Transient analysis of hydride fueled pressurized water reactor cores

摘要

This thesis contributes to the hydride nuclear fuel project led by U. C. Berkeley for which MIT is to perform the thermal hydraulic and economic analyses. A parametric study has been performed to determine the optimum combination of lattice pitch, rod diameter, and channel shape-further referred to as geometry-for maximizing power given specific transient conditions for pressurized water reactors (PWR) loaded with either U02 or UZrH1.6 fuel. Several geometries have been examined with the VIPRE subchannel analysis tool along with MATLAB scripts previously developed to automate VIPRE execution. The transients investigated were a large break loss of coolant accident (LBLOCA), am overpower transient, and a complete loss of flow accident. The maximum achievable power for each geometry is defined as the highest power that can be sustained without exceeding any of the steady state or transient limits. The limits were chosen based on technical feasibility and safety of the reference core and compared with the final safely analysis report (FSAR) of the reference core, the South Texas Project Electric Generating Station (STPEGS), whenever possible. This analysis was performed for two separate pressure drop limits of 29 and 60 psia for both a square array with grid spacers and a hexagonal array with wire wraps.