ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Energy Res.
Sec. Nuclear Energy
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2025.1623060
Study of Load-Following Operation Impact on Light Water Reactor Fuel Performance using TRANSURANUS
Provisionally accepted
- 1Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- 2Vattenfall Nuclear Fuel AB, Stockholm, Sweden
- 3Westinghouse Electric Sweden AB, Västerås, Sweden
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Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are gaining popularity due to several economic and safety benefits, as well as their desirable load-following capability, which allows them to complement intermittent renewable energy sources. However, the impact of load-following operation on fuel performance remains under-explored. This study employs the fuel performance code, TRANSURANUS, to assess the effects of such operations on Pressurised Water Reactor (PWR) fuel performance, given the design similarities between many SMRs and large Light Water Reactors (LWRs). Hypothetical load-following operations were simulated by varying linear heat rate levels, neutron flux, and coolant flow rate in accordance with a parametrised load-following operation. Most fuel performance parameters remained below safety limits. However, in some cases, the PCI-SCC model (SPAKOR) predicted cladding cracks and failures that were not observed during regular reference operation. A sensitivity analysis of load-following parameters indicated minimal deviations in fuel performance, apart from the PCI-SCC related issues.
Keywords: Load-follow operation, Fuel performance, SMR, TRANSURANUS, PCI-SCC, DAKOTA
Received: 05 May 2025; Accepted: 09 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rathore, Blair, Robertson, Jonson and Andersson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Peter Andersson, peter.andersson@physics.uu.se
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