprotected Loss of Flow) accidents.

As the passive measures the followings are considered :1) addition of MA as burnable absorber and fertile nuclide to internal blanket in inner core to reduce burnup reactivity for UTOP , and 2) adoption of the axial heterogeneous core configuration with sodium plenum and GEMs(Gas Expansion Module) to make sodium void reactivity lower for ULOF.

In this study, configurations of the safety-enhanced core was optimized based on sensitivity studies as follows.

Firstly, the effects of 1) above on the burnup reactivity were evaluated by changing the MA content in the internal blanket and the burnup period, which are the dominant factors of UTOP.

Secondly, the effects of 2) above on the sodium void reactivity were evaluated by changing inner core height, B-10 content of the upper shield, GEMs, and standby position of the backup control rods, which are the dominant factors of core behavior in the event of ULOF.

Finally, by utilizing sensitivity analysis results, the safety-enhanced core which satisfies the provisional design goals has been developed.  This core has the burnup reactivity of 1 \$ or less and negative sodium void reactivity.


Development of Safety-Enhanced Fast Reactor by Using Minor Actinide Bearing Internal Blanket

Division / Sponsors: 
Power Division & Nuclear Engineering Division (NED)

Power Conference
Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/POWER/POWER2020/volume/83747

International Conference on Nuclear Engineering
Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ICONE/ICONE2020/volume/83761

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