• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.391-400
• /
• 1999

A conceptual core design of the 1,300MWe KNGR (Korean Next Generation Reactor) without using soluble boron for reactivity control was developed to determine whether it is technically feasible to implement SBF (Soluble Boron Free) operation. Based on the borated KNGR core design, the fuel assembly and control rod configuration were modified for extensive use of burnable poison rods and control rods. A new fuel rod, in which Pu-238 had been substituted for a small amount of U-238 in fuel composition, was introduced to assist the reactivity control by burnable poison rods. Since Pu-238 has a considerably large thermal neutron capture cross section, the new fuel assembly showed good reactivity suppression capability throughout the entire cycle turnup, especially at BOC (Beginning of Cycle). Moreover, relatively uniform control of power distribution was possible since the new fuel assemblies were loaded throughout the core. In this study, core excess reactivity was limited to 2.0 %$\delta$$\rho$ for the minimal use of control rods. The analysis results of the SBF KNGR core showed that axial power distribution control can be achieved by using the simplest zoning scheme of the fuel assembly Furthermore, the sufficient shutdown margin and the stability against axial xenon oscillations were secured in this SBF core. It is, therefore, concluded that a SBF operation is technically feasible for a large sized LWR (Light Water Reactor).

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.51 no.2
• /
• pp.369-376
• /
• 2019

A complete solution for a soluble-boron-free (SBF) small modular reactor (SMR) is pursued with a new burnable absorber concept, namely centrally-shielded burnable absorber (CSBA). Neutronic flexibility of the CSBA design has been discussed with fuel assembly (FA) analyses. Major design parameters and goals of the SBF SMR are discussed in view of the reactor core design and three CSBA designs are introduced to achieve both a very low burnup reactivity swing (BRS) and minimal residual reactivity of the CSBA. It is demonstrated that the core achieves a long cycle length (~37 months) and high burnup (~30 GWd/tU), while the BRS is only about 1100 pcm and the radial power distribution is rather flat. This research also introduces a supplementary reactivity control mechanism using stainless steel as mechanical shim (MS) rod to obtain the criticality during normal operation. A further analysis is performed to investigate the local power peaking of the CSBA-loaded FA at MS-rodded condition. Moreover, a simple $B_4C$-based control rod arrangement is proposed to assure a sufficient shutdown margin even at the cold-zero-power condition. All calculations in this neutronic-thermal hydraulic coupled investigation of the 3D SBF SMR core are completed by a two-step Monte Carlo-diffusion hybrid methodology.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.342-352
• /
• 1998

A nuclear design feasibility of soluble boron free(SBF core for the medium-sized(600MWe) PWR was investigated. The result conformed that soluble boron free operation could be performed by using current PWR proven technologies. Westinghouse advanced reactor, AP-600 was chosen as a design prototype. Design modification was applied for the assembly design with burnable poison and control rod absorber material. In order to control excess reactivity, large amount of gadolinia integral burnable poison rods were used and B4C was used as a control rod absorber material. For control of bottom shift axial power shape due to high temperature feedback in SBF core, axial zoning of burnable poison was applied to the fuel assemblies design. The combination of enrichment and rod number zoning for burnable poison could make an excess reactivity swing flat within around 1% and these also led effective control on axial power offset and peak pin power, The safety assessment of the designed core was peformed by the calculation of MTC, FTC and shutdown margin. MTC in designed SBF core was greater around 6 times than one of Ulchin unit 3&4. Utilization of enriched BIO(up to 50w1o) in B4C shutdown control rods provided enough shutdown margin as well as subcriticality at cold refueling condition.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.330-338
• /
• 2023

In this study, impacts of an enhanced-moderation Fuel Assembly (FA) named Truly Optimized PWR (TOP) lattice, which is modified based on the standard 17 × 17 PWR FA, are investigated in a natural circulation Soluble-Boron-Free (SBF) Small Modular Reactor (SMR). Two different TOP lattice designs are considered for the analysis; one is with 1.26 cm pin pitch and 0.38 cm fuel pellet radius, and the other is with 1.40 cm pin pitch and 0.41 cm fuel pellet radius. The NuScale core design is utilized as the base model and assumed to be successfully converted to an SBF core. The analysis is performed following the primary coolant circulation loop, and the reactor is modelled as a single channel for thermal-hydraulic analyses. It is assumed that the ratio of the core pressure drop to the total system pressure drop is around 0.3. The results showed that the reactor power could be increased by 2.5% and 9.8% utilizing 1.26/0.38 cm and 1.40/0.41 cm TOP designs, respectively, under the identical coolant inlet and outlet temperatures as the constraints.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.8
• /
• pp.3144-3154
• /
• 2024

The development of soluble boron-free (SBF) operation in the innovative Small Modular Reactor (i-SMR) requires effective strategies for managing excess reactivity over extended operational cycles. This paper introduces a practical approach to reactor core design for SBF operation in i-SMR, emphasizing the use of gadolinia burnable absorbers (BA). The study investigates the feasibility of Highly Intensive and Discrete Gadolinia/Alumina Burnable Absorber (HIGA) rods for controlling excess reactivity sustainably. Through comprehensive analysis and simulations, the reactivity behavior with varying quantities of HIGA rods is examined, leading to the development of optimized fuel assembly designs. Furthermore, the integration of HIGA rods with integral gadolinia BA rods is discussed to enhance reactivity control and operational flexibility further. This approach utilizes the spatial self-shielding effect of gadolinia for extended reactivity management, crucial for stable and efficient reactor performance. The paper thoroughly addresses core design considerations, including fuel assembly configurations and control rod patterns, to ensure safety and performance in initial and reload cycles. This research advances the development of SBF operation in i-SMR by offering practical reactivity management solutions.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.12
• /
• pp.2699-2708
• /
• 2020

Helical-coil steam generator (HCSG) technology is a major design candidate for small modular reactors due to its compactness and capability to produce superheated steam with high generation efficiency. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of the passively autonomous power maneuvering by coupling the 3-D transient multi-physics of a soluble-boron-free (SBF) core with a time-dependent HCSG model. The predictor corrector quasi-static method was used to reduce the cost of the transient 3-D neutronic solution. In the numerical system simulations, the feedwater flow rate to the secondary of the HCSGs is adjusted to extract the demanded power from the primary loop. This varies the coolant temperature at the inlet of the SBF core, which governs the passively autonomous power maneuvering due to the strongly negative coolant reactivity feedback. Here, we simulate a 100-50-100 load-follow operation with a 5%/minute power ramping speed to investigate the feasibility of the passively autonomous load-follow in a 450 MW_th SBF PWR. In addition, the passively autonomous frequency control operation is investigated. The various system models are coupled, and they are solved by an in-house Fortran-95 code. The results of this work demonstrate constant steam temperature in the secondary side and limited variation of the primary coolant temperature. Meanwhile, the variations of the core axial shape index and the core power peaking are sufficiently small.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.907-915
• /
• 2024

Various core designs with multi-batch fuel management (FM) are proposed and optimized for an innovative small modular reactor (iSMR), focusing on enhancing the inherent safety and neutronic performance. To achieve soluble-boron-free (SBF) operation, cylindrical centrally-shielded burnable absorbers (CSBAs) are utilized, reducing the burnup reactivity swing in both two- and three-batch FMs. All 69 fuel assemblies (FAs) are loaded with 2-cylindrical CSBA. Furthermore, the neutron economy is improved by deploying a truly-optimized PWR (TOP) lattice with a smaller fuel radius, optimized for neutron moderation under the SBF condition. The fuel shuffling and CSBA loading patterns are proposed for both 2- and 3-batch FM with the aim to lower the core leakage and achieve favorable power profiles. Numerical results show that both FM configurations achieve a small reactivity swing of about 1000 pcm and the power distributions are within the design criteria. The average discharge burnup in the two-batch core is comparable to three-batch commercial PWR like APR-1400. The proposed checker-board CR pattern with extended fingers effectively assures cold shutdown in the two-batch FM scenario, while in the three-batch FM, three N-1 scenarios are failed. The whole evaluation process is conducted using Monte Carlo Serpent 2 code in conjunction with ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear library.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.56 no.7
• /
• pp.2756-2766
• /
• 2024

Small rod-controlled pressurized water reactors (PWR) are the ideal energy source for vessel propulsion, benefiting from their high reactivity control efficiency. Since the control rods (CRs) increase the complexity of reactivity control, this paper seeks to study the performance of CRs in small rod-controlled PWRs to extend the lifetime and reduce power offset due to CRs. This study investigates CR grouping, move-in/out strategies, and axially non-uniform design effects on core neutron physics metrics. These metrics include axial offset (AO), core lifetime (CL), fuel utilization (FU), and radial power peaking factor (R-PPF). To simulate the movement of the CRs, a "Critical-CR-burnup" function was developed in OpenMC. In CR designs, the CRs are grouped into three banks to study the simultaneous and prioritized move-in/out strategies. The results show CL extension from 590 effective full power days (EFPDs) to 638-698 EFPDs. A lower-worth prioritized strategy minimizes AO and the extremum values decrease from -0.69 and + 0.81 to -0.28 and + 0.51. Although an axially non-uniform CR design can improve AO at the beginning of cycle (BOC), considering the overall CR worth change is crucial, as a significant decrease can adversely impact axial power distribution during the middle of cycle (MOC).