Experience gained by FRAGEMA with the use of recycled fuels in PWR type reactors

The plans to close the nuclear fuel cycle make it necessary to investigate in PWR type reactors the application of reprocessed nuclear fuels, namely reprocessed uranium, and recovered plutonium. In this process, a valuation of the recovered fissile material is an important step, also taking into account the fact that there will be available increasing amounts of irradiated fuels that can be recycled by reprocessing. The paper restricts itself to discussing the following two main aspects of the fabrication of fuel elements made of reprocessed material: the thermomechanical design of fuel pins, and the neutron concept for the fuel elements and recharging operations. The paper describes the requirements underlying the design concepts for the new fuel element type, presents the experience gained to date by FRAGEMA, and indicates some aspects of further development work. (orig./DG)