Publication

Categorisation and priorities for future research on inert matrix fuels: an extended synthesis of the panel discussions

Rakesh Chawla
2001
Journal Articles

Abstract

There are three categories of basic fuel cycle needs, which are being addressed by the different types of inert matrix fuel (IMF) concepts currently under development. These are: plutonium burning in existing LWRs, plutonium burning in fast reactors and minor actinide transmutation - corresponding to three distinct timescales for perceived IMF implementation, viz. short, medium and long term, respectively. The current paper, based partly on the two panel discussions organised at the 6th IMF workshop, presents viewpoints and priorities for each of the three categories of IMF applications, both in terms of the fuel concepts to be pursued and the corresponding RD requirements.

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https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/fbc4defa-af93-41b2-82d9-2c5d771a1a4f

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Rakesh Chawla
2001
Journal Articles

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/fbc4defa-af93-41b2-82d9-2c5d771a1a4f

About this result

Related concepts (32)

Nuclear fuel cycle

The nuclear fuel cycle, also called nuclear fuel chain, is the progression of nuclear fuel through a series of differing stages. It consists of steps in the front end, which are the preparation of the fuel, steps in the service period in which the fuel is used during reactor operation, and steps in the back end, which are necessary to safely manage, contain, and either reprocess or dispose of spent nuclear fuel.

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Nuclear fuel is material used in nuclear power stations to produce heat to power turbines. Heat is created when nuclear fuel undergoes nuclear fission. Most nuclear fuels contain heavy fissile actinide elements that are capable of undergoing and sustaining nuclear fission. The three most relevant fissile isotopes are uranium-233, uranium-235 and plutonium-239. When the unstable nuclei of these atoms are hit by a slow-moving neutron, they frequently split, creating two daughter nuclei and two or three more neutrons.

Breeder reactor

A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates more fissile material than it consumes. These reactors can be fuelled with more commonly available isotopes of uranium and thorium, such as uranium-238 or thorium-232, as opposed to the rare uranium-235 which is used in conventional reactors. These materials are called fertile materials since they can be bred into fuel by these breeder reactors. Breeder reactors achieve this because their neutron economy is high enough to create more fissile fuel than they use.

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Categorisation and priorities for future research on inert matrix fuels: an extended synthesis of the panel discussions

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