Economic Viability to BeO-UO2 Fuel Burnup Extension

Abstract

This paper presents the quantitative analysis results of research on the burnup effect on the nuclear fuel cycle cost of BeO-UO2 fuel. As a result of this analysis, if the burnup is 60 MWD/kg, which is the limit under South Korean regulations, the nuclear fuel cycle cost is 4.47 mills/kWh at 4.8wt% of Be content for the BeO-UO2 fuel. It is, however, reduced to 3.70 mills/kWh at 5.4wt% of Be content if the burnup is 75MWD/kg. Therefore, it seems very advantageous, in terms of the economic aspect, to develop BeO-UO2 fuel, which does not have any technical problem with its safety and is a high burnup & long life cycle nuclear fuel.