General Electric Company

Robert A Rand

Russell Edward Stachowski

Anthony P Reese

Robert B Elkins

Russell M Fawcett

Gerald A Potts

John Frederick Schardt

Roland Otto Jackson

Angelo Chopelas

Harold Hartney Yeager

Cary L Kunz

Charles McNeely

Peter J Savoia

Sten O Akerlund

Robert Schneider

A system and method for assessing failure of fuel rods are disclosed. The method may include monitoring fuel rod operational conditions, comparing the fuel rod parameters to parameters limits, calculating the fuel rod performance parameters to determine the likelihood of failure of individual fuel rods, and updating plant operating parameters based on the calculated fuel rod parameters. The system may input the calculated fuel rod parameters into a fuel failure model to assess the probability of failure, and predict the probability of failure of individual fuel rods based on fuel rod parameters in the fuel failure model.

Method and system for assessing failures of fuel rods

A nuclear fuel bundle has differential peak power limits for the edge or peripheral fuel rods and the interior fuel rods. Also, the magnitude of nuclear fuel in the edge or peripheral rods is decreased in comparison with the magnitude of nuclear fuel in the interior rods. The nuclear reactor can thus operate at higher power output by decreasing the margins between the power outputs and peak power limit of the interior rods, as well as by decreasing the margins between the power outputs of the edge or peripheral rods and the increased peak power limit of those rods. The outer or peripheral edge rods can also be enriched for enhanced power output.

Nuclear fuel bundle having different peak power limits

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Wilmington, NC, United States of America

Robert A Rand