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VVER-440 fuel cycle improvement: status and prospects

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The results of development work on the base five-year fuel cycles with second-generation cassettes and average enrichment 4.87% for NPP with VVER-440 are presented. Such power units make it possible to increase thermal power while preserving an acceptable run time and RK-2+ cassettes with an enlarged uranium load for reactor operation at elevated thermal power 107, 109, and 112%. The results of trial commercial operation of third-generation fuel in the No. 4 unit at the Kola NPP in the 23rd load are presented. Increasing fuel enrichment above 5% is a promising direction for improving the VVER-440 fuel cycle. The results of development work on a full six-year fuel cycle with some cassettes kept for the seventh year of operation, which satisfies the operating conditions at elevated thermal power using RK-2+ fuel assemblies with >5% enrichment, are presented.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Center Kurchatov Institute, Moscow, Russia

    A. A. Gagarinskiy, M. P. Lizorkin, V. N. Proselkov & E. G. Solovyeva

  2. Kola NPP, Polyarnye Zori, Russia

    V. A. Adeev

Authors
  1. A. A. Gagarinskiy
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  2. M. P. Lizorkin
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  3. V. N. Proselkov
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  4. E. G. Solovyeva
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  5. V. A. Adeev
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Translated from Atomnaya Énergiya, Vol. 114, No. 2, pp. 76–82, February, 2013.

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Gagarinskiy, A.A., Lizorkin, M.P., Proselkov, V.N. et al. VVER-440 fuel cycle improvement: status and prospects. At Energy 114, 94–101 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-013-9677-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-013-9677-z

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