Evaluation of neutronic parameters for RITM-200 reactor unit considering (238U+235U)O2, (232Th+235U)O2 and (232Th+233U)O2 dispersed fuel using MCU-PTR

TL;DR

This study uses MCU-PTR simulations to evaluate how different dispersed fuel compositions affect the neutronic parameters and fuel lifetime of the RITM-200 reactor, identifying optimal fuel configurations for extended operation.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed simulation analysis of dispersed fuel compositions in the RITM-200 reactor, highlighting potential for increased fuel burnup and campaign duration.

Findings

Transition to (232Th + 235U)O2 increases fuel burnup by 12%.

Transition to (232Th + 233U)O2 increases fuel campaign by 32.4%.

Optimal fuel element diameter is 7.9 mm for (232Th + 233U)O2.

Abstract

Simulation tools have become an integral tool in the analysis of neutronic parameters of reactor units. These simulation tools are built to solve the neutron transport equation. In this article, the MCU-PTR simulation tool is used in the evaluation of the possibility of achieving extra-long fuel lifetime in the RITM-200 reactor unit with consideration to the fuel composition. The three dispersed fuel compositions (238U+235U)O2, (232Th+235U)O2 and (232Th+233U)O2 are simulated at varying fuel element diameter of 4.9 mm to 8.9 mm with 1 mm interval. From the simulation, the dependence of reactivity margin on the fuel burnup of the three dispersed fuels were established. The dependence of the effective multiplication factor (keff) on the reactor operation time for the three dispersed fuel composition were also determined. From the results, it can be deduced that transition of the fuel from (238U + 235U)O2 to (232Th + 235U)O2 results in a 12% increase in the fuel burnup and no change in fuel campaign. While the transition from (238U + 235U)O2 to (232Th + 233U)O2 leads to a 32.4% increase in the fuel campaign and 45.6% increase in the fuel burnup. It has also been shown that the optimal fuel element diameter is 7.9 mm for (232Th + 233U)O2 dispersed fuel. At this diameter, it is possible to increase the duration of the fuel campaign by 85.3% and achieve a fuel burnup of 51.9% in comparison to the design fuel diameter of 6.9 mm for (238U + 235U)O2 dispersed fuel.