Neutronic aspects of nuclear reactor design

The aim of this presentation is to present the key feature of the core design, with focus on the main modifications brought in EPR design to increase the safety and efficiency of the core behaviour. The presentation gives an overview of the main features of the core; after a short remind of the general safety approach, the overall objectives of core and fuel design are provided, as far as their declination in the EPR core design : presentation of the components of the EPR core reactor ; including diverse in-core instrumentation, characteristics of fuel assemblies, and also core loading strategy. The design of the core aims at being capable of producing its rated power under the combination of either 100% UO₂ or 30% MOX core, and to allow the flexibility of various reload fuel management schemes.