Current status of researches on the plutonium rock-like oxide fuel and itsburning in light water reactors

Intention of the ROX-LWR system research is to provide an option for utiliz ation or disposition of surplus plutonium. Researches on inert matrix mater ials and irradiation performance shows that the most favorable candidate fo r the ROX fuel is a particle dispersed fuel where small particles consisted of yttria stabilized zirconia, PuO2 and some additives are homogeneously d ispersed in spinel matrix. Reactor safety analyses show that the ROX fueled PWR core has nearly the same performability as the existing UO2 fueled PWR under both reactivity initiated accidents and loss of coolant accidents. ( C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.