Download or read book Proliferation Resistance for Fast Reactors and Related Fuel Cycles written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The prospects for a dramatic growth in nuclear power may depend to a significant degree on the effectiveness of, and the resources devoted to, plans to develop and implement technologies and approaches that strengthen proliferation resistance and nuclear materials accountability. The challenges for fast reactors and related fuel cycles are especially critical. They are being explored in the Generation IV Tnternational Forum (GIF) and the Tnternational Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA's) International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) initiative, as well as by many states that are looking to these systems for the efficient lise of uranium resources and long-term energy security. How do any proliferation risks they may pose compare to other reactors, both existing and under development, and their fuel cycles? Can they be designed with intrinsic (technological) features to make these systems more proliferation resistant? What roles can extrinsic (institutional) features play in proliferation resistance? What are the anticipated safeguards requirements, and will new technologies and approaches need to be developed? How can safeguards be facilitated by the design process? These and other questions require a rethinking of proliferation resistance and the prospects for new technologies and other intrinsic and extrinsic features being developed that are responsive to specific issues for fast reactors and related fuel cycles and to the broader threat environment in which these systems will have to operate. There are no technologies that can wholly eliminate the risk of proliferation by a determined state, but technology and design can playa role in reducing state threats and perhaps in eliminating non-state threats. There will be a significant role for extrinsic factors, especially the various measures - from safeguards and physical protection to export controls - embodied in the international nuclear nonproliferation regime. This paper will offer an assessment of the issues surrounding, and the prospects for, efforts to develop proliferation resistance for fast reactors and related fuel cycles in the context of a nuclear renaissance. The focus of the analysis is on fast reactors.

Download or read book Nuclear Proliferation and Civilian Nuclear Power written by United States. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 912 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Nuclear Reactor Options to Reduce the Risk of Proliferation and to Succeed Current Light Water Reactor Technology written by United States. General Accounting Office and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book New Tool for Proliferation Resistance Evaluation Applied to Uranium and Thorium Fueled Fast Reactor Fuel Cycles written by Richard Royce Madison Metcalf and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The comparison of nuclear facilities based on their barriers to nuclear material proliferation has remained a difficult endeavor, often requiring expert elicitation for each system under consideration. However, objectively comparing systems using a set of computable metrics to derive a single number representing a system is not, in essence, a nuclear nonproliferation specific problem and significant research has been performed for business models. For instance, Multi-Attribute Utility Analysis (MAUA) methods have been used previously to provide an objective insight of the barriers to proliferation. In this paper, the Proliferation Resistance Analysis and Evaluation Tool for Observed Risk (PRAETOR), a multi-tiered analysis tool based on the multiplicative MAUA method, is presented. It folds sixty three mostly independent metrics over three levels of detail to give an ultimate metric for nonproliferation performance comparison. In order to reduce analysts' bias, the weighting between the various metrics was obtained by surveying a total of thirty three nonproliferation specialists and nonspecialists from fields such as particle physics, international policy, and industrial engineering. The PRAETOR was used to evaluate the Fast Breeder Reactor Fuel Cycle (FBRFC). The results obtained using these weights are compared against a uniform weight approach. Results are presented for five nuclear material diversion scenarios: four examples include a diversion attempt on various components of a PUREX fast reactor cycle and one scenario involves theft from a PUREX facility in a LWR cycle. The FBRFC was evaluated with uranium-plutonium fuel and a second time using thorium-uranium fuel. These diversion scenarios were tested with both uniform and expert weights, with and without safeguards in place. The numerical results corroborate nonproliferation truths and provide insight regarding fast reactor facilities' proliferation resistance in relation to known standards.

Download or read book Nuclear Proliferation and Civilian Nuclear Power written by United States. Department of Energy and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Proliferation Resistance of the Fuel Cycle for the Integral Fast Reactor written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 7 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Argonne National Laboratory has developed an electrorefining pyrochemical process for recovery and recycle of metal fuel discharged from the Integral Fast Reactor (FR). This inherently low decontamination process has an overall decontamination factor of only about 100 for the plutonium metal product. As a result, all of the fuel cycle operations must be conducted in heavily shielded cells containing a high-purity argon atmosphere. The FR fuel cycle possesses high resistance to clandestine diversion or overt, state- supported removal of plutonium for nuclear weapons production because of two main factors: the highly radioactive product, which is also contaminated with heat- and neutron-producing isotopes of plutonium and other actinide elements, and the difficulty of removing material from the FR facility through the limited number of cell transfer locks without detection.

Download or read book Nuclear Proliferation and Civilian Nuclear Power Executive Summary written by and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Proliferation Resistance Assessment of the Integral Fast Reactor written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) concept includes a sodium-cooled fast reactor collocated with an integrated pyroprocess fuel recycling facility. The pyrochemical processes and the inert atmosphere of the heavily shielded fuel cycle facility provide inherent proliferation-resistant features for this advanced technology. The reactor can be designed to operate with a number of different conversion factors, so that it could be used for excess plutonium consumption or as a breeder if needed for rapid expansion of energy supply. The system contains a large quantity of plutonium and minor actinides, which at all times remain in extremely hostile environments and in chemical and physical forms that would require additional processing to extract weapons-suitable material. The aqueous processing equipment and facilities to accomplish such separation would not be available on site. Transportation would not be required in the reference deployment scenario. Nevertheless, the proliferation-resistance of some parts of the system could be considerably strengthened by advanced safeguards technologies. In spite of its inherent features, international deployment of the system would probably be limited to stable countries with a strong existing nuclear infrastructure.

Download or read book Increasing Proliferation Resistance of Sodium Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Through Use of a Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence Detector written by David Ballin Smith and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The proliferation resistance of a reprocessing facility can be improved by using a novel detection system that utilizes the nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) phenomenon to determine the isotopic composition of materials flowing through the plant. In an aqueous reprocessing facility, the waste stream was identified as a weak point for proliferation resistance. By identifying the isotopic composition of the waste stream and monitoring levels of plutonium and uranium, greater accountancy can be maintained. After the detection system was designed, a probabilistic risk assessment method was used to evaluate the added proliferation resistance afforded by the NRF detection system and the overall proliferation resistance of the reprocessing facility to a diversion of a small quantity of material from the waste stream by two individuals. The overall probability of success for a proliferator to divert materials from a reprocessing facility utilizing an NRF detection system is 8.73* 10-5. This is a decrease, from 3.39* 104, over the probability of success for the proliferator if the NRF detection system is not present. This decrease in proliferator success probability demonstrates and increased proliferation resistance of the reprocessing facility. The NRF detection system is shown to increase the proliferation resistance of the reprocessing facility.

Download or read book Analyzing the Proliferation Resistance of Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles written by Lara Marie Pierpoint and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A methodology to assess proliferation resistance of advanced nuclear energy systems is investigated. The framework, based on Multi-Attribute Utility Theory (MAUT), is envisioned for use within early-stage fuel cycle simulations. Method assumptions and structure are explained, and reference technology cases are presented to test the model. Eleven metrics are presented to evaluate the proliferation resistance of once-through, COmbined Non-Fertile and Uranium (CONFU), Mixed-Oxide (MOX), and Advanced Burner Reactor (ABR) fuel cycles. The metrics are roughly categorized in three groups: material characteristics, material handling characteristics, and "inherent" facility characteristics. Each metric is associated with its own utility function, and is weighted according to the proliferation threat of interest. Results suggest that transportation steps are less proliferation-resistant than stationary facilities, and that the ABR fuel cycle employing reactors with low conversion ratios are particularly safe. Nearly all steps of the fuel cycles analyzed are more proliferation resistant to a terrorist threat than to a host nation threat (which has more resources to devote toward proliferation activities). The open light water reactor (LWR) and MOX cycles appear to be the most vulnerable of all cycles analyzed. CONFU proliferation resistance is similar to that of the ABR with conversion ratios 0.5 and 1.0; these are all approximately in between the values ascribed to LWR/MOX (at the low end) and ABR with conversion ratio zero (with the highest proliferation resistance). Preliminary studies were conducted to determine the sensitivity of the results to weighting function structure and values. Several different weighting functions were applied to the utility values calculated for the once-through and CONFU fuel cycles. The tests showed very little change in the ultimate trends and conclusions drawn from each fuel cycle calculation. These conclusions, however, are far from definitive. Limitations of the model are discussed and demonstrated. Recommendations for improving the model are made, including a call for in-depth evaluation of weighting function structures and values, and an examination of quantitative links between assumptions and utilities. Ultimate conclusions include that the numerical values produced by the analysis are not fully and accurately instructive, and analysts should recognize that the greatest gifts of the assessment may come from performing the investigation.

Download or read book Nuclear Proliferation and Civilian Nuclear Power Advanced concepts written by United States. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Reliability Engineering Approach to Probabilistic Proliferation Resistance Analysis of the Example Sodium Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility written by Lillian Marie Cronholm and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards are one method of proliferation resistance which is applied at most nuclear facilities worldwide. IAEA safeguards act to prevent the diversion of nuclear materials from a facility through the deterrence of detection. However, even with IAEA safeguards present at a facility, the country where the facility is located may still attempt to proliferate nuclear material by exploiting weaknesses in the safeguards system. The IAEA's mission is to detect the diversion of nuclear materials as soon as possible and ideally before it can be weaponized. Modern IAEA safeguards utilize unattended monitoring systems (UMS) to perform nuclear material accountancy and maintain the continuity of knowledge with regards to the position of nuclear material at a facility. This research focuses on evaluating the reliability of unattended monitoring systems and integrating the probabilistic failure of these systems into the comprehensive probabilistic proliferation resistance model of a facility. To accomplish this, this research applies reliability engineering analysis methods to probabilistic proliferation resistance modeling. This approach is demonstrated through the analysis of a safeguards design for the Example Sodium Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Facility (ESFR FCF). The ESFR FCF UMS were analyzed to demonstrate the analysis and design processes that an analyst or designer would go through when evaluating/designing the proliferation resistance component of a safeguards system. When comparing the mean time to failure (MTTF) for the system without redundancies versus one with redundancies, it is apparent that redundancies are necessary to achieve a design without routine failures. A reliability engineering approach to probabilistic safeguards system analysis and design can be used to reach meaningful conclusions regarding the proliferation resistance of a UMS. The methods developed in this research provide analysts and designers alike a process to follow to evaluate the reliability of a UMS.

Download or read book Strategic and Policy Issues Raised by the Transition from Thermal to Fast Nuclear Systems written by and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The renewed interest in nuclear energy triggered by concerns about global climate change and security of supply, which could lead to substantial growth in nuclear electricity generation, enhances the attractiveness of fast neutron reactors with closed fuel cycles. Moving from the current fleet of thermal neutron reactors to fast neutron systems will require many decades and extensive RD&D efforts. This book identifies and analyses key strategic and policy issues raised by such a transition, aiming at providing guidance to decision makers on the best approaches for implementing transition scenarios. The topics covered in this book will be of interest to government and nuclear industry policy makers as well as to specialists working on nuclear energy system analyses and advanced fuel cycle issues.

Download or read book Assessment Methodology for Proliferation Resistant Fast Breeder Reactor written by Mohit Singh (S.M.) and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Due to perceived proliferation risks, current US fast reactor designs have avoided the use of uranium blankets. While reducing the amount of plutonium produced, this omission also restrains the reactor design space and has several disadvantages over blanketed cores. This study investigated many blanket options that would satisfy the proliferation concern while minimizing negative fuel cycle impact. To do so, a multi-variable metric was developed that combines 6 attributes: proliferation resistance, fuel fabrication, radiotoxicity, breeding gain, reactivity penalty and transportation. The final version of the metric consisted of using a yes or no decision on the proliferation criteria proposed by Bathke (for technologically advanced nations). The remaining 5 attributes are scaled between 0 and 1 with assigned weights for each. For our analysis, a 2400MWth sodium cooled core was considered. One row of blanket was added radially. Metal fuel composed of depleted uranium, zirconium and Np/Pu from light water reactor used fuel was used for the driver. It was determined that to meet the prescribed proliferation resistance criteria, a minimum of 4% MA (by volume) was needed in the blanket assemblies. However, increasing the amount of MA past 4% became detrimental to the combination of the other 5 attributes, mainly impacting the radiotoxicity, fuel fabrication and transportation. The addition of moderation by itself did not provide any means of dissipating proliferation issues. In the cases studied, it was determined that ZrH1.6 and BeO were the most promising moderating materials. They both provided some reduction in required MA concentration but at the expense of the radiotoxicity of the end product. Using our defined metric, it was determined that moderation provided no immediate benefit. It should also be noted that the homogeneous or heterogeneous addition of moderators has minimal impact on such scoping studies. Separation of the Cm/Bk/Cf vector from the Am was also studied. The blankets were composed of Am while the remaining Cm/Bk/Cf was left to decay in storage. The metric was then applied to the combined streams for all attributes except proliferation. The separated case performed worst in all cases examined. Also, as expected, varying the uranium composition vector from natural (NU), depleted (DU) and recycled (RU) had very little impact on our metric, thus the choice of uranium vector would be mostly left to cost and initial fabrication considerations. It should however be noted that the k-infinity at beginning-of-life was obviously higher for the recycled and natural cases. Looking at the reactivity over the first cycle indicates that NU provides an additional -40pcm over DU while RU provides -60pcm, which could provide 30 and 45 extra days of operation, respectively, or a reduction in driver core enrichment for a given cycle length.

Download or read book Current Research in Nuclear Reactor Technology in Brazil and Worldwide written by Amir Mesquita and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2013-02-06 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this book is to disseminate state-of-the-art research and advances in the area of nuclear reactors technology. The book was divided in two parts.Topics discussed in the first part of this compilation include: experimental investigation and computational validation of thermal stratification in PWR reactors piping systems, new methods in doppler broadening function calculation for nuclear reactors fuel temperature, isothermal phase transformation of uranium-zirconium-niobium alloys for advanced nuclear fuel, reactivity Monte Carlo burnup simulations of enriched gadolinium burnable poison for PWR fuel, utilization of thermal analysis technique for study of uranium-molybdenum fuel alloy, probabilistic safety assessment applied to research reactors, and a review on the state-of-the art and current trends of next generation reactors. The second part includes: thermal hydraulics study for a ultra high temperature reactor with packed sphere fuels, benefits in using lead-208 coolant for fast reactors and accelerator driven systems, nuclear power as a basis for future electricity production in the world: Generation III and IV reactors, nanostructural materials and shaped solids for improvement and energetic effectiveness of nuclear reactors safety and radioactive wastes, multilateral nuclear approach to nuclear fuel cycles, and a cold analysis of the Fukushima accident.

Download or read book Thorium Fuel Cycle written by International Atomic Energy Agency and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a critical review of the thorium fuel cycle: potential benefits and challenges in the thorium fuel cycle, mainly based on the latest developments at the front end of the fuel cycle, applying thorium fuel cycle options, and at the back end of the thorium fuel cycle.

Download or read book Nuclear Proliferation and Civilian Nuclear Power Proliferation resistance written by United States. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: