A new fast neutron collar for safeguards inspection measurements of fresh low enriched uranium fuel assemblies containing burnable poison rods

2013 ◽  
Vol 729 ◽  
pp. 740-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise G. Evans ◽  
Martyn T. Swinhoe ◽  
Howard O. Menlove ◽  
Peter Schwalbach ◽  
Paul De Baere ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fast Neutron ◽  
Burnable Poison ◽  
Uranium Fuel ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Enriched Uranium

scholarly journals Conceptual Design of a MEDE Treatment System for Sodium Bonded Fuel

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl E. Baily ◽  
Karen A. Moore ◽  
Collin J. Knight ◽  
Peter B. Wells ◽  
Paul J. Petersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
National Laboratory ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Test Facility ◽  
Evaporation Chamber ◽  
Oak Ridge ◽  
Uranium Fuel ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Metal Fuel ◽  
Enriched Uranium

Unirradiated sodium bonded metal fuel and casting scrap material containing highly enriched uranium (HEU) is stored at the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) on the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This material, which includes intact fuel assemblies and elements from the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) and Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) reactors, as well as scrap material from the casting of these fuels, has no current use under the terminated reactor programs for both facilities. The Department of Energy (DOE), under the Sodium-Bonded Spent Nuclear Fuel Treatment Record of Decision (ROD), has determined that this material could be prepared and transferred to an off-site facility for processing and eventual fabrication of fuel for commercial nuclear reactors. A plan is being developed to prepare, package, and transfer this material to the DOE HEU Disposition Program Office (HDPO), located at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Disposition of the sodium bonded material will require separating the elemental sodium from the metallic uranium fuel. A sodium distillation process known as MEDE (Melt-Drain-Evaporate), will be used for the separation process. The casting scrap material needs to be sorted to remove any foreign material or fines that are not acceptable to the HDPO program. Once all elements have been cut and loaded into baskets, they are then loaded into an evaporation chamber as the first step in the MEDE process. The chamber will be sealed and the pressure reduced to approximately 200 mtorr. The chamber will then be heated as high as 650 °C, causing the sodium to melt and then vaporize. The vapor phase sodium will be driven into an outlet line where it is condensed and drained into a receiver vessel. Once the evaporation operation is complete, the system is de-energized and returned to atmospheric pressure. This paper describes the MEDE process as well as a general overview of the furnace systems, as necessary, to complete the MEDE process.

scholarly journals Study on Transmutation of Minor Actinides as Burnable Poison in VVER-1000 Fuel Assembly

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Vinh Thanh Tran ◽  
Hoai-Nam Tran ◽  
Huu Tiep Nguyen ◽  
Van-Khanh Hoang ◽  
Pham Nhu Viet Ha
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Assembly ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Calculation Model ◽  
Minor Actinide ◽  
Minor Actinides ◽  
Reference Case ◽  
Burnable Poison ◽  
Uranium Fuel ◽  
Enriched Uranium ◽  
Reactivity Insertion

Thermal reactors have been considered as interim solution for transmutation of minor actinides recycled from spent nuclear fuel. Various studies have been performed in recent decades to realize this possibility. This paper presents the neutronic feasibility study on transmutation of minor actinides as burnable poison in the VVER-1000 LEU (low enriched uranium) fuel assembly. The VVER-1000 LEU fuel assembly was modeled using the SRAC code system, and the SRAC calculation model was verified against the MCNP6 calculations and the available published benchmark data. Two models of minor actinide loading in the LEU fuel assembly have been investigated: homogeneous mixing in the UGD (Uranium-Gadolinium) pins and coating a thin layer to the UGD pins. The consequent negative reactivity insertion by minor actinides was compensated by reducing the gadolinium content and boron concentration. The reactivity of the LEU assembly versus burnup and the transmutation of minor actinide nuclides were examined in comparison with the reference case. The results demonstrate that transmutation of minor actinides as burnable poison in the VVER-1000 reactor is feasible as minor actinides could partially replace the functions of gadolinium and boric acid for excess reactivity control.

scholarly journals Study on transmutation efficiency of the VVER-1000 fuel assembly with different minor actinide compositions

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Vinh Thanh Tran ◽  
Thanh Mai Vu ◽  
Van Khanh Hoang ◽  
Viet Ha Pham Nhu
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Fuel Assembly ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Minor Actinide ◽  
Minor Actinides ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Burnable Poison ◽  
Uranium Fuel ◽  
Enriched Uranium ◽  
Actinide Transmutation

The feasibility of transmutation of minor actinides recycled from the spent nuclear fuel in the VVER-1000 LEU (low enriched uranium) fuel assembly as burnable poison was examined in our previous study. However, only the minor actinide vector of the VVER-440 spent fuel was considered. In this paper, various vectors of minor actinides recycled from the spent fuel of VVER-440, PWR-1000, and VVER-1000 reactors were therefore employed in the analysis in order to investigate the minor actinide transmutation efficiency of the VVER-1000 fuel assembly with different minor actinide compositions. The comparative analysis was conducted for the two models of minor actinide loading in the LEU fuel assembly: homogeneous mixing in the UGD (Uranium-Gadolinium) pins and coating a thin layer to the UGD pins. The parameters to be analysed and compared include the reactivity of the LEU fuel assembly versus burnup and the transmutation of minor actinide nuclides when loading different minor actinide vectors into the LEU fuel assembly.

scholarly journals Reactor Core Conceptual Design for a Scalable Heating Experimental Reactor, LUTHER

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-214
Author(s):  
Thinh Truong ◽  
Heikki Suikkanen ◽  
Juhani Hyvärinen
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Water Pressure ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Experimental Reactor ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Enriched Uranium

In this paper, the conceptual design and a preliminary study of the LUT Heating Experimental Reactor (LUTHER) for 2 MWth power are presented. Additionally, commercially sized designs for 24 MWth and 120 MWth powers are briefly discussed. LUTHER is a scalable light-water pressure-channel reactor designed to operate at low temperature, low pressure, and low core power density. The LUTHER core utilizes low enriched uranium (LEU) to produce low-temperature output, targeting the district heating demand in Finland. Nuclear power needs to contribute to the decarbonizing of the heating and cooling sector, which is a much more significant greenhouse gas emitter than electricity production in the Nordic countries. The main principle in the development of LUTHER is to simplify the core design and safety systems, which, along with using commercially available reactor components, would lead to lower fabrication costs and enhanced safety. LUTHER also features a unique design with movable individual fuel assembly for reactivity control and burnup compensation. Two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) fuel assemblies and reactor cores are modeled with the Serpent Monte Carlo reactor physics code. Different reactor design parameters and safety configurations are explored and assessed. The preliminary results show an optimal basic core design, a good neutronic performance, and the feasibility of controlling reactivity by moving fuel assemblies.

Preliminary Core Design and Optimization Analysis of Travelling Wave Reactor

2014 ◽  
Vol 1070-1072 ◽  
pp. 357-360
Author(s):  
Dao Xiang Shen ◽  
Yao Li Zhang ◽  
Qi Xun Guo
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Rational Design ◽  
Nuclear Reactor ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Travelling Wave ◽  
Optimization Analysis ◽  
Design And Optimization ◽  
Uranium Fuel ◽  
Enriched Uranium ◽  
Ignition Zone

A travelling wave reactor (TWR) is an advanced nuclear reactor which is capable of running for decades given only depleted uranium fuel, it is considered one of the most promising solutions for nonproliferation. A preliminary core design was proposed in this paper. The calculation was performed by Monte Carlo method. The burning mechanism of the reactor core design was studied. Optimization on the ignition zone was performed to reduce the amount of enriched uranium initially deployed. The results showed that the preliminary core design was feasible. The optimization analysis showed that the amount of enriched uranium could be reduced under rational design.

scholarly journals Criticality safety analysis of spent fuel pool for a PWR using UO2, MOX, (Th-U)O2 and (TRU-Th)O2 fuels

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3A) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claubia Pereira ◽  
Jéssica P. Achilles ◽  
Fabiano Cardoso ◽  
Victor F. Castro ◽  
Maria Auxiliadora F. Veloso
Keyword(s):  
Normal Operation ◽  
Pressurized Water Reactor ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Operation Conditions ◽  
Transport Code ◽  
Uranium Fuel ◽  
Fuel Assemblies ◽  
Spent Fuel Pool ◽  
Criticality Safety

A spent fuel pool of a typical Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) was evaluated for criticality studies when it uses reprocessed fuels. PWR nuclear fuel assemblies with four types of fuels were considered: standard PWR fuel, MOX fuel, thorium-uranium fuel and reprocessed transuranic fuel spiked with thorium. The MOX and UO2 benchmark model was evaluated using SCALE 6.0 code with KENO-V transport code and then, adopted as a reference for other fuels compositions. The four fuel assemblies were submitted to irradiation at normal operation conditions. The burnup calculations were obtained using the TRITON sequence in the SCALE 6.0 code package. The fuel assemblies modeled use a benchmark 17x17 PWR fuel assembly dimensions. After irradiation, the fuels were inserted in the pool. The criticality safety limits were performed using the KENO-V transport code in the CSAS5 sequence. It was shown that mixing a quarter of reprocessed fuel withUO2 fuel in the pool, it would not need to be resized 

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