Conceptual Design and Analysis of a New Plate-Type Fuel Element for Flattening of Reactor Power Distribution

Abstract

Owing to its favorable thermal conductivity and fuel performance, the plate-type fuel element has found extensive utilization in research reactors. Nonetheless, hazardous flux peaks can arise at the circumferential ends of fuel elements with uniformly distributed high uranium density fuel. To flatten the power distribution, we have introduced a novel conceptual design for U3Si2-Al plate-type fuel elements. The principal feature of our design involves a non-uniform distribution of uranium content within the elements, guided by the analysis of reactor physics. This paper outlines the essential fabrication process of fuel elements. Additionally, we employed the Monte Carlo program to juxtapose the novel design models against the uniformly distributed models. The computational results substantiate our conclusion. Simultaneously, we also explore the possibility of incorporating a poison filler at the fuel section's end. The flattening effect observed across all types of fuel elements in our study is noteworthy, offering an appealing design alternative

Keywords: Plate-type fuel element, RMC code, stochastic medium, power flattening, research reactor