Cycle Length Extension of SMPWR Using Zircaloy Reflector

Abstract

A small modular pressurized water reactor (SMPWR) design under development at UNIST loads a large amount of burnable absorber due to the no-boron operation requirement, which causes a undesirable side effect of shortened cycle length. This paper performs sensitivity tests with reflector materials to mitigate the effect and recover the cycle length. Water, stainless steel, and Zircaloy are used as candidates for reflector materials. Zircaloy reflector shows the best performance in extending the cycle length while satisfying all the design requirements.