ABB Turbo Advanced Fuel For Application in System 80 Family of Plants

Abstract

ABB Combustion Engineering Nuclear Operations (ABB CE) has developed an AdvancedFuel Design, tailored to the Combustion Engineering, Inc. (CE) Nuclear Steam SupplySystem (NSSS) environment. This Advanced Fuel Design called TurboTM features a fullcomplement of innovative components, including GUARDIANTM debris-resistant spacergrids, TurboTM Zircaloy mixing grids to increase thermal margin and grid-to-rod frettingresistance, value-added fuel pellets to increase fuel loading, advanced cladding to increaseachievable burnup, and axial blankets and Erbium integral burnable absorbers forimproving fuel cycle economics.This paper summarizes the TurboTM Fuel Design and its application to a System 80âfamily type plant. Benefits in fuel reliability, thermal margin, improved fuel cycleeconomics and burnup capability are compared relative to the current ABB CE standardfuel design. The fuel management design and the associated thermal margin are alsoevaluated.