Fuel performance analysis of the micro ultra long life lead-cooled fast reactor

Abstract

The lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR) is one of the innovative reactor concepts for the Generation Ⅳ (GenⅣ) reactors. LFR uses a eutectic lead-bismuth alloy (LBE) as a coolant, and it can have an ultra-long cycle through the breeding of the nuclear fuel. Because of the low temperature operation of the nuclear fuel and the different cladding material of the micro-ultralong life LFR, it is difficult to apply the existing fuel performance codes and a new fuel performance code for the micro-ultralong LFR is required. In this study, FARPCON-KAIST-1.0 for micro-ultralong life LFR based on FARPCON-4.0 was developed by modifying the material properties of fuel, cladding and coolant, and performance models such as fission gas release and swelling. With the developed FARPCON-KAIST-1.0, the thermal and mechanical behavior of nuclear fuels was evaluated and the operational safety during the normal operation of 30 years, the entire service life of the reactor, was estimated. It is expected that the code will be used not only to this reactor, but also to the fuel performance evaluation of various micro nuclear reactors