This work presents a comparative neutronic assessment of conventional UO 2 and three thorium-based fuels, namely (Th- 235 U)O 2 , (Th- 233 U)O 2 , and (Th- 233 U- 235 U)O 2 , in a Westinghouse-SMR-like core under several beginning-of-cycle (BOC) loading arrangements. The study distinguishes the respective roles of fissile vector and loading pattern in governing burnup behavior, fissile sustainability, isotopic evolution, fission-product poisoning, neutron-flux redistribution, assembly-wise radial power peaking (PPF), reactivity feedback, and kinetic response. The U-233-supported thorium option provides the strongest neutronic performance, with Core-3b reaching the highest discharge burnup of 33.37 GWd/tHM, compared with 26.86 GWd/tHM for the reference UO 2 core. The same fuel family also yields the flattest radial power distributions, whereas the strongest assembly-wise power peaking is observed in the less favorable (Th- 235 U)O 2 loading patterns. The hybrid (Th- 233 U- 235 U)O 2 option consistently shows improved behavior and emerges as the most balanced compromise among cycle extension, fissile retention, radial power shaping, and safety-related neutronic characteristics. Thorium-containing configurations preserve a higher fissile inventory ratio and strongly suppress plutonium buildup, but U-233-rich cases exhibit weaker moderator feedback and less favorable kinetic characteristics.
Banni et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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