A Preliminary Economic Evaluation for Advanced CANDU-6 Fuels

Recently, the interest in advanced fuels for CANDU- 6 reactor such as CANFLEX-NU (Natural Uranium), RU (Recovered Uranium), and SEU (Slightly Enriched Uranium) has been increased because of the power derating due to aging of CANDU-6 reactor and large discharge rate of spent fuel volumes from 4 CANDU-6 reactors in Wolsong site. Since the early 1990's. the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) and the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) have cooperated to develop, verify, and demonstrate the CANFLEX 43-element fuel bundle design. The CANFLEX fuel bundle enables to introduce advanced fuel cycles such as RU and SEU and other fuel cycles into CANDU reactors. The bundle configuration and its CHF (Critical-Heat-Flux) appendages offer higher operating and safety margins than current fuel and the potential of reactor power uprating would further increase the economic competitiveness of the CANDU reactor, while maintaining full compatibility with existing CANDU reactors. It enables a higher power to be realized before CHF occurs, leading to a net gain in CCP (Critical Channel Power) at least 5% over the existing 37- element NU fuel. The fine element subdivision and the use of two element sizes lower the peak linear-element power rating. Therefore, it is well suited for use of advanced fuel cycles, particularly those that can attain high fuel burnup