The Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) has developed the Advanced Thermal Reactor (ATR), which is a heavy-water moderated, boiling light-water cooled pressure-tube type thermal reactor. A 165MWe prototype ATR called FUGEN has operated since 1979. More than 600 MOX assemblies have been irradiated in FUGEN without any failure.
As part of the first stage of the burn-up extention on the MOX fuel for thermal reactors, series of irradiation test were conducted on the 36-rod fuel assemblies. One test assembly was irradiated up to an assembly burn-up of 16.9GWd/t in the SGHWR in UKAEA, three test assemblies were irradiated up to an assembly burn-up of 33.1GWd/t in FUGEN. The results of post-irradiation examinations (PIEs) were analyzed to elucidate the irradiation behavior of the MOX fuel.
The examination showed that there was no marked difference in irradiation behavior between MOX and UO
2 fuel except for helium gas release and plutonium heterogeneity observed in a MOX fuel pellet. The acceptable performance of the ATR 36-rod fuel assembly has been verified.
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