MOX fuel utilization in ATR

not registered; not registered

ATR, a heavy-water moderated boiling-light-water cooled reactor developed in Japan, is a unique reactor with out-standing flexibility regarding nuclear fuel utilization, because it has superior properties concerning the utilization of plutonium, recovered uranium and depleted uranium. The development of this type of reactor is expected to contribute both to the stable supply of energy and to the establishment of plutonium utilization in Japan. Much effort has been and will be made on the development of Plutonium utilization technology in ATR. which is supported by the experience of MOX fuel utilization in the Fugen and by following R&D. (1)Clarifying characteristics of MOX fueled core on reactor physics and thermohydraulics, especially on reactor physics. (2)Clarifying MOX fuel performance. (3)Development of design, fabrication and inspection of MOX fuel. Fugen, which is the prototype reactor of 165 MWe output using plutonium uranium mixed-oxide(MOX) fuel, has been in commercial operation since March 1979, achieving about 60% of average load factor in more than eight years. The potential of MOX fuel has been demonstrated successfully by the operation of the Fugen. A total of 334 MOX and 342 UO fuel assemblies were loaded into the core during ten refuelling times. The maximum burn-up of fuel has reached 18,500 MWd/t and no fuel has failed.