Core performance requirements and design conditions for next-generation sodium-cooled fast reactor in Japan

我が国の次世代ナトリウム冷却高速炉の炉心性能要求及び設計条件

大木 繁夫 ; 丸山 修平   ; 近澤 佳隆  ; 大滝 明 ; 久保 重信 ; 日比 宏基*; 菅 太郎*

Oki, Shigeo; Maruyama, Shuhei; Chikazawa, Yoshitaka; Ohtaki, Akira; Kubo, Shigenobu; Hibi, Koki*; Kan, Taro*

A conceptual design study on a next-generation sodium-cooled fast reactor was conducted in Japan. This paper describes a recent review and modification of core performance requirements and design conditions for the demonstration and the commercial phases. We have highlighted the fuel composition (i.e., heavy metal nuclide composition). The fuel composition for next-generation fast reactors has a wide range depending on a variety of spent fuels used in light water reactors and the methods of recycling them in a fast reactor fuel cycle. The design envelopes of fuel composition were determined by using a remarkable correlation between fuel composition and core characteristics. The consistency of those design envelopes was checked by comparing them with the results of representative fast reactor deployment scenario simulations. Moreover, reflecting the realistic situation that a fast reactor core accepts various fuel compositions in the design envelope simultaneously, the design procedure of multiple fuel-composition loading was introduced. This paper describes the fundamental consideration of its effects, and the accompanying paper describes its practical application to core design. The design conditions and procedures concerning fuel composition variety facilitate sophisticated core design for next-generation sodium-cooled fast reactors.