Fuel pellets having a heterogeneous composition and related methods
US-2020321134-A1 · Oct 8, 2020 · US
Nuclear fuel rod including disk-type burnable absorber
US11133115B2 · US · B2
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication number | US-11133115-B2 |
| Application number | US-202016797309-A |
| Country | US |
| Kind code | B2 |
| Filing date | Feb 21, 2020 |
| Priority date | Oct 29, 2019 |
| Publication date | Sep 28, 2021 |
| Grant date | Sep 28, 2021 |
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Abstract
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Disclosed is a nuclear fuel rod including at least one or more fuel pellets, a cladding tube surrounding the fuel pellets, and burnable absorber inside the cladding tube. The burnable absorber comprises a burnable absorber material and a cladding material surrounding the burnable absorber material. The burnable absorber has a disk shape, and the cladding material is an alloy comprising zirconium.
First claim
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What is claimed is: 1. A nuclear fuel rod comprising at least two fuel pellets, a cladding tube surrounding the fuel pellets, and at least two burnable absorbers inside the cladding tube, wherein each of the burnable absorbers consists of a burnable absorber material located in a cladding material which surrounds a perimeter edge, a top surface, and a bottom surface of the burnable absorber material, each of the burnable absorbers has a disk shape, the burnable absorber material of at least two burnable absorbers have a different surface area and/or volume, the cladding material is a zirconium-based alloy, each cladding material has a substantially same surface area and/or volume, and each of the burnable absorbers is located on a respective one of the fuel pellets such that the burnable absorbers and the fuel pellets are stacked along a longitudinal direction of the nuclear fuel rod, and wherein a self-shielding effect is optimized by the different surface area and/or the volume of the burnable absorber material of the at least two burnable absorbers. 2. The nuclear fuel rod of claim 1 , wherein in the nuclear fuel rod, each of the at least two burnable absorbers is located between at least two or more fuel pellets. 3. The nuclear fuel rod of claim 1 , wherein the burnable absorber material comprises one or more selected from the group consisting of Gadolinium (Gd), gadolinia (Gd 2 O 3 ), erbium (Er), Er 2 O 3 , and boron carbide (B 4 C). 4. The nuclear fuel rod of claim 1 , wherein the diameter of each of the at least two burnable absorbers is equal to the diameter of the at least two fuel pellets. 5. The nuclear fuel rod of claim 1 , wherein the thickness of each of the at least two burnable absorbers is approximately 0.1 mm-2.0 mm. 6. The nuclear fuel rod of claim 1 , wherein in each of the at least two burnable absorbers, the diameter of the burnable absorber material is approximately 30-95% of the diameter of the at least two fuel pellets. 7. A nuclear reactor comprising the nuclear fuel rod of claim 1 . 8. A method for manufacturing a nuclear fuel rod, the method comprising: preparing disk-shaped burnable absorbers, each consisting of a burnable absorber material located in a cladding material which surrounds a perimeter edge, a top surface, and a bottom surface of the burnable absorber material, the burnable absorber material of at least two burnable absorbers have a different surface area and/or volume, the cladding material being a zirconium-based alloy, each cladding material has a substantially same surface area and/or volume; and stacking, in a cladding tube along a longitudinal direction of the nuclear fuel rod, at least two fuel pellets and said at least two burnable absorbers, so that each of the burnable absorbers is located on a respective one of the fuel pellets; and wherein a self-shielding effect is optimized by the different surface area and/or the volume of the burnable absorber material of the at least two burnable absorbers.
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- What does patent US11133115B2 cover?
- Disclosed is a nuclear fuel rod including at least one or more fuel pellets, a cladding tube surrounding the fuel pellets, and burnable absorber inside the cladding tube. The burnable absorber comprises a burnable absorber material and a cladding material surrounding the burnable absorber material. The burnable absorber has a disk shape, and the cladding material is an alloy comprising zirconium.
- Who is the assignee on this patent?
- Korea Advanced Inst Sci & Tech
- What technology area does this patent fall under?
- Primary CPC classification G21C7/04. Mapped technology areas include Physics.
- When was this patent published?
- Publication date Tue Sep 28 2021 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
- What related patents are in patentsdb?
- We list 4 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).