FAST REACTOR REFUELING EXPERIENCE

Excluding military and space reactors, approximately 20 sodium-cooled fast reactors have been built in a variety of sizes and configurations. These vary from small test reactors to the French Super-Phenix plant, which had an output of 1240 MW(e). In the United States, several fast reactors were built. These included the EBR-II and the Fast-Flux Test Facility (FFTF)—a 400-MW(t) reactor. The Clinch River Breeder Reactor Plant (CRBRP), a commercial demonstration reactor, was designed and partly built before being cancelled. These machines provide a large experience base in refueling operations (Romrell et al., 1989 Althaus and Brahy, 1987). 

The SVBR-75/100 (ANNEX XIX) is a modular multi-purpose lead-bismuth cooled fast reactor of 75 to lOOMW(e), offering a refuelling interval of 6 to 9 years. The design is backed by the experience of 50 years in design and operation of reactor installations with lead-bismuth coolant for nuclear submarines, available in the Russian Federation. Specifically, the marine prototypes of the SVBR-75/100 have achieved a total of 80-years of operating experience. 

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