Boiling Water Reactor Burnup Credit

Problem Statement

Vendors are beginning to request credit for burnup in boiling water reactor (BWR) spent nuclear fuel (SNF).  The NRC staff requires a technical basis for reviewing and acting on these applications.

Technical Approach

A series of 10 Tasks have been identified to examine important aspects of BWR operations and their potential impacts on burnup credit (BUC).  The main areas of interest are axial moderator and burnup distributions, control blade usage, operating conditions, and validation.

Benefit

A portion of the discharged BWR SNF inventory cannot be stored in current storage and transportation systems with a fresh fuel assumption.  BWR BUC will allow for storage and transportation of all SNF.

Sponsor

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research

Partner

Reactor and Nuclear Systems Division Reactor Physics Group

Project Manager

William (B.J.) Marshall

Principal Investigator

William (B.J.) Marshall