Resintering Behavior of MnO-Al_2O_3-doped UO_2 Annular Pellet for Dual Cooled Fuel

摘要

For a higher burnup and extended cycle, one of therninnovative nuclear fuel concepts being developed has arnnew fuel geometry design that is of an annular sinteredrnpellet, inner and outer cladding, and a dual cooling systemrnwhich is cooled by both an internal and external coolantrn(dual cooled fuel).rnThe advantages of dual cooled fuel are considerablyrnlower surface heat flux and lower fuel temperature thanrnthose of solid fuel. While the lower heat flux gives higherrnDNB (Departure from Nucleate Boiling) margin for samernpower rate, the lower temperature reduces the storedrnenergy of fuel and cladding peak temperature. The dualrncooled fuel has promising potential to increase bothrnreactor economy and safety.