Investigation of the influence of the fuel element design parameter on the VVER-1000 reactor axial power peaking factor

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a numerical study into the efficiency of the fuel element operation in the pressurized water reactor (VVER) core filled with uranium dioxide (UO2) pellets. The investigation results were obtained from a three-dimensional simulation of the fuel element power density. The dependencies of the fuel and fuel cladding temperatures on specific power per cubic meter of fuel are compared. Uranium metal and uranium dioxide have been studied as fuel. Engineering constraints on the safe operation of fuel assemblies have been selected as the determining parameters. The paper analyzes the extent of the radiation heat transfer effects on the fuel element specific power. Equations have been obtained that reflect the dependencies of specific power per cubic meter of fuel on the size of the fuel pellet hole diameter in the maximum heat flux conditions. The COMSOL Multiphysics code, a numerical thermophysical simulation package, was used for the study. Calculations show that an additional uranium-235 enrichment with an increase in the fuel pellet hole diameter at a fixed fuel thermal power leads to a reduced reactor axial temperature field peaking factor.