Finding a suitable fuel type for the disposal of the accumulated minor actinides in the spent nuclear fuel in PWR

摘要

The objective of this work is to determine which of the main three fuel types (UO2, (Th,U)O2 and MOX fuel) can burn minor actinides (MAs) effectively and at the same time sustain the main operating parameters at an acceptable level. The effect of adding 1 wt % of MAs to the main three fuel types on the infinity multiplication factor (Kinf), thermal neutron flux and the actinides' concentration is investigated using MCNPX code version 2.7. The MAs can be used to regulate the excess reactivity of the reactor. The variation of the MAs concentration with burnup is studied to distinguish the fuel type that has the ability to burn a large amount of MAs. The transmutations of MAs in the pressurized water reactor (PWR) affect the level of radioactivity of the spent fuel. The main operating parameters are calculated to assess the possibility of burning MAs in the PWR. A comprehensive mathematical study of the results is performed to assess the performance of three fuel types after adding the MAs. Hence, determine the best fuel type. The mathematical study utilizes one of the known multi-criteria decisionmaking methods, the technique of order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS).