|
|
Development of TRU Transmuters for Nuclear Fuel Cycle Optimization |
John C. Lee, Jeffrey C. Davis, and Reuben T. Sorensen
University of Michigan
We present progresses made in a Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) project aimed at developing advanced fuel cycles for transmuting transuranic (TRU) material from light water reactor (LWR) spent fuel or weapons-grade plutonium.
The first part of our poster covers thorium-based fuel cycles synergistically combining LWRs and sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs). By eliminating the production of new plutonium, a thorium-based mixed-oxide (TMOX) design results in significant destruction of plutonium (95% depletion of 239Pu, 70% of total Pu) in once-through pressurized water reactor (PWR) operation. Recycling the discharged TMOX fuel in a SFR transmuter would successfully transmute the remaining TRUs including Am, Np, and Cm.
We then present a new fuel cycle optimization algorithm, based on calculus of variations. The algorithm systematically and efficiently generates, for a PWR core, an optimal fuel loading pattern and optimal burnable absorber distribution for various objective functions, including the maximization of plutonium depletion over a cycle.
The optimization methodology accounts rigorously for system constraints, and the combined solution of the forward system equations and the adjoint Euler-Lagrangian equations converges in a few iterations. We discuss successful verification of the optimization algorithm for PWR fuel cycles, together with ongoing development for SFR fuel cycle optimization.
Contact
John C. Lee
Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2104
jcl@umich.edu