• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2022

In this research, curium oxide (CmO₂) is studied as fuel for VVER-1200 reactor to get an attention to its energy value and possibilities. For this purpose, CmO₂ is used in fuel rods or integrated burnable absorber (IBA) rods with and without UO₂ and then compared with the conventional fuel assembly of VVER-1200 reactor. It is burned to 60 GWd/t by using SRAC-2006 code and JENDL-4.0 data library. From these studies, it is found that CmO₂ is competent like UO₂ as a fuel due to higher fission cross-section of ²⁴³Cm and ²⁴⁵Cm isotopes and neutron capture cross-section of ²⁴⁴Cm and ²⁴⁶Cm isotopes. As a result, when some or all of the UO₂ of fuel rods or IBA rods are replaced by CmO₂, we get a similar k-inf like the reference even with lower enrichment UO₂ fuels. These studies show that the use of CmO₂ as IBA rods is more effective than the fuel rods considering the initially loaded amount, power peaking factor (PPF), fuel temperature and void coefficient, and the quality of spent fuel. From a detailed study, 3% CmO₂ with inert material ZrO₂ in IBA rods are recommended for the VVER-1200 reactor assembly from the once through concept.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.1073-1078
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• 2009

A kinetic model for the oxidation of a $UO_2$ pellet to $U_3O_8$ powder has been suggested by considering the mass transfer and the diffusion of oxygen molecules. The kinetic parameters were estimated by a fitting of the experimental data. The activation energies for the chemical reaction and the product layer diffusion were calculated from the kinetic model. The oxidation conversion of a $UO_2$ pellet was simulated at various operating conditions. The suggested model explains the oxidation behavior of $UO_2$ well.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.167-179
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• 2024

This study explores the feasibility of employing (U, Th)-based accident tolerant fuels (ATFs), specifically (_0.8UO₂, _0.2ThO₂), (_0.8UN, _0.2ThN), and (_0.8UC, _0.2ThC). The investigation assesses the overall performance of these proposed fuel materials in comparison to the conventional UO₂, focusing on deep neutronic and thermal-hydraulic (Th) analyses. Neutronic analysis utilized the MCNPX code, while COMSOL Multiphysics was employed for thermal-hydraulic analysis. The primary objective of this research is to overcome the limitations associated with traditional UO₂ fuel by exploring alternative fuel materials that offer advantages in terms of abundance and potential improvements in performance and safety. Given the limited abundance of UO₂, long-term sustainable nuclear energy production faces challenges. From a neutronic standpoint, the U-Th based fuels demonstrated remarkable fuel cycle lengths, except (_0.8UN, _0.2ThN), which exhibited the minimum fuel cycle length and, consequently, the lowest fuel burn-up. Regarding thermal-hydraulic performance, (_0.8UN, _0.2ThN) exhibited outstanding performance with significant margins against fuel melting compared to the other materials. Overall, when considering the integrated performance, the most favourable results were obtained with the use of the (_0.8UC, _0.2ThC) fuel configurations. This study contributes valuable insights into the potential benefits of (U, Th)-based ATFs as a promising avenue for enhanced nuclear fuel performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.10
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• pp.3860-3865
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• 2023

A metallic microcell UO₂ pellet has a microstructure where a metal wall is connected to overcome the low thermal conductivity of the UO₂ fuel pellet. It has been verified that metallic microcell fuel pellets provide an impressive reduction of the fuel centerline temperature through a Halden irradiation test. However, it is difficult to predict the effective thermal conductivity of these pellets and researchers have had to rely on measurement and use of the finite element method. In this study, we designed a unit microcell model using a thermal resistance circuit to calculate the effective thermal conductivity on the basis of the microstructure characteristics by using the aspect ratio and compared the results with those of reported metallic UO₂ microcell pellets. In particular, using the thermal conductivity calculated by our model, the fuel centerline temperature of Cr microcell pellets on the 5th day of the Halden irradiation test was predicted within 6% error from the measured value.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.588-592
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• 2004

Effect of the UO$_2$ powder characteristic changes by dynamic milling method on the density was investigated. particle size decreased and its shape was changed from irregular to round form with increasing milling time (0∼8 h), while its specific surface area and O/U ratio increased. It was shown that the sintered density decreased, while green density increased with these powder characteristic changes. It could be considered that this decrement was affected by increased O/U ratio of the UO$_2$ powder during dynamic milling.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.119-125
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• 2020

One of the promising candidates for accident-tolerant fuel (ATF), a ceramic microcell fuel, which can be distinguished by an unusual cell-like microstructure (UO₂ grain cell surrounded by a doped oxide cell wall), is being developed. This study deals with the microstructural observation of the constituent phases and the wetting behaviors of the cell wall materials in three kinds of ceramic microcell UO₂ pellets: Si-Ti-O (STO), Si-Cr-O (SCO), and Al-Si-Ti-O (ASTO). The chemical and physical states of the cell wall materials are estimated by HSC Chemistry and confirmed by experiment to be mixtures of Si-O and Ti-O for the STO; Si-O and Cr-O for SCO; and Si-O, Ti-O, and Al-Si-O for the ASTO. From their morphology at triple junctions, UO₂ grains appear to be wet by the Si-O or Al-Si-O rather than other oxides, providing a benefit on the capture-ability of the ceramic microcell cell wall. The wetting behavior can be explained by the relationships between the interface energy and the contact angle.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.315-322
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• 2015

The research carried out on thorium-based fuels indicates that these fuels can be considered as economic alternatives with improved physical properties and proliferation resistance issues. In the current study, neutronic assessment of $UO_2$ in comparison with two $(Th-^{233}U)O_2$, and $(Th-^{235}U)O_2$ thorium-based fuel loads in a heavy water research reactor has been proposed. The obtained computational data showed both thorium-based fuels caused less negative temperature reactivity coefficients for the modeled research reactor in comparison with $UO_2$ fuel loading. By contrast, $^{235}U$-containing thorium-based fuel and $^{235}U$-containing thorium-based fuel loadings in the thermal core did not drastically reduce the effective delayed neutron fractions and delayed neutron fractions compared to $UO_2$ fuel. A provided higher conversion factor and lower transuranic production in the research core fed by the thorium-based fuels make the fuel favorable in achieving higher cycle length and less dangerous and costly nuclear disposals.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.567-572
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• 2004

The variation of the sintered density and grain size of UO$_2$ as a function of the Li$_2$O amount and sintering atmosphere was observed. Li$_2$O enhanced the grain growth of the UO$_2$ pellet in H$_2$, but rather hindered it in $CO_2$ atmosphere. Grain size of the UO$_2$ and UO$_2$-0.1 wt%Li$_2$O pellets was, respectively, 8 $\mu$m and 100 $\mu$m at 168$0^{\circ}C$ in the H$_2$ atmosphere, and that of each pellet was, respectively, 24 $\mu$m and 17 $\mu$m at the same temperature in the $CO_2$ atmosphere. As-received Li$_2$O powder, which had been composed of Li$_2$O and LiOH, was converted to the Li$_2$CO$_3$ phase after heating to 80$0^{\circ}C$ in $CO_2$. On the other hand, the Li$_2$O and LiOH phases remained unchanged in H$_2$ atmosphere. In the H$_2$, the as-received Li$_2$O powder began to evaporate at about 105$0^{\circ}C$ and then about 20 wt% residue was left at 150$0^{\circ}C$. But, most of the Li elements evaporated at 150$0^{\circ}C$ in the $CO_2$ atmosphere.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.42 no.5 s.276
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• pp.346-351
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• 2005

The linear thermal expansions of $UO_2$ and $(U_{1-y}Ce_y)O_2$ pellet were measured from room temperature to $1400^{\circ}C$ as a function of Ce contents (0, 7.63, 14.84, and $21.68 mol\%$) by using the TMA(Thermo-Mechanical Analysis) method. From the measured data, the linear thermal expansion rate, the coefficient of linear thermal expansion and density variation with temperature were calculated, and the best-fitted temperature-dependent equations were recommended. It was shown that the rate and coefficient of $(U_{1-y}Ce_y)O_2$ thermal expansion increased and the density decreased with increasing Ce contents.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.572-576
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• 2003

Open/closed porosity, pore size and its distribution and pore type as a funtion of sintered density of UO$_2$-20 wt％CeO$_2$ pellets were investigated. Pore appeared almost closed-type with the density above 96％ of the theoretical density. Bimodal pore size distribution was observed regardless of the sintered density, but the number of pore decreased with increasing the sintered density. The shape of pore was changed from irregular shape to round type with increasing the sintered density.