This document reports the main outcomes of the Task 4.2 activities - concerning the “Core design and simulation” defined in the Project Agreement between ENEA and Transmutex (TMX) - and dealing with the neutronic characterization of the “Subcritical Transmutation Accelerated Reactor Technology” (START). Starting from the scoping analyses carried out during the Task 4.1 in which START is operated as “dirty” Pu burner in an open fuel cycle, the main purpose of Task 4.2 was to define a core configuration coping with the sustaining of the evolution of the Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel from the start-up composition to the equilibrium one, as well as with the general specifications corresponding to the technical feasibility and interface compliance with the rest of the system (e.g., accelerator and spallation modules). By foreseeing START leveraging the ALFRED (Advanced Lead-cooled Fast Reactor European Demonstrator) configuration - i.e., same Fuel Assembly (FA) design, limits and average core temperatures - and considering the technological/design constraints related to the sub-critical core (e.g., 0.975 as maximum allowed sub-criticality level) and accelerator (e.g., 5 mA as maximum proton current) features, the actual fuel cycle capabilities were evaluated for an optimized core with 102 cm fissile length (vs. 81 cm in ALFRED). This deliverable summarizes the main results of the neutronic characterization of the start-up (108 FAs – 250 MW) and equilibrium (132 FAs – 300 MW) cores with the ERANOS code. In a 6-year fuel cycle, the equilibrium core provides a Pu burning rate of 9.9 kg/TWh and an average / maximum burnup of 69 / 100 MWd/kgHM. Additionally, the same core configurations were also used: • to evaluate the burnup performances for a fuel containing the 2.5% of minor actinides in the Pu vector (as at PWRs discharge after 45 GWd/tHM burnup, followed by 12 years for cooling and refabrication): also in this case, the START (accelerator and core) design constraints result to be fully satisfied;
Deliverable D4.2 START core conceptual design
Sarotto, M.
2023-01-01
Abstract
This document reports the main outcomes of the Task 4.2 activities - concerning the “Core design and simulation” defined in the Project Agreement between ENEA and Transmutex (TMX) - and dealing with the neutronic characterization of the “Subcritical Transmutation Accelerated Reactor Technology” (START). Starting from the scoping analyses carried out during the Task 4.1 in which START is operated as “dirty” Pu burner in an open fuel cycle, the main purpose of Task 4.2 was to define a core configuration coping with the sustaining of the evolution of the Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel from the start-up composition to the equilibrium one, as well as with the general specifications corresponding to the technical feasibility and interface compliance with the rest of the system (e.g., accelerator and spallation modules). By foreseeing START leveraging the ALFRED (Advanced Lead-cooled Fast Reactor European Demonstrator) configuration - i.e., same Fuel Assembly (FA) design, limits and average core temperatures - and considering the technological/design constraints related to the sub-critical core (e.g., 0.975 as maximum allowed sub-criticality level) and accelerator (e.g., 5 mA as maximum proton current) features, the actual fuel cycle capabilities were evaluated for an optimized core with 102 cm fissile length (vs. 81 cm in ALFRED). This deliverable summarizes the main results of the neutronic characterization of the start-up (108 FAs – 250 MW) and equilibrium (132 FAs – 300 MW) cores with the ERANOS code. In a 6-year fuel cycle, the equilibrium core provides a Pu burning rate of 9.9 kg/TWh and an average / maximum burnup of 69 / 100 MWd/kgHM. Additionally, the same core configurations were also used: • to evaluate the burnup performances for a fuel containing the 2.5% of minor actinides in the Pu vector (as at PWRs discharge after 45 GWd/tHM burnup, followed by 12 years for cooling and refabrication): also in this case, the START (accelerator and core) design constraints result to be fully satisfied;I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
