Investigating the Impact of Plutonium Isotopes on DFRs Fuel Cycle Length Using ThCl4-PuCl3 Fuel

Year 2025, Volume: 11 Issue: 3, 355 - 363, 31.12.2025

Semra Daydaş , Ali Tiftikçi

Abstract

In this study, ThCl₄-PuCl₃ fuel, which has a lower eutectic point (895K) than the (U-Pu)Cl₃ fuel used in the current Dual Fluid Reactor (DFR) system, was proposed to evaluate the effects of plutonium isotopes on reactor performance. The calculations were conducted using the SERPENT 1.1.7 Monte Carlo code and the ENDF/B-VII.0 cross-section library. Specifically, the effects of 240Pu and 238Pu isotopes were analyzed in the 5BP40 and 10BP38 fuel compositions, respectively. As a result, both modified fuels provided fuel cycles approximately 3.5 times longer than the reference reactor while exhibiting similar keff behavior throughout burnup. Additionally, the behavior of the fuel compositions under temperature variations was analyzed to evaluate reactor safety. The results demonstrate that both fuel compositions offer safe operating conditions. Specifically, 5BP40 is more advantageous in terms of isotope enrichment level, whereas 10BP38 provides higher safety margins. Future studies should investigate the interactions of the fuel with the fuel tube material and consider the DFR’s online fuels reprocessing capability when analyzing fuel behavior.

Keywords

DFR , Dual Fluid Reactor , SERPENT , Neutronic Analysis , plutonium isotopes

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