Method For The Determination Of Technical Specifications Limiting Temperature In Ebr Ii Operation

The methodology and analysis procedure to qualify the Mark-V and Mark-VA fuels for the Experimental Breeder Reactor II are summarized in this paper. Fuel performance data and design safety criteria are essential for thermal-hydraulic analysis and safety evaluations. Normal and off-normal operation duty cycles and transient classifications are required for the safety assessment of the fuels. The temperature limits of subassemblies were first determined by a steady-state thermal-structural and fuel damage analysis, in which a trial-and-error approach was used to predict the maximum allowable fuel pin temperature that satisfies the design criteria for steady-state normal operation. The steady-state temperature limits were used as the basis of the off-normal transient analysis to assess the safety performance of the fuel for anticipated, unlikely and extremely unlikely events. If the design criteria for the off-normal events are not satisfied, then the subassembly temperature limit is reduced and an iterative procedure is employed until all design criteria are met.