Proceedings of Symposium on Energy Engineering in the 21st Century (SEE2000) Volume I-IV

ISBN Print: 1-56700-132-7

NEUTRONIC PERFORMANCES OF THE (D,T) DRIVEN HYBRID BLANKETS, FUELED WITH U308 AND UF4 FOR VARIOUS COOLANTS TO BREED FISSILE FUEL FOR LWRS

DOI: 10.1615/SEE2000.950
pages 778-786

Abstract

In the present work, the possibility of spent nuclear fuel rejuvenation in fusion reactors is investigated for different fuels and coolants. Cumulative Fission Fuel Enrichment (CFFE) and neutronic performances of the (D,T) driven hybrid blankets, fueled with U308 and UF4, are investigated under first wall load of 5 MW/m2. Fissile fuel zone is considered to be cooled with three coolants, flibe (Li2BeF4), Natural Lithium (Li) and Eutectic Lithium (Li17Pb83) respectively. In the fuel zone is considered to be cooled with the different coolants mentioned above with volume fraction of 45.5%, ε = 1:1, for each coolants. Again, the behavior of the fuels mentioned above are observed during 48 month for discrete time intervals of Δt =15 days and by a plant factor of 75%. At the end of the operation time, calculations have shows that (CFFE) values have varied between 4.51% and 8.49% depending on the fuel and coolant type. The best enrichment performance is obtained in Li2BeF4 coolant blankets for each fuels. CFFE reach maximum value (8.49%) in UF4 fueled blanket (in Row# 1) after 48 months. The lowest CFFE value (4.51%) is in U3O8 fueled blanket (in Row# 8) and Natural Lithium coolant at the end of the operation period. So, the enrichment would be sufficient for LWR reactor. The best Tritium Breeding Ratio (TBR), 1.5054, is obtained in U308 fueled blanket with Eutectic Lithium (Li) coolant. At the beginning of the operation, TBR values were 1.2942 in U3O8 fueled blanket 1.2175 in UF4 fueled blanket. At the end of the operation, TBR reach 1.5034 in U308 fueled blanket and 1.4510 in UF4 fueled blanket.