Study on FBR core concepts for the LWR-to-FBR transition period

Maruyama, Shuhei   ; Kawashima, Katsuyuki; Oki, Shigeo ; Mizuno, Tomoyasu; Okubo, Tsutomu

As part of the Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development Project (FaCT), sodium-cooled fast reactor core design efforts have been made to cope with the TRU fuel composition changes expected during an LWR-to-FBR transition period. Since there are remarkable correlations between the burnup reactivity and the safety parameters such as the sodium void reactivity and the Doppler coefficient, it is possible to identify the design envelopes including any TRU compositions in the LWR-to-FBR transition period. The key core characteristics are assessed for both U-Pu core (Pu recycle scenario) and TRU core (TRU recycle scenario). As a result, general characteristics in the FaCT core design to cope with TRU composition changes are grasped.