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EP-4421824-B1 - FUEL MODULE AND APPLICATION THEREOF

EP4421824B1EP 4421824 B1EP4421824 B1EP 4421824B1EP-4421824-B1

Inventors

  • XUE, Jiaxiang
  • WU, LIXIANG
  • ZHANG, Xiansheng
  • REN, Qisen
  • LIAO, Yehong
  • ZHANG, Yongdong

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20211216

Claims (11)

  1. A nuclear fuel module, comprising a columnar structure (10), multiple hollow closed holes (20) dispersedly arranged on the columnar structure (10) , multiple cooling through-holes (30), and fuel (40) arranged inside the columnar structure (10); the hollow closed holes (20) are located within the columnar structure (10), with the fuel (40) filled in each of the hollow closed holes (20); the cooling through-holes (30) are separated from the hollow closed holes (20) and penetrate through the columnar structure (10) on opposite sides for a coolant to pass through; wherein multiple hollow closed holes (20) are arranged to form multiple rows of closed hole groups (2), each closed hole group (2) comprising one or more hollow closed holes (20); a spacing between adjacent two rows of closed hole groups (2) is 10mm to 30mm; in the closed hole groups (2), a spacing between adjacent two hollow closed holes (20) is 5mm to 15mm; and wherein multiple cooling through-holes (30) are arranged to form multiple rows of through-hole groups (3), each through-hole group (3) comprising one or more cooling through-holes (30); a spacing between adjacent two rows of through-hole groups (3) is 10mm to 30mm; in the through-hole groups (3), a spacing between adjacent two cooling through-holes (30) is 5mm to 15mm.
  2. The nuclear fuel module according to Claim 1, characterized in that the columnar structure (10) is made of one or more of metal, ceramic, glass, and composite materials.
  3. The nuclear fuel module according to Claim 2, characterized in that the columnar structure (10) is made of at least one of zirconium alloy, stainless steel, molybdenum alloy, high-entropy alloy, silicon carbide, zirconium carbide, silicon carbide fiber-reinforced silicon carbide composite material, high-entropy ceramic, and metal ceramic composite material.
  4. The nuclear fuel module according to Claim 1, characterized in that the columnar structure (10) is cylindrical, an elliptical cylinder, or a polygonal cylinder.
  5. The nuclear fuel module according to Claim 1, characterized in that an aperture diameter of the hollow closed holes (20) is 5mm to 15mm.
  6. The nuclear fuel module according to Claim 1, characterized in that multiple hollow closed holes (20) extend vertically and/or horizontally within the columnar structure (10).
  7. The nuclear fuel module according to Claim 1, characterized in that the hollow closed holes (20) and the cooling through-holes (30) are arranged in an interleaved manner.
  8. The nuclear fuel module according to Claim 1, characterized in that a minimum distance between a center of the hollow closed holes (20) and an outer surface of the columnar structure (10) is 3mm; and/or a minimum distance between a center of the cooling through-holes (30) and the outer surface of the columnar structure (10) is 3mm.
  9. The nuclear fuel module according to Claim 1, characterized in that in the columnar structure (10), the number of hollow closed holes (20) is 30 to 300.
  10. The nuclear fuel module according to any one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the fuel (40) is at least one of block fuel, granular fuel, and liquid fuel; the block fuel includes at least one of fully ceramic-coated nuclear fuel and nuclear fuel sintered blocks; and/or the granular fuel includes coated granular fuel; and/or the liquid fuel includes at least one of compound of liquid uranium and compound of liquid plutonium.
  11. An application wherein the nuclear fuel module of any one of Claims 1 to 10 is used in water-cooled reactors, lead-cooled reactors, molten salt reactors, sodium-cooled reactors, or gas-cooled reactors.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the field of nuclear fuel technology, particularly to a fuel module and its application. BACKGROUND Nuclear energy, as a clean energy source, is favored by various industries. However, the safety issues associated with nuclear energy cannot be ignored, especially the need to ensure that the fuel in the reactor core does not melt or leak under extreme accident conditions. Currently used Zr alloy cladding is prone to damage in loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCA), leading to high hydrogen production rates and increasing the safety concerns of nuclear reactors. To address these issues, a promising alternative is to use SiC cladding instead of existing Zr alloy cladding, and to use fully ceramic-coated fuel (FCM), inert matrix fuel (IMF), or inert matrix dispersed fuel (IMDP) instead of existing fuel, to enhance the safety of nuclear reactors. However, these approaches still require cladding to ensure that nuclear fuel does not leak. The thin-walled, long tubular nature of the cladding still poses the risk of damage. Based on the above application background, there is an urgent need to develop a new type of nuclear fuel element to further improve the safety of nuclear reactors while meeting the service conditions of the new generation of nuclear energy systems. Nuclear fuel modules and applications thereof are known, for example, from CN 111 627 572 A (04.09.2020, SHANGHAI INST APPLIED PHYSICS CAS) and US 3 413 196 A (26.11.1968, PETER FORTESCUE ET AL). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL PROBLEM The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an integrated fuel module capable of improving the safety of nuclear reactors and its application. SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM TECHNICAL SOLUTION The problem underlying the present application is solved by a nuclear fuel module having the features of claim 1 and by an application having the features of claim 11. The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the technical problem is to provide a fuel module, comprising a columnar structure, multiple hollow closed holes dispersedly arranged on the columnar structure, multiple cooling through-holes, and fuel disposed inside the columnar structure; The hollow closed holes are located inside the columnar structure, and the fuel is filled in each hollow closed hole; the cooling through-holes are separated from the hollow closed holes and penetrate the columnar structure on opposite sides for coolant passage. Preferably, the columnar structure is made of one or more of metal, ceramic, glass, and composite materials. Preferably, the columnar structure is made of at least one of Zr alloy, stainless steel, molybdenum alloy, high-entropy alloy, silicon carbide, zirconium carbide, silicon carbide fiber reinforced silicon carbide composite material, high-entropy ceramic, and metal ceramic composite material. Preferably, the columnar structure is cylindrical, elliptical, or polygonal. Preferably, the pore diameter of the hollow closed holes is 5mm to 15mm. Preferably, multiple hollow closed holes extend vertically and/or horizontally within the columnar structure. Preferably, multiple hollow closed holes are arranged to form multiple rows of closed hole groups, each closed hole group comprising one or more hollow closed holes. Preferably, the spacing between adjacent two rows of closed hole groups is 10mm to 30mm. Preferably, in the closed hole group, the spacing between adjacent two hollow closed holes is 5mm to 15mm. Preferably, the pore diameter of the cooling through-holes is 5mm to 15mm. Preferably, multiple cooling through-holes are arranged to form multiple rows of through-hole groups, each through-hole group comprising one or more cooling through-holes. Preferably, the spacing between adjacent two rows of through-hole groups is 10mm to 30mm. Preferably, in the through-hole group, the spacing between adjacent two cooling through-holes is 5mm to 15mm. Preferably, the hollow closed holes and the cooling through-holes are arranged in an interleaved manner. Preferably, the minimum distance between the center of the hollow closed holes and the outer surface of the columnar structure is 3mm to 10mm. Preferably, the minimum distance between the center of the cooling through-holes and the outer surface of the columnar structure is 3mm to 10mm. Preferably, in the columnar structure, the number of hollow closed holes is 30 to 300. Preferably, the fuel is at least one of block fuel, granular fuel, or liquid fuel. Preferably, the block fuel includes at least one of fully ceramic-coated nuclear fuel and nuclear fuel sintered blocks. Preferably, the granular fuel includes coated granular fuel. Preferably, the liquid fuel includes at least one compound of liquid uranium and liquid plutonium. The present invention also provides an application of the fuel module, where the fuel module is used for water-cooled reactors, lead-cooled reactors, molten salt reactors,