Study on effect of MOX fuel assembly loaded in current M310 reactor core on nuclear design

The MOX fuel technology has been developed and applied in PWR all over the world. In this paper, the neutronic performance of the MOX fuel assembly was studied, and fuel management scheme of M310 reactor core from all UO₂ fuel assemblies to 30% MOX fuel assemblies was given. The results show that the core loaded 30% MOX fuel assemblies can reach the same lifetime as the all UO₂ core, the ability of the control system can meet the requirement of reactivity control, and the Doppler temperature and power coefficients, moderator temperature coefficient and the evolutions of Xe and Sm all benefit for the core operation to be more stable. The results of this study prove that the MOX fuel assembly can be used in the M310 reactor core. (authors)