Download or read book The Role of Monte Carlo Burnup Calculations in Quantifying Plutonium Mass in Spent Fuel Assemblies with Non destructive Assay written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Determining Plutonium Mass in Spent Fuel with Nondestructive Assay Techniques Preliminary Modeling Results Emphasizing Integration Among Techniques written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 10 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are a variety of motivations for quantifying Pu in spent (used) fuel assemblies by means of nondestructive assay (NDA) including the following: strengthen the capabilities of the International Atomic Energy Agencies to safeguards nuclear facilities, quantifying shipper/receiver difference, determining the input accountability value at reprocessing facilities and providing quantitative input to burnup credit determination for repositories. For the purpose of determining the Pu mass in spent fuel assemblies, twelve NDA techniques were identified that provide information about the composition of an assembly. A key point motivating the present research path is the realization that none of these techniques, in isolation, is capable of both (1) quantifying the elemental Pu mass of an assembly and (2) detecting the diversion of a significant number of pins. As such, the focus of this work is determining how to best integrate 2 or 3 techniques into a system that can quantify elemental Pu and to assess how well this system can detect material diversion. Furthermore, it is important economically to down-select among the various techniques before advancing to the experimental phase. In order to achieve this dual goal of integration and down-selection, a Monte Carlo library of PWR assemblies was created and is described in another paper at Global 2009 (Fensin et al.). The research presented here emphasizes integration among techniques. An overview of a five year research plan starting in 2009 is given. Preliminary modeling results for the Monte Carlo assembly library are presented for 3 NDA techniques: Delayed Neutrons, Differential Die-Away, and Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence. As part of the focus on integration, the concept of"Pu isotopic correlation" is discussed and the role of cooling time determination.

Download or read book Determining Plutonium Mass in Spent Fuel with Non destructive Assay Techniques NGSU Research Overview and Update on 6 NDA Techniques written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This poster is one of two complementary posters. The Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI) of the U.S. DOE has initiated a multi-lab/university collaboration to quantify the plutonium (Pu) mass in, and detect the diversion of pins from, spent nuclear fuel assemblies with non-destructive assay (NDA). This research effort has the goal of quantifying the capability of 14 NDA techniques as well as training a future generation of safeguards practitioners. By November of 2010, we will be 1.5 years into the first phase (2.5 years) of work. This first phase involves primarily Monte Carlo modelling while the second phase (also 2.5 years) will focus on experimental work. The goal of phase one is to quantify the detection capability of the various techniques for the benefit of safeguard technology developers, regulators, and policy makers as well as to determine what integrated techniques merit experimental work, We are considering a wide range of possible technologies since our research horizon is longer term than the focus of most regulator bodies. The capability of all of the NDA techniques will be determined for a library of 64 17 x 17 PWR assemblies [burnups (15, 30, 45, 60 GWd/tU), initial enrichments (2, 3, 4, 5%) and cooling times (1, 5, 20, 80 years)]. The burnup and cooling time were simulated with each fuel pin being comprised of four radial regions. In this paper an overview of the purpose will be given as well as a technical update on the following 6 neutron techniques: 252Cf Interrogation with Prompt Neutron Detection, Delayed Neutrons, Differential Die-Away, Differential Die-Away Self-Interrogation, Passive Neutron Albedo Reactivity, Self-Integration Neutron Resonance Densitometry. The technical update will quantify the anticipated performance of each technique for the 64 assemblies of the spent fuel library.

Download or read book Determination of Plutonium Content in Spent Fuel with Nondestructive Assay written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 11 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are a variety of reasons for quantifying plutonium (Pu) in spent fuel such as independently verifying the Pu content declared by a regulated facility, making shipper/receiver mass declarations, and quantifying the input mass at a reprocessing facility. As part of the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative, NA-241 has recently funded a multilab/university collaboration to determine the elemental Pu mass in spent fuel assemblies. This research effort is anticipated to be a five year effort: the first part of which is a two years Monte Carlo modeling effort to integrate and down-select among 13 nondestructive assay (NDA) technologies, followed by one year for fabricating instruments and then two years for measuring spent fuel. This paper gives a brief overview of the approach being taken for the Monte Carlo research effort. In addition, preliminary results for the first NDA instrument studied in detail, delayed neutron detection, will be presented. In order to cost effectively and robustly model the performance of several NDA techniques, an"assembly library" was created that contains a diverse range of pressurized water reactor spent fuel assemblies (burnup, enrichment, cooling time) similar to that which exists in spent pools today and in the future, diversion scenarios that capture a range of possible rod removal options, spatial and isotopic detail needed to accurately quantify the capability of all the NDA techniques so as to enable integration. Integration is being designed into this study from the beginning since it is expected that the best performance will be obtained by combining a few NDA techniques. The performance of each instrument will be quantified for the full assembly library in three different media: air, water and borated water. In this paper the preliminary capability of delayed neutron detection will be quantified for the spent fuel library for all three media. The 13 NDA techniques being researched are the following: Delayed Gamma, Delayed Neutrons, Differential Die-Away, Differential Die-Away Self-Interrogation, Lead Slowing Down Spectrometer, Neutron Multiplicity, Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence, Passive Prompt Gamma, Passive Neutron Albedo Reactivity, Self-integration Neutron Resonance Densitometry, Total Neutron (Gross Neutron), X-Ray Fluorescence, 252Cf Interrogation with Prompt Neutron Detection.

Download or read book An Integrated Approach for Determining Plutonium Mass in Spent Fuel Assemblies with Nondestructive Assay written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are a variety of reasons for quantifying plutonium (Pu) in spent fuel. Below, five motivations are listed: (1) To verify the Pu content of spent fuel without depending on unverified information from the facility, as requested by the IAEA ('independent verification'). New spent fuel measurement techniques have the potential to allow the IAEA to recover continuity of knowledge and to better detect diversion. (2) To assure regulators that all of the nuclear material of interest leaving a nuclear facility actually arrives at another nuclear facility ('shipper/receiver'). Given the large stockpile of nuclear fuel at reactor sites around the world, it is clear that in the coming decades, spent fuel will need to be moved to either reprocessing facilities or storage sites. Safeguarding this transportation is of significant interest. (3) To quantify the Pu in spent fuel that is not considered 'self-protecting.' Fuel is considered self-protecting by some regulatory bodies when the dose that the fuel emits is above a given level. If the fuel is not self-protecting, then the Pu content of the fuel needs to be determined and the Pu mass recorded in the facility's accounting system. This subject area is of particular interest to facilities that have research-reactor spent fuel or old light-water reactor (LWR) fuel. It is also of interest to regulators considering changing the level at which fuel is considered self-protecting. (4) To determine the input accountability value at an electrochemical processing facility. It is not expected that an electrochemical reprocessing facility will have an input accountability tank, as is typical in an aqueous reprocessing facility. As such, one possible means of determining the input accountability value is to measure the Pu content in the spent fuel that arrives at the facility. (5) To fully understand the composition of the fuel in order to efficiently and safely pack spent fuel into a long-term repository. The NDA of spent fuel can be part of a system that cost-effectively meets the burnup credit needs of a repository. Behind each of these reasons is a regulatory structure with MC & A requirements. In the case of the IAEA, the accountable quantity is elemental plutonium. The material in spent fuel (fissile isotopes, fission products, etc.) emits signatures that provide information about the content and history of the fuel. A variety of nondestructive assay (NDA) techniques are available to quantify these signatures. The effort presented in this paper is investigation of the capabilities of 12 NDA techniques. For these 12, none is conceptually capable of independently determining the Pu content in a spent fuel assembly while at the same time being able to detect the diversion of a significant quantity of rods. For this reason the authors are investigating the capability of 12 NDA techniques with the end goal of integrating a few techniques together into a system that is capable of measuring Pu mass in an assembly. The work described here is the beginning of what is anticipated to be a five year effort: (1) two years of modeling to select the best technologies, (2) one year fabricating instruments and (3) two years measuring spent fuel. This paper describes the first two years of this work. In order to cost effectively and robustly model the performance of the 12 NDA techniques, an 'assembly library' was created. The library contains the following: (a) A diverse range of PWR spent fuel assemblies (burnup, enrichment, cooling time) similar to that which exists in spent pools today and in the future. (b) Diversion scenarios that capture a range of possible rod removal options. (c) The spatial and isotopic detail needed to accurately quantify the capability of all the NDA techniques so as to enable integration. It is our intention to make this library available to other researchers in the field for inter-comparison purposes. The performance of each instrument will be quantified for the full assembly library for measurements in three different media: air, water and borated water. The 12 NDA techniques being researched are the following: Delayed Gamma, Delayed Neutrons, Differential Die-Away, Lead Slowing Down Spectrometer, Neutron Multiplicity, Nuclear Resonance Fluorescence, Passive Prompt Gamma, Passive Neutron Albedo Reactivity, Self-integration Neutron Resonance Densitometry, Total Neutron (Gross Neutron), X-Ray Fluorescence, 252Cf Interrogation with Prompt Neutron Detection.

Download or read book Nondestructive Determination of Plutonium Mass in Spent Fuel written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are a variety of motivations for quantifying plutonium (Pu) in spent fuel assemblies by means of nondestructive assay (NDA) including the following: strengthening the capability of the International Atomic Energy Agency (LAEA) to safeguard nuclear facilities, quantifying shipper/receiver difference, determining the input accountability value at pyrochemical processing facilities, providing quantitative input to burnup credit and final safeguards measurements at a long-term repository. In order to determine Pu mass in spent fuel assemblies, thirteen NDA techniques were identified that provide information about the composition of an assembly. A key motivation of the present research is the realization that none of these techniques, in isolation, is capable of both (1) quantifying the Pu mass of an assembly and (2) detecting the diversion of a significant number of rods. It is therefore anticipated that a combination of techniques will be required. A 5 year effort funded by the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative (NGSI) of the U.S. DOE was recently started in pursuit of these goals. The first two years involves researching all thirteen techniques using Monte Carlo modeling while the final three years involves fabricating hardware and measuring spent fuel. Here, we present the work in two main parts: (1) an overview of this NGSI effort describing the motivations and approach being taken; (2) The preliminary results for one of the NDA techniques - Passive Neutron Albedo Reactivity (PNAR). The PNAR technique functions by using the intrinsic neutron emission of the fuel (primarily from the spontaneous fission of curium) to self-interrogate any fissile material present. Two separate measurements of the spent fuel are made, both with and without cadmium (Cd) present. The ratios of the Singles, Doubles and Triples count rates obtained in each case are analyzed; known as the Cd ratio. The primary differences between the two measurements are the neutron energy spectrum and fluence in the spent fuel. By varying the thickness of the cadmium layer surrounding the spent fuel, a high and a low neutron-energy-measurement condition can be produced. The neutron detectors can be used to detect total neutrons (Singles) and/or Doubles and/or Triples. If the geometry of the measurement situation is unchanged between the two measurements, the change in the Cd ratio between these two measurements can be attributed to a change in the fissile content of the sample.

Download or read book Determining Plutonium in Spent Fuel with Nondestructive Assay Techniques written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are a variety of motivations for quantifying plutonium in used (spent) fuel assemblies by means of nondestructive assay including the following: shipper/receiver difference, input accountability at reprocessing facilities and burnup credit at repositories or fuel storage facilities. Twelve NDA techniques were identified that provide information about the composition of an assembly. Unfortunately, none of these techniques is capable of determining the Pu mass in an assembly on its own. However, it is expected that the Pu mass can be quantified by combining a few of the techniques. Determining which techniques to combine and estimating the expected performance of such a system is the purpose of the research effort recently begun. The research presented here is a complimentarily experimental effort. This paper will focus on experimental results of one of the twelve non-destructive assay techniques - passive neutron albedo reactivity. The passive neutron albedo reactivity techniques work by changing the multiplication the pin experiences between two separate measurements. Since a single spent fuel pin has very little multiplication, this is a challenging measurement situation for the technique. Singles and Doubles neutron count rate were measured at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for three different burnup pins to test the capability of the passive neutron albedo reactivity technique.

Download or read book Quantifying the Plutonium Mass in Spent Fuel Assemblies with Nondestructive Assay an Update on the NGSI Research Effort written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Use of Non Destructive Assay Measurements to Estimate Burnup and Plutonium Inventory in Pressurized Water Reactor Spent Fuel Assemblies written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book MONTE CARLO BURNUP CALCULATION UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION AND PROPAGATION DETERMINATION written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reactor burnup or depletion codes are used thoroughly in the fields of nuclear forensics and nuclear safeguards. Two common codes include MONTEBURNS and MCNPX/CINDER. These are Monte-Carlo depletion routines utilizing MCNP for neutron transport calculations and either ORIGEN or CINDER for burnup calculations. Uncertainties exist in the MCNP steps, but this information is not passed to the depletion calculations or saved. To quantify this transport uncertainty and determine how it propagates between burnup steps, a statistical analysis of multiple repeated depletion runs is performed. The reactor model chosen is the Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORR) in a single assembly, infinite lattice configuration. This model was burned for a 150 day cycle broken down into three steps. The output isotopics as well as effective multiplication factor (k-effective) were tabulated and histograms were created at each burnup step using the Scott Method to determine the bin width. The distributions for each code are a statistical benchmark and comparisons made. It was expected that the gram quantities and k-effective histograms would produce normally distributed results since they were produced from a Monte-Carlo routine, but some of the results appear to not. Statistical analyses are performed using the?2 test against a normal distribution for the k-effective results and several isotopes including 134Cs, 137Cs, 235U, 238U, 237Np, 238Pu, 239Pu, and 24°Pu.

Download or read book Passive Nondestructive Assay of Nuclear Materials written by Doug Reilly and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 700 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Energy Research Abstracts written by and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 504 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Determining Plutonium Mass in Spent Fuel with Nondestructive Assay Techniques Introduction to Technical Purpose and Plans written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Nuclear Science Abstracts written by and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 1064 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Monte Carlo Simulations of a Differential Die away Instrument for Determination of Fissile Content in Spent Fuel Assemblies written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The differential die-away (DDA) technique has been simulated by using the MCNPX code to quantify its capability to measure the fissile content in spent fuel assemblies, For 64 different spent fuel cases of various initial enrichment, burnup and cooling time, the count rate and signal to background ratios of the DDA system were obtained, where neutron backgrounds are mainly coming from the 244Cm of the spent fuel. To quantify the total fissile mass of spent fuel, a concept of the effective 239Pu mass was introduced by weighting the relative contribution to the signal of 235U and 241Pu compared to 239Pu and the calibration curves of DDA count rate vs. 239Pu{sub eff} were obtained by using the MCNPX code. With a deuterium-tritium (DT) neutron generator of 109 n/s strength, signal to background ratios of sufficient magnitude are acquired for a DDA system with the spent fuel assembly in water.

Download or read book ATR WG MOX Fuel Pellet Burnup Measurement by Monte Carlo Mass Spectrometric Method written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper presents a new method for calculating the burnup of nuclear reactor fuel, the MCWO-MS method, and describes its application to an experiment currently in progress to assess the suitability for use in light-water reactors of Mixed-OXide (MOX) fuel that contains plutonium derived from excess nuclear weapons material. To demonstrate that the available experience base with Reactor-Grade Mixed uranium-plutonium OXide (RGMOX) can be applied to Weapons-Grade (WG)-MOX in light water reactors, and to support potential licensing of MOX fuel made from weapons-grade plutonium and depleted uranium for use in United States reactors, an experiment containing WG-MOX fuel is being irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Fuel burnup is an important parameter needed for fuel performance evaluation. For the irradiated MOX fuel's Post-Irradiation Examination, the 148Nd method is used to measure the burnup. The fission product 148Nd is an ideal burnup indicator, when appropriate correction factors are applied. In the ATR test environment, the spectrum-dependent and burnup-dependent correction factors (see Section 5 for detailed discussion) can be substantial in high fuel burnup. The validated Monte Carlo depletion tool (MCWO) used in this study can provide a burnup-dependent correction factor for the reactor parameters, such as capture-to-fission ratios, isotopic concentrations and compositions, fission power, and spectrum in a straightforward fashion. Furthermore, the correlation curve generated by MCWO can be coupled with the 239Pu/Pu ratio measured by a Mass Spectrometer (in the new MCWO-MS method) to obtain a best-estimate MOX fuel burnup. A Monte Carlo - MCWO method can eliminate the generation of few-group cross sections. The MCWO depletion tool can analyze the detailed spatial and spectral self-shielding effects in UO2, WG-MOX, and reactor-grade mixed oxide (RG-MOX) fuel pins. The MCWO-MS tool only needs the MS-measured 239Pu/Pu ratio, without the measured isotope 148Nd concentration data, to determine the burnup accurately. MCWO-MS not only provided linear heat generation rate, Pu isotopic composition versus burnup, and burnup distributions within the WG-MOX fuel capsules, but also correctly pointed out the inconsistency in the large difference in burnups obtained by the 148Nd method.

Download or read book Quantifying the Plutonium Mass in Spent Fuel by Combining Prompt Neutron Neutron Densitometry and Passive Gamma Measurements written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: