Published October 2011 | Version v1
Journal article

IRIS reactor core with thorium fuel

  • 1. Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China)

Description

This work is aimed at running the first IRIS reactor core with mixed thorium dioxide fuel (ThO2-UO2 and ThO2-PuO2). Calculations are performed by using Dragon 4.0.4 and Citation codes. The results show the multiplication factor(Keff) for central and peripheral assemblies as a function of burnup. To ensure the proliferation resistance,the value of 235U enrichment is ≤ 20%. The Keff is calculated using Dragon 4.0.4 for a single fuel rod and the model developed to fuel assembly, while the whole core was calculated using Citation code. For a fuel burnup, the use of increased enrichment fuel in the IRIS core leads to high reserve of reactivity, which is compensated with an integral fuel burnable absorber. The self-shielding of boron is in an IRIS reactor fuel. The effect of increased enrichment to the burn-up rates, and burnable poison distribution on the reactor performance, are evaluated. The equipment used in traditional light water reactors is evaluated for designing a small unit IRIS reactor. (authors)

Additional details

Publishing Information

Journal Title
Nuclear Science and Techniques
Journal Volume
22
Journal Issue
5
Journal Page Range
p. 311-315
ISSN
1001-8042

Optional Information

Notes
6 figs., 2 tabs., 14 refs.