• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권9호
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• pp.3516-3525
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• 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
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• 제52권6호
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• pp.1099-1109
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• 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
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• 제48권1호
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• pp.164-168
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• 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
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• 제52권8호
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• pp.1756-1763
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• 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
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• 제23권3호
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• pp.352-362
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• 1991

가압 경수로의 노심 설계에 있어서 제한된 우라늄 자원의 효율적인 이용을 위한 다양한 방안으로 장주기 운전, 고연소도 및 저누출 장전 모형 통을 강구하고 있는 추세이다. 이러한 노심들은 원자로 운전 주기 전반에 걸친 공간적 출력 분포 제어와 잉여 반응도 제어를 위해 가연성 독물질을 사용하고 있다. 이와 관련하여 가연성 독물질 관리의 최적화 연구가 다각도로 진행되고 있다. 본 연구에서는 1990년도부터 국내 가압 경수로에 국산 핵연료가 장전되기 시작하면서 가도리니아 독봉을 사용하고 있으며 장차 주된 가연성 독물질로 쓰일 예정이므로 이에 대해서 분석을 수행하였다. 분석 결과 가도리니아 독봉은 열중성자 흡수 단면적이 매우 큰데서 기인한 특이한 연소 특성을 보이고 있다. 특히 집합체 내에서의 가도리니아 독봉의 위치에 따라 매우 다양한 출력 분포를 보이고 있다. 이러한 다양한 출력 분포 중에서 노심의 반경 방향 첨두 출력을 가능한 낮게하는 집합체 내에서의 가도리니아봉 위치 최적 선정을 위한 방법론을 제시하였다.