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Fuel Materials for Fast Reactors
Closed for proposals
Project Type
Project Code
T12031CRP
2175Approved Date
Status
Start Date
Expected End Date
Completed Date
10 August 2023Participating Countries
Description
The main purpose of a new Coordinated Research Project (CRP) is to support the fuel and cladding materials performance assessments for the sodium-cooled fast reactor technology, in accordance with the Gen-IV requirements, through enhancing the fuel performance codes. Methodologies to achieve this goal are to collect irradiation test data and build a dataset that shall be shared among the IAEA Member States (MSs) and to extend the validation basis of fuel performance phenomena.
The CRP will bring together specialists from IAEA MSs with active sodium-cooled fast reactor programmes to share their national efforts. A key topic of this new CRP is to expand the IFPE database, currently dedicated to thermal reactors, to include fast reactors (FRs). To achieve this, new datasets on prototypic commercial irradiations as well as experiments performed in research reactors will be collected from participants. Simultaneously, some experiments from these datasets will be chosen for international benchmarking exercises for FR fuel performance codes used by MSs.
Correspondingly, two focus areas for this CRP are 1) collecting irradiation test data on fuel materials, including oxide (UO2/MOX) and metallic (U/U-Pu based alloys) fuels and steel-based claddings (austenitic, ferritic-martensitic, ODS steels etc.) and 2) performing benchmarking exercises. The approach could be starting with an open literature survey on selected topics.
The subsequently approach is to reinforce/supplement the datasets with additional irradiation test data from MSs participating in this CRP. A completed dataset, as a minimum, from one fuel pin irradiation test should follow. It is the participant’s responsibilities to ensure test data will be provided in English. A template used/recommended by the OECD NEA is considered as the basis for a “complete” dataset. An overview document is recommended, as the first step, to ensure a common irradiation dataset could then be identified and agreed.
This CRP will have several benchmarking exercises, based on selected data, with clear objectives that focus on the driver fuel. Participants could subsequently express their interests (topics) of their choices.
Objectives
Effective dissemination of knowledge and expertise on sodium fast reactor fuel behaviour under irradiation conditions, by facilitating the collaboration among MSs.
Specific objectives
To bring together experts to enhance the international collaboration and save efforts by optimizing the use of data from limited number of facilities for joint benefits.
To promote sharing of data from fast neutron irradiation experiments on fuel pins and associated post-irradiation examination.
To perform simulations of these datasets, using various fuel performance codes.
To compare, analyse and share simulation results among participants, including recommendations on fuel performance codes enhancement and identification of gaps in irradiation data.
To bring together experts to enhance the international collaboration and save efforts by optimizing the use of data from limited number of facilities for joint benefits.
To promote sharing of data from fast neutron irradiation experiments on fuel pins and associated post-irradiation examination.
To perform simulations of these datasets, using various fuel performance codes.
To compare, analyse and share simulation results among participants, including recommendations on fuel performance codes enhancement and identification of gaps in irradiation data.
Impact
The specific objective and outputs of the CRP were achieved during its implementation.
The CRP (in the final stage) involved eight organizations from 6 MSs: IGCAR (India), CEA (France), CRIEPI and JAEA (Japan), KAERI (Korea), ANL and INL (United States of America), and JRC - Karlsruhe (EC), and one observer (OECD-NEA). Two Research Agreements (with the Institute of Nuclear Materials, Russian Federation, and the Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBRAE RAN, Russian Federation) terminated in 2021.
9 FR datasets were provided by CRP participants (for FR Oxide fuel: FBTR, JOYO B5D2, SANTENAY, FFTF-FO2, SUPERFACT; for FR Metal fuel: X447 DP11, METAPHIX-1#1, METAPHIX-2#1).
29 calculations results were performed using the FR datasets (FBTR, JOYO B5D2, SANTENAY, FFTF-FO2, SUPERFACT, X447 DP11, METAPHIX-1#1, METAPHIX-2#1), and various fuel performance codes (CEPTAR, GERMINAL, TRANSURANUS, CAMOX, ALFUS, MACSIS, LIFE-METAL, BISON).
The results of the CRP made an essential contribution towards the Agency Project 1.2.2.001 (Nuclear power reactor fuel engineering and operation), to support Member States in understanding and addressing the factors affecting the design, fabrication and in-pile behaviour of innovative nuclear fuels and materials for fast reactors (including SMRs).
Relevance
The importance of fast reactors and related fuel cycles in ensuring the long-term sustainability of nuclear power has been largely recognized for a long time by the nuclear community.
Fast reactors are nuclear reactors that offer several key advantages over traditional thermal reactors in terms of sustainability. When operated in a fully closed fuel cycle, fast reactors have the potential to extract 60-70 times more energy from uranium than existing thermal reactors and contribute to a significant reduction in the burden of high-level wastes.
At present, many countries are actively developing fast reactors, coolant, fuel, and fuel cycle technologies.
Presently, three fast reactors are under operation namely sodium fast reactors BN-600 and BN-800 in Russian Federation and Experimental Fast Reactor (CEFR) in China. Three fast reactors are under construction, namely the CFR-600 sodium fast reactor in China (642 MWe), the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR, 500 MWe) in India, and the first lead-cooled fast reactor BREST-OD-300 (300 MWe) in the Russian Federation.
Several demonstration projects, ranging from small to large scale, are under study, design, and construction. There are international and national efforts dedicated to developing and demonstrating suitable fuels and fuel cycles for the different fast reactor technologies. For energy systems based on fast reactors to become viable for industrial deployment, to increase the level of safety and economic competitiveness.
Within the GENERATION IV initiative, several reactors have been selected together with specific fuels, including Fast reactors: sodium fast reactor (SFR), lead or lead-bismuth fast reactor (LFR), gas fast reactor (GFR), and molten salt reactor (MSR).
There is a growing interest from MSs in the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs). Among more than 80 SMRs designs, there are several liquid metal-cooled fast small modular reactors - BREST-OD-300 (ROSATOM, Russian Federation), ARC-100 (ARC Clean Energy, Canada), 4S (Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation, Japan), MicroURANUS (UNIST, Republic of Korea), LFR-AS-200 (newcleo srl, Italy), SVBR (JSC AKME Engineering, Russian Federation), SEALER-55 (LeadCold, Sweden), Westinghouse Lead Fast Reactor (Westinghouse Electric Company, USA).
For decades the IAEA has supported Member States in various aspects to improve the reliability of fuel for nuclear power reactors. The fundamental design for a fast reactor relies on the understanding of the behaviour of a fuel. Modelling and simulation allow prediction of FR fuel behaviour when subject to neutron flux.
Nowadays there are very limited numbers of FR fuel experimental datasets, fuel behaviour codes and published benchmark exercises. The results of the CRP T12031 on "Fuel Materials for Fast Reactors " (with calculations results using the FR datasets -FBTR, JOYO B5D2, SANTENAY, FFTF-FO2, SUPERFACT, X447 DP11, METAPHIX-1#1, METAPHIX-2#1-, and various fuel performance codes), will significantly enhance MSs’ understanding of fuel and cladding materials performance assessment for the sodium-cooled fast reactor technology through improving their fuel performance codes.