Abstract
The paper considers the possibility of replacing container fuel elements of thermal reactors with uranium dioxide or mixed oxide uranium-plutonium fuel with dispersion fuel elements of high uranium density, based on a metal fuel with a matrix of zirconium alloys, demonstrated high radiation resistance in reactor tests. Such fuel can ensure an increase in the duration of a fuel element campaign and/or a decrease in enrichment, which will save natural uranium and increase the breeding ratio. In addition, the content of plutonium in the fuel element will increase by more than 2 times, which can greatly simplify the closure of the fuel cycle. The use of dispersion composite fuel for thermal and fast reactors can replace the currently existing approach, based on the use of uranium dioxide or mixed oxide uranium-plutonium fuel pellets.
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Translated from Atomnaya Energiya, Vol. 134, No. 3–4, pp. 147–153, March–April, 2023.
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Original article submitted July 14, 2022.
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Savchenko, A.M., Karpyuk, L.A., Dergunova, E.A. et al. Fuel cycles with advanced dispersion fuel elements of high uranium density. At Energy 134, 181–189 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-024-01041-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10512-024-01041-7