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AssigneeCommissariat a l'Energie Atomique
InventorsPatrick Aujollet, Jacques Porta, Stefano Baldi
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Single piece fuel element and fast spectrum boiling water reactor using elements of this type. A single piece fuel element (10) is formed from coated fissile particles embedded in a matrix made from a material such as SiC which is inert to all fissile and fertile heavy nuclei and to the coolant fluid circulating in and around this element. Furthermore, the fuel element (10) comprises parallel plates (12) delimiting spaces (14, 20) between them. The ratio between the thickness (e1) of the plates and the width e2 of the spaces means that the fuel element can be put in fast spectrum or thermal spectrum at will. An application of the invention to a fast spectrum boiling water nuclear reactor operating with natural circulation in which the above mentioned ratio is approximately equal to 1 enables a high consumption of plutonium.
Single piece fuel element (10) for a nuclear reactor, formed from coated fissile particles embedded in a matrix, characterised in that it comprises several parallel plates (12) separated by spaces (14, 20) and connected together by junction parts (16a, 16b), the said matrix being inert to the total number of heavy nuclei (fissile and fertile) and neutral to a coolant fluid circulating in the said spaces (14, 20, 28).
Fuel element according to any one of the previous claims, in which the plates (12) are approximately vertical and one of the spaces (14, 20, 28) can contain a control device (22, 30, 32).
Fuel element according to any one of the previous claims, in which the ratio between the thickness of the plates (12) and the width of the spaces (14) result in a fast spectrum for the said coolant fluid.
Fuel element according to any one of the previous claims, in which the said element (10) is protected by a metal duct.
Fuel element according to any one of the previous claims, in which the fuel material particles comprise nuclei of fissile bodies chosen from the group comprising uranium and plutonium.
Fuel element according any one of the previous claims, in which the inert matrix is made from a material chosen from the group comprising silicon carbide SiC, a metal and a combination of the two.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.