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TVEL Fuel Company intensively upgrades the existing and implements new types of fuel for nuclear power plants, research and propulsion reactors. These activities are to improve technical and economic characteristics to fully meet the demands of the customers.
VVER reactors are studied to make increase uranium-consuming cores to implement more effective fuel cycles. To meet this objective the fuel assemblies with extended length, reduced quantity of zirconium and increased diameter of fuel pellet are developed. R&D activities are carried out for the third generation FA designed for VVER-440 to obtain better characteristics resulted from FA water-uranium ratio optimization. A separate objective is to design FA with MOX fuel for VVER-1000 under the implementation of excess weapon-grade plutonium disposition program in Russia.
In particular, in its bid for Bulgarian Belene nuclear power plant the Russian nuclear fuel producer presented the new TVSA fuel which features improved characteristics, e.g. fuel campaign with fuel will be extended up to 320 effective days (for Kozloduy in Bulgaria and Ukrainian nuclear power plant is 295 effective days). In addition, uranium charge will be increased and some design innovations will be introduced (upgraded component units, vibration-resistant grid, arch-shaped spacers, and anti-debris filter). Fuel assembly Burnup will be much higher (average - 55 MW*day/kgU, maximum – up to 60 MW*day/kgU). This core design will make refueling schedule more flexible (their frequency can vary from 12 to 20 months considering scheduled outages and refueling) and make possible to implement the load follow-up mode taking account of the grid restraints (100%-75%-100% of reactor nominal power capacity (Nnom)). All these will facilitate achieving the most optimum plant operation mode in terms of the plant economics.
Fuel assembly with fuel rods of increased radiation resistance steel cladding is developed for BN-600 reactors. These improvements could increase heavy atoms burnup by 14-15% in BN-600 to result in pronounced cost-effectiveness.
For 2007-2008 the work is planned to design, fabricate and test experimental MOX-fuel assemblies for BN-800 reactor with the tests being made in the existing BN-600 reactor.
Upgraded fuel assemblies, which make it possible to extend FA lifetime up to 10 years and increase the capacity thereof by 10%, are designing for RBMK reactors.
Fuel rods with uranium-molybdenum alloy-based fuel are under development for research reactors. It will facilitate research reactor conversion to 19.7% enrichment fuel by uranium-235 (under the international program for fuel enrichment reduction for this reactor category).
JSC TVEL is involved in the design activities for VVER-1500 project. The Fuel Company functions as a designer of fuel assemblies and absorbers of reactor control and protection system.
If you are interested in these products, please contact us for further information by e-mail commerce@tvel.ru.  Printable version
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