An Educational Tool for Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor Burnup Analysis

Abstract

A code developed by the authors to calculate nuclear fuel cycle parameters for Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) is presented. This paper explains how to use the code, which can calculate the average burnup (MWd/t) and fuel utilization (%) for various fuel compositions involving uranium, plutonium and thorium in a PHWR with a constant flux and online re-fueling interval. Potential benefits of alternative fuel cycles involving PHWRs and international fuel management practices are discussed.