The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last week approved Global Nuclear Fuel’s (GNF) newest boiling water reactor fuel innovation, NSF channels.
The channels are made with a combination of niobium, tin, iron and zirconium. They are designed to resist shadow corrosion-induced bowing and fluence gradient bowing, which can lead to fuel channel distortion.
“NSF is an innovative solution designed to reduce channel bow and control rod blade interference, reducing the need for operational testing and allowing our customers to operate their plants with higher efficiency,” Lance Hall, senior vice president of Nuclear Fuels and Services at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, said. “Achieving this milestone paves the way for GNF to offer this innovative technology to our customers.”
GNF is a joint venture that include GE; Hitatchi, Ltd.; and Toshiba Corp. It specializes in the supply of boiling water reactor fuel.
The NSF channels will be available by spring 2016 in reload quantities. The channels will be standard in full reloads of GNF3 bundles in 2018.
