Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Design optimization of cylindrical burnable absorber inserted into annular fuel pellets for soluble-boron-free SMR

  • Jo, YuGwon (Core and Fuel Analysis Group, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. Central Research Institute (KHNP CRI)) ;
  • Shin, Ho Cheol (Core and Fuel Analysis Group, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. Central Research Institute (KHNP CRI))
  • Received : 2021.07.09
  • Accepted : 2021.09.30
  • Published : 2022.04.25
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Abstract

This paper presents a high performance burnable absorber named as CIMBA (Cylindrically Inserted and Mechanically Separated Burnable Absorber) for the soluble-boron-free SMR. The CIMBA is the cylindrical gadolinia inserted into the annular fuel pellets. Although the CIMBA utilizes the spatial self-shielding effect of the fuel material, a large reactivity upswing occurs when the gadolinia is depleted. To minimize the reactivity swing of the CIMBA-loaded FA, two approaches were investigated. One is controlling the spatial self-shielding effect of the CIMBA as burnup proceeds by a multi-layered structure of the CIMBA (ML-CIMBA) and the other is the mixed-loading of two different types of CIMBA (MIX-CIMBA). Both approaches show promising performances to minimize the reactivity swing, where the MIX-CIMBA is more preferable due to its simpler fabrication process. In conclusion, the MIX-CIMBA is expected to accelerate the commercialization of the CIMBA and can be used to achieve an optimal soluble-boron-free SMR core design.

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