Investigation into rationalization of low DF pellet fuel fabrication plant configuration Additional Vol. - Study on characteristics evaluation of low DF fuel fabrication systems -

Maekawa, Kazuhiko*; Yoshimura, Tadahiro*; Hoshino, Yasushi*; Munekata, Hideki*; Tamaki, Yoshihisa*

In feasibility studies on commercialized FBR cycle system, a comprehensive system investigation and properties evaluation for candidate FBR cycle systems has been implemented through view point of safety, economics, environmental burden reduction, non-proliferation resistively, etc. As part of these studies, an investigation into rationalization of low decontamination pellet fuel fabrication plant configuration, and a study on characteristics evaluation techniques which focused on plant operating rate and waste generation was conducted. Until last fiscal year, a characteristics evaluation simulator which calculates plant operating rate and waste generation by input failure frequency data and periodic replacement data of every equipment or component was developed, and characteristics comparison between multiple fuel fabrication systems was done by applying it. Character of each fuel fabrication system, concerning system stability represented by waste generation, was shown and challenges in characteristics evaluation were made clear. In this fiscal year, programs of the simulator were modified to reflect plant designs correctly by describing campaign operation and batch treatment in the plant in order to make more quantitative calculation possible. On the other hand, in response to the challenges in the characteristics evaluation of last fiscal year, the system properties data based on a certain standard were acquired in conceptual design study and database were created with view of inter-system comparison. As the results of comparison between pellet system and sphere-pac system using simulator, it was suggested that system stability of pellet system is higher than sphere-pac system, and pellet system is also better in environmental burden reduction, because waste generation of sphere-pac system is apparently larger than pellet system.