Publikationsrepositorium - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

This paper presents the development of a high conversion Th-U233 fuel cycle that is considered for current generation of Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs). The proposed core design consists of 193 typical 17x17 PWR fuel assemblies. Each fuel assembly is subdivided into two regions designated as seed and blanket. The central seed region, which has high U233 content, serves as a neutron supplier for the peripheral blanket region. The blanket region, which consists mostly of Th232, acts as a U233 breeder. The pins dimensions and U233 content in each region were optimized to achieve maximal fissile inventory ratio (FIR) at discharge, taking into account the target fuel cycle length of 12 months and 3-batch reloading scheme. In this study, 3D core model of a high conversion Th-U233 PWR core is developed and analyzed in order to assess the fuel cycle performance and evaluate maximum achievable power density level of the proposed design.