The utility perspective on advances in light water reactor fuel design

This paper reports that in the United States, nuclear utilities vary considerably in system make-up, type, and vintage of reactor design. They vary from utilities with a single nuclear unit which can compose either a small or large percentage of total system generation to utilities with up to 12 nuclear units which produce 80 percent of system generation. Such variations contribute to different needs in nuclear fuel design by directly affecting fuel cycle length (12, 18 or 24 months cycles) and type of unit operation (e.g., base load or load following). Most components in a nuclear facility are generally designed for the life of the facility -- nominally 40 years. Nuclear fuel, however, is in a sense a consumable product. Average in-reactor lifetimes vary from two to four cycles or roughly from three to eight years depending upon the fuel management scheme employed.