Core and fuel feasibility study for improved flexibility on the Belgian Nuclear Power Plants

A feasibility study has been performed for extended power modulations on Belgian NPPs. The goal is to make the existing nuclear power units in Belgium more flexible without implementing hardware modifications and guaranteeing safety at all times. As the critical part of the feasibility study, the impacts on the core behaviour and fuel performance have been studied in detail. It is concluded that all existing fuels loaded in the Belgian plants allow up to 30 power modulations per fuel cycle without changing the currently applied fuel cycle management. This is also supported by the extensive experience feedback of the fuel products for flexible operations in European countries. (author)