Cuboid CANDU Reactor: Technical & Economic Advantages

Abstract

The collective understanding in designing nuclear reactors is that the cylindrical shape of the reactor core is the optimal configuration for both mechanical engineering requirements and fuel burnup optimization. For high-pressure systems, like PWRs and BWRs, only cylindrical pressure vessels can contain the high operating pressure of these reactors. However, for reactors with a calandria vessel at close to atmospheric pressure, we will demonstrate that cuboid geometry is the optimal configuration for reactor power output and fuel burnup. Furthermore, the cuboid configuration has safety, engineering, and operational advantages that render cuboid reactors superior to cylindrical ones. This is especially true for CANDU reactors.

This paper will outline these improvements using a CANDU reactor MCNP calculations. It will demonstrate that cuboid CANDUs will result in higher fuel burnup and higher power output. It will also discuss the safety improvements such as the increase in reactivity-rod worth, superior reactor controllability, and improvement in the instrumentation and control of the reactor.