scholarly journals Safety features of fast reactor with heavy atomic weight weakly neutron absorbing reflector

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Gennady G. Kulikov ◽  
Anatoly N. Shmelev ◽  
Vladimir A. Apse ◽  
Evgeny G. Kulikov
Keyword(s):  
Fast Reactor ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Atomic Weight ◽  
Reactor Safety ◽  
Delayed Neutrons ◽  
Safety Features ◽  
Kinetics Of ◽  
Reactivity Accident ◽  
Neutron Absorption Cross Section

The purpose of the present study is the justification of the possibility of improving fast reactor safety by surrounding reactor cores with reflectors made of material with special neutron physics properties. Such properties of 208Pb lead isotope as heavy atomic weight, small neutron absorption cross section, and high inelastic scattering threshold result in certain peculiarities in neutron kinetics of the fast reactor equipped with 208Pb reflector, which can significantly enhance reactor safety. The reflector will also make possible generation of additional delayed neutrons characterized by the “dead” time. This will improve the resistibility of the fission chain reaction to stepwise reactivity excursions and exclude prompt supercriticality. Let us note that generation of additional delayed neutrons can be shaped by reactor designers. The relevance of the study amounts to the fact that generation of additional delayed neutrons in the reflector will make it possible mitigating the consequences of a reactivity accident even if the introduced reactivity exceeds the effective fraction of delayed neutrons. At the same time, the role of the fraction of delayed neutrons as the maximum permissible reactivity for reactor safety is depreciated. Scientific originality of the study pertains to the fact that the problem of yield of additional neutrons with properties close to normal delayed neutrons, has not been posed before. The authors suggest a new method for enhancing safety of fast reactors by increasing the fraction of delayed neutrons due to the time delay of prompt neutrons during their transfer in the reflector. In order to benefit from the expected advantages, the following combination is acceptable: lead enriched by 208Pb is used as a neutron reflector while natural lead or other material (sodium, etc.) is used as a coolant in the reactor core.

scholarly journals On a significant slowing-down of the kinetics of fast transient processes in a fast reactor

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-298
Author(s):  
Gennady G. Kulikov ◽  
Anatoly N. Shmelev ◽  
Vladimir A. Apse ◽  
Evgeny G. Kulikov
Keyword(s):  
Fast Reactor ◽  
Dead Time ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Atomic Weight ◽  
Neutron Lifetime ◽  
Fission Reaction ◽  
Delayed Neutrons ◽  
Reactor Kinetics ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Kinetics Of

The kinetics of nuclear reactors is determined by the average neutron lifetime. When the inserted reactivity is more than the effective delayed neutron fraction, the reactor kinetics becomes very rapid. It is possible to slow down the fast reactor kinetics by increasing the neutron lifetime. The authors consider the possibility of using the lead isotope, 208Pb, as a neutron reflector with specific properties in a lead-cooled fast reactor. To analyze the emerging effects in a reactor of this type, a point kinetics model was selected, which takes into account neutrons returning from the 208Pb reflector to the reactor core. Such specific properties of 208Pb as the high atomic weight and weak neutron absorption allow neutrons from the reactor core to penetrate deeply into the 208Pb reflector, slow down in it, and have a noticeable probability to return to the reactor core and affect the chain fission reaction. The neutrons coming back from the 208Pb reflector have a long ‘dead-time’, i.e., the sum of times when neutrons leave the reactor core, entering the 208Pb reflector, and then diffuse back into the reactor core. During the ‘dead-time’, these neutrons cannot affect the chain fission reaction. In terms of the delay time, the neutrons returning from the deep layers of the 208Pb reflector are close to the delayed neutrons. Moreover, the number of the neutrons coming back from the 208Pb reflector considerably exceeds the number of the delayed neutrons. As a result, the neutron lifetime formed by the prompt neutron lifetime and the ‘dead-time’ of the neutrons from the 208Pb reflector can be substantially increased. This will lead to a longer reactor acceleration period, which will mitigate the effects of prompt supercriticality. Thus, the use of 208Pb as a neutron reflector can significantly improve the fast reactor nuclear safety.

scholarly journals Improving Nuclear Safety of Fast Reactors by Slowing Down Fission Chain Reaction

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. G. Kulikov ◽  
A. N. Shmelev ◽  
V. A. Apse
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Fast Reactor ◽  
Reactor Core ◽  
Large Contribution ◽  
Delayed Neutrons ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Radiogenic Lead ◽  
Radiative Neutron ◽  
Long Lifetime ◽  
Radiative Neutron Capture

Light materials with small atomic mass (light or heavy water, graphite, and so on) are usually used as a neutron reflector and moderator. The present paper proposes using a new, heavy element as neutron moderator and reflector, namely, “radiogenic lead” with dominant content of isotope 208Pb. Radiogenic lead is a stable natural lead. This isotope is characterized by extremely low micro cross-section of radiative neutron capture (~0.23 mb) for thermal neutrons, which is smaller than graphite and deuterium cross-sections. The reflector-converter for a fast reactor core is the structure capable of transforming some part of prompt neutrons leaked from the core into the reflected neutrons with properties similar to those of delayed neutrons, that is, sufficiently large contribution to reactivity at the level of effective fraction of delayed neutrons and relatively long lifetime, comparable with lifetimes of radionuclides-emitters of delayed neutrons. It is evaluated that the use of radiogenic lead makes it possible to slow down the chain fission reaction on prompt neutrons in the fast reactor. This can improve the fast reactor safety and reduce some requirements to the technologies used to fabricate fuel for the fast reactor.

Thermodynamic and Kinetic Investigation of the Solvent Effect on the Oxidation of [Co(en)2SCH2COO]+ with S2O82- In Water-Methanol and Water-tert-Butyl Alcohol Mixtures

1993 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 1001-1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oľga Vollárová ◽  
Ján Benko
Keyword(s):  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Activation Parameters ◽  
Butyl Alcohol ◽  
Oxidation Of Co ◽  
Kinetics Of Oxidation ◽  
Tert Butyl ◽  
Tert Butyl Alcohol ◽  
Alcohol Mixtures ◽  
Kinetics Of

The kinetics of oxidation of [Co(en)2SCH2COO]+ with S2O82- was studied in water-methanol and water-tert-butyl alcohol mixtures. Changes in the reaction activation parameters ∆H≠ and ∆S≠ with varying concentration of the co-solvent depend on the kind of the latter, which points to a significant role of salvation effects. The solvation effect on the reaction is discussed based on a comparison of the transfer functions ∆Ht0, ∆St0 and ∆Gt0 for the initial and transition states with the changes in the activation parameters accompanying changes in the CO-solvent concentration. The transfer enthalpies of the reactant were obtained from calorimetric measurements.

scholarly journals Association between perinatal factors, genetic susceptibility to obesity and age at adiposity rebound in children of the EDEN mother–child cohort

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aminata Hallimat Cissé ◽  
Sandrine Lioret ◽  
Blandine de Lauzon-Guillain ◽  
Anne Forhan ◽  
Ken K. Ong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Genetic Susceptibility ◽  
Gestational Weight Gain ◽  
Gestational Age ◽  
Obesity Risk ◽  
Perinatal Factors ◽  
Gestational Weight ◽  
Adiposity Rebound ◽  
Kinetics Of

Abstract Background Early adiposity rebound (AR) has been associated with increased risk of overweight or obesity in adulthood. However, little is known about early predictors of age at AR. We aimed to study the role of perinatal factors and genetic susceptibility to obesity in the kinetics of AR. Methods Body mass index (BMI) curves were modelled by using mixed-effects cubic models, and age at AR was estimated for 1415 children of the EDEN mother–child cohort study. A combined obesity risk-allele score was calculated from genotypes for 27 variants identified by genome-wide association studies of adult BMI. Perinatal factors of interest were maternal age at delivery, parental education, parental BMI, gestational weight gain, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and newborn characteristics (sex, prematurity, and birth weight). We used a hierarchical level approach with multivariable linear regression model to investigate the association between these factors, obesity risk-allele score, and age at AR. Results A higher genetic susceptibility to obesity score was associated with an earlier age at AR. At the most distal level of the hierarchical model, maternal and paternal educational levels were positively associated with age at AR. Children born to parents with higher BMI were more likely to exhibit earlier age at AR. In addition, higher gestational weight gain was related to earlier age at AR. For children born small for gestational age, the average age at AR was 88 [±39] days lower than for children born appropriate for gestational age and 91 [±56] days lower than for children born large for gestational age. Conclusion The timing of AR seems to be an early childhood manifestation of the genetic susceptibility to adult obesity. We further identified low birth weight and gestational weight gain as novel predictors of early AR, highlighting the role of the intrauterine environment in the kinetics of adiposity.

scholarly journals Phosphorylation of GAPVD1 Is Regulated by the PER Complex and Linked to GAPVD1 Degradation

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 3787
Author(s):  
Hussam Ibrahim ◽  
Philipp Reus ◽  
Anna Katharina Mundorf ◽  
Anna-Lena Grothoff ◽  
Valerie Rudenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Circadian Clock ◽  
Transcriptional Repression ◽  
Small Gtpase ◽  
Main Role ◽  
Interacting Proteins ◽  
Casein Kinase 1 ◽  
Bona Fide ◽  
Kinetics Of

Repressor protein period (PER) complexes play a central role in the molecular oscillator mechanism of the mammalian circadian clock. While the main role of nuclear PER complexes is transcriptional repression, much less is known about the functions of cytoplasmic PER complexes. We found with a biochemical screen for PER2-interacting proteins that the small GTPase regulator GTPase-activating protein and VPS9 domain-containing protein 1 (GAPVD1), which has been identified previously as a component of cytoplasmic PER complexes in mice, is also a bona fide component of human PER complexes. We show that in situ GAPVD1 is closely associated with casein kinase 1 delta (CSNK1D), a kinase that regulates PER2 levels through a phosphoswitch mechanism, and that CSNK1D regulates the phosphorylation of GAPVD1. Moreover, phosphorylation determines the kinetics of GAPVD1 degradation and is controlled by PER2 and a C-terminal autoinhibitory domain in CSNK1D, indicating that the regulation of GAPVD1 phosphorylation is a novel function of cytoplasmic PER complexes and might be part of the oscillator mechanism or an output function of the circadian clock.

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