Neutronic investigation of a light water reactor with SiC ceramic as accident tolerant fuel cladding (ATFC) material

Development of Accident Tolerant Fuel Cladding (ATFC) materials as the improvement for nuclear safety has increased intensively over the past decade as the lesson-learned from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident. Interaction of the zirconium alloy as the cladding material of the reactor with water vapor at high-temperature because of abnormal condition generated the hydrogen gas as the product of oxidation. Silicon carbide ceramic (SiC) is one of ATFC candidates to overcome the issue due to its high-temperature corrosion resistance. The neutronic investigation of SiC fuel cladding for LWR (Light Water Reactor) was done to analyse the feasibility of the material for the reactor from reactor physics view point. SRAC (Standard Reactor Analysis Code) as a deterministic neutronic code with cell and core calculation was used. In this study, the criticality of the reactor system with SiC fuel cladding was calculated and compared with Zircaloy-4 as the referenced standard cladding material for LWR especially PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor). Furthermore, neutron energy spectrum behavior at BOL (Beginning of Life) and EOL (End of Life) and excess reactivity behavior of the LWR core as a function of fuel burnup were calculated. The result showed that the reactivity of SiC cladding reactor core was slightly lower than Zircaloy-4 cladding reactor core. Furthermore, SiC cladding material demonstrated the negative temperature coefficient of reactivity of the reactor core examined, which is an important feature of the safety characteristic of LWR. It is shown that the use of SiC fuel cladding is feasible to be used the LWR reactor from reactor physics view point.