Comparative Study of UO2 and (Th,U-233)O2 Performance in Small Long-Life PWR Fuel Cell

Authors

  • Mardiana Napirah Department of Physics Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Halu Oleo, Jl. H.E.A. Mokodompit No. 1, Kendari, 93232, Indonesia, Indonesia
  • Zaki Su'ud Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesha No. 10, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25077/jif.15.1.1-12.2023

Keywords:

Thorium Fuel, Uranium Fuel, Pressurized Water Reactor, Small long-life reactor, Fuel Cell

Abstract

A study was performed comparing the performance of UO2 and (Th,U-233)O2 fuel in small long-life PWR. The neutronic calculation carried out by PIJ module of SRAC2006 was done to a fuel cell in 10 years of operation. The calculation was conducted by varying the enrichment of U-235 in UO2 and U-233 in (Th,U-233)O2 for 1% - 20% and also by varying the fuel volume fraction for 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, and 60%. The performance was observed by comparing the enrichment needed by each fuel type to gain criticality in 10 years, the infinite multiplication factor (k-inf) value, and the conversion ratio (CR) value. The calculation results showed that 60% fuel volume fraction gave critical conditions with the lowest infinite multiplication factor and highest conversion ratio for both fuel types. While in terms of fissile nuclide enrichment needed, (Th,U-233)O2 had better performance than UO2, because only 5% U-233 was needed in (Th,U-233)O2 while UO2 needed 9% U-235 to gain criticality in 10 years of operation.

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Published

2022-10-22

How to Cite

Napirah, M., & Su'ud, Z. (2022). Comparative Study of UO2 and (Th,U-233)O2 Performance in Small Long-Life PWR Fuel Cell. JURNAL ILMU FISIKA | UNIVERSITAS ANDALAS, 15(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.25077/jif.15.1.1-12.2023

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2023): March 2023

Section

Research Article

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