THERMO-HYDRAULIC ANALYSIS OF A SMALL MODULAR REACTOR OF TYPE IPWR

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are an innovative option for power generation. This type of reactor offers numerous benefits and uses. The implementation of Fully Ceramic Microencapsulated fuel (FCM) in an integral pressurized water reactor (iPWR) with SMR characteristics has been studied previously. FCM has excellent thermal and irradiation resistance properties and is composed of a SiC matrix with dispersed TRISO fuel particles. To perform the thermo-hydraulic analysis of the core of an SMR using FCM as fuel, a computational model was built using CFD codes. The model describes a typical fuel assembly of the reactor and the main thermo-hydraulic parameters are calculated for the increased power values of 65, 80, and 100 MWt. To improve the thermo-hydraulic behavior of the core, it was considered to vary the values of mass flow, core inlet temperature, and system pressure.