Abstract
The aim of this work is to present a comparative analysis in terms of the irradiation performance of cylindrical uranium dioxide fuel rods and monolithic uranium molybdenum fuel plates in pressurized light water reactors.To analyze the irradiation performance of monolithic uranium molybdenum fuel plates when subjected to steady state operating conditions in light water pressurized reactors, the computer program PADPLAC-UMo was used, which performs thermal and mechanical analysis of the fuel taking into account the physical , chemicals and irradiation effects to which this fuel is subjected. For the analysis of the uranium dioxide fuel rods, the code FRAPCON was used, which is an analytical tool that verifies the irradiation performance of fuel rods of pressurized light water reactor, when the power variations and the boundary conditions are slow enough for the term permanent regime to be applied. The analysis for a small nuclear power reactor, despite the higher power density applied to the fuel plate in relation to the fuel rod, showed that the fuel plates have lower temperatures and lower fission gas releases throughout the analyzed power history, allowing the use of a more compact reactor core without exceeding the design limits imposed on nuclear fuel.
Highlights
Many studies have been carried out in the nuclear area to improve the operational procedures of the nuclear plants in order to promote the reduction of operating costs through the optimization of the nuclear fuel cycle.Nowadays, when addressing the increase in the consumption of electric energy per capita by society, the use of nuclear energy becomes predominant
The FRAPCON is a tool that analyzes the behavior under irradiation of a fuel rod for light water reactors (LWR), when the variations in power and the boundary conditions are slow enough for the term permanent regime to be applied
The PADPLAC-UMo is a computer program that runs performance analysis of uraniummolybdenum monolithic fuel plates that operate under steady-state conditions in pressurized light water reactors
Summary
Many studies have been carried out in the nuclear area to improve the operational procedures of the nuclear plants in order to promote the reduction of operating costs through the optimization of the nuclear fuel cycle.Nowadays, when addressing the increase in the consumption of electric energy per capita by society, the use of nuclear energy becomes predominant. To make its use feasible, this type of energy production must have competitive characteristics when compared to other options for electricity generation In this way, the operation of nuclear power plants needs to be optimized, always taking into account aspects related to operational safety with a view to protecting people, the environment and operators. For the area of research reactors, radiopharmaceutical production and material testing, the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) [1], [2], [3], [4] and [5] which aims to develop new technologies to enable the conversion of research reactors that use fuel with highly enriched uranium to reactors that can operate with low enrichment fuel. New nuclear fuel technologies were researched and developed, including monolithic uraniummolybdenum plates, which will be analyzed in this work
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