Development and Thermalhydraulic Calculations of a SCWR 64-element Fuel Bundle

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to design a new fuel bundle for use in a generic pressure-channel SCWR with UO₂ fuel, so that the fuel channel materials, i.e., sheath and fuel, will operate below accepted temperature limits.  This was achieved by modifying the flow geometry of a 43-element bundle by increasing a number of fuel elements and by decreasing their outer diameter.  The proposed 64-element fuel bundle consists of 63 fuelled elements with an outer diameter of 9.1 mm, and a central element with an outer diameter of 20 mm, which is filled with the burnable poison.