Development of high performance BWR spacer

The spacer has a significant effect on thermal hydraulic performance of BWR fuel assembly. The purpose of this study is to develop a new BWR spacer with high critical power and low pressure drop performance. The developed high performance spacer is a ferrule type spacer with twisted tape and improved flow tab. This spacer is called CYCLONE spacer. Critical power and pressure drop have been measured at BEST (BWR Experimental Loop for Stability and Transient test) of Toshiba Corporation. The test bundle consists of electrically heated rods in a 4×4 array configuration. These heater rods are indirectly heated. The heated length and outer diameter of the heater rod, as well as the number and the axial locations of the spacers, are the same as for those for a BWR fuel assembly. The axial power shape is stepped cosine (1.4 of the maximum peaking factor). Two test assemblies with different radial power distribution have been used. One test assembly has the maximum power rods at the center of the test assembly and the other has the maximum power rods near the channel wall. The results show that the critical power performance of CYCLONE spacer is 10 to 25% higher than that of the ferrule spacers, while the pressure drop for CYCLONE spacer is nearly equal to that of the ferrule spacer.