STUDY ON THE CUMULATION OF ACTINIDES AND FISSION PRODUCTS IN CF3 PWR FUEL ASSEMBLIES

Abstract

Actinides (AC) and fission products (FP) are produced along with the depletion of fissile materials. An accurate estimate of AC and FP yields in PWR fuel assemblies can provide a reliable data basis for the following fuel cycle process and spent fuel management. The fuel material depletion is correlated to the neutron flux distribution in the reactor, therefore, both the design parameters and the practical operation history are obliged to be considered in the AC and FP yield calculation. In this work, we particularly study on the AC and FP cumulation in CF3 17×17 PWR fuel assemblies with an initial U-235 enrichment of wt 4.45%. The effect on the AC and FP cumulation induced by the axial power history will be discussed according to the numerical results achieved by using the commercial codes: CASMO, SCIENCE, and SNF.