FISSION PRODUCT RELEASE ASSESSMENT FOR END FITTING FAILURE IN CANDU REACTOR LOADED WITH CANFLEX-NU FUEL BUNDLES

Fission product release (FPR) assessment for End Fitting Failure (EFF) in CANDU reactor loaded with CANFLEX-natural uranium (NU) fuel bundles has been peformed. The predicted results are compared with those for the reactor loaded with standard 37-element bundles. The total channel I-131 release at the end of transient for EFF accident is calculated to be 380.8 TBq and 602.9 TBq for the CANFLEX bundle and standard bundle channel cases, respectively. They are 4.9% and 7.9% of the total inventory, respectively. The lower total releases of the CANFLEX bundle O6 channel are attributed to the lower initial fuel temperatures caused by the lower linear element power of the CANFLEX bundle compared with the standard bundle.