Uranium production in thorium/denatured uranium fueled PWRs [electronic resource]
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| Online Access: |
Online Access |
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| Corporate Author: | |
| Format: | Government Document Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Oak Ridge, Tenn. :
Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant ; distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy,
1977.
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| Subjects: |
| Abstract: | Uranium-232 buildup in a thorium/denatured uranium fueled pressurized water reactor, PWR(Th), was studied using a modified version of the spectrum-dependent zero dimensional depletion code, LEOPARD. The generic Combustion Engineering System 80 reactor design was selected as the reactor model for the calculations. Reactors fueled with either enriched natural uranium and self-generated recycled uranium or uranium from a thorium breeder and self-generated recycled uranium were considered. For enriched natural uranium, concentrations of ²³²U varied from about 135 ppM (²³²U/U weight basis) in the zeroth generation to about 260 ppM (²³²U/U weight basis) at the end of the fifth generation. For the case in which thorium breeder fuel (with its relatively high ²³²U concentration) was used as reactor makeup fuel, concentrations of ²³²U varied from 441 ppM (²³²U/U weight basis) at discharge from the first generation to about 512 ppM (²³²U/U weight basis) at the end of the fifth generation. Concentrations in freshly fabricated fuel for this later case were 20 to 35% higher than the discharge concentration. These concentrations are low when compared to those of other thorium fueled reactor types (HTGR and MSBR) because of the relatively high ²³⁸U concentration added to the fuel as a denaturant. Excellent agreement was found between calculated and existing experimental values. Nevertheless, caution is urged in the use of these values because experimental results are very limited, and the relevant nuclear data, especially for ²³¹Pa and ²³²U, are not of high quality. |
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| Item Description: | Published through the Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information. 10/18/1977. "k/op-241" Arthur, W.B. |