Fuel for high plutonium burning

The possible options for the fast reactor systems are v y wide in particular, they can work as breeders or burners. Extensive study of fast reactor cores which can efficiently bum excess plutonium and/or minor actinides, has been continued in France [7.71,7.72, 7.78], Russia [7.73, 7.75, 7.80, 7.84], Japan [7.74] in order to demonstrate the flexibility of the utilization of actinides in fast reactors. The studes are mainly focused around two types of fuels for burner reactors  

The study covers the technological aspects, irradiation behavior and reprocessing potential of new fuels. 

MOXfuel with high Pu content The plutonium content of the MOX fuel now in use in fast reactors is 20-25%. With a maximum of 45% Pu content, oxide appears to be compatible with the existing fuel cycle technology. Very limited experimental data on the irradiation behavior of MOX fuel with high Pu content are available in the literature  

IFOP experiment in SILOE [7.72, 7.77] one fuel pin with MOX fuel (45% Pu, 0/M=2.) was irradiated for 70 days at a maximum linear power 46 kW/m. The fuel had an enlarged central pellet hole (the ratio of inner to outer pellet radius was 2.0). The aim was to evaluate the aspects of irradiation behavior at the beginning of life (BOL) 

PROFI experiment in the Rapsodie reactor [7.71]. sbc fuel pins with solid pellets (76% density) were irradiated for 518 efpd to a bumup of 12.8 %. The main PIE results were that redistribution of the Pu(there was 85% Pu enrichment near the central hole), and that there were no defects in the cladding. 

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