Sidik Permana

Feasible Region of Design Parameters for Water Cooled Thorium Breeder Reactor

The performances of a light water cooled thorium breeder reactor have been investigated. A feasible region of fresh fuel enrichment and moderator to fuel ratio (MFR) is found to satisfy the constrains of criticality, breeding, and negative void coefficient for several burnups of discharged fuel. The equilibrium fuel cycle burnup calculation has been performed which is coupled with the cell calculation. The MFR is changed to investigate its effect to the breeding capability and void reactivity coefficient profile for different average discharged burnups. For moderated cases, the conversion ratio (CR) decreases with increasing burnup and MFR. The ratio of fissile inventory in equilibrium core to the initial fissile loading (FIR) has the maximum value at certain burnups depending on the MFR and its value increases with the decreasing MFR. Considering to the breeding capability of the reactor, for burnups of equal to 30 GWd/t or higher, the MFR ≤ 0.3 is needed. For the larger MFR and lower burnups, the void reactivity coefficient becomes more negative with an increasing void fraction. The most negative value of the void reactivity coefficient is obtained at MFR = 0:3.

Study on Equilibrium Characteristics of Thorium‐Plutonium‐Minor Actinides Mixed Oxides Fuel in PWR

A study on characteristics of thorium‐plutonium‐minor actinides utilization in the pressurized water reactor (PWR) with the equilibrium burnup model has been conducted. For a comprehensive evaluation, several fuel cycles scenario have been included in the present study with the variation of moderator‐to‐fuel volume ratio (MFR) of PWR core design. The results obviously exhibit that the neutron spectra grow to be harder with decreasing of the MFR. Moreover, the neutron spectra also turn into harder with the rising number of confined heavy nuclides. The required 233U concentration for criticality of reactor augments with the increasing of MFR for all heavy nuclides confinement and thorium & uranium confinement in PWR.

Basic Analysis on Isotopic Barrier of Material Attractiveness Based on Plutonium Composition of FBR

Fuel behaviors of the large fast breeder reactor have been investigated, as well as material attractiveness based on isotopic plutonium composition for evaluating proliferation resistance with regards to a combined evaluation of decay heat and spontaneous fission neutron barrier as key parameters of isotopic material barrier. Trans-uranium fuel (TRU) (MA + U-Pu) in the core regions and MA doping (MA + natural U) in the blanket regions as options of MA loading produce a higher Pu-238 composition for denaturing plutonium, which mainly comes from converted Np-237. The isotopic plutonium composition of TRU fuel is relatively less than the Pu composition of MOX fuel except for the Pu-238 composition that is higher than that of MOX fuel. MA in the core or blanket regions, which produces a higher Pu-238 composition, plays a key role in obtaining a high-level material barrier of decay heat and spontaneous fission neutron compositions. The material attractiveness level of plutonium composition in the core regions can be categorized as practically unusable and its level becomes less by adopting TRU fuel. In addition, the material attractiveness level in the blanket regions as being practically unusable can be reached from weapon grade by loading MA at a 2% doping rate.

Conceptual design study on very small long-life gas cooled fast reactor using metallic natural Uranium-Zr as fuel cycle input

A conceptual design study of very small 350 MWth Gas-cooled Fast Reactors with Helium coolant has been performed. In this study Modified CANDLE burn-up scheme was implemented to create small and long life fast reactors with natural Uranium as fuel cycle input. Such system can utilize natural Uranium resources efficiently without the necessity of enrichment plant or reprocessing plant. The core with metallic fuel based was subdivided into 10 regions with the same volume. The fresh Natural Uranium is initially put in region-1, after one cycle of 10 years of burn-up it is shifted to region-2 and the each region-1 is filled by fresh Natural Uranium fuel. This concept is basically applied to all axial regions. The reactor discharge burn-up is 31.8% HM. From the neutronic point of view, this design is in compliance with good performance.

Comparative analysis of LWR and FBR spent fuels for nuclear forensics evaluation

Some interesting issues are attributed to nuclide compositions of spent fuels from thermal reactors as well as fast reactors such as a potential to reuse as recycled fuel, and a possible capability to be manage as a fuel for destructive devices. In addition, analysis on nuclear forensics which is related to spent fuel compositions becomes one of the interesting topics to evaluate the origin and the composition of spent fuels from the spent fuel foot-prints. Spent fuel compositions of different fuel types give some typical spent fuel foot prints and can be estimated the origin of source of those spent fuel compositions. Some technics or methods have been developing based on some science and technological capability including experimental and modeling or theoretical aspects of analyses. Some foot-print of nuclear forensics will identify the typical information of spent fuel compositions such as enrichment information, burnup or irradiation time, reactor types as well as the cooling time which is related to ...

Power Flattening on Design Study of Small Long-Life Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) with Tight Lattice Thorium Nitride Fuel

Preliminary study of thorium based fuel utilization with the addition of Pa-231 on tight lattice boiling water reactor (BWR) has been performed. In previous studies, the use of fuel composition Th-232 and U-233 as well as the use of protactinium as burnable poisons with hexagonal tight lattice fuel cell geometry has resulted the reactor life time of 30 years without refueling [1]. In this study, power flattening has been conducted on the reactor core by using radially heterogeneous fuel. Addition of the Pa-231 is expected to extend lifetime of the BWR core By optimizing the composition of the fuel elements (Th and Pa) at low moderation conditions (tight lattice) it can be obtained the reactor core which can be opeprated over 30 years without refueling or fuel shuffling. The Reactor core has a volume of 17,635.8 liter, power of 620 MWt, operating life of 30 and a maximum excess reactivity value of 0.384% dk/k, could be achieved by using a composition of U-233 enrichment of 8.1 to 11% and the addition of Pa-231 as much as 6.16 to 11.13% with a power density of 35.2 watts/cc.

Conceptual design study of small long-life PWR based on thorium cycle fuel

A neutronic performance of small long-life Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) using thorium cycle based fuel has been investigated. Thorium cycle which has higer conversion ratio in thermal region compared to uranium cycle produce some significant of 233U during burn up time. The cell-burn up calculations were performed by PIJ SRAC code using nuclear data library based on JENDL 3.3, while the multi-energy-group diffusion calculations were optimized in whole core cylindrical two-dimension R-Z geometry by SRAC-CITATION. this study would be introduced thorium nitride fuel system which ZIRLO is the cladding material. The optimization of 350 MWt small long life PWR result small excess reactivity and reduced power peaking during its operation.

Fuel Breeding and Core Behavior Analyses on In Core Fuel Management of Water Cooled Thorium Reactors

Thorium fuel cycle with recycled U‐233 has been widely recognized having some contributions to improve the water‐cooled breeder reactor program which has been shown by a feasible area of breeding and negative void reactivity which confirms that fissile of 233U contributes to better fuel breeding and effective for obtaining negative void reactivity coefficient as the main fissile material. The present study has the objective to estimate the effect of whole core configuration as well as burnup effects to the reactor core profile by adopting two dimensional model of fuel core management. About more than 40 months of cycle period has been employed for one cycle fuel irradiation of three batches fuel system for large water cooled thorium reactors. All position of fuel arrangement contributes to the total core conversion ratio which gives conversion ratio less than unity of at the BOC and it contributes to higher than unity (1.01) at the EOC after some irradiation process. Inner part and central part give the important part of breeding contribution with increasing burnup process, while criticality is reduced with increasing the irradiation time. Feasibility of breeding capability of water‐cooled thorium reactors for whole core fuel arrangement has confirmed from the obtained conversion ratio which shows higher than unity. Whole core analysis on evaluating reactivity change which is caused by the change of voided condition has been employed for conservative assumption that 100% coolant and moderator are voided. It obtained always a negative void reactivity coefficient during reactor operation which shows relatively more negative void coefficient at BOC (fresh fuel composition), and it becomes less negative void coefficient with increasing the operation time. Negative value of void reactivity coefficient shows the reactor has good safety properties in relation to the reactivity profile which is the main parameter in term of criticality safety analysis. Therefore, this evaluation has confirmed that breeding condition and negative coefficient can be obtained simultaneously for water‐cooled thorium reactor obtains based on the whole core fuel arrangement.Thorium fuel cycle with recycled U‐233 has been widely recognized having some contributions to improve the water‐cooled breeder reactor program which has been shown by a feasible area of breeding and negative void reactivity which confirms that fissile of 233U contributes to better fuel breeding and effective for obtaining negative void reactivity coefficient as the main fissile material. The present study has the objective to estimate the effect of whole core configuration as well as burnup effects to the reactor core profile by adopting two dimensional model of fuel core management. About more than 40 months of cycle period has been employed for one cycle fuel irradiation of three batches fuel system for large water cooled thorium reactors. All position of fuel arrangement contributes to the total core conversion ratio which gives conversion ratio less than unity of at the BOC and it contributes to higher than unity (1.01) at the EOC after some irradiation process. Inner part and central part give the i...

Fuel Breeding Analysis On Low Moderated Fuel Ratio Based On Actinides Closed Water-Cooled Thorium Reactor

Utilization of spent nuclear fuel and some fuel breeding capabilities of nuclear fuels to extend the sustainability aspect of nuclear fuel become more important issues to be optimized. Thorium fuel utilization based on water-cooled reactor is one of the possible options to be used and optimized as well as uranium fuel utilization. Some schemes of accumulated spent nuclear fuels can be used as recycled fuel in water-cooled reactor based on thorium fuel. In the present analysis, fuel sustainability aspect of nuclear fuel will be evaluated, which is based on a water-cooled reactor. As a fuel basis, thorium is used with can be mixed with additional recycled spent nuclear fuels. Some minor actinides (MA) as recycled fuels are used as doping material to be loaded to the water cooled reactors with thorium fuel as fuel basis and heavy water as moderator and coolant. The evaluation has been made by adopting a computational simulation of an equilibrium burnup analysis method, which was coupled with cell calculation of computer code of SRAC with JENDL.32 as nuclear data library. Several survey parameters have been evaluated to evaluate some effect of MA doping rate, different moderation ratio and power density levels to the reactor performance including fuel-breeding capability and void reactivity coefficient. Effect of some actinide composition to fuel breeding capability as well as safety aspect, which is based on void reactivity coefficient have been investigated. Fuel breeding capability can be obtained by the present reactor systems; as well as negative void reactivity has been show for more moderator ratio and less power density. Low portion of moderation to fuel ratios (MFR) are used to have a better fuel breeding capability as well as some from contribution from recycled fuel of minor actinides (MA) and less power density. A negative void reactivity can be obtained in this system and it becomes less negative for doping MA and more power density as well as a positive void reactivity coefficient value for much less moderation ratio.

Study of Natural Convection Passive Cooling System for Nuclear Reactors

Fukushima nuclear reactor accident occurred due to the reactor cooling pumps and followed by all emergencies cooling systems could not work. Therefore, the system which has a passive safety system that rely on natural laws such as natural convection passive cooling system. In natural convection, the cooling material can flow due to the different density of the material due to the temperature difference. To analyze such investigation, a simple apparatus was set up and explains the study of natural convection in a vertical closed-loop system. It was set up that, in the closed loop, there is a heater at the bottom which is representing heat source system from the reactor core and cooler at the top which is showing the cooling system performance in room temperature to make a temperature difference for convection process. The study aims to find some loop configurations and some natural convection performances that can produce an optimum flow of cooling process. The study was done and focused on experimental approach and simulation. The obtained results are showing and analyzing in temperature profile data and the speed of coolant flow at some point on the closed-loop system.