MOX fuel performance and database development for MOX fuel use in LWRs

Ozawa, Takayuki; Ikusawa, Yoshihisa

Proceedings of 2010 LWR Fuel Performance Meeting/TopFuel/WRFPM (CD-ROM), p.72 - 81, 2010/09

For the effective utilization of the energy resources, preparations are underway to recycle plutonium separated by reprocessing the spent fuels from nuclear power plants into nuclear fuels in Light Water Reactors (LWRs). In this nuclear fuel cycle, plutonium is reused as uranium-plutonium mixed dioxide (MOX). In Japan, a total of 772 MOX fuel assemblies were used in FUGEN without any failure until the end of its operation in March, 2003, the most MOX fuel usage by a thermal reactor in the world. Several post-irradiation examinations necessary to evaluate the MOX fuel performance were carried out for the MOX fuel assembly irradiated in FUGEN, and consequently we could obtain the usable data to evaluate the irradiation behavior of MOX fuels. Furthermore, several MOX fuel assemblies, which were equipped in-pile instruments, used in the irradiation tests, i.e. the regular operation irradiation tests, the ramp tests, and the load-follow tests, in Norway's "Halden" reactor (HBWR). We developed a MOX fuel database to make the most of our experiences with FUGEN and HBWR in helping improve the reliability of future MOX fuel use in LWRs.