Conceptual design of a self-sustanable pressurized water reactor with boiling channels

Parametric studies have been performed on a seed-blanket Th-U²³³ fuel configuration in a pressurized water reactor (PWR) with boiling channels to achieve high conversion ratio. Previous studies on seed-blanket concepts required substantial reduction of the core power density in order to operate under nominal PWR system conditions. Boiling flow regime in the seed area allows better heat removal, which in turn, may potentially allow increasing the power density of the core. In addition, the reduced moderation improves the breeding performance. A 2-dimensional design optimization study was carried out with BOXER and SERPENT codes in order to determine the most attractive fuel assembly configuration that would ensure breeding. Effects of various parameters, such as void fraction, blanket fuel form, number of seed pins and their dimensions, on the conversion ratio were examined. The obtained results, for which the power density was set to 104 W/cc, created a map of designs with their corresponding fissile inventory ratio (FIR) values. It was found that several options have the potential to achieve the main objective - a self-sustainable Thorium fuel cycle in PWRs without significant reduction in the core power density.