ECONOMICS OF ZIRCONIUM ALLOY VERSUS STAINLESS STEEL NUCLEAR FUEL SHEATHING,

Abstract

Conclusions: Increasing the uranium carrying charge from 4.75%/yr to 12%/yr raises the fuelcycle cost by about 0.5 mill/kwhe with stainlesssteel cladding and 0.25 mill/kwhe with zircaloy. The optimum burnup becomes lower with higher carrying charges. For all cost bases, fuelcycle costs with zircaloy are appreciable lower than with stainless steel. The difference is greater when uranium is purchased than when leased. However, zircaloy might not have this advantage if thin-walled rather than freestanding cladding were used. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1963
Accession Number
AD0422953

Entities

People

  • D. L. Trapp

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alloys
  • Chemical Compounds
  • Economics
  • Metallic Compounds
  • Nuclear Fuels
  • Stainless Steel
  • Steel
  • Zirconium
  • Zirconium Alloys
  • Zirconium Compounds

Readers

  • Metallurgy