MicroURANUS: Core design for long-cycle lead-bismuth-cooled fast reactor for marine applications

Abstract

A core design of MicroURANUS, a long-cycle lead-bismuth-cooled fast nuclear reactor for marine applications, is presented. It aims to generate a power of 60MW(th), which can be regulated during operation. MicroURANUS was designed to achieve a small burnup reactivity swing for 30 effective full-power years of a lifetime without refueling. To attain these goals, a unit cell study with uranium oxide fuel was initiated to lay a solid foundation for core design, owing to size constraints. A reflector optimization was also performed to minimize neutron leakage. MicroURANUS adopts onion zoning constructed by two enrichment zones for flattening the power and lengthening the core lifetime. The coolant is driven by electromagnetic pumps to achieve inlet and outlet temperatures of 250 degrees C and 350 degrees C, respectively. MicroURANUS analyses were performed using the Argonne Reactor Computation suite and the Monte Carlo code MCS. Core performance features were analyzed for criticality, power profiles, fuel isotope mass inventory, reflector coefficients, reactivity feedback coefficients, and shutdown margin. Additional thermal-hydraulic calculations were performed to confirm that the fuel and cladding temperatures were within the acceptable range. Furthermore, a load follow analysis using the quasi-static reactivity balance method confirmed the feasibility of regulating power by adjusting the inlet coolant temperature.