The manufacture and modelling of UB$_2$ has been carried out to understand its suitability for use as a fuel within light water reactors. Density functional theory methods have been used to understand the materials thermal properties and response to radiation, fission product accommodation and impurities. This theoretical work has been combined and elevated with a targeted experimental...
In some of the currently developed Sodium Fast Reactor (SFR) designs the core configuration will be rearranged to include internal spent fuel storage positions, with the benefit of avoiding an external sodium pool. However, in-vessel storage of failed fuel pins can lead to a direct contact between coolant and fuel, i.e. in a scenario where the cladding was breached, leading to their potential...
The project aims to cover the main aspects of the nuclear industry such as an extension of the fuel campaign and increasing the fuel burn-up depth. The prolongation of nuclear fuel campaign up to 24 months will require uranium-235 enrichment up to ≤5.0%. The nuclear reactor operation at all stages is determined by the reactivity reserve that is expended during its working process. With only...
