ICONE19-43786 THERMAL HYDRAULIC TEST OF ADVANCED FUEL BUNDLE WITH SPECTRAL SHIFT ROD (SSR) FOR BWR : EFFECT OF THERMAL HYDRAULIC PARAMETERS ON STEADY STATE CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

Japanese national project of next generation light water reactor (LWR) development started in 2008. Under this project, spectral shift rod (SSR) is being developed. SSR, which replaces conventional water rod (WR) of boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel bundle, was invented to enhance the BWR's merit, spectral shift effect for uranium saving. In SSR, water boils by neutron and gamma-ray direct heating and water level is formed as a boundary of the upper steam region and the lower water region. This SSR water level can be controlled by core flow rate, which amplifies the change of average core void fraction, resulting in the amplified spectral shift effect. This paper presents the steady state test results of the base geometry case in SSR thermal hydraulic test, which was conducted under the national project of next generation LWR. In the test, thermal hydraulic parameters, such as flow rate, pressure, inlet subcooling and heater rod power are changed to evaluate these effects on SSR water level and other SSR characteristics. In the test results, SSR water level rose as flow rate rose, which showed controllability of SSR water level by flow rate. The sensitivities of other thermal hydraulic parameters on SSR water level were also evaluated. The obtained data of parameter's sensitivities is various enough for the further analytical evaluation. The fluctuation of SSR water level was also measured to be small enough. As a result, it was confirmed that SSR's steady state performance was as planned and that SSR design concept is feasible.