PWR fuel performance experience of Korean plants

Korea does not possess the plentiful energy resources that other countries take for granted, for example, fossil fuels, which can be utilized for fuel in electric generating stations. Early recognition of these limitations led Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to pursue nuclear power to satisfy the country's growing electrical demands. Therefore, nuclear energy plays an important role in Korea. It provides more than 50% of our total electrical requirements and it will be further expanded to meet future demands. Currently seven units are in operation. All of the units are pressurized water reactor (PWR) plants with the exception of one, which is a pressurized heavy water reactor plant. The six operating PWRs were supplied by Westinghouse. Two PWR units under construction are being supplied by Feramatome, and two units in the planning stage are expected to be supplied by Combustion Engineering. Since nuclear power provides such a large amount of Korea's total electrical energy, it is very important that the units operate at the highest possible levels of capacity and availability. In conjunction with the aforementioned, during the operation of the various nuclear units, KPECO has experienced numerous fuel defects. These have impacted availability and capacity rates, especially at KNU-1. The authors address the specifics of KEPCO's experience with fuel failure, detection, prevention, and actions taken