Performance of fully coated microencapsulated nuclear fuel : master’s thesis

Arefin, Md. Arman (author), Suikkanen, Heikki (mentor), Kljenak, Ivo (co-mentor)

A new concept of nuclear fuel is considered. Recently, the Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation has developed a 15 MW thermal powered Micro Modular Reactor (MMR) that uses Tristructural isotropic coated fully ceramic microencapsulated fuel. Instead of conventional graphite matrix, the fuel kernels are placed in a silicon carbide matrix. The benefits of using this fuel are safer energy production and retention of fission products. The main purpose of the present thesis is to analyze the thermal performance of fully ceramic microencapsulated nuclear fuel and retention of fission product properties of the fully coated microencapsulated nuclear fuel. The properties of different materials, fuel block, stack, pellet as well as fuel particle temperature profiles and fission product retention characteristics are taken into consideration. A comprehensive literature review was conducted first to understand the current technologies and make a comparison with the newly developed MMR. Then, a detailed theoretical modelling is provided for all mentioned fuel constituents. Further, results are obtained and discussed. Results suggest that the temperatures that occur in different parts (block, stack, pellet, kernel) of the reactor are below the limit of the materials; that makes the reactor safe from usual abnormalities. Further, the fuel particles and silicon carbide matrix are capable of retaining all the fission products within them.

• Language: English
• Keywords: nuclear engineering, nuclear fuel, TRISO coated microencapsulated particles, thermal analysis, Micro Modular Reactor
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.09 - Master's Thesis
• Organization: FMF - Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
• Place of publishing: Lappeenranta
• Publisher: Md A. Arefin
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: 1 spletni vir (1 datoteka PDF (83 str.))
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-154327
• UDC: 621.039.5
• COBISS.SI-ID: 184080899
• Publication date in RUL: 07.02.2024

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: jedrska tehnika, jedrsko gorivo, TRISO prevlečeno mikrokapsulirano gorivo, termična analiza, mikro modularni reaktor