Reactivity control of a PWR 19x19 uranium silicide fuel assembly

Burns, Joseph R.

Title:

Reactivity control of a PWR 19x19 uranium silicide fuel assembly

dc.contributor.advisor	Petrovic, Bojan
dc.contributor.author	Burns, Joseph R.
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Ferroni, Paolo
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Stacey, Weston M.
dc.contributor.department	Mechanical Engineering
dc.date.accessioned	2015-09-21T14:28:02Z
dc.date.available	2015-09-21T14:28:02Z
dc.date.created	2015-08
dc.date.issued	2015-07-28
dc.date.submitted	August 2015
dc.date.updated	2015-09-21T14:28:02Z
dc.description.abstract	The Integral Inherently Safe Light Water Reactor (I2S-LWR) is a novel reactor concept which aims to apply safety-promoting features typical of small modular reactors (SMRs) to a large pressurized water reactor (PWR) of 3000 MWt, thus providing an option for a passively safe reactor to markets which would find greater economic benefit in a large reactor. Pushing the compact core of an integral reactor to 3000 MWt necessitates several design innovations to remain within safety margins while meeting the goal of increased power density. The I2S-LWR fuel assembly takes on a 19x19 lattice with reduced fuel rod dimensions relative to traditional Westinghouse-type 17x17 PWR fuel assemblies. It is anticipated that the I2S-LWR will eventually employ uranium silicide (U3Si2) fuel instead of uranium oxide (UO2) to improve thermal performance. These unique design features are closely tied to the I2S-LWR core neutronics, thereby necessitating a thorough investigation of reactivity control options. This thesis considers the design of both control rods and burnable absorbers on the basis of the I2S-LWR uranium silicide fuel assembly. Fuel assembly designs are considered with various control rod arrangements and burnable absorber layouts with several candidate absorber materials and concentrations. Viable fuel assembly designs must meet targets for reactivity and power peaking while satisfying constraints on core safety and cycle length. Designs are developed in a heuristic manner, and key performance metrics are processed at each iteration. Characteristics of common optimization algorithms are mimicked at a high level so as to guide the progression of design iterations. The optimized fuel assembly designs produced in this way are recommended for use in core loading pattern design.
dc.description.degree	M.S.
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1853/53975
dc.language.iso	en_US
dc.publisher	Georgia Institute of Technology
dc.subject	Reactivity control
dc.subject	Uranium silicide
dc.title	Reactivity control of a PWR 19x19 uranium silicide fuel assembly
dc.type	Text
dc.type.genre	Thesis
dspace.entity.type	Publication
local.contributor.advisor	Petrovic, Bojan
local.contributor.corporatename	George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename	College of Engineering
relation.isAdvisorOfPublication	0f37df6e-3498-4ce4-96d4-6df34e533f87
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	c01ff908-c25f-439b-bf10-a074ed886bb7
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication	7c022d60-21d5-497c-b552-95e489a06569
thesis.degree.level	Masters