NEW GENERATION OF MICROFUEL-BASED FUEL ELEMENTS FOR VVER REACTORS

摘要

The results of development work on a new generation of fuel elements based on microfuel for VVER reactors using the basic data from post-reactor investigations and bench tests in experiments simulating LOCAfor existing fuel elements with ceramic fuel are presented. It is shown that cermet fuel elements will make it possible to realize most fully the advantages of such fuel, specifically, to develop a sealed first loop and to simplify and reduce the cost of safety, automatic control, radiation protection, coolant puification, and other systems. For example, cermet fuel elements in VVER-1500 reactors can improve safety under various operating conditions, maneuverability, vibrational strength, fuel assembly lifetime, and geometric stability of fuel elements.