Advanced Fuel CANDU Reactor (AFCR) Core Physics With High-Burnup Recycled Uranium and Uranium-Thorium Fuel

Abstract

The CANDU reactor has flexibility for using alternative fuels, such as Recycled Uranium (RU), low-enriched uranium and thorium (LEU/Th) and plutonium-thorium (Pu/Th) based fuels. This capability results from a versatile pressure tube design, simple fuel bundle, on-power refuelling, and high neutron economy. The Advanced Fuel CANDU Reactor (AFCR), which retains the excellent neutron economy and fuel cycle flexibility that are inherent in the CANDU reactor design, is a design jointly undertaken by Candu Energy and its Chinese partners led by CNNC. The objective is to use RU that is planned to be available from the reprocessing of Chinese LWR fleet spent fuel and increase the overall uranium utilization at minimal cost and minimal risk at commercially proven CANDU type new build reactors. This paper is focused on various physics aspects of using RU and LEU/Th in the AFCR units in the short run. It also describes full-core management simulations for the implementation of DRU and LEU/Th fuel cycles in AFCR reactor. The CANFLEX bundle design was chosen as carrier for both DRU and LEU/Th fuel in this study.