First Core and Refueling Options for IRIS

The International Reactor Innovative and Secure (IRIS) is being developed by an international consortium of industry, laboratory, university and utility establishments, led by Westinghouse. The IRIS design addresses key requirements associated with advanced reactors, including improved safety, enhanced proliferation resistance, competitive electricity production cost, and improved waste management. IRIS is a modular, small/medium size (100 to 335 MWe) PWR with integral vessel configuration. Its design is based on proven LWR technology, so that no new technology development is needed and near term deployment is possible. At the same time, aim was to introduce improvements as compared to present PWRs. These opposing requirements resulted in an evolutionary approach to fuel and core design, balancing new features and the need to avoid extensive testing and demonstration programs. A path forward was devised by selecting the current fuel technology for the first IRIS core, but keeping future upgrades possible through the variable moderation fuel assembly design. This paper describes this approach and discusses core fueling options that enable achieving four-year and eight-year core lifetime.