[3L11-13] Breed-and Burn Fast Reactor

[3L11] Feasibility of silicide fueled RFBB using lead coolant

*Xiaoqing Huang¹, Toru Obara¹ (1. Tokyo Tech)

Keywords:RFBB, Breed-and-Burn fast reactor, Rotational fuel shuffling, Lead coolant, Silicide fuel

Interest in uranium silicide fuel (U3Si2) has grown recently due to its high uranium density and a distinct manufacturing process that eliminates the need for complex enrichment, as required for nitride fuel. Lead coolant also offers several potential advantages compared to sodium coolant, including better neutron economy, a higher boiling temperature and chemical nonreactivity. This study aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a Rotational Fuel-shuffling Breed-and-Burn fast reactor (RFBB) with U3Si2 fuel and lead coolant. By a comprehensive neutronic and thermal-hydraulic analysis, it has been investigated the criticality and heat removal performance of the reactor. The results collectively confirm the feasibility of RFBB employing uranium silicide fuel and lead coolant as a viable and promising option for advanced nuclear reactor.