A conceptual design for 300MWe high burnup ultra long life fast reactor core

A preliminary study was performed on the design parameters of a ultra long life core(ULLC) using a metallic fuel for a 300MWe liquid metal fast reactor. Once this core is initially loaded, it does not need the external feed of fuel materials over the reactor life time. The core has a radially homogeneous configuration with three different enrichment zones. From the examination of the core performance parameters by varying the core fissile enrichment and fuel volume fraction for each zone, a reference ULLC core has been established. The burnup reactivity swing of the ULLC core has been found to be 3.2%Δk/k during 36 year core life. The core average discharge burnup has been increased up to 200MWD/kg with an enhanced core average power density. Other nuclear performance parameters except the cladding fast neutron fluence satisfy the design goals and the cladding needs to be replaced every 5-7 years