ML20030A452
| ML20030A452 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Site: | Big Rock Point File:Consumers Energy icon.png |
| Issue date: | 01/18/1960 |
| From: | CONSUMERS ENERGY CO. (FORMERLY CONSUMERS POWER CO.) |
| To: | |
| References | |
| NUDOCS 8101090537 | |
| Download: ML20030A452 (2) | |
Text
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SECTION VIII RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM A.
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS The Consumers Power Company High Power Density Reactor De-velopment Program, which is an integral aspect of the proposed Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant, consists of related specific development tasks to provide the technical basis for the design of a high power density reactor core and fuel. Progressive testing and evaluation of cores and fuels as required will be done at the Big Rock Plant. This Development Program is estimated as re-quiring a period of 71/2 years including a 41/2 year test and eval-uation period in the power producing Plant. A description of the program is included as Appendix 6 of this report.
The objectives of the Development Program are these:
1.
To demonstrate the feasibility of increasing the power density of oxide-fueled, boiling water reactors.
2.
To determine the effects of high power density operation upon fuel life exposure.
3.
To reduce fabrication costs of high performance fuel.
4.
To optimize the costs of high power density operation.
As indicated in earlier sections of this report, the Plant will be designed on parameters chosen to retain the essential safety mar-gins existing within present reactor technology. The utilization of technological advances expected from this associated Develop-ment Program is not to be considered within the scope of this report.
B.
HIGH POWER DENSITY REACTOR DEVELOPMENT The development program will consist of activities in five major categories of endeavor. They are Fuel Development, Nuclear De-velopm ent, Plant Development, Operational Planning and Operation-al Test Coordination. The scope of the program is as follows:
1.
The fuel development work will endeavor to establish the feasibility of high power density cores and to minimize I
costs by developing improved fuel fabrication techniques.
The initial core will be designed with fuel elements fabri-cated by presently available processes. Fuel assemblies of this initial core will be tested in the manufacturer's Tl oI O 9 b53 1
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test facilites to' demonstrate operation at high specific powers and peak exposure. times. After establishing the expected. performance of initial fuel loading,.~ fabrication developments and irradiation _ testing of fuel'will be con-
- tinued in order to provide advanced fuel elements for
subsequent full scale irradiation in the Big Rock Plant.
2.
The~ nuclear development work will endeavor to establish nuclear performance limitations to the' reactor design
~
L and seek an optimum economic _as well'as operational performance. This will involve; examination of stability and transient performance by currently available-analyti-
- cal techniques. Prototype testing will be done in the ' area of heat transfer and fluid flow.
-. 3 '. - The plant development work will endeavor to improve _ re-actor performance by optimizing core power and fuel burnup distribution and refueling frequency. Analytical studies using the latest proven techniques will be under-taken to improve reactor control, power flattening and to optimize fuel costs.
4.
The operational planning and test coordination develop-
. ment program will plan and coordinate the tests which
~
will be perfo: med in the Big Rock Plant.
-C.
- OPERATIONAL PERIOD Inherent in the detailed development program in each of the areas
- indicated above is a need for tests and analyses of the type which can be performed in the Big Rock Plant. The tests will be perform-ed in the Plant during the latter 41/2 year period of the proposed 1
program. Operational period activities at the Big Rock Plant will i
' include:
1.
The testing of advanced replacement prototype fuel ele-ments, and long-term irradiation tests of these elements under actual reactor operating conditions of high power density and system pressures.
4 J.
The measurement of reactor stability characteristics at various power levels and system pressures. Heat i
transfer and fluid flow performance of the reactor cores will be determined.
4 3.
Appropriate tests will be arranged to determine reactor control strength, effective power flattening and optimi-zation of fuel cycle costs. A machine computer will be procured and tested to determine the ' feasibility of scheduling control rod patterns and fuel arrangements to optimize fuel' costs.
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