Operating Experience with the Multienrichment Initial Core of the Boiling Water Reactor Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Unit 5

Abstract

The multienrichment boiling water reactor (BWR) initial core design was first applied to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station Unit 5 [1100-MW(electric) BWR] in Japan. This core is designed to improve fuel discharge exposure, capacity factors, and operability. The design study shows that three types of fuel bundles with different enrichments are suitable to achieve the design targets. Three bundle enrichments are selected to simulate each of the following: fresh bundles, once-burned bundles, and twice-burned bundles in the reload core.

Although the heterogeneity of multienrichment design increases the complexity of the design analysis, both the initial criticality test and the moderator temperature coefficient measurement showed good agreement with our prediction. Subsequent full-power operation verified the expected core performance.

Average discharge exposure for the total initial fuel is ∼10% larger than that for the conventional single-enrichment BWR initial fuel with reinsertion of discharged fuel at the end of the first cycle. These experiences verified the effectiveness of a multienrichment initial core for the improvement of fuel utilization, capacity factors, and operability