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The target of this study is to provide information on the actual boundary conditions encountered in the conceptual design of an ADS fuelled by (Th, LEU), as well as their impact on the design itself, on the performances of the system and on the possible solutions from the point of view of the choice of materials, the operating conditions, the neutron design optimization, etc. In this paper rationales and consequences of the (Th, U) fuel cycle adoption, together with the design constraints, are discussed. Identified reference core configuration and the steady state criticality results are also discussed. Stochastic approach for the neutronic evaluations has been adopted. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd

The revival of interest towards fast neutron reactors is due to their capability of producing more fissile material than they consume and of reducing the burden on the disposal of high-level waste containing very-long life nuclides. Several studies on the impact of transition scenarios have been launched by international and national organizations. They show that the relevance of transitioning to fast reactors depends on the expected future role of nuclear energy and on the development of advanced nuclear technologies. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the maximum deployable capacity of sodium-cooled fast reactors at regional and world levels mainly from the viewpoint of natural uranium and fissile plutonium availability for presumed energy demand projections. The calculations have been performed with the DESAE code. The results show that the maximum deployable capacity of sodium-cooled reactors at regional level is not limited by the plutonium and uranium availability with a reprocessing capacity of 3000 t/yr, whereas for a global scenario it strongly depends on the availability of natural uranium resources and plutonium stockpiles.