Bi-level fuel management method for boiling-water nuclear reactor
First Claim
1. A method for managing fuel in a boiling-water reactor, said method comprising the steps of:
- arranging fuel bundles into an upper matrix and a lower matrix so that during reactor operation water flows from said lower matrix toward said upper matrix; and
during a refueling operation, moving at least some fuel bundles from one of said matrices to the other of said matrices.
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Abstract
Fuel management in a boiling-water nuclear reactor involves arranging fuel bundles in upper and lower matrices of the reactor core. During a refueling operation, some bundles in the upper matrix are removed and retired, while fresh bundles are inserted in the lower matrix and some bundles originally in the lower matrix are transferred to the upper matrix. In the transfer, fuel bundles are inverted so that included fuel rods in the lower matrix have their plenums oriented downward, while fuel rods in the upper matrix have their plenums oriented upward. This method provides greater flexibility in repositioning fuel bundles for longer burnups and lower high-level waste. In particular, problems with axial spectral variations in neutron flux can be compensated for using the disclosed refueling procedure.
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Citations
5 Claims
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1. A method for managing fuel in a boiling-water reactor, said method comprising the steps of:
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arranging fuel bundles into an upper matrix and a lower matrix so that during reactor operation water flows from said lower matrix toward said upper matrix; and during a refueling operation, moving at least some fuel bundles from one of said matrices to the other of said matrices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of managing fuel in a boiling water reactor comprising the steps of discharging fuel units on a lower stage, moving fuel units on an upper stage to said lower stage, and installing fresh fuel units in said upper stage.
Specification