• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.54 no.9
• /
• pp.3516-3525
• /
• 2022

The high capture cross-section (𝜎_c) of Gadolinium (Gd-155 and Gd-157) causes reactivity penalty and swing at the initial stage of fuel burnup in Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). The present study is concerned with the feasibility of the combination of mixed burnable poison with both low and high 𝜎_c as an approach to minimize these effects. Two considered reference designs are fuel assemblies with 24 IBA rods of Gd₂O₃ and Er₂O₃ respectively. Models comprise nuclear fuel with a homogeneous mixture of Er₂O₃, AmO₂, SmO₂, and HfO₂ with Gd₂O₃ as well as the coating of PaO₂ and ZrB₂ on the Gd₂O₃ pellet's outer surface. The infinite multiplication factor was determined and reactivity was calculated considering 3% neutron leakage rate. All models except Er₂O₃ and SmO₂ showed expected results namely higher values of these parameters than the reference design of Gd₂O₃ at the early burnup period. The highest value was found for the model of PaO₂ and Gd₂O₃ followed by ZrB₂ and HfO₂. The cycle burnup, discharge burnup, and cycle length for three batch refueling were calculated using Linear Reactivity Model (LRM). The pin power distribution, energy-dependent neutron flux and Fuel Temperature Coefficient (FTC) were also studied. An optimization of model 1 was carried out to investigate effects of different isotopic compositions of Gd₂O₃ and absorber coating thickness.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.6
• /
• pp.1099-1109
• /
• 2020

The performance of gadolinium burnable absorber (GdBA) for reactivity control in UO₂ and (U, Th)O₂ fuels and its impact on spent fuel characteristics was performed. Five fuel assemblies: one without GdBA fuel rod and four each containing 16, 24, 34 and 44 GdBA fuel rods in both fuels were investigated. Reactivity swing in all the FAs with GdBA rods in UO₂ fuel was higher than their counterparts with similar GdBA fuel rods in (U, Th)O₂ fuel. The excess reactivity in all FAs with (U, Th)O₂ fuel was higher than UO₂ fuel. At the end of single discharge burn-up (~ 49.64 GWd/tHM), the excess reactivity of (U, Th) O₂ fuel remained positive (16,000 pcm) while UO₂ fuel shows a negative value (-6,000 pcm), which suggest a longer discharge burn-up in (U, Th)O₂ fuel. The concentration of plutonium isotopes and minor actinides were significantly higher in UO₂ fuel than in (U, Th)O₂ fuel except for ²³⁶Np. However, the concentration of non-actinides (gadolinium and iodine isotopes) except for ¹³⁵Xe were respectively smaller in (U, Th)O₂ fuel than in UO₂ fuel but may be two times higher in (U, Th)O₂ fuel due to its potential longer discharge burn-up.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.48 no.1
• /
• pp.164-168
• /
• 2016

Lean duplex stainless steels with 0.087 wt.% gadolinium (Gd) were inert arc-melted and cast in molds of size $10mm{\times}10mm{\times}20mm$. The micro-hardnesses of the rolling direction (RD), transverse direction (TD) and short transverse (ST) direction were $258.5H_V$, $292.3H_V$, and $314.7H_V$, respectively. A 33% cold rolled specimen had the crystallographic texture that (100) pole was mainly concentrated to the normal direction (ND) and (110) pole was concentrated in the center of ND and RD. The corrosion potential and corrosion rate in artificial seawater and $0.1M\;H_2SO_4$ solution were in the range of $105.6-221.6mV_{SHE}$, $0.59-1.06mA/cm^2$, and $4.75-8.25mV_{SHE}$, $0.69-1.68mA/cm^2$, respectively. The friction coefficient and wear loss of the 0.087 w/o Gd-lean duplex stainless steels in artificial seawater were about 67% and 65% lower than in air, whereas the wear efficiency was 22% higher. The corrosion and wear behaviors of the 0.087 w/o Gd-lean duplex stainless steels significantly depended on the Gd phases.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.52 no.8
• /
• pp.1756-1763
• /
• 2020

The paper studies spark plasma sintering (SPS) of industrially used UO₂-based fuel containing integral fuel burnable absorber (IFBA) of neutrons Gd₂O₃. Densification dynamics of pristine UO₂ powder and the one added with 2 and 8 wt% of Gd₂O₃ under ultrasonication in liquid has been studied under SPS conditions at 1050, 1250, and 1450 ℃. Effect of sintering temperature on phase composition as well as on O/U stoichiometry has been investigated for UO₂ SPS ceramics. Sintering of uranium dioxide added with Gd₂O₃ yields solid solution (U,Gd)O₂, which is isostructural to UO₂. SEM with EDX and metallography were implemented to analyze the microstructure of the obtained UO₂ ceramics and composite UO₂-Gd₂O₃ one, particularly, open porosity, defects, and Gd₂O₃ distribution were studied. Microhardness, compressive strength and density were shown to reduce after addition of Gd₂O₃. Obtained results prove the hypothesis on formation of stable pores in the system of UO₂-Gd₂O₃ due to Kirkendall effect that reduces sintering efficiency. The paper expands fundamental knowledge on pros and cons of fuel fabrication with IFBA using SPS technology.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.352-362
• /
• 1991

Recent popular trends in pressurized water reactor(PWR) fuel management are to extend the cycle length and to employ the low-leakage core designs for the optimal utilization of the uranium resources. In control strategy incorporated with the fuel management, turnable absorbers are required to control the power peaking and to ensure a negative moderator temperature coefficient during reactor operation. In this study, the nuclear characteristics and the optimal allocation of gadolinium-poisoned rods within the fuel assembly are considered using KWU SAV 79 A Code Package. First, analyses are carried out to compare the nuclear characteristics of the fuel assemblies contain-ing WABA(Wet Annular Burnable Absorber) and Gadolinium burnable absorbers respectively. The analyses show that the gadolinium-bearing fuel assembly has peculiar depletion characteristics ensuing from the very large thermal neutron absorption cross section. Peculiar characteristics of gadolinium provide basis for the optimal allocation of Gd rods in fuel assembly. Second, the methodology of an optimal allocation of gadolinium-poisoned rods within the fuel assembly is developed and applied to some nuclear designs.