Safety Characteristics of Candidate Oxide Fuels for Accelerator Driven Transmuters

The FUTURE project (Fuels for the Transmutation of Trans-Uranium Elements), established within the 5 th European Framework Programme on Partitioning and Transmutation, has the main aim of designing dedicated fuels for an Accelerator Driven Transmuter (ADT) based on well known oxide fuel technology. This paper presents the work that has been carried out to assess the basic feasibility of ADT cores utilising the candidate fuels selected within the FUTURE programme. Two particular aspects have been addressed in detail, the impact and behaviour of the different inert matrix materials, and an evaluation of their safety characteristics as a function of fuel irradiation and fuel isotopic content. Results for core performance and safety parameters are presented and discussed. These studies have been performed by Serco Assurance within the context of the European FUTURE programme and are sponsored by BNFL.