JP2016090396A - Fast reactor fuel element, fast reactor fuel assembly and fast reactor core - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fast reactor fuel element capable of properly raising the temperature of fuel for absorbing swelling of a metal fuel due to an irradiation by neutron while increasing the Doppler reactivity.SOLUTION: A fast reactor fuel element 40 includes: a hollow fuel rod 46 using a metal fuel, which extends in a vertical direction and in which a center hole 46a is formed in a radial direction penetrating central area of the fuel rod in a vertical direction; a solid rod 47 using a Doppler effect enhancement material which is disposed in the center hole 46a extending in a vertical direction; and a cladding tube 44 which has a cylindrical shape extending in a vertical direction, in which the hollow fuel rod 46 and the solid rod 47 are stored, and which is sealed at the top and the bottom thereof and is filled with a noble gas 49b as a heat transmission substance in a sealed space thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a fast reactor fuel element, a fast reactor fuel assembly, and a fast reactor core having these.

  FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional view showing an example of the configuration of fuel elements of a conventional core fuel assembly in a fast reactor. 12 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line XII-XII in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the fuel element 140 has a core fuel 141 containing a large amount of fissile material at the center thereof, and is converted into a fissile material by neutron absorption at the lower and upper portions of the core fuel 141. A lower blanket fuel 142a and an upper blanket fuel 142b containing a large amount of fissile parent material are disposed. These fuels are stored in a cylindrical cladding tube 144. The lower part of the cladding tube 144 is sealed with a lower end plug 145a, and the upper part is sealed with an upper end plug 145b.

  A gap is provided between the core fuel 141 and the cladding tube 144. In the case of a metal fuel core, this gap is usually filled with bond sodium 49a for promoting heat transfer from the fuel to the coolant. Has been. Further, an upper gas plenum 143b for accumulating gas of fission products such as krypton (Kr) and Zenon (Xe) discharged when the fuel burns is provided above the fuel in the cladding tube 144. .

  A metal fuel has a higher fuel density than an oxide fuel, and a metal fuel core has a low breeding reactivity because it has good growth performance. Therefore, since the reactivity required for the control rod can be reduced, the reactivity introduced when the control rod is erroneously pulled out can be suppressed to be small, and safety can be improved.

  On the other hand, the Doppler effect (reactivity feedback effect) that suppresses the reactor power in response to the fuel temperature change at the time of sudden power increase of the reactor is one of the important characteristics for ensuring safety. Since the metal fuel core does not contain light elements such as oxygen, which has a high effect of slowing down neutrons, the neutron spectrum is harder and the absolute value of the Doppler coefficient is smaller than that of the oxide fuel core. Metal fuel has high thermal conductivity, and as mentioned above, the gap between the fuel and the cladding tube is filled with bond sodium, so heat transfer from the fuel to the coolant is good, and the core output Even when the temperature rises, the heat removal from the fuel element is fast and the temperature rise of the fuel is small.

  From these facts, in the metal fuel core, the negative reactivity change (Doppler reactivity) with respect to the temperature change at the time of increasing the output becomes small, and the safety of the nuclear reactor may be lowered.

  Until now, measures for improving the Doppler effect have been studied in order to increase the combustion amount of the transuranium element, but the purpose is only to increase the absolute value of the Doppler coefficient (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 7-294676 A

  The fuel of the nuclear reactor as described above causes an increase in fuel volume (swelling) due to neutron irradiation. In metal fuel, this swelling is large, so that the smear density of the fuel is reduced to, for example, about 75% in order to prevent damage to the cladding tube due to mechanical interaction between the fuel and the cladding tube. Here, the smear density refers to the volume ratio of the fuel occupying the inside of the cladding tube.

  In addition, as described above, the metal fuel has good coexistence with sodium, so that the gap between the fuel and the cladding tube is filled with sodium (bond sodium) to transfer heat from the fuel rod to the coolant. Promotes.

  On the other hand, the contribution ratio of the Doppler effect is, for example, about 85% of fuel and about 15% of structural material. Therefore, in order to increase the Doppler reactivity, the temperature change of the fuel when the output rises within a range where the fuel does not melt Increasing the amount is effective.

  FIG. 13 is a graph showing an example of a temperature distribution in the radial direction of a conventional fuel element for a fast reactor. The horizontal axis is the distance from the center of the fuel element, the vertical axis is the temperature, and the temperature of the fuel element when the gap between the fuel and the cladding tube is a sodium bond (dashed line Y) and the helium bond (solid line X) It is the figure which showed the example of distribution.

  Since metal fuel has a high density and good heat conduction, the center temperature of the fuel element is only about 100 ° C. higher than the coolant temperature in the case of sodium bonds. On the other hand, in the case of helium bonds, the temperature gradient in the gap is large, and in the case of the gap distance between the conventional fuel and the cladding tube, the fuel temperature exceeds 1500 ° C. Since the metal fuel has a low melting point, if the gap between the conventional fuel and the cladding tube is a helium bond, the fuel temperature may rise too much and melt.

  Therefore, an embodiment of the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and absorbs the swelling of metal fuel due to neutron irradiation, or appropriately increases the fuel temperature for increasing Doppler reactivity. The purpose is to obtain.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a fuel element for a fast reactor according to the present embodiment includes a hollow fuel rod that uses a metal fuel by forming a central hole that penetrates in the vertical direction in the radial center and extends in the vertical direction, and A solid rod that is arranged in the central hole and extends in the vertical direction and uses the Doppler effect enhancing material, and a cylindrical shape that accommodates the hollow fuel rod and the solid rod and extends in the vertical direction is closed at the top and bottom. And a cladding tube filled with a rare gas as a heat transfer material in an internal sealed space.

  In addition, the present embodiment includes a plurality of fast reactor fuel elements that are arranged in parallel and extend in the vertical direction, and are installed horizontally below the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements, and the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements. A fuel element support grid that supports each lower part and is formed to allow a coolant to pass through, and accommodates the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements and the fuel element support grid, and extends in the vertical direction. A fast reactor fuel assembly comprising a trumpet tube formed to allow a coolant to pass therethrough, wherein the fast reactor fuel element has a central hole formed in a vertical direction at a radial center and formed in a vertical direction. A hollow fuel rod that extends using a metal fuel, a solid rod that is disposed in the central hole and extends in the vertical direction and uses a Doppler effect enhancing material, and accommodates the hollow fuel rod and the solid rod in a vertical direction A cylindrical shape that extends to the top And a rare gas as a heat transfer material in a sealed space inside the closed lower portion and having a, a cladding tube is filled.

  The present embodiment also includes a plurality of fast reactor fuel assemblies arranged in parallel and extending in the vertical direction, and a plurality of control rods provided in the plurality of fast reactor fuel assemblies without being adjacent to each other. A fast reactor core, comprising: an assembly; and a plurality of blanket fuel assemblies that are arranged radially outside the fast reactor fuel assembly and extend in a vertical direction. A fuel assembly is arranged in parallel to each other and extends in the vertical direction, and a plurality of fast reactor fuel elements installed horizontally below the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements. A fuel element support grid that supports the lower part and allows the coolant to pass through, and accommodates the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements and the fuel element support grid, and extends in the vertical direction. Can pass The fast reactor fuel element includes a hollow fuel rod using a metal fuel that extends in the vertical direction and has a central hole penetrating in a vertical direction at a radial center, and the central hole. A solid rod using a Doppler effect enhancing material arranged in the vertical direction, and a cylindrical shape containing the hollow fuel rod and the solid rod and extending in the vertical direction, with the upper and lower portions closed and the interior And a cladding tube filled with a rare gas as a heat transfer material in the sealed space.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to absorb the swelling of the metal fuel due to the irradiation of neutrons or obtain an appropriate increase in the fuel temperature for increasing the Doppler reactivity.

It is an elevation sectional view showing the example of composition of the fast reactor which has the fast reactor core concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a top view which shows the structural example of the fast reactor core which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a sectional elevation showing the example of composition of the fuel assembly for fast reactors concerning a 1st embodiment. FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. It is a sectional elevation showing the composition of the fuel element for fast reactors concerning a 1st embodiment. FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5. It is a graph which shows the example of the temperature distribution of the radial direction at the time of rating of the fuel element for fast reactors concerning 1st Embodiment. It is a graph which shows the example of the temperature distribution of the radial direction at the time of transition of the fuel element for fast reactors which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a sectional elevation showing the composition of the fuel element for fast reactors concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a sectional elevation showing the composition of the fuel element for fast reactors concerning a 3rd embodiment. It is an elevational sectional view showing a configuration example of a fuel element of a conventional core fuel assembly. FIG. 12 is a horizontal sectional view taken along line XII-XII in FIG. 11. It is a graph which shows the example of the temperature distribution of the radial direction of the fuel element for conventional fast reactors.

  Hereinafter, a fast reactor fuel element, a fast reactor fuel assembly, and a fast reactor core according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, the same or similar parts are denoted by common reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. Hereinafter, the fast reactor fuel element, the fast reactor fuel assembly, and the fast reactor core express a vertical relationship in a state where they are installed in the reactor vessel.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is an elevational sectional view showing a configuration example of a fast reactor having a fast reactor core according to the first embodiment. The fast reactor 1 is provided so as to close the fast reactor core 3, the cylindrical reactor vessel 2 containing the fast reactor core 3 and having a bottom portion and extending in the vertical direction, and the upper opening of the reactor vessel 2. It has a shielding plug 11. The fast reactor core 3 is supported by the core support plate 4. The fast reactor core 3 is formed with each core portion of a plurality of fast reactor fuel assemblies 20 described later as components. A control rod driving device 15 is provided above the fast reactor core 3 of the shielding plug 11 so that a control rod (not shown) can be inserted into the fast reactor core 3. The coolant 10 is, for example, liquid metal sodium and flows into the reactor vessel 2 from the coolant inlet pipe 8 and flows out from the coolant outlet pipe 9.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration example of the fast reactor core according to the first embodiment. The fast reactor fuel assembly 20 includes an inner core fuel assembly 20a and an outer core fuel assembly 20b. The fast reactor core 3 has a plurality of inner core fuel assemblies 20a, a plurality of outer core fuel assemblies 20b, a plurality of blanket fuel assemblies 31, and a plurality of control rod assemblies 32. The inner core fuel assembly 20a, the outer core fuel assembly 20b, the blanket fuel assembly 31, and the control rod assembly 32 are each formed in a hexagonal shape on the outer cross section, and are arranged densely within the same cross section. The

  In the fast reactor core 3, a plurality of inner core fuel assemblies 20a extending in the vertical direction in parallel to each other are arranged in a substantially circular region in the center in the radial direction. The control rod assemblies 32 are scattered in the arrangement of the plurality of inner core fuel assemblies 20a without being adjacent to each other, that is, are arranged without being adjacent to each other, and are parallel to the inner core fuel assemblies 20a in the vertical direction. It extends to. The plurality of outer core fuel assemblies 20b are annularly arranged in two layers on the radially outer side of the inner core fuel assembly 20a, and each extend in the vertical direction in parallel to the inner core fuel assembly 20a. .

  The blanket fuel assemblies 31 are arranged annularly in three layers on the radially outer side of the outer core fuel assemblies 20b, and each extend in the vertical direction in parallel with the outer core fuel assemblies 20b. The number of inner core fuel assemblies 20a, the number of layers of outer core fuel assemblies 20b and blanket fuel assemblies 31, or the number of control rod assemblies 32 are based on the output of each core, the characteristics to be obtained, etc. Can be determined appropriately.

  FIG. 3 is an elevational sectional view showing a configuration example of the fast reactor fuel assembly 20 according to the first embodiment. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. The following description is common to the inner core fuel assembly 20a and the outer core fuel assembly 20b.

  The fast reactor fuel assembly 20 includes a plurality of fast reactor fuel elements 40, a fuel element support grid 23 that supports the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements 40 from below, and a trumpet tube 24 that houses them.

  The plurality of fast reactor fuel elements 40 are arranged in a triangular lattice parallel to each other and extend in the vertical direction. A fuel element support grid 23 that supports each of the fast reactor fuel elements 40 from below is installed horizontally and attached to the inner surface of the trumpet tube 24. A plurality of openings are formed in the fuel element support grid 23 so that the coolant supplied to each of the fast reactor fuel elements 40 passes from below to above.

  Since the ratio of the coolant is reduced by densely arranging the fast reactor fuel elements 40 in a triangular lattice pattern, it is generally a feature of the fast reactor that the cooling effect of the coolant is small. In a system with few coolants due to the triangular arrangement, the effect is remarkably exhibited by introducing a moderator, which will be described later. Therefore, it is preferable to arrange the fast reactor fuel elements 40 densely as in a triangular arrangement.

  The trumpet tube 24 has a hexagonal cylindrical shape in the horizontal cross section and extends in the vertical direction. As described above, the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements 40 are densely accommodated in the trumpet tube 24 in a triangular arrangement. For example, a wire spacer (not shown) is spirally wound on the side surface of the fast reactor fuel element 40, and a gap between the fast reactor fuel elements 40 adjacent to each other is secured by the wire spacer to secure a coolant flow path. Is done. The trumpet tube 24 has an entrance nozzle 21 having a cylindrical shape at the bottom and closed at the lower end. A plurality of coolant inflow holes 22 are formed on the side surface of the entrance nozzle 21. Further, the trumpet tube 24 has a handling head 25 at the upper portion, and the handling head 25 is formed with a coolant outflow hole 26 at the center in the radial direction.

  FIG. 5 is an elevational sectional view showing the configuration of the fast reactor fuel element 40 according to the first embodiment. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIG. The fast reactor fuel element 40 includes a core fuel 41, a lower blanket fuel 42a, an upper blanket fuel 42b, a fuel rod support plate 48, and a cladding tube 44 for housing them.

  The lower blanket fuel 42a, the core fuel 41, and the upper blanket fuel 42b are all metallic fuels having high thermal conductivity and high fuel density. The metal fuel is uranium, plutonium, neptunium, americium and curium, or an alloy containing at least one of these. The lower blanket fuel 42a, the core fuel 41, and the upper blanket fuel 42b are each cylindrical and extend in the vertical direction. Details will be described later. The lower blanket fuel 42a, the core fuel 41, and the upper blanket fuel 42b are stacked from the lower side in this order. The lower blanket fuel 42 a is supported at the lower end by a fuel rod support plate 48 attached to the cladding tube 44.

  The cladding tube 44 is cylindrical and extends in the vertical direction. The cladding tube 44 has a lower end plug 45a at the lower portion, and the lower end is closed by the lower end plug 45a. The tip of the lower end plug 45a has a small diameter. Further, the cladding tube 44 has an upper end plug 45b at the upper portion, and the upper end is closed by the upper end plug 45b. As a result, a sealed space is formed in the cladding tube 44.

  A space below the fuel rod support plate 48 in the cladding 44 is a space, and forms a lower gas plenum 43a. In addition, a space above the upper blanket fuel 42b forms a top gas plenum 43b. A rare gas 49 b is sealed in the cladding tube 44. The rare gas 49b is, for example, any one of helium, argon, krypton, and xenon, or a mixture thereof.

  Each of the lower blanket fuel 42a, the core fuel 41 and the upper blanket fuel 42b has a central hole 46a penetrating in the vertical direction at the radial center. That is, each of the lower blanket fuel 42a, the core fuel 41, and the upper blanket fuel 42b is a hollow fuel rod 46. Further, a solid rod 47 is provided in the central hole 46a with a gap from the inner surface of the central hole 46a. Here, the solid rod 47 uses a Doppler effect enhancing material described later as a material.

Here, when Ci is the inner diameter of the fuel cladding tube, So is the outer diameter of the hollow fuel rod, Si is the inner diameter of the hollow fuel rod, and Mo is the outer diameter of the solid speed reducing rod, the respective dimensions satisfy the following conditions: .
^{0.6 <((So 2 -Si 2} ) / (Ci 2 -Mo 2)) <0.8

  It is known that metal fuels are swollen especially by neutron irradiation. If the smear density is increased too much, the gap volume is reduced and the cap becomes small, so that the oxide fuel expands to the cladding tube side in a short period of operation, and contact with the cladding tube becomes a problem, and the life is shortened. A certain amount of space must be provided between the hollow fuel rod 46 and the inner surface of the cladding tube 44 so that the expansion force of the hollow fuel rod 46 due to swelling does not cause excessive stress on the cladding tube 44.

  On the other hand, if the void is too large, the enrichment of the fissile material in the hollow fuel rod 46 will increase and the nuclear performance of the core will deteriorate. That is, the burnup during the same operation period increases. In addition, the fuel temperature may become excessively high due to the temperature increase of the air gap.

  As described above, the volume occupancy rate of the hollow fuel in the region sandwiched between the cladding tube and the solid tube, that is, the smear density, is appropriately larger than about 60% and smaller than about 80%.

  In the horizontal section, the ratio of the area S2 initially occupied by the hollow fuel rods 46 to the area S1 obtained by removing the area of the solid rod 47 from the total area in the cladding tube 44 is the filling rate. The area obtained by subtracting S2 from S1 is an area that can be occupied when the hollow fuel rod 46 is swollen.

  Taking these into consideration, the filling rate of the hollow fuel rods 46 before swering is set to approximately 60% to 80%, so that excessive stress generation in the cladding tube 44 can be prevented, and the core due to a decrease in the fuel volume ratio. Performance deterioration and excessive fuel temperature rise can be prevented.

  The Doppler effect enhancing material used for the solid rod 47 is for increasing the Doppler effect and suppressing the increase in reactivity when a transient event occurs. Specifically, the material having the function of fulfilling this purpose as the Doppler effect enhancing material includes any of the following.

  The first material as the Doppler effect enhancing material is usually at least one of materials used for the moderator, such as beryllium oxide, lithium oxide, boron carbide, zirconium hydride, beryllium, graphite, and silicon carbide. It is a material containing.

  These moderators as the Doppler effect enhancing material have a large absolute value of the neutron scattering cross section, but the neutron energy dependence of the scattering cross section is relatively small. For this reason, neutrons in a certain energy range collide and uniformly decelerate. As a result, the final energy spectrum of neutrons has a peak on the low energy side. Also, the temperature dependence of the scattering effect is small.

  The neutron absorption reaction (absorption) which is a factor of the Doppler effect is composed of two kinds of reactions, a neutron capture reaction (capture) and a neutron fission reaction (fission). The increase or decrease in neutrons is determined by the balance between the decrease in the number of neutrons with an increase in neutron capture reaction and the increase in the number of neutrons with an increase in neutron fission reaction. The number of neutrons generated per fission by the neutron fission reaction (ν) is, for example, about 2.9.

  That is, the change in reactivity accompanying the increase in temperature of the fuel nuclide is mainly due to the increase in neutron absorption and the change in the balance of neutrons generated by neutron fission. By using the Doppler effect enhancing material of the solid rod 47 arranged at the center of the fuel as a neutron moderator, the neutron spectrum of the core shifts to the low energy side, and the neutron capture reaction of the fuel nuclide increases, so the Doppler effect is Increase.

  The second material as the Doppler effect enhancing material is a material having a large temperature-dependent effect on the neutron absorption cross section in the high neutron energy region. For example, the material includes at least one of chromium, iron, nickel, zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, tungsten, and the like.

  Even when these Doppler effect enhancing materials are used, the safety of the core is ensured because the Doppler effect, which is an immediate negative feedback reactivity accompanying the temperature rise of the core, is increased as in the moderator.

  The third material as the Doppler effect enhancing material is a material having a large neutron resonance scattering cross section. For example, the material includes at least one of vanadium, manganese, cerium, titanium, and the like.

  Each of these materials has a neutron scattering cross section that is significantly larger than the neutron absorption cross section in the energy range of approximately 10 eV to 10 keV, which is about a medium speed where the Doppler effect of fuel is remarkable. For this reason, in the vicinity of these moderators, a neutron energy spectrum having a peak in energy in the vicinity of the Doppler energy region is obtained. That is, the neutron flux due to scattered neutrons increases in this energy region. For this reason, the Doppler effect of fuel tends to be larger than that of other moderators. Therefore, even when such a medium-speed scattering material is used, the Doppler effect, which is an immediate negative feedback reactivity associated with a rise in core temperature, is increased.

  As described above, by using a material containing at least one of the first to third materials as the Doppler effect enhancing material as the Doppler effect enhancing material of the solid rod 47, the Doppler effect is increased and the reactivity is increased. An inhibitory effect is obtained.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of the radial temperature distribution when the fast reactor fuel element according to the first embodiment is rated. The horizontal axis is the distance from the radial center of the core fuel 41 that is the hollow fuel rod 46. The vertical axis represents the temperature of each part in the radial direction of the core fuel 41 in a state where it is operated at the rated output. A solid line X is a case where a rare gas is sealed in the cladding tube 44, that is, a gas bond. A broken line Y is a case where sodium (bond sodium) 49a as a bond material is sealed in the cladding tube 44 and the hollow fuel rod 46 is immersed in the bond sodium 49a, that is, a sodium bond.

  As shown in FIG. 7, at the rated operation, the sodium bond stays at about 535 ° C., and the gas bond stays at about 770 ° C. Since the solid rod 47 arranged in the hollow portion is not a fuel, the heat generated by the reaction with neutrons is small and the fuel temperature is hardly affected. Therefore, the temperature of the solid rod 47 is not shown here.

  FIG. 8 is a graph showing an example of a radial temperature distribution during the transient of the fast reactor fuel element according to the first embodiment. Specifically, it is a temperature distribution at the time when the temperature at the time of transition rises most when the line output becomes twice that at the rated output. The temperature of the inner surface of the hollow fuel rod 46 rises, but it is only about 575 ° C. (temperature rise of about 40 ° C.) in the case of sodium bond and about 1050 ° C. (temperature rise of about 275 ° C.) in the case of gas bond.

  In the hollow fuel rod 46, deformation during swelling can be absorbed both inside and outside the hollow fuel rod 46. For this reason, compared with the case of a solid fuel, since the amount of deformation on the outside decreases in the hollow fuel, the gap between the fuel and the cladding tube can be reduced. Therefore, even if the temperature gradient in the gap is large due to the gas bond type, the temperature difference in the gap becomes smaller than in the conventional case (see FIG. 13) due to the effect of reducing the size of the gap, and the fuel temperature Is kept low. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the fuel temperature does not exceed about 1100 ° C., which is the melting point of the metal fuel.

  As is clear from the above results, according to the present embodiment, even if it is a gas bond, the fuel temperature does not exceed the melting point of the metal fuel even when the output of the reactor is suddenly increased. In addition, the gas bond increases the change in fuel temperature when the reactor power is suddenly increased, increasing the Doppler effect (reactivity feedback effect) that suppresses the reactor power. Increase can be suppressed.

  Further, in the sodium bond type, the core fuel is immersed in the bond sodium 49a, so a gas space cannot be secured in the lower part of the core fuel 141 (FIG. 11). However, in this embodiment, the lower part of the core fuel 41 is obtained by using the gas bond type. In addition, the lower gas plenum 43a can be provided, and the gas internal pressure in the cladding tube 44 can be kept low.

  That is, the internal pressure load on the cladding tube 44 is reduced, the thickness of the cladding tube 44 can be reduced, and the fuel volume ratio per fuel assembly can be increased. As a result, the growth ratio is improved, the combustion reactivity is reduced, the operation period can be extended, and the economic efficiency is improved.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to absorb the swelling of the metal fuel due to the irradiation of neutrons and to increase the fuel temperature appropriately for increasing the Doppler reactivity.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 9 is an elevational sectional view showing the configuration of the fast reactor fuel element according to the second embodiment. This embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, only the core fuel 41 is the hollow fuel rod 46, and the lower blanket fuel 42 a and the upper blanket fuel 42 b are solid fuel, not the hollow fuel rod 46. Therefore, the solid rod 47 of the Doppler effect enhancing material is provided only in the central hole 46 a of the core fuel 41.

  The lower blanket fuel 42a and the upper blanket fuel 42b have little fissile material, and even when the solid rod 47 of the Doppler effect enhancing material is not provided, the effect of reducing the effect of improving the Doppler effect at the time of transition is small. That is, the effect of improving the Doppler effect during the transition is mainly obtained by the core fuel 41.

  Thus, by making the upper and lower shaft blanket fuels, that is, the lower blanket fuel 42a and the upper blanket fuel 42b solid, the proliferation ratio is increased and the economic efficiency is improved.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 10 is an elevational sectional view showing the configuration of the fast reactor fuel element according to the third embodiment. This embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. In the third embodiment, the upper gas plenum 43b is widened without providing the lower gas plenum 43a.

  In this case, the core fuel 41 is provided at the same position as the conventional sodium bond core fuel assembly. For this reason, even if a part of the fuel assemblies in the fast reactor core are replaced with the fuel assemblies of the present embodiment, the core does not partially shift. That is, when the conventional fuel assembly is replaced with the fast reactor fuel assembly 20 of the present embodiment, it is possible to sequentially replace a part of the fuel assembly without replacing all the cores at once.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although some embodiment of this invention was described, these embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. Moreover, you may combine the characteristic of each embodiment. Furthermore, these embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Fast reactor, 2 ... Reactor vessel, 3 ... Fast reactor core, 4 ... Core support plate, 8 ... Coolant inlet piping, 9 ... Coolant outlet piping, 10 ... Coolant, 11 ... Shield plug, 15 ... Control Rod drive unit, 20 ... Fast fuel assembly, 20a ... Inner core fuel assembly, 20b ... Outer core fuel assembly, 21 ... Entrance nozzle, 22 ... Coolant inflow hole, 23 ... Fuel element support grid, 24 ... Trumpet tube, 25 ... handling head, 26 ... coolant outlet, 31 ... blanket fuel assembly, 32 ... control rod assembly, 40 ... fuel element for fast reactor, 41 ... core fuel, 42a ... lower blanket fuel, 42b ... Upper blanket fuel, 43a ... lower gas plenum, 43b ... upper gas plenum, 44 ... cladding tube, 45a ... lower end plug, 45b ... upper end plug, 46 ... hollow fuel rod, 46a ... central hole, 47 ... Solid rod, 48 ... Fuel rod support plate, 49a ... Bond sodium, 49b ... Noble gas, 140 ... Fuel element, 141 ... Core fuel, 142a ... Lower blanket fuel, 142b ... Upper blanket fuel, 143b ... Upper gas plenum, 144 ... Coating Pipe, 145a ... Lower end plug, 145b ... Upper end plug

Claims (8)

A hollow fuel rod using a metal fuel that has a central hole that penetrates in the vertical direction at the center in the radial direction and extends in the vertical direction;
A solid rod that is arranged in the central hole and extends in the vertical direction using a Doppler effect enhancing material,
A cladding tube containing the hollow fuel rod and the solid rod and extending in the vertical direction, closed at the top and bottom, and filled with a rare gas as a heat transfer material in the sealed space inside;
A fuel element for a fast reactor, comprising:   2. The fast reactor fuel element according to claim 1, wherein the metal fuel includes at least one of uranium, plutonium, neptunium, americium, and curium.   The high-speed material according to claim 1, wherein the Doppler effect enhancing material includes at least one of beryllium oxide, lithium oxide, boron carbide, zirconium hydride, beryllium, graphite, and silicon carbide. Reactor fuel element.   3. The fuel element for a fast reactor according to claim 1, wherein the Doppler effect enhancing material includes at least one of chromium, iron, nickel, zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, and tungsten.   3. The fuel element for a fast reactor according to claim 1, wherein the Doppler effect enhancing material includes at least one of vanadium, manganese, cerium, and titanium. 4.   The fast reactor fuel element according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the rare gas includes at least one of helium, argon, krypton, and xenon. A plurality of fast reactor fuel elements arranged in parallel and extending in the vertical direction;
A fuel element support grid horizontally installed below the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements and supporting a lower portion of each of the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements to allow a coolant to pass therethrough;
A trumpet tube that houses the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements and the fuel element support grid, extends in a vertical direction, and has a lower part and an upper part formed so that a coolant can pass through;
A fast reactor fuel assembly comprising:
The fast reactor fuel element comprises:
A hollow fuel rod using a metal fuel that has a central hole that penetrates in the vertical direction at the center in the radial direction and extends in the vertical direction;
A solid rod that is arranged in the central hole and extends in the vertical direction using a Doppler effect enhancing material,
A cladding tube containing the hollow fuel rod and the solid rod and extending in the vertical direction, closed at the top and bottom, and filled with a rare gas as a heat transfer material in the sealed space inside;
A fuel assembly for a fast reactor, comprising: A plurality of fast reactor fuel assemblies arranged parallel to each other and extending in the vertical direction;
A plurality of control rod assemblies provided in the plurality of fast reactor fuel assemblies without being adjacent to each other;
A plurality of blanket fuel assemblies that are arranged radially outside the fast reactor fuel assemblies and extend in the vertical direction;
A fast reactor core characterized by comprising:
The fast reactor fuel assembly is:
A plurality of fast reactor fuel elements arranged in parallel and extending in the vertical direction;
A fuel element support grid horizontally installed below the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements and supporting a lower portion of each of the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements to allow a coolant to pass therethrough;
A trumpet tube that houses the plurality of fast reactor fuel elements and the fuel element support grid, extends in a vertical direction, and has a lower part and an upper part formed so that a coolant can pass through;
With
The fast reactor fuel element comprises:
A hollow fuel rod using a metal fuel that has a central hole that penetrates in the vertical direction at the center in the radial direction and extends in the vertical direction;
A solid rod that is arranged in the central hole and extends in the vertical direction using a Doppler effect enhancing material,
A cladding tube containing the hollow fuel rod and the solid rod and extending in the vertical direction, closed at the top and bottom, and filled with a rare gas as a heat transfer material in the sealed space inside;
A fast reactor core characterized by comprising:

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