Analysis of Uranium-Plutonium Based Fuel Performance in Gas-Cooled Fast Reactors (GFR) With Various Core Geometries Using OpenMC
Ratna Dewi Syarifah, Ahmad Haris Rasidi, Nurul Kholifah, Fajri Prasetya, Ahmad Muzaki Mabruri, Mohammad Ali Shafii, Dian Fitriyani

1Department of Physics, Universitas Jember
2Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung
3Department of Physics, Universitas Andalas
*Corresponding Author e-mail: mashafii[at]sci.unand.ac.id

Abstract

Analysis of thorium-based fuel performance in Gas-cooled Fast Reactors (GFR) with various core geometries has been conducted. GFR is a type of Generation-4 nuclear reactor with a fast neutron spectrum and helium gas coolant, enabling it to operate at high temperatures and effectively facilitate the breeding of U-233 from Th-232. This research aims to analyze the performance of thorium-based fuel in GFR core geometries: balanced, tall, and pancake shapes. The performance analysis includes neutronics aspects such as criticality, neutron behavior, and material transmutation resulting from burn-up. The analysis was conducted using the Monte Carlo approach with the OpenMC code, which is an open-source tool for neutron and photon transport analysis. The research findings indicate that the balanced geometry variation yields the best performance, requiring less fuel to achieve criticality over the same period, providing a more uniform neutron flux distribution, and achieving the most optimal breeding ratio. These results highlight the potential of the balanced design as the preferred choice to enhance efficiency and reliability in GFR reactors.

Keywords: GFR, Thorium fuel, Variation Core Geometries

Topic: Innovative Nuclear Energy Systems