Technical Data to Justify Full Burnup Credit in Criticality Safety Licensing Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

ENERCON's understanding of the difficult issues related to obtaining and analyzing additional cross section test data to support Full Burnup Credit. A PIRT (Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table) analysis was performed by ENERCON to evaluate the costs and benefits of acquiring different types of nuclear data in support of Full Burnup Credit. A PIRT exercise is a formal expert elicitation process with the final output being the ranking tables. The PIRT analysis (Table 7-4: Results of PIRT Evaluation) showed that the acquisition of additional Actinide-Only experimental data, although beneficial, was associated with high cost and is not necessarily needed. The conclusion was that the existing Radiochemical Assay (RCA) data plus the French Haut Taux de Combustion (HTC)2 and handbook Laboratory Critical Experiment (LCE) data provide adequate benchmark validation for Actinide-Only Burnup Credit. The PIRT analysis indicated that the costs and schedule to obtain sufficient additional experimental data to support the addition of 16 fission products to Actinide-Only Burnup Credit to produce Full Burnup Credit are quite substantial. ENERCON estimates the cost to be $50M to $100M with a schedule of five or more years. The PIRT analysis highlights another option for fission product burnup credit, which is the application of computer-based uncertainty analyses (S/U - Sensitivity/Uncertainty methodologies), confirmed by the limited experimental data that is already available. S/U analyses essentially transform cross section uncertainty information contained in the cross section libraries into a reactivity bias and uncertainty. Recent work by ORNL and EPRI has shown that a methodology to support Full Burnup Credit is possible using a combination of traditional RCA and LCE validation plus S/U validation for fission product isotopics and cross sections. Further, the most recent cross section data (ENDF/B-VII) can be incorporated into the burnup credit codes at a reasonable cost

Non destructive assay of nuclear LEU spent fuels for burnup credit application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lebrun, A.; Bignan, G.

2001-01-01

Criticality safety analysis devoted to spent fuel storage and transportation has to be conservative in order to be sure no accident will ever happen. In the spent fuel storage field, the assumption of freshness has been used to achieve the conservative aspect of criticality safety procedures. Nevertheless, after being irradiated in a reactor core, the fuel elements have obviously lost part of their original reactivity. The concept of taking into account this reactivity loss in criticality safety analysis is known as Burnup credit. To be used, Burnup credit involves obtaining evidence of the reactivity loss with a Burnup measurement. Many non destructive assays (NDA) based on neutron as well as on gamma ray emissions are devoted to spent fuel characterization. Heavy nuclei that compose the fuels are modified during irradiation and cooling. Some of them emit neutrons spontaneously and the link to Burnup is a power link. As a result, burn-up determination with passive neutron measurement is extremely accurate. Some gamma emitters also have interesting properties in order to characterize spent fuels but the convenience of the gamma spectrometric methods is very dependent on characteristics of spent fuel. In addition, contrary to the neutron emission, the gamma signal is mostly representative of the peripheral rods of the fuels. Two devices based on neutron methods but combining different NDA methods which have been studied in the past are described in detail: 1. The PYTHON device is a combination of a passive neutron measurement, a collimated total gamma measurement, and an online depletion code. This device, which has been used in several Nuclear Power Plants in western Europe, gives the average Burnup within a 5% uncertainty and also the extremity Burnup, 2. The NAJA device is an automatic device that involves three nuclear methods and an online depletion code. It is designed to cover the whole fuel assembly panel (Active Neutron Interrogation, Passive Neutron

Study of nuclear fuel burn-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pavelescu, M.; Borza, M.

1975-01-01

The authors approach theoretical treatment of isotopic composition changement for nuclear fuel in nuclear reactors. They show the difficulty of exhaustive treatment of burn-up problems and introduce the principal simplifying principles. Due to these principles they write and solve analytically the evolution equations of the concentration for the principal nuclides both in the case of fast and thermal reactors. Finally, they expose and comment the results obtained in the case of a power fast reactor. (author)

Evaluation of burnup credit for fuel storage analysis -- Experience in Spain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conde, J.M.; Recio, M.

1995-01-01

Several Spanish light water reactor commercial nuclear power plants are close to maximum spent-fuel pool storage capacity. The utilities are working on the implementation of state-of-the-art methods to increase the storage capacity, including both changes in the pool design (recracking) and the implementation of new analysis approaches with reduced conservation (burnup credit). Burnup credit criticality safety analyses have been approved for two pressurized water reactor plants (four units) and one boiling water reactor (BWR); an other BWR storage analysis is being developed at this moment. The elimination of the ''fresh fuel assumption'' increases the complexity of the criticality analysis to be performed, sometimes putting into question the capability of the analytic tools to properly describe this new situation and increasing the scope of the scenarios to be analyzed. From a regulatory perspective, the reactivity reduction associated with burnup of the fuel can be given credit only if the exposure of each fuel bundle can be known with enough accuracy. Subcriticality of spent-fuel storage depends mainly on the initial fuel enrichment, storage geometry, fuel exposure history, and cooling time. The last two aspects introduced new uncertainties in the criticality analysis that should be quantified in an adequate way. In addition, each and every fuel bundle has its own specific exposure history, so that strong assumptions and simplified calculational schemes have to be developed to undertake the analysis. The Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear (CSN), Spanish regulatory authority on the matter of nuclear safety and radiation protection, plays an active role in the development of analysis methods to support burnup credit, making proposals that may be beneficial in terms of risk and cost while keeping the widest safety margins possible

Light a CANDLE. An innovative burnup strategy of nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekimoto, Hiroshi

2005-11-01

CANDLE is a new burnup strategy for nuclear reactors, which stands for Constant Axial Shape of Neutron Flux, Nuclide Densities and Power Shape During Life of Energy Production. When this candle-like burnup strategy is adopted, although the fuel is fixed in a reactor core, the burning region moves, at a speed proportionate to the power output, along the direction of the core axis without changing the spatial distribution of the number density of the nuclides, neutron flux, and power density. Excess reactivity is not necessary for burnup and the shape of the power distribution and core characteristics do not change with the progress of burnup. It is not necessary to use control rods for the control of the burnup. This booklet described the concept of the CANDLE burnup strategy with basic explanations of excess neutrons and its specific application to a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor and a fast reactor with excellent neutron economy. Supplementary issues concerning the initial core and high burnup were also referred. (T. Tanaka)

Restructuring of burnup sensitivity analysis code system by using an object-oriented design approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kenji, Yokoyama; Makoto, Ishikawa; Masahiro, Tatsumi; Hideaki, Hyoudou

2005-01-01

A new burnup sensitivity analysis code system was developed with help from the object-oriented technique and written in Python language. It was confirmed that they are powerful to support complex numerical calculation procedure such as reactor burnup sensitivity analysis. The new burnup sensitivity analysis code system PSAGEP was restructured from a complicated old code system and reborn as a user-friendly code system which can calculate the sensitivity coefficients of the nuclear characteristics considering multicycle burnup effect based on the generalized perturbation theory (GPT). A new encapsulation framework for conventional codes written in Fortran was developed. This framework supported to restructure the software architecture of the old code system by hiding implementation details and allowed users of the new code system to easily calculate the burnup sensitivity coefficients. The framework can be applied to the other development projects since it is carefully designed to be independent from PSAGEP. Numerical results of the burnup sensitivity coefficient of a typical fast breeder reactor were given with components based on GPT and the multicycle burnup effects on the sensitivity coefficient were discussed. (authors)

The relevance of axial burn-up profiles for the criticality safety analysis of spent nuclear fuel in a final repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilger, R.; Gmal, B.; Moser, E.F.

2008-01-01

Due to inhomogeneous neutron flux and moderator density distributions in the reactor core, the burn-up of a nuclear fuel assembly is not homogeneous but shows an axial distribution, typically with lower partial burn-up and thus higher remaining reactivity at the fuel ends in particular at the assembly top end. Beyond a burn-up of about 15 to 20 GWd/tHM, the multiplication factor K of the whole assembly is dominated by this lower-burnt end regions, and is usually higher than for assuming a homogeneous uniform distribution of the averaged burn-up. This behaviour commonly referred to as positive ''end effect'' is well known in burn-up credit considerations for transportation and storage casks and is being investigated also in the context of criticality analyses for final disposition of spent nuclear fuel. Sign and value of the end effect depend on several parameters. Based on a generic model one may not conclude that criticality in a final repository is a likely or expected event, but nevertheless it draws the attention to the fact that criticality is not excluded per se but has to be considered in the analysis and probably has to be encountered by certain appropriate measures, maybe e.g. by limitation of the amount of fissile material inside one single cask, or a rigorous prove for prevention of water ingress. The authors also conclude that the higher partial reactivity of the fuel ends has to be accounted for carefully in more realistic analyses of post-closure scenarios with respect to criticality safety.

Probabilistic assessment of dry transport with burnup credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lake, W.H.

2003-01-01

The general concept of probabilistic analysis and its application to the use of burnup credit in spent fuel transport is explored. Discussion of the probabilistic analysis method is presented. The concepts of risk and its perception are introduced, and models are suggested for performing probability and risk estimates. The general probabilistic models are used for evaluating the application of burnup credit for dry spent nuclear fuel transport. Two basic cases are considered. The first addresses the question of the relative likelihood of exceeding an established criticality safety limit with and without burnup credit. The second examines the effect of using burnup credit on the overall risk for dry spent fuel transport. Using reasoned arguments and related failure probability and consequence data analysis is performed to estimate the risks of using burnup credit for dry transport of spent nuclear fuel. (author)

Regulatory status of burnup credit for dry storage and transport of spent nuclear fuel in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, D.E.

2001-01-01

During 1999, the Spent Fuel Project Office of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) introduced technical guidance for allowing burnup credit in the criticality safety analysis of casks for transporting or storing spent fuel from pressurized water reactors. This paper presents the recommendations embodied by the current NRC guidance, discusses associated technical issues, and reviews information needs and industry priorities for expanding the scope and content of the guidance. Allowable analysis approaches for burnup credit must account for the fuel irradiation variables that affect spent fuel reactivity, including the axial and horizontal variation of burnup within fuel assemblies. Consistent with international transport regulations, the burnup of each fuel assembly must be verified by pre-loading measurements. The current guidance limits the credited burnup to no more than 40 GWd/MTU and the credited cooling time to five years, imposes a burnup offset for fuels with initial enrichments between 4 and 5 wt% 235U, does not include credit for fission products, and excludes burnup credit for damaged fuels and fuels that have used burnable absorbers. Burnup credit outside these limits may be considered when adequately supported by technical information beyond that reviewed to-date by the NRC staff. The guidance further recommends that residual subcritical margins from the neglect of fission products, and any other nuclides not credited in the licensing-basis analysis, be estimated for each cask design and compared against estimates of the maximum reactivity effects associated with remaining computational uncertainties and potentially nonconservative modeling assumptions. The NRC's Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research is conducting a research program to help develop the technical information needed for refining and expanding the evolving guidance. Cask vendors have announced plans to submit the first NRC license applications for burnup credit later this year

Fuel burnup analysis for the Moroccan TRIGA research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Bakkari, B.; El Bardouni, T.; Nacir, B.; El Younoussi, C.; Boulaich, Y.; Boukhal, H.; Zoubair, M.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► A fuel burnup analysis of the 2 MW TRIGA MARK II Moroccan research reactor was established. ► Burnup calculations were done by means of the in-house developed burnup code BUCAL1. ► BUCAL1 uses the MCNP tallies directly in the calculation of the isotopic inventories. ► The reactor life time was found to be 3360 MW h considering full power operating conditions. ► Power factors and fluxes of the in-core irradiation positions are strongly affected by burnup. -- Abstract: The fundamental advantage and main reason to use Monte Carlo methods for burnup calculations is the possibility to generate extremely accurate burnup dependent one group cross-sections and neutron fluxes for arbitrary core and fuel geometries. Yet, a set of values determined for a material at a given position and time remains accurate only in a local region, in which neutron spectrum and flux vary weakly — and only for a limited period of time, during which changes of the local isotopic composition are minor. This paper presents the approach of fuel burnup evaluation used at the Moroccan TRIGA MARK II research reactor. The approach is essentially based upon the utilization of BUCAL1, an in-house developed burnup code. BUCAL1 is a FORTRAN computer code designed to aid in analysis, prediction, and optimization of fuel burnup performance in nuclear reactors. The code was developed to incorporate the neutron absorption reaction tally information generated directly by MCNP5 code in the calculation of fissioned or neutron-transmuted isotopes for multi-fueled regions. The fuel cycle length and changes in several core parameters such as: core excess reactivity, control rods position, fluxes at the irradiation positions, axial and radial power factors and other parameters are estimated. Besides, this study gives valuable insight into the behavior of the reactor and will ensure better utilization and operation of the reactor during its life-time and it will allow the establishment of

Conservatism in the actinide-only burnup credit for PWR spent nuclear fuel packages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lancaster, D.B.; Rahimi, M.; Thornton, J.

1996-01-01

In May 1995, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) submitted a topical report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to gain actinide-only burnup credit for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage, transportation, or disposal packages. After approval of this topical report, DOE intends further submittals to the NRC to acquire additional burnup credit (e.g., the topical does not use fission products and is limited to only the first 100 yr of disposal). The NRC has responded to the topical with its preliminary questions. To aid in evaluation of the method, a review of the conservatism in the actinide-only burnup credit methodology was performed. An overview of the actinide-only burnup credit methodology is presented followed by a summary of the conservatism

COMRAD96, Nuclear Fuel Burnup and Depletion Calculation System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suyama, K.; Masukawa, F.; Ido, M.; Enomoto, M.; Takyu, S.; Hara, T.

2002-01-01

1 - Description of program or function: Burn-up calculation of nuclear fuel. 2 - Methods: Matrix exponential method, Bateman Equation. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: a) One-grouped cross section library should be prepared for the fuel system to be analyzed using UNITBURN. However, UNITBURN is not available now for UNIX systems. b) Gamma ray spectrometry calculation will fail using the attached piflib routine. This problem has already been rectified in the internal version. 4 - Typical running time: Two minutes for standard burn-up calculation on Sun ULTRA 30. 5 - Unusual features - a) Selection of Matrix exponential method, or Bateman Equation. b) JDDL, a detailed decay chain data based on ENSDF. 6 - Related or auxiliary programs: UNITBURN: Burnup calculation code unit cell system

chemical determination of burnup ratio in nuclear fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guereli, L.

1997-01-01

Measurements of the extent of fission are important to determine the irradiation performance of a nuclear fuel. The energy released per unit mass of uranium (burnup) can be determined from measurement of the percent of heavy atoms that have fissioned during irradiation.The preferred method for this determination is choosing a suitable fission monitor (usually ''1''4''8Nd) and its determination after separation from the fuel matrix. In thermal reactor fuels where the only heavy element in the starting material is uranium, uranium depletion can be used for burnup determination. ''2''3''5U depletion method requires measurement of uranium isotopic ratios of both irradiated and unirradiated fuel. Isotopic ratios can be determined by thermal ionization mass spectrometer following separation of uranium from the fuel matrix. Separation procedures include solvent extraction, ion exchange and anion exchange chromatography. Another fission monitor used is ''1''3''9La determination by HPLC. Because La is monoisotopic (''1''3''9La) in the fuel, it can be determined by chemical analysis techniques

PWR AXIAL BURNUP PROFILE ANALYSIS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

J.M. Acaglione

2003-01-01

The purpose of this activity is to develop a representative ''limiting'' axial burnup profile for pressurized water reactors (PWRs), which would encompass the isotopic axial variations caused by different assembly irradiation histories, and produce conservative isotopics with respect to criticality. The effect that the low burnup regions near the ends of spent fuel have on system reactivity is termed the ''end-effect''. This calculation will quantify the end-effects associated with Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) fuel assemblies emplaced in a hypothetical 21 PWR waste package. The scope of this calculation covers an initial enrichment range of 3.0 through 5.0 wt% U-235 and a burnup range of 10 through 50 GWd/MTU. This activity supports the validation of the process for ensuring conservative generation of spent fuel isotopics with respect to criticality safety applications, and the use of burnup credit for commercial spent nuclear fuel. The intended use of these results will be in the development of PWR waste package loading curves, and applications involving burnup credit. Limitations of this evaluation are that the limiting profiles are only confirmed for use with the B andW 15 x 15 fuel assembly design. However, this assembly design is considered bounding of all other typical commercial PWR fuel assembly designs. This calculation is subject to the Quality Assurance Requirements and Description (QARD) because this activity supports investigations of items or barriers on the Q-list (YMP 2001)

Analysis of high burnup fuel safety issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Chan Bock; Kim, D. H.; Bang, J. G.; Kim, Y. M.; Yang, Y. S.; Jung, Y. H.; Jeong, Y. H.; Nam, C.; Baik, J. H.; Song, K. W.; Kim, K. S

2000-12-01

Safety issues in steady state and transient behavior of high burnup LWR fuel above 50 - 60 MWD/kgU were analyzed. Effects of burnup extension upon fuel performance parameters was reviewed, and validity of both the fuel safety criteria and the performance analysis models which were based upon the lower burnup fuel test results was analyzed. It was found that further tests would be necessary in such areas as fuel failure and dispersion for RIA, and high temperature cladding corrosion and mechanical deformation for LOCA. Since domestic fuels have been irradiated in PWR up to burnup higher than 55 MWD/kgU-rod. avg., it can be said that Korea is in the same situation as the other countries in the high burnup fuel safety issues. Therefore, necessary research areas to be performed in Korea were derived. Considering that post-irradiation examination(PIE) for the domestic fuel of burnup higher than 30 MWD/kgU has not been done so far at all, it is primarily necessary to perform PIE for high burnup fuel, and then simulation tests for RIA and LOCA could be performed by using high burnup fuel specimens. For the areas which can not be performed in Korea, international cooperation will be helpful to obtain the test results. With those data base, safety of high burnup domestic fuels will be confirmed, current fuel safety criteria will be re-evaluated, and finally transient high burnup fuel behavior analysis technology will be developed through the fuel performance analysis code development.

Analysis of high burnup fuel safety issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Chan Bock; Kim, D. H.; Bang, J. G.; Kim, Y. M.; Yang, Y. S.; Jung, Y. H.; Jeong, Y. H.; Nam, C.; Baik, J. H.; Song, K. W.; Kim, K. S

2000-12-01

Safety issues in steady state and transient behavior of high burnup LWR fuel above 50 - 60 MWD/kgU were analyzed. Effects of burnup extension upon fuel performance parameters was reviewed, and validity of both the fuel safety criteria and the performance analysis models which were based upon the lower burnup fuel test results was analyzed. It was found that further tests would be necessary in such areas as fuel failure and dispersion for RIA, and high temperature cladding corrosion and mechanical deformation for LOCA. Since domestic fuels have been irradiated in PWR up to burnup higher than 55 MWD/kgU-rod. avg., it can be said that Korea is in the same situation as the other countries in the high burnup fuel safety issues. Therefore, necessary research areas to be performed in Korea were derived. Considering that post-irradiation examination(PIE) for the domestic fuel of burnup higher than 30 MWD/kgU has not been done so far at all, it is primarily necessary to perform PIE for high burnup fuel, and then simulation tests for RIA and LOCA could be performed by using high burnup fuel specimens. For the areas which can not be performed in Korea, international cooperation will be helpful to obtain the test results. With those data base, safety of high burnup domestic fuels will be confirmed, current fuel safety criteria will be re-evaluated, and finally transient high burnup fuel behavior analysis technology will be developed through the fuel performance analysis code development

Chemical analytical considerations on the determination of burnup in irradiated nuclear fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cretella, R.F.; Servant, R.E.

1989-01-01

Burnup in an irradiated nuclear fuel may be defined as the energy produced per mass unit, from the time the fuel is introduced into the reactor and until a given moment. It is usually shown in megawatt/day or megawatt/hour generated per ton or kilo of fuel. It is also indicated as the number of fission produced per volume unit (cm 3 ) or per every 100 initial fissionable atoms. The yield of a power plant is directly related to the burnup of its fuel load and knowing the latter contributes to optimizing the economy in reactor operation and the related technologies. The development of nuclear fuels and the operation of reactors require doing with exact and accurate methods allowing to know the burnup. Errors in this measurement have an incidence upon the fuel design, the physical and nuclear calculations, the shielding requirements, the design of vehicles for the transportation of irradiated fuels, the engineering of processing plants, etc. All these factors, in turn, have an incidence upon the cost of nuclear power generation. (Author) [es

Simulation of the behaviour of nuclear fuel under high burnup conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soba, Alejandro; Lemes, Martin; González, Martin Emilio; Denis, Alicia; Romero, Luis

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Increasing the time of nuclear fuel into reactor generates high burnup structure. • We analyze model to simulate high burnup scenarios for UO 2 nuclear fuel. • We include these models in the DIONISIO 2.0 code. • Tests of our models are in very good agreement with experimental data. • We extend the range of predictability of our code up to 60 MWd/KgU average. - Abstract: In this paper we summarize all the models included in the latest version of the DIONISIO code related to the high burnup scenario. Due to the extension of nuclear fuels permanence under irradiation, physical and chemical modifications are developed in the fuel material, especially in the external corona of the pellet. The codes devoted to simulation of the rod behaviour under irradiation need to introduce modifications and new models in order to describe those phenomena and be capable to predict the behaviour in all the range of a general pressurized water reactor. A complex group of subroutines has been included in the code in order to predict the radial distribution of power density, burnup, concentration of diverse nuclides and porosity within the pellet. The behaviour of gadolinium as burnable poison also is modelled into the code. The results of some of the simulations performed with DIONISIO are presented to show the good agreement with the data selected for the FUMEX I/II/III exercises, compiled in the NEA data bank

Influence of prolonged nuclear fuel burnup on safety characteristics of advanced PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spasojevic, D.; Matausek, M.; Marinkovic, N.

1989-01-01

Prolonged nuclear fuel burnup in advanced NPP with four or more instead of three one-year cycles, and/or with 15- to 18-month instead of standard 12-month cycles, requires the fresh fuel to have increased enrichment combined with burnable poisons. This causes changes in axial and radial distribution of power generation during the particular fuel cycles, so that detailed analyses of thermal reliability of reactor core becomes necessary. This paper presents the results of the analysis of the departure from nuclear boiling ratio DNBR for an equilibrium cycle of an advanced PWR. (author)

TOPICAL REPORT ON ACTINIDE-ONLY BURNUP CREDIT FOR PWR SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL PACKAGES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DOE

1997-01-01

A methodology for performing and applying nuclear criticality safety calculations, for PWR spent nuclear fuel (SNF) packages with actinide-only burnup credit, is described. The changes in the U-234, U-235, U-236, U-238, Pu-238, Pu-239, Pu-240, Pu-241, Pu-242, and Am-241 concentration with burnup are used in burnup credit criticality analyses. No credit for fission product neutron absorbers is taken. The methodology consists of five major steps. (1) Validate a computer code system to calculate isotopic concentrations of SNF created during burnup in the reactor core and subsequent decay. A set of chemical assay benchmarks is presented for this purpose as well as a method for assessing the calculational bias and uncertainty, and conservative correction factors for each isotope. (2) Validate a computer code system to predict the subcritical multiplication factor, k eff , of a spent nuclear fuel package. Fifty-seven UO 2 , UO 2 /Gd 2 O 3 , and UO 2 /PuO 2 critical experiments have been selected to cover anticipated conditions of SNF. The method uses an upper safety limit on k eff (which can be a function of the trending parameters) such that the biased k eff , when increased for the uncertainty is less than 0.95. (3) Establish bounding conditions for the isotopic concentration and criticality calculations. Three bounding axial profiles have been established to assure the ''end effect'' is accounted for conservatively. (4) Use the validated codes and bounding conditions to generate package loading criteria (burnup credit loading curves). Burnup credit loading curves show the minimum burnup required for a given initial enrichment. The utility burnup record is compared to this requirement after the utility accounts for the uncertainty in its record. Separate curves may be generated for each assembly design, various minimum cooling times and burnable absorber histories. (5) Verify that SNF assemblies meet the package loading criteria and confirm proper assembly selection

Burnup Measurement of Spent Fuel Assembly by CZT-based Gamma-ray Spectroscopy for Input Nuclear Material Accountancy of Pyroprocessing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, Hee; Oh, Jong-Myeong; Shin, Hee-Sung; Kim, Ho-Dong; Lee, Seung-Kyu; Park, Se-Hwan

2013-06-01

Input nuclear material accountancy is crucial for a pyroprocessing facility safeguards. Until a direct Pu measurement technique is established, an indirect method based on code calculations with burnup measurement and neutron counting for 244 Cm could be a practical option. Burnup can be determined by destructive analysis (DA) for final dispositive accuracy or by nondestructive assay (NDA) for near-real time accountancy. In the present study, an underwater burnup measurement system based on gamma-ray spectroscopy with the CZT detector was developed and tested on a spent fuel assembly. Burnup was determined according to the 134 Cs/ 137 Cs activity ratio with efficiency correction by Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations. The activity ratio as a function of burnup was obtained by ORIGEN calculations. The measured burnup error was 8.6%, which was within the measurement uncertainty. It is expected that the underwater burnup measurement system could fulfill an important role as a means of near-real time accountancy at a future pyroprocessing facility. (authors)

Analysis of burnup and isotopic compositions of BWR 9 x 9 UO2 fuel assemblies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, M.; Yamamoto, T.; Ando, Y.; Nakajima, T.

2012-01-01

In order to extend isotopic composition data focusing on fission product nuclides, measurements are progressing using facilities of JAEA for five samples taken from high burnup BWR 9 x 9 UO 2 fuel assemblies. Neutronics analysis with an infinite assembly model was applied to the preliminary measurement data using a continuous-energy Monte Carlo burnup calculation code MVP-BURN with nuclear libraries based on JENDL-3.3 and JENDL-4.0. The burnups of the samples were determined to be 28.0, 39.3, 56.6, 68.1, and 64.0 GWd/t by the Nd-148 method. They were compared with those calculated using node-average irradiation histories of power and in-channel void fractions which were taken from the plant data. The comparison results showed that the deviations of the calculated burnups from the measurements were -4 to 3%. It was confirmed that adopting the nuclear data library based on JENDL-4.0 reduced the deviations of the calculated isotopic compositions from the measurements for 238 Pu, 144 Nd, 145 Nd, 146 Nd, 148 Nd, 134 Cs, 154 Eu, 152 Sm, 154 Gd, and 157 Gd. On the other hand, the effect of the revision in the nuclear. data library on the neutronics analysis was not significant for major U and Pu isotopes. (authors)

Dependence of heavy metal burnup on nuclear data libraries for fast reactors

CERN Document Server

Ohki, S

2003-01-01

Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC) is considering the highly burnt fuel as well as the recycling of minor actinide (MA) in the development of commercialized fast reactor cycle systems. Higher accuracy in burnup calculation is going to be required for higher mass plutonium isotopes ( sup 2 sup 4 sup 0 Pu, etc.) and MA nuclides. In the framework of research and development aiming at the validation and necessary improvements of fast reactor burnup calculation, we investigated the differences among the burnup calculation results with the major nuclear data libraries: JEF-2.2, ENDF/B-VI Release 5, JENDL-3.2, and JENDL-3.3. We focused on the heavy metal nuclides such as plutonium and MA in the central core region of a conventional sodium-cooled fast reactor. For main heavy metal nuclides ( sup 2 sup 3 sup 5 U, sup 2 sup 3 sup 8 U, sup 2 sup 3 sup 9 Pu, sup 2 sup 4 sup 0 Pu, and sup 2 sup 4 sup 1 Pu), number densities after 1-cycle burnup did not change over one or two percent. Library dependence was re...

Determination of nuclear fuel burn-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kristak, J.; Vobecky, M.

1973-01-01

Samples containing a known content of 235 U were irradiated with several different neutron doses and activities were determined of radionuclides including 125 Sb, 144 Ce, 134 Cs, 154 Eu, 103 Ru, 95 Zr. The values thus obtained were divided by the 137 Cs activity value. The resulting neutron dose-dependent value is plotted into a calibration graph. The degree of nuclear fuel burn-up is obtained from the graph using an experimentally determined ratio of the activities of the above radionuclides. (B.S.)

Review of Axial Burnup Distribution Considerations for Burnup Credit Calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, J.C.; DeHart, M.D.

2000-01-01

This report attempts to summarize and consolidate the existing knowledge on axial burnup distribution issues that are important to burnup credit criticality safety calculations. Recently released Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff guidance permits limited burnup credit, and thus, has prompted resolution of the axial burnup distribution issue. The reactivity difference between the neutron multiplication factor (keff) calculated with explicit representation of the axial burnup distribution and keff calculated assuming a uniform axial burnup is referred to as the ''end effect.'' This end effect is shown to be dependent on many factors, including the axial-burnup profile, total accumulated burnup, cooling time, initial enrichment, assembly design, and the isotopics considered (i.e., actinide-only or actinides plus fission products). Axial modeling studies, efforts related to the development of axial-profile databases, and the determination of bounding axial profiles are also discussed. Finally, areas that could benefit from further efforts are identified

Analysis of high burnup pressurized water reactor fuel using uranium, plutonium, neodymium, and cesium isotope correlations with burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jung Suk; Jeon, Young Shin; Park, Soon Dal; Ha, Yeong Keong; Song, Kyu Seok

2015-01-01

The correlation of the isotopic composition of uranium, plutonium, neodymium, and cesium with the burnup for high burnup pressurized water reactor fuels irradiated in nuclear power reactors has been experimentally investigated. The total burnup was determined by Nd-148 and the fractional 235 U burnup was determined by U and Pu mass spectrometric methods. The isotopic compositions of U, Pu, Nd, and Cs after their separation from the irradiated fuel samples were measured using thermal ionization mass spectrometry. The contents of these elements in the irradiated fuel were determined through an isotope dilution mass spectrometric method using 233 U, 242 Pu, 150 Nd, and 133 Cs as spikes. The activity ratios of Cs isotopes in the fuel samples were determined using gamma-ray spectrometry. The content of each element and its isotopic compositions in the irradiated fuel were expressed by their correlation with the total and fractional burnup, burnup parameters, and the isotopic compositions of different elements. The results obtained from the experimental methods were compared with those calculated using the ORIGEN-S code

Burnup verification measurements at a US nuclear utility using the FORK measurement system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ewing, R.I.; Bosler, G.E.; Walden, G.

1993-01-01

The FORK measurement system, designed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards program, has been used to examine spent reactor fuel assemblies at Duke Power Company's Oconee Nuclear Station. The FORK system measures the passive neutron and gamma-ray emission from spent fuel assemblies while in the storage pool. These measurements can be correlated with burnup and cooling time, and can be used to verify the reactor site records. Verification measurements may be used to help ensure nuclear criticality safety when burnup credit is applied to spent fuel transport and storage systems. By taking into account the reduced reactivity of spent fuel due to its burnup in the reactor, burnup credit results in more efficient and economic transport and storage. The objectives of these tests are to demonstrate the applicability of the FORK system to verify reactor records and to develop optimal procedures compatible with utility operations. The test program is a cooperative effort supported by Sandia National Laboratories, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Duke Power Company

Development of destructive methods of burn-up determination and their application on WWER type nuclear fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hermann, A.; Stephan, H.; Nebel, D.

1984-03-01

Results are described of a cooperation between the Central Institute of Nuclear Research Rossendorf and the Radium Institute 'V.G. Chlopin' Leningrad in the field of destructive burn-up determination. Laboratory methods of burn-up determination using the classical monitors 137 Cs, 106 Ru, 148 Nd and isotopes of heavy metals (U, Pu) as well as the usefulness of 90 Sr, stable isotopes of Ru and Mo as monitors are dealt with. The analysis of the fuel components uranium (spectrophotometry, potentiometric titration, mass-spectrometric isotope dilution) and plutonium (spectrophotometry, coulometric titration, mass- and alpha-spectrometric isotope dilution) is fully described. Possibilities of increasing the reproducibility (automatic adjusting of measurement conditions) and the sensibility (ion impuls counting) of mass-spectrometric measurements are proposed and applied to a precise determination of Am and Cm isotopic composition. The methods have been used for burn-up analysis of spent WWER (especially WWER-440) fuel. (author)

Burnup analysis of the power reactor, 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ezure, Hideo

1975-09-01

In burnup analysis of JPDR-1 with FLARE, it was found to have problems. The program FLORA was developed for solution of the problems. By their bench mark tests FLORA was found to be useful for three-dimensional thermal-hydro-dynamic analysis of BWRs. It was applied to analysis of the burnup of JPDR-1. The input data and option of FLORA were corrected on referring to the results of gammer probe tests for JPDR-1. The void, source and burnup distributions were calculated each month during the operation. The burnup distribution in three assemblies revealed by a destructive test agrees better with that by FLORA than by FLARE. It was shown that the distortion of power distribution around the control rods by FLORA was smaller and closer to that by the gammer probe tests than by FLARE, and the connector of fuel assemblies and the plugs in the reflector had much influence on the power distribution. (auth.)

Burnup credit applications in a high-capacity truck cask

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boshoven, J.K.

1992-09-01

General Atomics (GA) has designed two legal weight truck (LWT) casks, the GA-4 and GA-9, to carry four pressurized-water-reactor (PWR) and nine boiling-water-reactor (BWR) fuel assemblies, respectively. GA plans to submit applications for certification to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the two casks in mid-1993. GA will include burnup credit analysis in the Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP) for the GA-4 Cask. By including burnup credit in the criticality safety analysis for PWR fuels with initial enrichments above 3% U-235, public and occupation risks are reduced and cost savings are realized. The GA approach to burnup credit analysis incorporates the information produced in the US Department of Energy Burnup Credit Program. This paper describes the application of burnup credit to the criticality control design of the GA-4 Cask

Calculational prediction of fuel burn-up for the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen Phuoc Lan; Do Quang Binh

2016-01-01

In this paper, the method of expanding operators and functions in the neutron diffusion equations as chains of time variable is used for calculation of fuel burn-up of the Dalat nuclear reactors. A computer code, named BURREF, programmed in language Fortran-77 running on IBM PC-AT, has been developed based on this method to predict the fuel burn-up of the Dalat reactor. Some results will be presented here. (author)

The build-up and characterization of nuclear burn-up wave in a fast ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

K V Anoop

2018-02-07

Feb 7, 2018 ... evaluating the quality of the wave by the researchers working in the field of nuclear burn-up wave build-up and propagation. Keywords. ... However, there are concerns relating to the nuclear safety, ... Simulation studies have.

Sophistication of burnup analysis system for fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokoyama, Kenji; Hirai, Yasushi; Hyoudou, Hideaki; Tatsumi, Masahiro

2010-02-01

Improvement on prediction accuracy for neutronics property of fast reactor cores is one of the most important study domains in terms of both achievement of high economical plant efficiency based on reasonably advanced designs and increased reliability and safety margins. In former study, considerable improvement on prediction accuracy in neutronics design has been achieved in the development of the unified constants library as a fruit of a series of critical experiments such as JUPITER in application of the reactor constant adjustments. For design of fast reactor cores, however, improvement of not only static properties but also burnup properties is very important. For such purpose, it is necessary to improve the prediction accuracy on burnup properties using actual burnup data of 'JOYO' and 'MONJU', experimental and prototype fast reactors. Recently, study on effective burnup method for minor actinides becomes important theme. However, there is a problem that analysis work tends to become inefficient for lack of functionality suitable for analysis of composition change due to burnup since the conventional analysis system is targeted to critical assembly systems. Therefore development of burnup analysis system for fast reactors with modularity and flexibility is being done that would contribute to actual core design work and improvement of prediction accuracy. In the previous research, we have developed a prototype system which has functions of performing core and burnup calculations using given constant files (PDS files) and information based on simple and easy user input data. It has also functions of fuel shuffling which is indispensable for production systems. In the present study, we implemented functions for cell calculations and burnup calculations. With this, whole steps in analysis can be carried out with only this system. In addition, we modified the specification of user input to improve the convenience of this system. Since implementations being done so

Properties of the high burnup structure in nuclear light water reactor fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiss, Thierry; Rondinella, Vincenzo V.; Konings, Rudy J.M. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Karlsruhe (Germany). Directorate Nuclear Safety and Security; and others

2017-07-01

The formation of the high burnup structure (HBS) is possibly the most significant example of the restructuring processes affecting commercial nuclear fuel in-pile. The HBS forms at the relatively cold outer rim of the fuel pellet, where the local burnup is 2-3 times higher than the average pellet burnup, under the combined effects of irradiation and thermo-mechanical conditions determined by the power regime and the fuel rod configuration. The main features of the transformation are the subdivision of the original fuel grains into new sub-micron grains, the relocation of the fission gas into newly formed intergranular pores, and the absence of large concentrations of extended defects in the fuel matrix inside the subdivided grains. The characterization of the newly formed structure and its impact on thermo-physical or mechanical properties is a key requirement to ensure that high burnup fuel operates within the safety margins. This paper presents a synthesis of the main findings from extensive studies performed at JRC-Karlsruhe during the last 25 years to determine properties and behaviour of the HBS. In particular, microstructural features, thermal transport, fission gas behaviour, and thermo-mechanical properties of the HBS will be discussed. The main conclusion of the experimental studies is that the HBS does not compromise the safety of nuclear fuel during normal operations.

Topical report on actinide-only burnup credit for PWR spent nuclear fuel packages. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

1997-04-01

A methodology for performing and applying nuclear criticality safety calculations, for PWR spent nuclear fuel (SNF) packages with actinide-only burnup credit, is described. The changes in the U-234, U-235, U-236, U-238, Pu-238, Pu-239, Pu-240, Pu-241, Pu-242, and Am-241 concentration with burnup are used in burnup credit criticality analyses. No credit for fission product neutron absorbers is taken. The methodology consists of five major steps. (1) Validate a computer code system to calculate isotopic concentrations of SNF created during burnup in the reactor core and subsequent decay. A set of chemical assay benchmarks is presented for this purpose as well as a method for assessing the calculational bias and uncertainty, and conservative correction factors for each isotope. (2) Validate a computer code system to predict the subcritical multiplication factor, k{sub eff}, of a spent nuclear fuel package. Fifty-seven UO{sub 2}, UO{sub 2}/Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3}, and UO{sub 2}/PuO{sub 2} critical experiments have been selected to cover anticipated conditions of SNF. The method uses an upper safety limit on k{sub eff} (which can be a function of the trending parameters) such that the biased k{sub eff}, when increased for the uncertainty is less than 0.95. (3) Establish bounding conditions for the isotopic concentration and criticality calculations. Three bounding axial profiles have been established to assure the ''end effect'' is accounted for conservatively. (4) Use the validated codes and bounding conditions to generate package loading criteria (burnup credit loading curves). Burnup credit loading curves show the minimum burnup required for a given initial enrichment. The utility burnup record is compared to this requirement after the utility accounts for the uncertainty in its record. Separate curves may be generated for each assembly design, various minimum cooling times and burnable absorber histories. (5) Verify that SNF assemblies meet the package

Burnup verification measurements on spent fuel assemblies at Arkansas Nuclear One

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ewing, R.I.

1995-01-01

Burnup verification measurements have been performed using the Fork system at Arkansas Nuclear One, Units 1 and 2, operated by Energy Operations, Inc. Passive neutron and gamma-ray measurements on individual spent fuel assemblies were correlated with the reactor records for burnup, cooling time, and initial enrichment. The correlation generates an internal calibration for the system in the form of a power law determined by a least squares fit to the neutron data. The values of the exponent in the power laws were 3.83 and 4.35 for Units 1 and 2, respectively. The average deviation of the reactor burnup records from the calibration determined from the measurements is a measure of the random error in the burnup records. The observed average deviations were 2.7% and 3.5% for assemblies at Units 1 and 2, respectively, indicating a high degree of consistency in the reactor records. Two non-standard assemblies containing neutron sources were studied at Unit 2. No anomalous measurements were observed among the standard assemblies at either Unit. The effectiveness of the Fork system for verification of reactor records is due to the sensitivity of the neutron yield to burnup, the self-calibration generated by a series of measurements, the redundancy provided by three independent detection systems, and the operational simplicity and flexibility of the design

Nuclear fuel and/or fertile material element suitable for non-destructive determination of burn-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muench, E.

1976-01-01

The invention refers to a nuclear fuel and/or fertile material element suitable for non-destructive burn-up analysis, where an isotope or a mixture of isotopes capable of being activated is provided for measuring the intensity of radiation emitted from radioactive nuclides, especially the intensity of gamma rays. The half-life of radioactive decay of the isotope or the mixture mentioned above after being activated is sufficiently large compared with the irradiation of the fuel and/or fertile material element in the nuclear reactor. (orig.) [de

Burn-up Credit Criticality Safety Benchmark Phase III-C. Nuclide Composition and Neutron Multiplication Factor of a Boiling Water Reactor Spent Fuel Assembly for Burn-up Credit and Criticality Control of Damaged Nuclear Fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suyama, K.; Uchida, Y.; Kashima, T.; Ito, T.; Miyaji, T.

2016-01-01

Criticality control of damaged nuclear fuel is one of the key issues in the decommissioning operation of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident. The average isotopic composition of spent nuclear fuel as a function of burn-up is required in order to evaluate criticality parameters of the mixture of damaged nuclear fuel with other materials. The NEA Expert Group on Burn-up Credit Criticality (EGBUC) has organised several international benchmarks to assess the accuracy of burn-up calculation methodologies. For BWR fuel, the Phase III-B benchmark, published in 2002, was a remarkable landmark that provided general information on the burn-up properties of BWR spent fuel based on the 8x8 type fuel assembly. Since the publication of the Phase III-B benchmark, all major nuclear data libraries have been revised; in Japan from JENDL-3.2 to JENDL-4, in Europe from JEF-2.2 to JEFF-3.1 and in the US from ENDF/B-VI to ENDF/B-VII.1. Burn-up calculation methodologies have been improved by adopting continuous-energy Monte Carlo codes and modern neutronics calculation methods. Considering the importance of the criticality control of damaged fuel in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident, a new international burn-up calculation benchmark for the 9 x 9 STEP-3 BWR fuel assemblies was organised to carry out the inter-comparison of the averaged isotopic composition in the interest of the burnup credit criticality safety community. Benchmark specifications were proposed and approved at the EGBUC meeting in September 2012 and distributed in October 2012. The deadline for submitting results was set at the end of February 2013. The basic model for the benchmark problem is an infinite two-dimensional array of BWR fuel assemblies consisting of a 9 x 9 fuel rod array with a water channel in the centre. The initial uranium enrichment of fuel rods without gadolinium is 4.9, 4.4, 3.9, 3.4 and 2.1 wt% and 3.4 wt% for the rods using gadolinium. The burn-up conditions are

Determination of burnup in irradiated nuclear fuels by the method of stable 148Nd fission products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souza Sarkis, J.E. de.

1982-01-01

A method is described for the isotopic analysis and determination of burnup in irradiated nuclear fuel by mass spectrometric technique. The burnup is calculed from the determination of the concentration of uranium, plutonium and the fission product 148 Nd in the samples of UO 2 irradiated fuel from a P.W.R. type reactor. The method involves the separation of fractions of uranium, plutonium and neodimium from the dissolved irradiated fuel by ion exchange technique. The determination of uranium, plutonium and the fission product 148 Nd is carried out by isotope diluition mass spectrometry technique using as isotope tracers the nuclides 233 U, 242 Pu and 150 Nd. For the chemical processing and handling of the irradiated sample a Hot Chemistry Laboratory was mounted. It consists of glove boxes and equipments for radiation monitoring and protection. The results obtained indicate an atom percent burnup of 2.181 + - 0.035% wich corresponds an 20.937 + - 0.739 Gwd/ton of thermal energy produced. (Author) [pt

Comparison of analysis methods for burnup credit applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, T.L.; Brady, M.C.; Renier, J.P.; Parks, C.V.

1989-01-01

The current approach used for the development and certification of spent fuel storage and transport casks requires an assumption of fresh fuel isotopics in the criticality safety analysis. However, it has been shown that there is a considerable reactivity reduction when the isotopics representative of the depleted (or burned) fuel are used in a criticality analysis. Thus, by taking credit for the burned state of the fuel (i.e., burnup credit), a cask designer could achieve a significant increase in payload. Accurate prediction of k eff for spent fuel arrays depends both on the criticality safety analysis and the prediction of the spent fuel isotopics via a depletion analysis. Spent fuel isotopics can be obtained from detailed multidimensional reactor analyses, e.g. the code PDQ, or from point reactor burnup models. These reactor calculations will help verify the adequacy of the isotopics and determine Δk eff biases for various analysis assumptions (with and without fission products, actinide absorbers, burnable poison rods, etc.). New software developed to interface PDQ multidimensional isotopics with KENO V.a reactor and cask models is described. Analyses similar to those performed for the reactor cases are carried out with a representative burnup credit cask model using the North Anna fuel. This paper presents the analysis methodology that has been developed for evaluating the physics issues associated with burnup credit. It is applicable in the validation and characterization of fuel isotopics as well as in determining the influence of various analysis assumptions in terms of δk eff . The methodology is used in the calculation of reactor restart criticals and analysis of a typical burnup credit cask

Discrete rod burnup analysis capability in the Westinghouse advanced nodal code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buechel, R.J.; Fetterman, R.J.; Petrunyak, M.A.

1992-01-01

Core design analysis in the last several years has evolved toward the adoption of nodal-based methods to replace traditional fine-mesh models as the standard neutronic tool for first core and reload design applications throughout the nuclear industry. The accuracy, speed, and reduction in computation requirements associated with the nodal methods have made three-dimensional modeling the preferred approach to obtain the most realistic core model. These methods incorporate detailed rod power reconstruction as well. Certain design applications such as confirmation of fuel rod design limits and fuel reconstitution considerations, for example, require knowledge of the rodwise burnup distribution to avoid unnecessary conservatism in design analyses. The Westinghouse Advanced Nodal Code (ANC) incorporates the capability to generate the intra-assembly pin burnup distribution using an efficient algorithm

Propagation of statistical and nuclear data uncertainties in Monte Carlo burn-up calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia-Herranz, Nuria; Cabellos, Oscar; Sanz, Javier; Juan, Jesus; Kuijper, Jim C.

2008-01-01

Two methodologies to propagate the uncertainties on the nuclide inventory in combined Monte Carlo-spectrum and burn-up calculations are presented, based on sensitivity/uncertainty and random sampling techniques (uncertainty Monte Carlo method). Both enable the assessment of the impact of uncertainties in the nuclear data as well as uncertainties due to the statistical nature of the Monte Carlo neutron transport calculation. The methodologies are implemented in our MCNP-ACAB system, which combines the neutron transport code MCNP-4C and the inventory code ACAB. A high burn-up benchmark problem is used to test the MCNP-ACAB performance in inventory predictions, with no uncertainties. A good agreement is found with the results of other participants. This benchmark problem is also used to assess the impact of nuclear data uncertainties and statistical flux errors in high burn-up applications. A detailed calculation is performed to evaluate the effect of cross-section uncertainties in the inventory prediction, taking into account the temporal evolution of the neutron flux level and spectrum. Very large uncertainties are found at the unusually high burn-up of this exercise (800 MWd/kgHM). To compare the impact of the statistical errors in the calculated flux with respect to the cross uncertainties, a simplified problem is considered, taking a constant neutron flux level and spectrum. It is shown that, provided that the flux statistical deviations in the Monte Carlo transport calculation do not exceed a given value, the effect of the flux errors in the calculated isotopic inventory are negligible (even at very high burn-up) compared to the effect of the large cross-section uncertainties available at present in the data files

Propagation of statistical and nuclear data uncertainties in Monte Carlo burn-up calculations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia-Herranz, Nuria [Departamento de Ingenieria Nuclear, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, UPM (Spain)], E-mail: nuria@din.upm.es; Cabellos, Oscar [Departamento de Ingenieria Nuclear, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, UPM (Spain); Sanz, Javier [Departamento de Ingenieria Energetica, Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia, UNED (Spain); Juan, Jesus [Laboratorio de Estadistica, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, UPM (Spain); Kuijper, Jim C. [NRG - Fuels, Actinides and Isotopes Group, Petten (Netherlands)

2008-04-15

Two methodologies to propagate the uncertainties on the nuclide inventory in combined Monte Carlo-spectrum and burn-up calculations are presented, based on sensitivity/uncertainty and random sampling techniques (uncertainty Monte Carlo method). Both enable the assessment of the impact of uncertainties in the nuclear data as well as uncertainties due to the statistical nature of the Monte Carlo neutron transport calculation. The methodologies are implemented in our MCNP-ACAB system, which combines the neutron transport code MCNP-4C and the inventory code ACAB. A high burn-up benchmark problem is used to test the MCNP-ACAB performance in inventory predictions, with no uncertainties. A good agreement is found with the results of other participants. This benchmark problem is also used to assess the impact of nuclear data uncertainties and statistical flux errors in high burn-up applications. A detailed calculation is performed to evaluate the effect of cross-section uncertainties in the inventory prediction, taking into account the temporal evolution of the neutron flux level and spectrum. Very large uncertainties are found at the unusually high burn-up of this exercise (800 MWd/kgHM). To compare the impact of the statistical errors in the calculated flux with respect to the cross uncertainties, a simplified problem is considered, taking a constant neutron flux level and spectrum. It is shown that, provided that the flux statistical deviations in the Monte Carlo transport calculation do not exceed a given value, the effect of the flux errors in the calculated isotopic inventory are negligible (even at very high burn-up) compared to the effect of the large cross-section uncertainties available at present in the data files.

Automated generation of burnup chain for reactor analysis applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tran, Viet-Phu; Tran, Hoai-Nam; Yamamoto, Akio; Endo, Tomohiro

2017-01-01

This paper presents the development of an automated generation of burnup chain for reactor analysis applications. Algorithms are proposed to reevaluate decay modes, branching ratios and effective fission product (FP) cumulative yields of a given list of important FPs taking into account intermediate reactions. A new burnup chain is generated using the updated data sources taken from the JENDL FP decay data file 2011 and Fission yields data file 2011. The new burnup chain is output according to the format for the SRAC code system. Verification has been performed to evaluate the accuracy of the new burnup chain. The results show that the new burnup chain reproduces well the results of a reference one with 193 fission products used in SRAC. Burnup calculations using the new burnup chain have also been performed based on UO_2 and MOX fuel pin cells and compared with a reference chain th2cm6fp193bp6T.

Automated generation of burnup chain for reactor analysis applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tran, Viet-Phu [VINATOM, Hanoi (Viet Nam). Inst. for Nuclear Science and Technology; Tran, Hoai-Nam [Duy Tan Univ., Da Nang (Viet Nam). Inst. of Research and Development; Yamamoto, Akio; Endo, Tomohiro [Nagoya Univ., Nagoya-shi (Japan). Dept. of Materials, Physics and Energy Engineering

2017-05-15

This paper presents the development of an automated generation of burnup chain for reactor analysis applications. Algorithms are proposed to reevaluate decay modes, branching ratios and effective fission product (FP) cumulative yields of a given list of important FPs taking into account intermediate reactions. A new burnup chain is generated using the updated data sources taken from the JENDL FP decay data file 2011 and Fission yields data file 2011. The new burnup chain is output according to the format for the SRAC code system. Verification has been performed to evaluate the accuracy of the new burnup chain. The results show that the new burnup chain reproduces well the results of a reference one with 193 fission products used in SRAC. Burnup calculations using the new burnup chain have also been performed based on UO{sub 2} and MOX fuel pin cells and compared with a reference chain th2cm6fp193bp6T.

Influence of FIMA burnup on actinides concentrations in PWR reactors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oettingen Mikołaj

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the paper we present the study on the dependence of actinides concentrations in the spent nuclear fuel on FIMA burnup. The concentrations of uranium, plutonium, americium and curium isotopes obtained in numerical simulation are compared with the result of the post irradiation assay of two spent fuel samples. The samples were cut from the fuel rod irradiated during two reactor cycles in the Japanese Ohi-2 Pressurized Water Reactor. The performed comparative analysis assesses the reliability of the developed numerical set-up, especially in terms of the system normalization to the measured FIMA burnup. The numerical simulations were preformed using the burnup and radiation transport mode of the Monte Carlo Continuous Energy Burnup Code – MCB, developed at the Department of Nuclear Energy, Faculty of Energy and Fuels of AGH University of Science and Technology.

Fuel cycles with high fuel burn-up: analysis of reactivity coefficients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kryuchkov, E.F.; Shmelev, A.N.; Ternovykh, M.J.; Tikhomirov, G.V.; Jinhong, L.; Saito, M.

2003-01-01

Fuel cycles of light-water reactors (LWR) with high fuel burn-up (above 100 MWd/kg), as a rule, involve large amounts of fissionable materials. It leads to forming the neutron spectrum harder than that in traditional LWR. Change of neutron spectrum and significant amount of non-traditional isotopes (for example, 237 Np, 238 Pu, 231 Pa, 232 U) in such fuel compositions can alter substantially reactivity coefficients as compared with traditional uranium-based fuel. The present work addresses the fuel cycles with high fuel burn-up which are based on Th-Pa-U and U-Np-Pu fuel compositions. Numerical analyses are carried out to determine effective neutron multiplication factor and void reactivity coefficient (VRC) for different values of fuel burn-up and different lattice parameters. The algorithm is proposed for analysis of isotopes contribution to these coefficients. Various ways are considered to upgrade safety of nuclear fuel cycles with high fuel burn-up. So, the results obtained in this study have demonstrated that: -1) Non-traditional fuel compositions developed for achievement of high fuel burn-up in LWR can possess positive values of reactivity coefficients that is unacceptable from the reactor operation safety point of view; -2) The lattice pitch of traditional LWR is not optimal for non-traditional fuel compositions, the increased value of the lattice pitch leads to larger value of initial reactivity margin and provides negative VRC within sufficiently broad range of coolant density; -3) Fuel burn-up has an insignificant effect on VRC dependence on coolant density, so, the measures undertaken to suppress positive VRC of fresh fuel will be effective for partially burnt-up fuel compositions also and; -4) Increase of LWR core height and introduction of additional moderators into the fuel lattice can be used as the ways to reach negative VRC values for full range of possible coolant density variations

Approach for implementing burnup credit in high-capacity truck casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boshoven, J.; Hopf, J.; Su, S.

1991-01-01

General Atomics (GA) will be submitting an application for certification to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the GA-4 and GA-9 Casks in 1992. To maintain a capacity of four pressurized-water-reactor (PWR) spent fuel assemblies, the GA-4 Cask uses burnup credit as part of the criticality control for the higher enrichments. Using the US Department of Energy (DOE) Burnup Credit Program as a basis, GA presents here an approach to burnup credit analysis to be included in the Safety Analysis Report for Packaging (SARP). 6 refs., 2 figs., 5 tabs

Fission gas release from fuel at high burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, R.O.; Beyer, C.E.; Voglewede, J.C.

1978-03-01

The release of fission gas from fuel pellets at high burnup is reviewed in the context of the safety analysis performed for reactor license applications. Licensing actions are described that were taken to correct deficient gas release models used in these safety analyses. A correction function, which was developed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff and its consultants, is presented. Related information, which includes some previously unpublished data, is also summarized. The report thus provides guidance for the analysis of high burnup gas release in licensing situations

Comparative study on plutonium and MA recycling in equilibrium burnup and standard burnup of PWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waris, Abdul; Kurniadi, Rizal; Su'ud, Zaki; Permana, Sidik

2005-01-01

The equilibrium burnup model is a powerful method since its can handle all possible generated nuclides in any nuclear system. Moreover, this method is a simple time independent method. Hence the equilibrium burnup method could be very useful for evaluating and forecasting the characteristics of any nuclear fuel cycle, even the strange one, e.g. all nuclides are confined in the reactor. However, this method needs to be verified since the method is not a standard tool. The present study aimed to compare the characteristics of plutonium recycling and plutonium and minor actinides (MA) recycling in PWR with the equilibrium burnup and the standard burnup. In order to become more comprehensive study, an influence of moderator-to-fuel volume ratio (MFR) changes by changing the pin-pitch of fuel cell has been evaluated. The MFR ranges from 0.5 to 4.0. For the equilibrium burnup we used equilibrium cell-burnup code. We have employed 1368 nuclides in the equilibrium calculation with 129 of them are heavy metals (HMs). For standard burnup, SRAC2002 code has been utilized with 26 HMs and 66 fission products (FPs). The JENDL 3.2 library has been employed for both burnup schemes. The uranium, plutonium and MA vector, which resulted from the equilibrium burnup are directly used as fuel input composition for the standard burnup calculation. Both burnup results demonstrate that plutonium recycling and plutonium and MA recycling can be conducted safer in tight lattice core. They are also show the similar trend in neutron spectrum, which become harder with the increasing number of recycled heavy nuclides as well as the decreasing of the MFR values. However, there are some discrepancy on the effective multiplication factor and the conversion ratio, especially for the reactor core for MFR ≥ 2.0. (author)

Technical Basis for Peak Reactivity Burnup Credit for BWR Spent Nuclear Fuel in Storage and Transportation Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marshall, William BJ J [ORNL; Ade, Brian J [ORNL; Bowman, Stephen M [ORNL; Gauld, Ian C [ORNL; Ilas, Germina [ORNL; Mertyurek, Ugur [ORNL; Radulescu, Georgeta [ORNL

2015-01-01

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission have initiated a multiyear project to investigate application of burnup credit for boiling-water reactor (BWR) fuel in storage and transportation casks. This project includes two phases. The first phase (1) investigates applicability of peak reactivity methods currently used in spent fuel pools (SFPs) to storage and transportation systems and (2) evaluates validation of both reactivity (k_eff) calculations and burnup credit nuclide concentrations within these methods. The second phase will focus on extending burnup credit beyond peak reactivity. This paper documents the first phase, including an analysis of lattice design parameters and depletion effects, as well as both validation components. Initial efforts related to extended burnup credit are discussed in a companion paper. Peak reactivity analyses have been used in criticality analyses for licensing of BWR fuel in SFPs over the last 20 years. These analyses typically combine credit for the gadolinium burnable absorber present in the fuel with a modest amount of burnup credit. Gadolinium burnable absorbers are used in BWR assemblies to control core reactivity. The burnable absorber significantly reduces assembly reactivity at beginning of life, potentially leading to significant increases in assembly reactivity for burnups less than 15–20 GWd/MTU. The reactivity of each fuel lattice is dependent on gadolinium loading. The number of gadolinium-bearing fuel pins lowers initial lattice reactivity, but it has a small impact on the burnup and reactivity of the peak. The gadolinium concentration in each pin has a small impact on initial lattice reactivity but a significant effect on the reactivity of the peak and the burnup at which the peak occurs. The importance of the lattice parameters and depletion conditions are primarily determined by their impact on the gadolinium depletion. Criticality code validation for BWR burnup

Burnup verification tests with the FORK measurement system-implementation for burnup credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ewing, R.I.

1994-01-01

Verification measurements may be used to help ensure nuclear criticality safety when burnup credit is applied to spent fuel transport and storage systems. The FORK system measures the passive neutron and gamma-ray emission from spent fuel assemblies while in the storage pool. It was designed at Los Alamos National Laboratory for the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards program and is well suited to verify burnup and cooling time records at commercial Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) sites. This report deals with the application of the FORK system to burnup credit operations

Study on the application of CANDLE burnup strategy to several nuclear reactors. JAERI's nuclear research promotion program, H13-002 (Contract research)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunitomi, Kazuhiko

2005-03-01

The CANDLE burnup strategy is a new reactor burnup concept, where the distributions of fuel nuclide densities, neutron flux, and power density move with the same constant speed from bottom to top (or from top to bottom) of the core and without any change in their shapes. Therefore, any burnup control mechanisms are not required, and reactor characteristics do not change along burnup. The reactor is simple and safe. When this burnup scheme is applied to some neutron rich fast reactors, either natural or depleted uranium can be utilized as fresh fuel after second core and the burnup of discharged fuel is about 40%. It means that the nuclear energy can be utilized for many hundreds years without new mining, enrichment and reprocessing, and the amount of spent fuel can be reduced considerably. However, in order to perform such a high fuel burnup some innovative technologies should be developed. Though development of innovative fuel will take a lot of time, intermediate re-cladding may be easy to be employed. Compared to fast reactors, application of CANDLE burnup to prismatic fuel high-temperature gas cooled reactors is very easy. In this report the application of CANDLE burnup to both these types of reactors are studied. (author)

Benchmark calculation of SCALE-PC 4.3 CSAS6 module and burnup credit criticality analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shin, Hee Sung; Ro, Seong Gy; Shin, Young Joon; Kim, Ik Soo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea)

1998-12-01

Calculation biases of SCALE-PC CSAS6 module for PWR spent fuel, metallized spent fuel and solution of nuclear materials have been determined on the basis of the benchmark to be 0.01100, 0.02650 and 0.00997, respectively. With the aid of the code system, nuclear criticality safety analysis for the spent fuel storage pool has been carried out to determine the minimum burnup of spent fuel required for safe storage. The criticality safety analysis is performed using three types of isotopic composition of spent fuel: ORIGEN2-calculated isotopic compositions; the conservative inventory obtained from the multiplication of ORIGEN2-calculated isotopic compositions by isotopic correction factors; the conservative inventory of only U, Pu and {sup 241}Am. The results show that the minimum burnup for three cases are 990,6190 and 7270 MWd/tU, respectively in the case of 5.0 wt% initial enriched spent fuel. (author). 74 refs., 68 figs., 35 tabs.

Burnup credit in a dry storage module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thornton, J.R.

1989-01-01

Comparison of spent fuel storage expansion options available to Oconee Nuclear Station revealed that dry storage could be economically competitive with transshipment and rod consolidation. Economic competitiveness, however, mandated large unit capacity while existing cask handling facilities at Oconee severely limited size and weight. The dry storage concept determined to best satisfy these conflicting criteria is a 24 pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuel assembly capacity NUTECH Horizontal Modular Storage (NUHOMS) system. The Oconee version of the NUHOMS system takes advantage of burnup credit in demonstrating criticality safety. The burnup credit criticality analysis was performed by Duke Power Company's Design Engineering Department. This paper was prepared to summarize the criticality control design features employed in the Oconee NUHOMS-24P DSC basket and to describe the incentives for pursuing a burnup credit design. Principal criticality design parameters, criteria, and analysis methodology are also presented

BEAVRS full core burnup calculation in hot full power condition by RMC code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Shichang; Liang, Jingang; Wu, Qu; Guo, JuanJuan; Huang, Shanfang; Tang, Xiao; Li, Zeguang; Wang, Kan

2017-01-01

Highlights: • TMS and thermal scattering interpolation were developed to treat cross sections OTF. • Hybrid coupling system was developed for HFP burnup calculation of BEAVRS benchmark. • Domain decomposition was applied to handle memory problem of full core burnup. • Critical boron concentration with burnup by RMC agrees with the benchmark results. • RMC is capable of multi-physics coupling for simulations of nuclear reactors in HFP. - Abstract: Monte Carlo method can provide high fidelity neutronics analysis of different types of nuclear reactors, owing to its advantages of the flexible geometry modeling and the use of continuous-energy nuclear cross sections. However, nuclear reactors are complex systems with multi-physics interacting and coupling. MC codes can couple with depletion solver and thermal-hydraulics (T/H) codes simultaneously for the “transport-burnup-thermal-hydraulics” coupling calculations. MIT BEAVRS is a typical “transport-burnup-thermal-hydraulics” coupling benchmark. In this paper, RMC was coupled with sub-channel code COBRA, equipped with on-the-fly temperature-dependent cross section treatment and large-scale detailed burnup calculation based on domain decomposition. Then RMC was applied to the full core burnup calculations of BEAVRS benchmark in hot full power (HFP) condition. The numerical tests show that domain decomposition method can achieve the consistent results compared with original version of RMC while enlarging the computational burnup regions. The results of HFP by RMC agree well with the reference values of BEAVRS benchmark and also agree well with those of MC21. This work proves the feasibility and accuracy of RMC in multi-physics coupling and lifecycle simulations of nuclear reactors.

About a fuel for burnup reactor of periodical pulsed nuclear pumped laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volkov, A.I.; Lukin, A.V.; Magda, L.E.; Magda, E.P.; Pogrebov, I.S.; Putnikov, I.S.; Khmelnitsky, D.V.; Scherbakov, A.P.

1998-01-01

A physical scheme of burnup reactor for a Periodic Pulsed Nuclear Pumped Laser was supposed. Calculations of its neutron physical parameters were made. The general layout and construction of basic elements of the reactor are discussed. The requirements for the fuel and fuel elements are established. (author)

Basic evaluation on nuclear characteristics of BWR high burnup MOX fuel and core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagano, M.; Sakurai, S.; Yamaguchi, H.

1997-01-01

MOX fuel will be used in existing commercial BWR cores as a part of reload fuels with equivalent operability, safety and economy to UO 2 fuel in Japan. The design concept should be compatible with UO 2 fuel design. High burnup UO 2 fuels are being developed and commercialized step by step. The MOX fuel planned to be introduced in around year 2000 will use the same hardware as UO 2 8 x 8 array fuel developed for a second step of UO 2 high burnup fuel. The target discharge exposure of this MOX fuel is about 33 GWd/t. And the loading fraction of MOX fuel is approximately one-third in an equilibrium core. On the other hand, it becomes necessary to minimize a number of MOX fuels and plants utilizing MOX fuel, mainly due to the fuel economy, handling cost and inspection cost in site. For the above reasons, it needed to developed a high burnup MOX fuel containing much Pu and a core with a large amount of MOX fuels. The purpose of this study is to evaluate basic nuclear fuel and core characteristics of BWR high burnup MOX fuel with batch average exposure of about 39.5 GWd/t using 9 x 9 array fuel. The loading fraction of MOX fuel in the core is within a range of about 50% to 100%. Also the influence of Pu isotopic composition fluctuations and Pu-241 decay upon nuclear characteristics are studied. (author). 3 refs, 5 figs, 3 tabs

Sophistication of burnup analysis system for fast reactor (2)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yokoyama, Kenji; Hirai, Yasushi; Tatsumi, Masahiro

2010-10-01

Improvement on prediction accuracy for neutronics characteristics of fast reactor cores is one of the most important study domains in terms of both achievement of high economical plant efficiency based on reasonably advanced designs and increased reliability and safety margins. In former study, considerable improvement on prediction accuracy in neutronics design has been achieved in the development of the unified cross-section set as a fruit of a series of critical experiments such as JUPITER in application of the reactor constant adjustments. For design of fast reactor cores improvement of not only static characteristics but also burnup characteristics is very important. For such purpose, it is necessary to improve the prediction accuracy on burnup characteristics using actual burnup data of 'JOYO' and 'MONJU', experimental and prototype fast reactors. Recently, study on effective burnup method for minor actinides becomes important theme. However, there is a problem that analysis work tends to become inefficient for lack of functionality suitable for analysis of composition change due to burnup since the conventional analysis system is targeted to critical assembly systems. Therefore development of burnup analysis system for fast reactors with modularity and flexibility is being done that would contribute to actual core design work and improvement of prediction accuracy. In the previous study, we have developed a prototype system which has functions of performing core and burnup calculations using given constant files (PDS files) and information based on simple and easy user input data. It has also functions of fuel shuffling which is indispensable for power reactor analysis systems. In the present study, by extending the prototype system, features for handling of control rods and energy collapse of group constants have been designed and implemented. Computational results from the present analysis system are stored into restart files which can be accessible by

Automated generation of burnup chain for reactor analysis applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tran Viet Phu; Tran Hoai Nam; Akio Yamamoto; Tomohiro Endo

2015-01-01

This paper presents the development of an automated generation of a new burnup chain for reactor analysis applications. The JENDL FP Decay Data File 2011 and Fission Yields Data File 2011 were used as the data sources. The nuclides in the new chain are determined by restrictions of the half-life and cumulative yield of fission products or from a given list. Then, decay modes, branching ratios and fission yields are recalculated taking into account intermediate reactions. The new burnup chain is output according to the format for the SRAC code system. Verification was performed to evaluate the accuracy of the new burnup chain. The results show that the new burnup chain reproduces well the results of a reference one with 193 fission products used in SRAC. Further development and applications are being planned with the burnup chain code. (author)

A survey of previous and current industry-wide efforts regarding burnup credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, R.H.

1989-01-01

Sandia has examined the matter of burnup credit from the perspective of physics, logistics, risk, and economics. A limited survey of the nuclear industry has been conducted to get a feeling for the actual application of burnup credit. Based on this survey, it can be concluded that the suppliers of spent fuel storage and transport casks are in general agreement that burnup credit offers the potential for improvements in cask efficiency without increasing the risk of accidental criticality. The actual improvement is design-specific but limited applications have demonstrated that capacity increases in the neighborhood of 20 percent are not unrealistic. A number of these vendors acknowledge that burnup credit has not been reduced to practice in cask applications and suggest that operational considerations may be more important to regulatory acceptance than to the physics. Nevertheless, the importance of burnup credit to the nuclear industry as a cask design and analysis tool has been confirmed by this survey

Fuel cycles with high fuel burn-up: analysis of reactivity coefficients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kryuchkov, E.F.; Shmelev, A.N.; Ternovykh, M.J.; Tikhomirov, G.V.; Jinhong, L. [Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (State University) (Russian Federation); Saito, M. [Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan)

2003-07-01

Fuel cycles of light-water reactors (LWR) with high fuel burn-up (above 100 MWd/kg), as a rule, involve large amounts of fissionable materials. It leads to forming the neutron spectrum harder than that in traditional LWR. Change of neutron spectrum and significant amount of non-traditional isotopes (for example, {sup 237}Np, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 231}Pa, {sup 232}U) in such fuel compositions can alter substantially reactivity coefficients as compared with traditional uranium-based fuel. The present work addresses the fuel cycles with high fuel burn-up which are based on Th-Pa-U and U-Np-Pu fuel compositions. Numerical analyses are carried out to determine effective neutron multiplication factor and void reactivity coefficient (VRC) for different values of fuel burn-up and different lattice parameters. The algorithm is proposed for analysis of isotopes contribution to these coefficients. Various ways are considered to upgrade safety of nuclear fuel cycles with high fuel burn-up. So, the results obtained in this study have demonstrated that: -1) Non-traditional fuel compositions developed for achievement of high fuel burn-up in LWR can possess positive values of reactivity coefficients that is unacceptable from the reactor operation safety point of view; -2) The lattice pitch of traditional LWR is not optimal for non-traditional fuel compositions, the increased value of the lattice pitch leads to larger value of initial reactivity margin and provides negative VRC within sufficiently broad range of coolant density; -3) Fuel burn-up has an insignificant effect on VRC dependence on coolant density, so, the measures undertaken to suppress positive VRC of fresh fuel will be effective for partially burnt-up fuel compositions also and; -4) Increase of LWR core height and introduction of additional moderators into the fuel lattice can be used as the ways to reach negative VRC values for full range of possible coolant density variations.

Needs of reliable nuclear data and covariance matrices for Burnup Credit in JEFF-3 library

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambon, A.; Santamarina, A.; Riffard, C.; Lavaud, F.; Lecarpentier, D.

2013-01-01

Burnup Credit (BUC) is the concept which consists in taking into account credit for the reduction of nuclear spent fuel reactivity due to its burnup. In the case of PWR-MOx spent fuel, studies pointed out that the contribution of the 15 most absorbing, stable and non-volatile fission products selected to the credit is as important as the one of the actinides. In order to get a 'best estimate' value of the keff, biases of their inventory calculation and individual reactivity worth should be considered in criticality safety studies. This paper enhances the most penalizing bias towards criticality and highlights possible improvements of nuclear data for the 15 fission products (FPs) of PWR-MOx BUC. Concerning the fuel inventory, trends in function of the burnup can be derived from experimental validation of the DARWIN-2.3 package (using the JEFF- 3.1.1/SHEM library). Thanks to the BUC oscillation programme of separated FPs in the MINERVE reactor and fully validated scheme PIMS, calculation over experiment ratios can be accurately transposed to tendencies on the FPs integral cross sections. (authors)

Construction and tests of a gamma device for experimental measurements of burnup of nuclear reactor fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandao Junior, F.A.

1982-01-01

The gamma-scanning method is an important tool for the measurement of burnup of nuclear reactor fuel. The adequate knowledge of burnup allows for a better inventory of 'sensitive' fissile materials, better fuel management and provides insight on fuel behaviour and safety margins. This paper is related to the description, construction and operation of a first gamma scanning device, tested by irradiation of prototype PWR fuel pins, 14 cm long, in a Triga Mark-I reactor at very low power. Despite the limitations imposed by the low burnup, the experiment permitted a good checking of the main physical concepts and devices involved in the method. (Author) [pt

Effect of core burnup on the dynamic behavior of fast reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ilberg, D.; Saphier, D.; Yiftah, S.

1977-01-01

Performance of a dynamic analysis, taking burnup changes into account, requires fission-product nuclear data of relatively small uncertainty, suitable burnup calculation models, and dynamic computer programs. These were prepared and used with the following results: (1) Significant changes in static and dynamic parameters were observed when investigating the effect of burnup. These changes were found to be larger than differences introduced by the uncertainty of the fission-product nuclear data. (2) A one-dimensional burnup computer program was prepared. It was found that a burnup model based on the generalized radioactive decay scheme is suitable for accurate fast reactor calculations. (3) Space-time dynamic calculations of fast reactors having different burnup levels were performed. The stability difference between ''clean'' and high burnup cores is greater when local rather than uniform perturbations are inserted along the entire core length. The magnitude by which the ''end-of-life'' core increases the transient excursion over that of the clean core depends on the particular region in which the perturbation is inserted. The end-of-life core will magnify the transient excursion more than the clean core whenever the perturbation is inserted into a region having a higher adjoint flux level than that of the clean core. However, when a reactor safety system operates successfully, the difference in the temperature transient of the clean and end-of-life cores will be relatively small. It is suggested that only the analysis of large local perturbations be performed for end-of-life cores as well as for clean cores in the safety evaluation of fast reactors

Nuclear-data uncertainty propagations in burnup calculation for the PWR assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan, Chenghui; Cao, Liangzhi; Wu, Hongchun; Shen, Wei

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The DRAGON 5.0 and NECP-CACTI have been implemented in UNICORN. • The effects of different neutronics methods on S&U results were quantified. • Uncertainty analysis has been applied to burnup calculation of PWR assembly. • The uncertainties of eigenvalue and few-group constants have been quantified. - Abstract: In this paper, our home-developed lattice code NECP-CACTI has been implemented into our UNICORN code to perform sensitivity and uncertainty analysis for the lattice calculations. The verified multigroup cross-section perturbation model and methods of the sensitivity and uncertainty analysis are established and applied to different lattice codes in UNICORN. As DRAGON5.0 and NECP-CACTI are available for the lattice calculations in UNICORN now, the effects of different neutronics methods (including methods for the neutron-transport and resonance self-shielding calculations) on the results of sensitivity and uncertainty analysis were studied in this paper. Based on NECP-CACTI, uncertainty analysis using the statistical sampling method has been performed to the burnup calculation for the fresh-fueled TMI-1 assembly, propagating the nuclear-data uncertainties to k_∞ and two-group constants of the lattice calculation with depletions. As results shown, for different neutronics methods, it can be observed that different methods of the neutron-transport calculation introduce no differences to the results of sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, while different methods of the resonance self-shielding calculation would impact the results. With depletions of the TMI-1 assembly, for k_∞, the relative uncertainty varies between 0.45% and 0.60%; for two-group constants, the largest variation is between 0.35% and 2.56% for vΣ_f_,_2. Moreover, the most significant contributors to the uncertainty of k_∞ and two-group constants varied with depletions are determined.

Evaluation of Isotopic Measurements and Burn-up Value of Sample GU3 of ARIANE Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tore, C.; Rodriguez Rivada, A.

2014-07-01

Estimation of the burn-up value of irradiated fuel and its isotopic composition are important for criticality analysis, spent fuel management and source term estimation. The practical way to estimate the irradiated fuel composition and burn.up value is calculation with validated code and nuclear data. Such validation of the neutronic codes and nuclear data requires the benchmarking with measured values. (Author)

Calculation of fuel burn-up and fuel reloading for the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lan, Nguyen Phuoc; Huy, Ngo Quang [Centre for Nuclear Technique Application, Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam); Thong, Ha Van; Binh, Do Quang [Nuclear Research Inst., Da Lat (Viet Nam)

1994-10-01

Calculation of fuel burnup and fuel reloading for the Dalat Nuclear Research Reactor was carried out by using a new programme named HEXA-BURNUP, realized in a PC. The programme is used to calculate the following parameters of the Dalat reactor: a/Critical configurations of the core loaded with 69, 72, 74, 86, 88, 89 and 92 fuel elements. The effective multiplication coefficients equal 1 within the error ranges of less than 0.38%. b/ The thermal neutron flux distribution in the reactor. The calculated results agree with the experimental data measured at 11 typical positions. c/The average fuel burn-up for the period from Feb. 1984 to Sep. 1992. The difference between calculation and experiment is only about 1.9%. 10 fuel reloading versions are calculated, from which an optimal version is proposed. (author). 9 refs., 4 figs., 5 tabs.

Underestimation of nuclear fuel burnup – theory, demonstration and solution in numerical models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gajda Paweł

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Monte Carlo methodology provides reference statistical solution of neutron transport criticality problems of nuclear systems. Estimated reaction rates can be applied as an input to Bateman equations that govern isotopic evolution of reactor materials. Because statistical solution of Boltzmann equation is computationally expensive, it is in practice applied to time steps of limited length. In this paper we show that simple staircase step model leads to underprediction of numerical fuel burnup (Fissions per Initial Metal Atom – FIMA. Theoretical considerations indicates that this error is inversely proportional to the length of the time step and origins from the variation of heating per source neutron. The bias can be diminished by application of predictor-corrector step model. A set of burnup simulations with various step length and coupling schemes has been performed. SERPENT code version 1.17 has been applied to the model of a typical fuel assembly from Pressurized Water Reactor. In reference case FIMA reaches 6.24% that is equivalent to about 60 GWD/tHM of industrial burnup. The discrepancies up to 1% have been observed depending on time step model and theoretical predictions are consistent with numerical results. Conclusions presented in this paper are important for research and development concerning nuclear fuel cycle also in the context of Gen4 systems.

Theory analysis and simple calculation of travelling wave burnup scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jian; Yu Hong; Gang Zhi

2012-01-01

Travelling wave burnup scheme is a new burnup scheme that breeds fuel locally just before it burns. Based on the preliminary theory analysis, the physical imagine was found. Through the calculation of a R-z cylinder travelling wave reactor core with ERANOS code system, the basic physical characteristics of this new burnup scheme were concluded. The results show that travelling wave reactor is feasible in physics, and there are some good features in the reactor physics. (authors)

Validation issues for depletion and criticality analysis in burnup credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parks, C.V.; Broadhead, B.L.; Dehart, M.D.; Gauld, I.C.

2001-01-01

This paper reviews validation issues associated with implementation of burnup credit in transport, dry storage, and disposal. The issues discussed are ones that have been identified by one or more constituents of the United States technical community (national laboratories, licensees, and regulators) that have been exploring the use of burnup credit. There is not necessarily agreement on the importance of the various issues, which sometimes is what creates the issue. The broad issues relate to the paucity of available experimental data (radiochemical assays and critical experiments) covering the full range and characteristics of spent nuclear fuel in away-from-reactor systems. The paper will also introduce recent efforts initiated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to provide technical information that can help better assess the value of different experiments. The focus of the paper is on experience with validation issues related to use of burnup credit for transport and dry storage applications. (author)

Isotopic validation for PWR actinide-only burnup credit using Yankee Rowe data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-11-01

Safety analyses of criticality control systems for transportation packages include an assumption that the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) loaded into the package is fresh or unirradiated. In other words, the spent fuel is assumed to have its original, as-manufactured U-235 isotopic content. The ''fresh fuel'' assumption is very conservative since the potential reactivity of the nuclear fuel is substantially reduced after being irradiated in the reactor core. The concept of taking credit for this reduction in nuclear fuel reactivity due to burnup of the fuel, instead of using the fresh fuel assumption in the criticality safety analysis, is referred to as ''Burnup Credit.'' Burnup credit uses the actual physical composition of the fuel and accounts for the net reduction of fissile material and the buildup of neutron absorbers in the fuel as it is irradiated. Neutron absorbers include actinides and other isotopes generated as a result of the fission process. Using only the change in actinide isotopes in the burnup credit criticality analysis is referred to as ''Actinide-Only Burnup Credit.'' The use of burnup credit in the design of criticality control systems enables more spent fuel to be placed in a package. Increased package capacity results in a reduced number of storage, shipping and disposal containers for a given number of SNF assemblies. Fewer shipments result in a lower risk of accidents associated with the handling and transportation of spent fuel, thus reducing both radiological and nonradiological risk to the public. This paper describes the modeling and the results of comparison between measured and calculated isotopic inventories for a selected number of samples taken from a Yankee Rowe spent fuel assembly

Burnup verification using the FORK measurement system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ewing, R.I.

1994-01-01

Verification measurements may be used to help ensure nuclear criticality safety when burnup credit is applied to spent fuel transport and storage systems. The FORK measurement system, designed at Los Alamos National Laboratory for the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards program, has been used to verify reactor site records for burnup and cooling time for many years. The FORK system measures the passive neutron and gamma-ray emission from spent fuel assemblies while in the storage pool. This report deals with the application of the FORK system to burnup credit operations based on measurements performed on spent fuel assemblies at the Oconee Nuclear Station of Duke Power Company

Development of external coupling for calculation of the control rod worth in terms of burn-up for a WWER-1000 nuclear reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noori-Kalkhoran, Omid, E-mail: o_noori@yahoo.com [Reactor Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute (NSTRI), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Yarizadeh-Beneh, Mehdi [Faculty of Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ahangari, Rohollah [Reactor Research School, Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute (NSTRI), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2016-08-15

Highlights: • Calculation of control rod worth in term of burn-up. • Calculation of differential and integral control rod worth. • Developing an external couple. • Modification of thermal-hydraulic profiles in calculations. - Abstract: One of the main problems relating to operation of a nuclear reactor is its safety and controlling system. The most widely used control systems for thermal reactors are neutron absorbent rods. In this study a code based method has been developed for calculation of integral and differential control rod worth in terms of burn-up for a WWER-1000 nuclear reactor. External coupling of WIMSD-5B, PARCS V2.7 and COBRA-EN has been used for this purpose. WIMSD-5B has been used for cell calculation and handling burn-up of the core in various days. PARCS V2.7 has been used for neutronic calculation of core and critical boron concentration search. Thermal-hydraulic calculation has been performed by COBRA-EN. An external coupling algorithm has been developed by MATLAB to couple and transfer suitable data between these codes in each step. Steady-State Power Picking Factors (PPFs) of the core and control rod worth for different control rod groups have been calculated from Beginning Of Cycle (BOC) to 289.7 Effective Full Power Days (EFPDs) in some steps. Results have been compared with the results of Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR). The results show a good agreement and confirm the ability of developed coupling in calculation of control rod worth in terms of burn-up.

Estimation of the impact of manufacturing tolerances on burn-up calculations using Monte Carlo techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bock, M.; Wagner, M. [Gesellschaft fuer Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit mbH, Garching (Germany). Forschungszentrum

2012-11-01

In recent years, the availability of computing resources has increased enormously. There are two ways to take advantage of this increase in analyses in the field of the nuclear fuel cycle, such as burn-up calculations or criticality safety calculations. The first possible way is to improve the accuracy of the models that are analyzed. For burn-up calculations this means, that the goal to model and to calculate the burn-up of a full reactor core is getting more and more into reach. The second way to utilize the resources is to run state-of-the-art programs with simplified models several times, but with varied input parameters. This second way opens the applicability of the assessment of uncertainties and sensitivities based on the Monte Carlo method for fields of research that rely heavily on either high CPU usage or high memory consumption. In the context of the nuclear fuel cycle, applications that belong to these types of demanding analyses are again burn-up and criticality safety calculations. The assessment of uncertainties in burn-up analyses can complement traditional analysis techniques such as best estimate or bounding case analyses and can support the safety analysis in future design decisions, e.g. by analyzing the uncertainty of the decay heat power of the nuclear inventory stored in the spent fuel pool of a nuclear power plant. This contribution concentrates on the uncertainty analysis in burn-up calculations of PWR fuel assemblies. The uncertainties in the results arise from the variation of the input parameters. In this case, the focus is on the one hand on the variation of manufacturing tolerances that are present in the different production stages of the fuel assemblies. On the other hand, uncertainties that describe the conditions during the reactor operation are taken into account. They also affect the results of burn-up calculations. In order to perform uncertainty analyses in burn-up calculations, GRS has improved the capabilities of its general

Evaluation of burnup credit for accommodating PWR spent nuclear fuel in high-capacity cask designs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, John C.

2003-01-01

This paper presents an evaluation of the amount of burnup credit needed for high-density casks to transport the current U.S. inventory of commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) assemblies. A prototypic 32-assembly cask and the current regulatory guidance were used as bases for this evaluation. By comparing actual pressurized-water-reactor (PWR) discharge data (i.e., fuel burnup and initial enrichment specifications for fuel assemblies discharged from U.S. PWRs) with actinide-only-based loading curves, this evaluation finds that additional negative reactivity (through either increased credit for fuel burnup or cask design/utilization modifications) is necessary to accommodate the majority of SNF assemblies in high-capacity storage and transportation casks. The impact of varying selected calculational assumptions is also investigated, and considerable improvement in effectiveness is shown with the inclusion of the principal fission products (FPs) and minor actinides and the use of a bounding best-estimate approach for isotopic validation. Given sufficient data for validation, the most significant component that would improve accuracy, and subsequently enhance the utilization of burnup credit, is the inclusion of FPs. (author)

An analysis of nuclear fuel burnup in the AGR-1 TRISO fuel experiment using gamma spectrometry, mass spectrometry, and computational simulation techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harp, Jason M.; Demkowicz, Paul A.; Winston, Philip L.; Sterbentz, James W.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The burnup of irradiated AGR-1 TRISO fuel was analyzed using gamma spectrometry. • The burnup of irradiated AGR-1 TRISO fuel was also analyzed using mass spectrometry. • Agreement between experimental results and neutron physics simulations was excellent. - Abstract: AGR-1 was the first in a series of experiments designed to test US TRISO fuel under high temperature gas-cooled reactor irradiation conditions. This experiment was irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and is currently undergoing post-irradiation examination (PIE) at INL and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. One component of the AGR-1 PIE is the experimental evaluation of the burnup of the fuel by two separate techniques. Gamma spectrometry was used to non-destructively evaluate the burnup of all 72 of the TRISO fuel compacts that comprised the AGR-1 experiment. Two methods for evaluating burnup by gamma spectrometry were developed, one based on the Cs-137 activity and the other based on the ratio of Cs-134 and Cs-137 activities. Burnup values determined from both methods compared well with the values predicted from simulations. The highest measured burnup was 20.1% FIMA (fissions per initial heavy metal atom) for the direct method and 20.0% FIMA for the ratio method (compared to 19.56% FIMA from simulations). An advantage of the ratio method is that the burnup of the cylindrical fuel compacts can be determined in small (2.5 mm) axial increments and an axial burnup profile can be produced. Destructive chemical analysis by inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was then performed on selected compacts that were representative of the expected range of fuel burnups in the experiment to compare with the burnup values determined by gamma spectrometry. The compacts analyzed by mass spectrometry had a burnup range of 19.3% FIMA to 10.7% FIMA. The mass spectrometry evaluation of burnup for the four compacts agreed well with the gamma

Analysis of burnup of Angra 2 PWR nuclear with addition of thorium dioxide fuel using ORIGEN-ARP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goncalves, Isadora C.; Wichrowski, Caio C.; Oliveira, Claudio L. de; Vellozo, Sergio O.; Baptista, Camila O., E-mail: isadora.goncalves@ime.eb.br, E-mail: wichrowski@ime.eb.br, E-mail: d7luiz@yahoo.com.br, E-mail: vellozo@ime.eb.br, E-mail: camila.oliv.baptista@gmail.com [Instituto Militar de Engenharia (IME), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Secao de Engenharia Nuclear

2017-11-01

It is known that isotope {sup 232}thorium is a fertile nuclide with the ability to convert into {sup 233}uranium, a potentially fissile isotope, after absorbing a neutron. As there is a large stock of available thorium in the world, this element shows great promise in mitigate the world energy crisis, more particularly in the problem of uranium scarcity, besides being an alternative nuclear fuel for those currently used in reactors, and yet presenting advantages as an option for the non-proliferation movement, among others. In this study, the analysis of the remaining nuclides of burnup was carried out for the core configuration of a PWR (pressurized water reactor) reactor, specifically the Angra 2 reactor, using only uranium dioxide, its current configuration, and in different configurations including a mixed oxide of uranium and thorium in three concentrations, allowing a preliminary assessment of the feasibility of the modification of the fuel, the resulting production of {sup 233}uranium, the emergence of {sup 231}protactinium (an isotope that only occurs as a fission product of {sup 232}Th) resulting from burning. The study was carried out using data obtained from FSAR (Final Safety Analysis Report) of Angra 2, using the SCALE 6.1, a modeling and simulation nuclear code, especially its ORIGEN-ARP module, which analyzes the depletion of isotopes presents in a reactor. (author)

Analysis of burnup of Angra 2 PWR nuclear with addition of thorium dioxide fuel using ORIGEN-ARP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goncalves, Isadora C.; Wichrowski, Caio C.; Oliveira, Claudio L. de; Vellozo, Sergio O.; Baptista, Camila O.

2017-01-01

It is known that isotope "2"3"2thorium is a fertile nuclide with the ability to convert into "2"3"3uranium, a potentially fissile isotope, after absorbing a neutron. As there is a large stock of available thorium in the world, this element shows great promise in mitigate the world energy crisis, more particularly in the problem of uranium scarcity, besides being an alternative nuclear fuel for those currently used in reactors, and yet presenting advantages as an option for the non-proliferation movement, among others. In this study, the analysis of the remaining nuclides of burnup was carried out for the core configuration of a PWR (pressurized water reactor) reactor, specifically the Angra 2 reactor, using only uranium dioxide, its current configuration, and in different configurations including a mixed oxide of uranium and thorium in three concentrations, allowing a preliminary assessment of the feasibility of the modification of the fuel, the resulting production of "2"3"3uranium, the emergence of "2"3"1protactinium (an isotope that only occurs as a fission product of "2"3"2Th) resulting from burning. The study was carried out using data obtained from FSAR (Final Safety Analysis Report) of Angra 2, using the SCALE 6.1, a modeling and simulation nuclear code, especially its ORIGEN-ARP module, which analyzes the depletion of isotopes presents in a reactor. (author)

OECD/NEA Burnup Credit Calculational Criticality Benchmark Phase I-B Results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeHart, M.D.

1993-01-01

Burnup credit is an ongoing technical concern for many countries that operate commercial nuclear power reactors. In a multinational cooperative effort to resolve burnup credit issues, a Burnup Credit Working Group has been formed under the auspices of the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This working group has established a set of well-defined calculational benchmarks designed to study significant aspects of burnup credit computational methods. These benchmarks are intended to provide a means for the intercomparison of computer codes, methods, and data applied in spent fuel analysis. The benchmarks have been divided into multiple phases, each phase focusing on a particular feature of burnup credit analysis. This report summarizes the results and findings of the Phase I-B benchmark, which was proposed to provide a comparison of the ability of different code systems and data libraries to perform depletion analysis for the prediction of spent fuel isotopic concentrations. Results included here represent 21 different sets of calculations submitted by 16 different organizations worldwide, and are based on a limited set of nuclides determined to have the most important effect on the neutron multiplication factor of light-water-reactor spent fuel. A comparison of all sets of results demonstrates that most methods are in agreement to within 10% in the ability to estimate the spent fuel concentrations of most actinides. All methods are within 11% agreement about the average for all fission products studied. Furthermore, most deviations are less than 10%, and many are less than 5%. The exceptions are 149 Sm, 151 Sm, and 155 Gd

Development and Applications of a Prototypic SCALE Control Module for Automated Burnup Credit Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gauld, I.C.

2001-01-01

Consideration of the depletion phenomena and isotopic uncertainties in burnup-credit criticality analysis places an increasing reliance on computational tools and significantly increases the overall complexity of the calculations. An automated analysis and data management capability is essential for practical implementation of large-scale burnup credit analyses that can be performed in a reasonable amount of time. STARBUCS is a new prototypic analysis sequence being developed for the SCALE code system to perform automated criticality calculations of spent fuel systems employing burnup credit. STARBUCS is designed to help analyze the dominant burnup credit phenomena including spatial burnup gradients and isotopic uncertainties. A search capability also allows STARBUCS to iterate to determine the spent fuel parameters (e.g., enrichment and burnup combinations) that result in a desired k eff for a storage configuration. Although STARBUCS was developed to address the analysis needs for spent fuel transport and storage systems, it provides sufficient flexibility to allow virtually any configuration of spent fuel to be analyzed, such as storage pools and reprocessing operations. STARBUCS has been used extensively at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to study burnup credit phenomena in support of the NRC Research program

Value of burnup credit beyond actinides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lancaster, D.; Fuentes, E.; Kang, Chi.

1997-01-01

DOE has submitted a topical report to the NRC justifying burnup credit based only on actinide isotopes (U-234, U-235, U-236, U-238, Pu-238, Pu-239, Pu-240, Pu-241, Pu-242, and Am-241). When this topical report is approved, it will allow a great deal of the commercial spent nuclear fuel to be transported in significantly higher capacity casks. A cost savings estimate for shipping fuel in 32 assembly (burnup credit) casks as opposed to 24 assembly (non-burnup credit) casks was previously presented. Since that time, more detailed calculations have been performed using the methodology presented in the Actinide-Only Burnup Credit Topical Report. Loading curves for derated casks have been generated using actinide-only burnup credit and are presented in this paper. The estimates of cost savings due to burnup credit for shipping fuel utilizing 32, 30, 28, and 24 assembly casks where only the 24 assembly cask does not burnup credit have been created and are discussed. 4 refs., 2 figs

Impact of extended burnup on the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-04-01

The Advisory Group Meeting was held in Vienna from 2 to 5 December 1991, to review, analyse, and discuss the effects of burnup extension in both light and heavy water reactors on all aspects of the fuel cycle. Twenty experts from thirteen countries participated in this meeting. There was consensus that both economic and environmental benefits are driving forces toward the achievement of higher burnups and that the present trend of burnup extension may be expected to continue. The extended burnup has been considered for the three main stages of the fuel cycle: the front end, in-reactor issues and the back end. Thirteen papers were presented. A separate abstract was prepared for each of these papers. Refs, figs and tabs

Comparison of burnup calculation results using several evaluated nuclear data files

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suyama, Kenya; Katakura, Jun-ichi; Nomura, Yasushi

2002-01-01

Burn-up calculation and comparison of the results were carried out to clarify the differences among the following latest evaluated nuclear data libraries: JENDL-3.2, ENDF/B-VI and JEF-2.2. The analyses showed that the differences seen among the current evaluated nuclear data libraries are small for evaluation of the amounts of many uranium and plutonium isotopes. However, several nuclides important for evaluation of nuclear fuel cycle as 238 Pu, 244 Cm, 149 Sm and 134 Cs showed large differences among used libraries. The chain analyses for the isotopes were conducted and the reasons for the differences were discussed. Based on the discussion, information of important cross section to obtain better agreement with the experimental results for 238 Pu, 244 Cm, 149 Sm and 134 Cs was shown. (author)

Choosing the optimum burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geller, L.; Goldstein, L.; Franks, W.A.

1986-01-01

This paper reviews some of the considerations utilities must evaluate when going to higher discharge burnups. The advantages and disadvantages of higher discharge burnups are described, as well as a consistent approach for evaluating optimum discharge burnup and its comparison to current practice. When an analysis is performed over the life of the plant, the design of the terminal cycles has significant impact on the lifetime savings from higher burnups. Designs for high burnup cycles have a greater average inventory value in the core. As one goes to higher burnup, there is a greater likelihood of discarding a larger value in unused fuel unless the terminal cycles are designed carefully. This effect can be large enough in some cases to wipe out the lifetime cost savings relative to operating with a higher discharge burnup cycle

Procedure, algorithm and criterions of determination of a burnup of a irradiated nuclear fuel in process of overloading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilej, D.V.; Fridman, N.A.; Maslov, O.V.; Maksimov, M.V.

2001-01-01

The procedure, algorithm and criterions of determination of a burnup of the irradiated nuclear fuel in process of overloading are described. The feature of the procedure, algorithm and criterions consists in the account of initial enrichment and cooling time nuclear fuel after irradiation

OECD/NEA Burnup Credit Calculational Criticality Benchmark Phase I-B Results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeHart, M.D.

1993-01-01

Burnup credit is an ongoing technical concern for many countries that operate commercial nuclear power reactors. In a multinational cooperative effort to resolve burnup credit issues, a Burnup Credit Working Group has been formed under the auspices of the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This working group has established a set of well-defined calculational benchmarks designed to study significant aspects of burnup credit computational methods. These benchmarks are intended to provide a means for the intercomparison of computer codes, methods, and data applied in spent fuel analysis. The benchmarks have been divided into multiple phases, each phase focusing on a particular feature of burnup credit analysis. This report summarizes the results and findings of the Phase I-B benchmark, which was proposed to provide a comparison of the ability of different code systems and data libraries to perform depletion analysis for the prediction of spent fuel isotopic concentrations. Results included here represent 21 different sets of calculations submitted by 16 different organizations worldwide, and are based on a limited set of nuclides determined to have the most important effect on the neutron multiplication factor of light-water-reactor spent fuel. A comparison of all sets of results demonstrates that most methods are in agreement to within 10% in the ability to estimate the spent fuel concentrations of most actinides. All methods are within 11% agreement about the average for all fission products studied. Furthermore, most deviations are less than 10%, and many are less than 5%. The exceptions are {sup 149}Sm, {sup 151}Sm, and {sup 155}Gd.

Burnup simulations of an inert matrix fuel using a two region, multigroup reactor physics model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schneider, E. [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Univ. of Texas at Austin, 1 Univ. Place C2200, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Deinert, M.; Bingham Cady, K. [Dept. of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)

2006-07-01

Determining the time dependent concentration of isotopes in a nuclear reactor core is of fundamental importance to analysis of nuclear fuel cycles and the impact of spent fuels on long term storage facilities. We present a fast, conceptually simple tool for performing burnup calculations applicable to obtaining isotopic balances as a function of fuel burnup. The code (VBUDS: visualization, burnup, depletion and spectra) uses a two region, multigroup collision probability model to determine the energy dependent neutron flux and tracks the buildup and burnout of 24 actinides, as well as fission products. The model has been tested against benchmarked results for LWRs burning UOX and MOX, as well as MONTEBURNS simulations of zirconium oxide based IMF, all with strong fidelity. As an illustrative example, VBUDS burnup calculation results for an IMF fuel are presented in this paper. (authors)

Validating analysis methodologies used in burnup credit criticality calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brady, M.C.; Napolitano, D.G.

1992-01-01

The concept of allowing reactivity credit for the depleted (or burned) state of pressurized water reactor fuel in the licensing of spent fuel facilities introduces a new challenge to members of the nuclear criticality community. The primary difference in this analysis approach is the technical ability to calculate spent fuel compositions (or inventories) and to predict their effect on the system multiplication factor. Isotopic prediction codes are used routinely for in-core physics calculations and the prediction of radiation source terms for both thermal and shielding analyses, but represent an innovation for criticality specialists. This paper discusses two methodologies currently being developed to specifically evaluate isotopic composition and reactivity for the burnup credit concept. A comprehensive approach to benchmarking and validating the methods is also presented. This approach involves the analysis of commercial reactor critical data, fuel storage critical experiments, chemical assay isotopic data, and numerical benchmark calculations

Development of high performance liquid chromatography for rapid determination of burn-up of nuclear fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joseph, M.; Karunasagar, D.; Saha, B.

1996-01-01

Burn-up an important parameter during evaluation of the performance of any nuclear fuel. Among the various techniques available, the preferred one for its determination is based on accurate measurement of a suitable fission product monitor and the residual heavy elements. Since isotopes of rare earth elements are generally used as burn-up monitors, conditions were standardized for rapid separation (within 15 minutes) of light rare earths using high performance liquid chromatography based on either anion exchange (Partisil 10 SAX) in methanol-nitric acid medium or by cation exchange on a reverse phase column (Spherisorb 5-ODS-2 or Supelcosil LC-18) dynamically modified with 1-octane sulfonate or camphor-10-sulfonic acid (β). Both these methods were assessed for separation of individual fission product rare earths from their mixtures. A new approach has been examined in detail for rapid assay of neodymium, which appears promising for faster and accurate measurement of burn-up. (author)

Analysis on burn-up behaviors for accelerator-driven sub-critical facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Guisheng; Zhao Zhixiang; Zhang Baocheng; Shen Qinbiao; Ding Dazhao

2000-01-01

An analysis is performed on burn-up behaviors for accelerator-driven sub-critical reactor by means of the code PASC-1 for neutronics calculation, the code CBURN for burn-up calculation and 44 group constants is processed by CENDL-2 and ENDF/B-6 using NJOY-91.91

Detailed description and user`s manual of high burnup fuel analysis code EXBURN-I

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suzuki, Motoe [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Saitou, Hiroaki

1997-11-01

EXBURN-I has been developed for the analysis of LWR high burnup fuel behavior in normal operation and power transient conditions. In the high burnup region, phenomena occur which are different in quality from those expected for the extension of behaviors in the mid-burnup region. To analyze these phenomena, EXBURN-I has been formed by the incorporation of such new models as pellet thermal conductivity change, burnup-dependent FP gas release rate, and cladding oxide layer growth to the basic structure of low- and mid-burnup fuel analysis code FEMAXI-IV. The present report describes in detail the whole structure of the code, models, and materials properties. Also, it includes a detailed input manual and sample output, etc. (author). 55 refs.

Numerical Tests for the Problem of U-Pu Fuel Burnup in Fuel Rod and Polycell Models Using the MCNP Code

Science.gov (United States)

Muratov, V. G.; Lopatkin, A. V.

An important aspect in the verification of the engineering techniques used in the safety analysis of MOX-fuelled reactors, is the preparation of test calculations to determine nuclide composition variations under irradiation and analysis of burnup problem errors resulting from various factors, such as, for instance, the effect of nuclear data uncertainties on nuclide concentration calculations. So far, no universally recognized tests have been devised. A calculation technique has been developed for solving the problem using the up-to-date calculation tools and the latest versions of nuclear libraries. Initially, in 1997, a code was drawn up in an effort under ISTC Project No. 116 to calculate the burnup in one VVER-1000 fuel rod, using the MCNP Code. Later on, the authors developed a computation technique which allows calculating fuel burnup in models of a fuel rod, or a fuel assembly, or the whole reactor. It became possible to apply it to fuel burnup in all types of nuclear reactors and subcritical blankets.

Evaluation of Gap Conductance Approach for Mid-Burnup Fuel LOCA Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Joosuk; Woo, Swengwoong

2013-01-01

In this study, therefore, the applicability of gap conductance approach on the mid-burnup fuel in LOCA analysis was estimated in terms of the comparison of PCT distribution method means the fuel rod uncertainty is taken into account by the combination of overall uncertainty parameters of fuel rod altogether by use of a simple random sampling(SRS) technique. There are many uncertainty parameters of fuel rod that can change the PCT during LOCA analysis, and these have been identified by the authors' previous work already. But, for the 'best-estimate' LOCA safety analysis the methodology that dose not use the overall uncertainty parameters altogether but used the gap conductance uncertainty alone has been developed to simulate the overall fuel rod uncertainty, because it can represent many uncertainty parameters. Based on this approach, uncertainty range of gap conductance was prescribed as 0.67∼1.5 in audit calculation methodology on LBLOCA analysis. This uncertainty was derived from experimental data of fresh or low burnup fuel. Meanwhile, recent research work identify that the currently utilized uncertainty range seems to be not enough to encompass the uncertainty of mid-burnup fuel. Instead it has to be changed to 0.5∼2.4 for the mid-burnup fuel(30 MWd/kgU)

Evaluation of Gap Conductance Approach for Mid-Burnup Fuel LOCA Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Joosuk; Woo, Swengwoong [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-10-15

In this study, therefore, the applicability of gap conductance approach on the mid-burnup fuel in LOCA analysis was estimated in terms of the comparison of PCT distribution method means the fuel rod uncertainty is taken into account by the combination of overall uncertainty parameters of fuel rod altogether by use of a simple random sampling(SRS) technique. There are many uncertainty parameters of fuel rod that can change the PCT during LOCA analysis, and these have been identified by the authors' previous work already. But, for the 'best-estimate' LOCA safety analysis the methodology that dose not use the overall uncertainty parameters altogether but used the gap conductance uncertainty alone has been developed to simulate the overall fuel rod uncertainty, because it can represent many uncertainty parameters. Based on this approach, uncertainty range of gap conductance was prescribed as 0.67∼1.5 in audit calculation methodology on LBLOCA analysis. This uncertainty was derived from experimental data of fresh or low burnup fuel. Meanwhile, recent research work identify that the currently utilized uncertainty range seems to be not enough to encompass the uncertainty of mid-burnup fuel. Instead it has to be changed to 0.5∼2.4 for the mid-burnup fuel(30 MWd/kgU)

The Gd-isotopic fuel for high burnup in PWR's

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dias, Marcio Soares; Mattos, João Roberto L. de; Andrade, Edison Pereira de

2017-01-01

Today, the discussion about the high burnup fuel is beyond the current fuel enrichment licensing and burnup limits. Licensing issues and material/design developments are again key features in further development of the LWR fuel design. Nevertheless, technological and economical solutions are already available or will be available in a short time. In order to prevent the growth of the technological gap, Brazil's nuclear sector needs to invest in the training of new human resources, in the access to international databases, and in the upgrading existing infrastructure. Experimental database and R&D infrastructure are essential components to support the autonomous development of Brazilian Nuclear Reactors, promoting the development of national technologies. The (U,Gd)O_2 isotopic fuel proposed by the CDTN's staff solve two main issues in the high burnup fuel, which are (1) the peak of reactivity resulting from the Gd-157 fast burnup, and (2) the peak of temperature in the (U,Gd)O_2 nuclear fuel resulting from detrimental effects in the thermal properties for gadolinia additions higher than 2%. A sustainable future can be envisaged for the nuclear energy. (author)

Burnup credit implementation in WWER spent fuel management systems: Status and future aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manolova, M.

1998-01-01

This paper describes the motivation for possible burnup credit implementation in WWER spent fuel management systems in Bulgaria. The activities being done are described, namely: the development and verification of a 3D few-group diffusion burnup model; the application of the KORIGEN code for evaluation of WWER fuel nuclear inventory during reactor core lifetime and after spent fuel discharge; using the SCALE modular system (PC Version 4.1) for criticality safety analyses of spent fuel storage facilities. Future plans involving such important tasks as validation and verification of computer systems and libraries for WWER burnup credit analysis are shown. (author)

Improvement of burnup analysis for pebble bed reactors with an accumulative fuel loading scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simanullang, Irwan Liapto; Obara, Toru

2015-01-01

Given the limitations of natural uranium resources, innovative nuclear power plant concepts that increase the efficiency of nuclear fuel utilization are needed. The Pebble Bed Reactor (PBR) shows some potential to achieve high efficiency in natural uranium utilization. To simplify the PBR concept, PBR with an accumulation fuel loading scheme was introduced and the Fuel Handling System (FHS) removed. In this concept, the pebble balls are added little by little into the reactor core until the pebble balls reach the top of the reactor core, and all pebble balls are discharged from the core at the end of the operation period. A code based on the MVP/MVP-BURN method has been developed to perform an analysis of a PBR with the accumulative fuel loading scheme. The optimum fuel composition was found using the code for high burnup performance. Previous efforts provided several motivations to improve the burnup performance: First, some errors in the input code were corrected. This correction, and an overall simplification of the input code, was implemented for easier analysis of a PBR with the accumulative fuel loading scheme. Second, the optimum fuel design had been obtained in the infinite geometry. To improve the optimum fuel composition, a parametric survey was obtained by varying the amount of Heavy Metal (HM) uranium per pebble and the degree of uranium enrichment. Moreover, an entire analysis of the parametric survey was obtained in the finite geometry. The results show that improvements in the fuel composition can lead to more accurate analysis with the code. (author)

The impact of interface bonding efficiency on high-burnup spent nuclear fuel dynamic performance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Hao, E-mail: jiangh@ornl.gov; Wang, Jy-An John; Wang, Hong

2016-12-01

Highlights: • To investigate the impact of interfacial bonding efficiency at pellet-pellet and pellet-clad interfaces of high-burnup (HBU) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) on its dynamic performance. • Flexural rigidity, EI = M/κ, estimated from FEA results were benchmarked with SNF dynamic experimental results, and used to evaluate interface bonding efficiency. • Interface bonding efficiency can significantly dictate the SNF system rigidity and the associated dynamic performance. • With consideration of interface bonding efficiency and fuel cracking, HBU SNF fuel property was estimated with SNF static and dynamic experimental data. - Abstract: Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to investigate the impact of interfacial bonding efficiency at pellet-pellet and pellet-clad interfaces of high-burnup (HBU) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) on system dynamic performance. Bending moments M were applied to FEA model to evaluate the system responses. From bending curvature, κ, flexural rigidity EI can be estimated as EI = M/κ. The FEA simulation results were benchmarked with experimental results from cyclic integrated reversal bending fatigue test (CIRFT) of HBR fuel rods. The consequence of interface debonding between fuel pellets and cladding is a redistribution of the loads carried by the fuel pellets to the clad, which results in a reduction in composite rod system flexural rigidity. Therefore, the interface bonding efficiency at the pellet-pellet and pellet-clad interfaces can significantly dictate the SNF system dynamic performance. With the consideration of interface bonding efficiency, the HBU SNF fuel property was estimated with CIRFT test data.

High Frequency Acoustic Microscopy for the Determination of Porosity and Young's Modulus in High Burnup Uranium Dioxide Nuclear Fuel

Science.gov (United States)

Marchetti, Mara; Laux, Didier; Cappia, Fabiola; Laurie, M.; Van Uffelen, P.; Rondinella, V. V.; Wiss, T.; Despaux, G.

2016-06-01

During irradiation UO2 nuclear fuel experiences the development of a non-uniform distribution of porosity which contributes to establish varying mechanical properties along the radius of the pellet. Radial variations of both porosity and elastic properties in high burnup UO2 pellet can be investigated via high frequency acoustic microscopy. For this purpose ultrasound waves are generated by a piezoelectric transducer and focused on the sample, after having travelled through a coupling liquid. The elastic properties of the material are related to the velocity of the generated Rayleigh surface wave (VR). A UO2 pellet with a burnup of 67 GWd/tU was characterized using the acoustic microscope installed in the hot cells of the JRC-ITU at a 90 MHz frequency, with methanol as coupling liquid. VR was measured at different radial positions. A good agreement was found, when comparing the porosity values obtained via acoustic microscopy with those determined using SEM image analysis, especially in the areas close to the centre. In addition, Young's modulus was calculated and its radial profile was correlated to the corresponding burnup profile and to the hardness radial profile data obtained by Vickers micro-indentation.

Improvements on burnup chain model and group cross section library in the SRAC system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akie, Hiroshi; Okumura, Keisuke; Takano, Hideki; Ishiguro, Yukio; Kaneko, Kunio.

1992-01-01

Data and functions of the cell burnup calculation of the SRAC system were revised to improve mainly the accuracy of the burnup calculation of high conversion light water reactors (HCLWRs). New burnup chain models were developed in order to treat fission products (FPs) and actinide nuclides in detail. Group cross section library, SRACLIB-JENDL2, was generated based on JENDL-2 nuclear data file. In generating this library, emphasis was placed on FPs and actinides. Also revised were the data such as the average energy release per fission for various actinides. These improved data were verified by performing the burnup analysis of PWR spent fuels. Some new functions were added to the SRAC system for the convenience to yield macroscopic cross sections used in the core burnup process. (author)

Issues for effective implementation of burnup credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parks, C.V.; Wagner, J.C.

2001-01-01

In the United States, burnup credit has been used in the criticality safety evaluation for storage pools at pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and considerable work has been performed to lay the foundation for use of burnup credit in dry storage and transport cask applications and permanent disposal applications. Many of the technical issues related to the basic physics phenomena and parameters of importance are similar in each of these applications. However, the nuclear fuel cycle in the United States has never been fully integrated and the implementation of burnup credit to each of these applications is dependent somewhat on the specific safety bases developed over the history of each operational area. This paper will briefly review the implementation status of burnup credit for each application area and explore some of the remaining issues associated with effective implementation of burnup credit. (author)

A new approach to make collapsed cross section for burnup calculation of subcritical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsunaka, Masayuki; Kondo, Keitaro; Miyamaru, Hiroyuki; Murata, Isao

2008-01-01

A general-purpose transport and burnup code system for precise analysis of subcritical reactors like a fusion-fission (FF) hybrid reactor was developed and used for analyzing their performance. The FF hybrid reactor is a subcritical system, which has a concept of fusion reactor with a blanket region containing nuclear fuel and has been under discussion by author's group for years because the present burnup calculation system mainly consists of a general-purpose Monte Carlo code MCNP-4B, a point burnup code ORIGEN2. JENDL-3.3 pointwise cross section library and JENDL Activation Cross Section File 96 were used as base cross section libraries to make group constant for burnup calculation. A new method has been proposed to make group constant for the burnup calculation as accurate as possible directly using output data of the neutron transport calculation by MCNP and evaluated nuclear data libraries. This method is strict and a general procedure to make one group cross sections in Monte Carlo calculations, while it takes very long computation time. Some speed-up techniques were discussed for the present group constant making process so as to decrease calculation time. Adoption of postprocessing to make group constant improved the calculation accuracy because of increasing number of cross sections to be updated in each burnup cycle. The present calculation system is capable of performing neutronics analysis of subcritical reactors more precise than our previous one. However, at the moment, it still takes long computation time to make group constants. Further speed-up techniques are now under investigation so as to apply the present system to neutronics design analysis for various subcritical systems. (author)

Burnup calculation in microcells of high conversion reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, S.E.; Salvatore, M.; Patino, N.E.; Abbate, M.J.

1991-01-01

The development of high converter reactors (HCR) requires careful burnup calculations because their main goals are reach high discharge burnup levels (Up to 50 GWd/T) and a close to one conversion ratio. Then, it is necessary a revision of design elements used for this type of calculation. In this work, a burnup module (BUM) developed in order to use nuclear data directly from evaluated data files is presented; these was included in the AMPX system. (author)

A burn-up module coupling to an AMPX system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salvatore Duque, M.; Gomez, S.E.; Patino, N.E.; Abbate, M.J.; Sbaffoni, M.M.

1990-01-01

The Reactors and Neutrons Division of the Bariloche Atomic Center uses the AMPX system for the study of high conversion reactors (HCR). Such system allows to make neutronic calculations from the nuclear data library (ENDF/B-IV). The Nuclear Engineering career of the Balseiro Institute developed and implemented a burn-up module at a μ-cell level (BUM: Burn-up Module) which agrees with the requirement to be coupled to the AMPX system. (Author) [es

Burnup credit activities being conducted in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lake, W.

1998-01-01

The paper describes burnup credit activities being conducted in the U.S. where burnup credit is either being used or being planned to be used for storage, transport, and disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Currently approved uses of burnup credit are for wet storage of PWR fuel. For dry storage of spent PWR fuel, burnup credit is used to supplement a principle of moderator exclusion. These storage applications have been pursued by the private sector. The Department of Energy (DOE) which is an organization of the U.S. Federal government is seeking approval for burnup credit for transport and disposal applications. For transport of spent fuel, regulatory review of an actinide-only PWR burnup credit method is now being conducted. A request by DOE for regulatory review of actinide and fission product burnup credit for disposal of spent BWR and PWR fuel is scheduled to occur in 1998. (author)

Three dimensional Burn-up program parallelization using socket programming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haliyati R, Evi; Su'ud, Zaki

2002-01-01

A computer parallelization process was built with a purpose to decrease execution time of a physics program. In this case, a multi computer system was built to be used to analyze burn-up process of a nuclear reactor. This multi computer system was design need using a protocol communication among sockets, i.e. TCP/IP. This system consists of computer as a server and the rest as clients. The server has a main control to all its clients. The server also divides the reactor core geometrically to in parts in accordance with the number of clients, each computer including the server has a task to conduct burn-up analysis of 1/n part of the total reactor core measure. This burn-up analysis was conducted simultaneously and in a parallel way by all computers, so a faster program execution time was achieved close to 1/n times that of one computer. Then an analysis was carried out and states that in order to calculate the density of atoms in a reactor of 91 cm x 91 cm x 116 cm, the usage of a parallel system of 2 computers has the highest efficiency

Regulatory status of burnup credit for storage and transport of spent fuel in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neuber, J.C.; Schweer, H.H.; Johann, H.G.

2001-01-01

This paper describes the regulatory status of burnup credit applications to pond storage and dry-cask transport and storage of spent fuel in Germany. Burnup credit for wet storage of LWR fuel at nuclear power plants has to comply with the newly developed safety standard DIN 25471. This standard establishes the safety requirements for burnup credit criticality safety analysis of LWR fuel storage ponds and gives guidance on meeting these requirements. Licensing evaluations of dry transport systems are based on the application of the IAEA Safety Standards Series No.ST-1. However, because of the fact that burnup credit for dry-cask transport becomes more and more inevitable due to increasing initial enrichment of the fuel, and because of the increasing importance of dry-cask storage in Germany, the necessity of giving regulatory guidance on applying burnup credit to dry-cask transport and storage is seen. (author)

Validation of a continuous-energy Monte Carlo burn-up code MVP-BURN and its application to analysis of post irradiation experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okumura, Keisuke; Mori, Takamasa; Nakagawa, Masayuki; Kaneko, Kunio

2000-01-01

In order to confirm the reliability of a continuous-energy Monte Carlo burn-up calculation code MVP-BURN, it was applied to the burn-up benchmark problems for a high conversion LWR lattice and a BWR lattice with burnable poison rods. The results of MVP-BURN have shown good agreements with those of a deterministic code SRAC95 for burn-up changes of infinite neutron multiplication factor, conversion ratio, power distribution, and number densities of major fuel nuclides. Serious propagation of statistical errors along burn-up was not observed even in a highly heterogeneous lattice. MVP-BURN was applied to the analysis of a post irradiation experiment for a sample fuel irradiated up to 34.1 GWd/t, together with SRAC95 and SWAT. It was confirmed that the effect of statistical errors of MVP-BURN on a burned fuel composition was sufficiently small, and it could give a reference solution for other codes. In the analysis, the results of the three codes with JENDL-3.2 agreed with measured values within an error of 10% for most nuclides. However, large underestimation by about 20% was observed for 238 Pu, 242m Am and 244 Cm. It is probable that these discrepancies are a common problem for most current nuclear data files. (author)

Determination of nuclear fuel burn-up using mass spectrometric techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saha, B.; Bagyalakshmi, R.; Periaswami, G.; Kavimandan, V.D.; Chitambar, S.A.; Jain, H.C.; Mathews, C.K.

1977-01-01

Determination of burn-up using a stable fission product monitor such as 148 Nd and heavy elements, determined by isotope dilution mass spectrometry gives the most accurate data. This report describes the work carried out to standardise the conditions for burn-up determination. Some typical results are given. (author)

Integrated burnup calculation code system SWAT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suyama, Kenya; Hirakawa, Naohiro; Iwasaki, Tomohiko.

1997-11-01

SWAT is an integrated burnup code system developed for analysis of post irradiation examination, transmutation of radioactive waste, and burnup credit problem. It enables us to analyze the burnup problem using neutron spectrum depending on environment of irradiation, combining SRAC which is Japanese standard thermal reactor analysis code system and ORIGEN2 which is burnup code widely used all over the world. SWAT makes effective cross section library based on results by SRAC, and performs the burnup analysis with ORIGEN2 using that library. SRAC and ORIGEN2 can be called as external module. SWAT has original cross section library on based JENDL-3.2 and libraries of fission yield and decay data prepared from JNDC FP Library second version. Using these libraries, user can use latest data in the calculation of SWAT besides the effective cross section prepared by SRAC. Also, User can make original ORIGEN2 library using the output file of SWAT. This report presents concept and user's manual of SWAT. (author)

The Gd-isotopic fuel for high burnup in PWR's

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dias, Marcio Soares; Mattos, João Roberto L. de; Andrade, Edison Pereira de, E-mail: marciod@cdtn.br, E-mail: jrmattos@cdtn.br, E-mail: epa@cdtn.br [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

2017-07-01

Today, the discussion about the high burnup fuel is beyond the current fuel enrichment licensing and burnup limits. Licensing issues and material/design developments are again key features in further development of the LWR fuel design. Nevertheless, technological and economical solutions are already available or will be available in a short time. In order to prevent the growth of the technological gap, Brazil's nuclear sector needs to invest in the training of new human resources, in the access to international databases, and in the upgrading existing infrastructure. Experimental database and R&D infrastructure are essential components to support the autonomous development of Brazilian Nuclear Reactors, promoting the development of national technologies. The (U,Gd)O{sub 2} isotopic fuel proposed by the CDTN's staff solve two main issues in the high burnup fuel, which are (1) the peak of reactivity resulting from the Gd-157 fast burnup, and (2) the peak of temperature in the (U,Gd)O{sub 2} nuclear fuel resulting from detrimental effects in the thermal properties for gadolinia additions higher than 2%. A sustainable future can be envisaged for the nuclear energy. (author)

Tag gas burnup based on three-dimensional FTR analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kidman, R.B.

1976-01-01

Flux spectra from a three-dimensional diffusion theory analysis of the Fast Test Reactor (FTR) are used to predict gas tag ratio changes, as a function of exposure, for each FTR fuel and absorber subassembly plenum. These flux spectra are also used to predict Xe-125 equilibrium activities in absorber plena in order to assess the feasibility of using Xe-125 gamma rays to detect and distinguish control rod failures from fuel rod failures. Worst case tag burnup changes are used in conjunction with burnup and mass spectrometer uncertainties to establish the minimum spacing of tags which allows the tags to be unambiguously identified

Ultrasonic measurement of high burn-up fuel elastic properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laux, D.; Despaux, G.; Augereau, F.; Attal, J.; Gatt, J.; Basini, V.

2006-01-01

The ultrasonic method developed for the evaluation of high burn-up fuel elastic properties is presented hereafter. The objective of the method is to provide data for fuel thermo-mechanical calculation codes in order to improve industrial nuclear fuel and materials or to design new reactor components. The need for data is especially crucial for high burn-up fuel modelling for which the fuel mechanical properties are essential and for which a wide range of experiments in MTR reactors and high burn-up commercial reactor fuel examinations have been included in programmes worldwide. To contribute to the acquisition of this knowledge the LAIN activity is developing in two directions. First one is development of an ultrasonic focused technique adapted to active materials study. This technique was used few years ago in the EdF laboratory in Chinon to assess the ageing of materials under irradiation. It is now used in a hot cell at ITU Karlsruhe to determine the elastic moduli of high burnup fuels from 0 to 110 GWd/tU. Some of this work is presented here. The second on going programme is related to the qualification of acoustic sensors in nuclear environments, which is of a great interest for all the methods, which work, in a hostile nuclear environment

Technical Issues in the development of high burnup and long cycle fuel pellets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Dong Joo; Yang, Jae Ho; Oh, Jang Soo; Kim, Keon Sik; Rhee, Young Woo; Kim, Jong Hun; Nam, Ik Hui [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-10-15

Over the last half century, a nuclear fuel cycle, a fuel discharged burnup and a uranium enrichment of the LWR (Light Water Reactor) fuel have continuously increased. It was the efforts to reduce the LWR fuel cycle cost, and to make reactor operation more efficiently. Improved fuel and reactor performance contribute further to the reduction and management efficiency of spent fuels. The primary incentive for operating nuclear reactor fuel to higher burnup and longer cycle is the economic benefits. The fuel cycle costs could be reduced by extending fuel discharged burnup and fuel cycle length. The higher discharged burnup can increase the energy production per unit fuel mass or fuel assembly. The longer fuel cycle can increase reactor operation flexibility and reduce the fuel changing operation and the spent fuel management burden. The margin to storage capacity limits would be also increased because high burnup and long cycle fuel reduces the mass of spent fuels. However, increment of fuel burnup and cycle length might result in the acceleration of material aging consisting fuel assembly. Then, the safety and integrity of nuclear fuel will be degraded. Therefore, to simultaneously enhance the safety and economics of the LWR fuel through the fuel burnup and cycle extension, it is indispensable to develop the innovative nuclear fuel material concepts and technologies which can overcome degradation of fuel safety. New fuel research project to extend fuel discharged burnup and cycle length has been launched in KAERI. Main subject is to develop innovative LWR fuel pellets which can provide required fuel performance and safety at extended fuel burnup and cycle length. In order to achieve the mission, we need to know that what the impediments are and how to break through current limit of fuel pellet properties. In this study, the technical issues related to fuel pellets at high burnup were surveyed and summarized. We have collected the technical issues in the literatures

Technical Issues in the development of high burnup and long cycle fuel pellets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Dong Joo; Yang, Jae Ho; Oh, Jang Soo; Kim, Keon Sik; Rhee, Young Woo; Kim, Jong Hun; Nam, Ik Hui

2012-01-01

Over the last half century, a nuclear fuel cycle, a fuel discharged burnup and a uranium enrichment of the LWR (Light Water Reactor) fuel have continuously increased. It was the efforts to reduce the LWR fuel cycle cost, and to make reactor operation more efficiently. Improved fuel and reactor performance contribute further to the reduction and management efficiency of spent fuels. The primary incentive for operating nuclear reactor fuel to higher burnup and longer cycle is the economic benefits. The fuel cycle costs could be reduced by extending fuel discharged burnup and fuel cycle length. The higher discharged burnup can increase the energy production per unit fuel mass or fuel assembly. The longer fuel cycle can increase reactor operation flexibility and reduce the fuel changing operation and the spent fuel management burden. The margin to storage capacity limits would be also increased because high burnup and long cycle fuel reduces the mass of spent fuels. However, increment of fuel burnup and cycle length might result in the acceleration of material aging consisting fuel assembly. Then, the safety and integrity of nuclear fuel will be degraded. Therefore, to simultaneously enhance the safety and economics of the LWR fuel through the fuel burnup and cycle extension, it is indispensable to develop the innovative nuclear fuel material concepts and technologies which can overcome degradation of fuel safety. New fuel research project to extend fuel discharged burnup and cycle length has been launched in KAERI. Main subject is to develop innovative LWR fuel pellets which can provide required fuel performance and safety at extended fuel burnup and cycle length. In order to achieve the mission, we need to know that what the impediments are and how to break through current limit of fuel pellet properties. In this study, the technical issues related to fuel pellets at high burnup were surveyed and summarized. We have collected the technical issues in the literatures

Validation of a new continuous Monte Carlo burnup code using a Mox fuel assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El bakkari, B.; El Bardouni, T.; Merroun, O.; El Younoussi, C.; Boulaich, Y.; Boukhal, H.; Chakir, E.

2009-01-01

The reactivity of nuclear fuel decreases with irradiation (or burnup) due to the transformation of heavy nuclides and the formation of fission products. Burnup credit studies aim at accounting for fuel irradiation in criticality studies of the nuclear fuel cycle (transport, storage, etc...). The principal objective of this study is to evaluate the potential capabilities of a newly developed burnup code called 'BUCAL1'. BUCAL1 differs in comparison with other burnup codes as it does not use the calculated neutron flux as input to other computer codes to generate the nuclide inventory for the next time step. Instead, BUCAL1 directly uses the neutron reaction tally information generated by MCNP for each nuclide of interest to determine the new nuclides inventory. This allows the full capabilities of MCNP to be incorporated into the calculation and a more accurate and robust analysis to be performed. Validation of BUCAL1 was processed by code-to-code comparisons using predictions of several codes from the NEA/OCED. Infinite multiplication factors (k ∞ ) and important fission product and actinide concentrations were compared for a MOX core benchmark exercise. Results of calculations are analysed and discussed.

Burnup calculation of a CANDU6 reactor using the Serpent and MCNP6 codes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hussein, M.S.; Bonin, H.W., E-mail: mohamed.hussein@rmc.ca, E-mail: bonin-h@rmc.ca [Royal Military College of Canada, Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Kingston, ON (Canada); Lewis, B.J., E-mail: Brent.Lewis@uoit.ca [Univ. of Ontario Inst. of Tech., Faculty of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science, Oshawa, ON (Canada)

2014-07-01

A study of fuel burnup for the CANDU6 reactor is carried out to validate the most recent versions of the probabilistic transport code (MCNP6) and the continuous energy burnup calculation code (Serpent). These two codes allow for 3-D geometry calculation accounting for a detailed analysis without unit-cell homogenization. On the other hand, the WIMS-AECL computer program is used to model neutron transport in nuclear-reactor lattices for design, safety analysis, and operation. It works with two-dimensional regions and can perform collision probability calculations for a periodic structure of the lattice cell. In the present work, the multiplication factor, the total flux and fuel burnup could be calculated for a CANDU6 nuclear reactor based on the GENTILLY-2 core design. The MCNP6 and Serpent codes provide a calculation of the track length estimated flux per neutron source. This estimated flux is then scaled with normalization to the reactor power in order to provide a flux in unit of n/cm{sup 2}s. Good agreement is observed between the actual total flux calculated by MCNP6, Serpent and WIMS-AECL. The effective multiplication factors of the whole core CANDU6 reactor are further calculated as a function of burnup and further compared to those calculated by WIMS-AECL where excellent agreement is also obtained. (author)

Burnup calculation of a CANDU6 reactor using the Serpent and MCNP6 codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussein, M.S.; Bonin, H.W.; Lewis, B.J.

2014-01-01

A study of fuel burnup for the CANDU6 reactor is carried out to validate the most recent versions of the probabilistic transport code (MCNP6) and the continuous energy burnup calculation code (Serpent). These two codes allow for 3-D geometry calculation accounting for a detailed analysis without unit-cell homogenization. On the other hand, the WIMS-AECL computer program is used to model neutron transport in nuclear-reactor lattices for design, safety analysis, and operation. It works with two-dimensional regions and can perform collision probability calculations for a periodic structure of the lattice cell. In the present work, the multiplication factor, the total flux and fuel burnup could be calculated for a CANDU6 nuclear reactor based on the GENTILLY-2 core design. The MCNP6 and Serpent codes provide a calculation of the track length estimated flux per neutron source. This estimated flux is then scaled with normalization to the reactor power in order to provide a flux in unit of n/cm 2 s. Good agreement is observed between the actual total flux calculated by MCNP6, Serpent and WIMS-AECL. The effective multiplication factors of the whole core CANDU6 reactor are further calculated as a function of burnup and further compared to those calculated by WIMS-AECL where excellent agreement is also obtained. (author)

Proceedings of a workshop on the use of burnup credit in spent fuel transport casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, T.L.

1989-10-01

The Department of Energy sponsored a workshop on the use of burnup credit in the criticality design of spent fuel shipping casks on February 21 and 22, 1988. Twenty-five different presentations on many related topics were conducted, including the effects of burnup credit on the design and operation of spent fuel storage pools, casks and modules, and shipping casks; analysis and physics issues related to burnup credit; regulatory issues and criticality safety; economic incentives and risks associated with burnup credit; and methods for verifying spent fuel characteristics. An abbreviated version of the DOE workshop was repeated as a special session at the November 1988 American Nuclear Society Meeting in Washington, DC. Each of the invited speakers prepared detailed papers on his or her respective topic. The individual papers have been cataloged separately

Burnup-dependent core neutronics analysis of plate-type research reactor using deterministic and stochastic methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Shichang; Wang, Guanbo; Liang, Jingang; Wu, Gaochen; Wang, Kan

2015-01-01

Highlights: • DRAGON & DONJON were applied in burnup calculations of plate-type research reactors. • Continuous-energy Monte Carlo burnup calculations by RMC were chosen as references. • Comparisons of keff, isotopic densities and power distribution were performed. • Reasons leading to discrepancies between two different approaches were analyzed. • DRAGON & DONJON is capable of burnup calculations with appropriate treatments. - Abstract: The burnup-dependent core neutronics analysis of the plate-type research reactors such as JRR-3M poses a challenge for traditional neutronics calculational tools and schemes for power reactors, due to the characteristics of complex geometry, highly heterogeneity, large leakage and the particular neutron spectrum of the research reactors. Two different theoretical approaches, the deterministic and the stochastic methods, are used for the burnup-dependent core neutronics analysis of the JRR-3M plate-type research reactor in this paper. For the deterministic method the neutronics codes DRAGON & DONJON are used, while the continuous-energy Monte Carlo code RMC (Reactor Monte Carlo code) is employed for the stochastic one. In the first stage, the homogenizations of few-group cross sections by DRAGON and the full core diffusion calculations by DONJON have been verified by comparing with the detailed Monte Carlo simulations. In the second stage, the burnup-dependent calculations of both assembly level and the full core level were carried out, to examine the capability of the deterministic code system DRAGON & DONJON to reliably simulate the burnup-dependent behavior of research reactors. The results indicate that both RMC and DRAGON & DONJON code system are capable of burnup-dependent neutronics analysis of research reactors, provided that appropriate treatments are applied in both assembly and core levels for the deterministic codes

Preparation of computer codes for analyzing sensitivity coefficients of burnup characteristics (2) (Contract research, translated document)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanaki, Hiroshi; Sanda, Toshio; Ohashi, Masahisa

2008-10-01

To develop nuclear design of LMFBR cores, they are important subjects of research and development to improve the accuracy in nuclear design of large LMFBR cores and to design highly efficient core more rationally. The adjusted nuclear cross-sections library has been made by being reflected the result of critical experiment of the JUPITER, etc. effectively as much as possible. And the distinct improvement of the accuracy in nuclear design of large LMFBR cores has been achieved. In the design of large LMFBR cores, however, it is important to accurately estimate not only nuclear characteristics, for example, reaction rate distribution and control rod worth but also burnup characteristics, for example, burnup reactivity loss, breeding ratio and so on. Therefore, it is thought to improve the prediction accuracy for burnup characteristics using many burnup data of 'Joyo' effectively. It is thought the best way to adjust cross sections using sensitivity coefficients of burnup characteristics to utilize burnup data of 'Joyo'. It is able to know the accuracy quantitatively for burnup characteristics of large LMFBR by analyzing the sensitivity coefficients. Therefore in this work computer codes for analyzing sensitivity coefficients of burnup characteristics had been prepared since 1992. In 1992 cross-section adjustment was done by using the data of 'Joyo' and the effect was studied. In this year the adequacy of the codes was studied with a view of applying of design of large LMFBR cores. The results are as follows: (1) The computer codes which could analyze sensitivity coefficients of burnup characteristics taking into consideration plural cycles and refueling were prepared, therefore it came of be able to adjust cross sections using burnup data and to estimate the accuracy for design of large LMFBR cores. The characteristics are not only burnup reactivity loss, breeding ratio but also number density, criticality, reactivity worth, reaction rate ratio, and reaction rate

Application of reactivity method to MTR fuel burn-up measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuniga, A.; Ravnik, M.; Cuya, R.

2001-01-01

Fuel element burn-up has been measured for the first time by reactivity method in a MTR reactor. The measurement was performed in RP-10 reactor of Peruvian Institute for Nuclear Energy (IPEN) in Lima. It is a pool type 10MW material testing reactor using standard 20% enriched uranium plate type fuel elements. A fresh element and an element with well defined burn-up were selected as reference elements. Several elements in the core were selected for burn-up measurement. Each of them was replaced in its original position by both reference elements. Change in excess reactivity was measured using control rod calibration curve. The burn-up reactivity worth of fuel elements was plotted as a function of their calculated burnup. Corrected burn-up values of the measured fuel elements were calculated using the fitting function at experimental reactivity for all elements. Good agreement between measured and calculated burn-up values was observed indicating that the reactivity method can be successfully applied also to MTR fuel element burn-up determination.(author)

Neutron albedo effects of underground nuclear explosion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Bo; Ying Yangjun; Li Jinhong; Bai Yun

2013-01-01

The neutron field distribution is affected by the surrounding medium in the underground nuclear explosion. It will influence the radiation chemical diagnosis. By Monte Carlo simulation, the fuel burnup induced by device and neutron albedo was calculated. The analysis method of albedo effect on radiation chemical diagnosis result under special environment was proposed. Neutron albedo should be considered when capture reaction burnup fraction is used, and then correct analysis can be carried out on the nuclear device.The neutron field distribution is affected by the surrounding medium in the underground nuclear explosion. It will influence the radiation chemical diagnosis. By Monte Carlo simulation, the fuel burnup induced by device and neutron albedo was calculated. The analysis method of albedo effect on radiation chemical diagnosis result under special environment was proposed. Neutron albedo should be considered when capture reaction burnup fraction is used, and then correct analysis can be carried out on the nuclear device. (authors)

MCB. A continuous energy Monte Carlo burnup simulation code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cetnar, J.; Wallenius, J.; Gudowski, W.

1999-01-01

A code for integrated simulation of neutrinos and burnup based upon continuous energy Monte Carlo techniques and transmutation trajectory analysis has been developed. Being especially well suited for studies of nuclear waste transmutation systems, the code is an extension of the well validated MCNP transport program of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Among the advantages of the code (named MCB) is a fully integrated data treatment combined with a time-stepping routine that automatically corrects for burnup dependent changes in reaction rates, neutron multiplication, material composition and self-shielding. Fission product yields are treated as continuous functions of incident neutron energy, using a non-equilibrium thermodynamical model of the fission process. In the present paper a brief description of the code and applied methods are given. (author)

Modelling of some high burnup phenomena in nuclear fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Forsberg, K; Lindstroem, F; Massih, A R [ABB Atom AB, Vaesteraas (Sweden)

1997-08-01

In this paper the results of some modelling efforts carried out by ABB Atom to describe certain light water reactor fuel high burnup effects are presented. In particular the degradation of fuel thermal conductivity with burnup and its impact on fuel temperature is briefly discussed. The formation of a porous rim and its effect on a thermal fission gas release has been modelled and the model has been used to predict the release of pressurized water reactor fuel rods that were operated at low power densities. Furthermore, a mathematical model which combines the diffusion and re-solution controlled thermal release with grain boundary movement has been briefly described. The model is used to compare release with diffusion only and release caused by diffusion and grain boundary sweeping (due to grain growth). Finally, analytical expressions are obtained for the calculation of fuel stoichiometry as a function of burnup. (author). 20 refs, 10 figs, 1 tab.

A SAS2H/KENO-V methodology for 3D fuel burnup analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Milosevic, M.; Greenspan, E.; Vujic, J.

2002-01-01

An efficient methodology for 3D fuel burnup analysis of LWR reactors is described in this paper. This methodology is founded on coupling Monte Carlo method for 3D calculation of node power distribution, and transport method for depletion calculation in ID Wigner-Seitz equivalent cell for each node independently. The proposed fuel burnup modeling, based on application of SCALE-4.4a control modules SAS2H and KENO-V.a is verified for the case of 2D x-y model of IRIS 15 x 15 fuel assembly (with reflective boundary condition) by using two well benchmarked code systems. The one is MOCUP, a coupled MCNP-4C and ORIGEN2.1 utility code, and the second is KENO-V.a/ORIGEN2.1 code system recently developed by authors of this paper. The proposed SAS2H/KENO-V.a methodology was applied for 3D burnup analysis of IRIS-1000 benchmark.44 core. Detailed k sub e sub f sub f and power density evolution with burnup are reported. (author)

Actinides burnup in a sodium fast reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ramirez S, J. R.; Pineda A, R.; Martinez C, E.; Alonso, G., E-mail: ramon.ramirez@inin.gob.mx [ININ, Carretera Mexico-Toluca s/n, 52750 Ocoyoacac, Estado de Mexico (Mexico)

2017-09-15

The burnup of actinides in a nuclear reactor is been proposed as part of an advanced nuclear fuel cycle, this process would close the fuel cycle recycling some of the radioactive material produced in the open nuclear fuel cycle. These actinides are found in the spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power reactors at the end of their burnup in the reactor. Previous studies of actinides recycling in thermal reactors show that would be possible reduce the amounts of actinides at least in 50% of the recycled amounts. in this work, the amounts of actinides that can be burned in a fast reactor is calculated, very interesting results surge from the calculations, first, the amounts of actinides generated by the fuel is higher than for thermal fuel and the composition of the actinides vector is different as in fuel for thermal reactor the main isotope is the {sup 237}Np in the fuel for fast reactor the main isotope is the {sup 241}Am, finally it is concluded that the fast reactor, also generates important amounts of waste. (Author)

Use of burnup credit for transportation and storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, T.L.; Ewing, R.I.; Lake, W.H.

1991-01-01

Burnup credit is the application of the effects of fuel burnup to nuclear criticality design. When burnup credit is considered in the design of storage facilities and transportation casks for spent fuel, the objectives are to reduce the requirements for storage space and to increase the payload of casks with acceptable nuclear criticality safety margins. The spent-fuel carrying capacities of previous-generation transport casks have been limited primarily by requirements to remove heat and/or to provide shielding. Shielding and heat transfer requirements for casks designed to transport older spent fuel with longer decay times are reduced significantly. Thus a considerable weight margin is available to the designer for increasing the payload capacity. One method to achieve an increase in capacity is to reduce fuel assembly spacing. The amount of reduction in assembly spacing is limited by criticality and fuel support structural concerns. The optimum fuel assembly spacing provides the maximum cask loading within a basket that has adequate criticality control and sufficient structural integrity for regulatory accident scenarios. The incorporation of burnup credit in cask designs could result in considerable benefits in the transport of spent fuel. The acceptance of burnup credit for the design of transport casks depends on the resolution of system safety issues and the uncertainties that affect the determination of criticality safety margins. The remainder of this report will examine these issues and the integrated approach under way to resolve them. 20 refs., 2 figs

Preliminary neutronic design of high burnup OTTO cycle pebble bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Setiadipura, T.; Zuhair; Irwanto, D.

2015-01-01

The pebble bed type High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) is among the interesting nuclear reactor designs in terms of safety and flexibility for co-generation applications. In addition, the strong inherent safety characteristics of the pebble bed reactor (PBR) which is based on natural mechanisms improve the simplicity of the PBR design, in particular for the Once-Through-Then-Out (OTTO) cycle PBR design. One of the important challenges of the OTTO cycle PBR design, and nuclear reactor design in general, is improving the nuclear fuel utilization which is shown by attaining a higher burnup value. This study performed a preliminary neutronic design study of a 200 MWt OTTO cycle PBR with high burnup while fulfilling the safety criteria of the PBR design.The safety criteria of the design was represented by the per-fuel-pebble maximum power generation of 4.5 kW/pebble. The maximum burnup value was also limited by the tested maximum burnup value which maintained the integrity of the pebble fuel. Parametric surveys were performed to obtain the optimized parameters used in this study, which are the fuel enrichment, per-pebble heavy metal (HM) loading, and the average axial speed of the fuel. An optimum design with burnup value of 131.1 MWd/Kg-HM was achieved in this study which is much higher compare to the burnup of the reference design HTR-MODUL and a previously proposed OTTO-cycle PBR design. This optimum design uses 17% U-235 enrichment with 4 g HM-loading per fuel pebble. (author)

Preliminary Neutronic Design of High Burnup OTTO Cycle Pebble Bed Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Setiadipura

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The pebble bed type High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR is among the interesting nuclear reactor designs in terms of safety and flexibility for co-generation applications. In addition, the strong inherent safety characteristics of the pebble bed reactor (PBR which is based on natural mechanisms improve the simplicity of the PBR design, in particular for the Once-Through-Then-Out (OTTO cycle PBR design. One of the important challenges of the OTTO cycle PBR design, and nuclear reactor design in general, is improving the nuclear fuel utilization which is shown by attaining a higher burnup value. This study performed a preliminary neutronic design study of a 200 MWt OTTO cycle PBR with high burnup while fulfilling the safety criteria of the PBR design.The safety criteria of the design was represented by the per-fuel-pebble maximum power generation of 4.5 kW/pebble. The maximum burnup value was also limited by the tested maximum burnup value which maintained the integrity of the pebble fuel. Parametric surveys were performed to obtain the optimized parameters used in this study, which are the fuel enrichment, per-pebble heavy metal (HM loading, and the average axial speed of the fuel. An optimum design with burnup value of 131.1 MWd/Kg-HM was achieved in this study which is much higher compare to the burnup of the reference design HTR-MODUL and a previously proposed OTTO-cycle PBR design. This optimum design uses 17% U-235 enrichment with 4 g HM-loading per fuel pebble

Re-evaluation of Assay Data of Spent Nuclear Fuel obtained at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute for validation of burnup calculation code systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suyama, Kenya, E-mail: suyama.kenya@jaea.go.jp [Office of International Relations, Nuclear Safety Division, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology - Japan, 3-2-2 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8959 (Japan); Murazaki, Minoru; Ohkubo, Kiyoshi [Fuel Cycle Safety Research Group, Nuclear Safety Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata Shirane, Tokai-mura, Ibaraki 319-1195 (Japan); Nakahara, Yoshinori [Research Group for Analytical Science, Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata Shirane, Tokai-mura, Ibaraki 319-1195 (Japan); Uchiyama, Gunzo [Fuel Cycle Safety Research Group, Nuclear Safety Research Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 2-4 Shirakata Shirane, Tokai-mura, Ibaraki 319-1195 (Japan)

2011-05-15

Highlights: > The specifications required for the analyses of the destructive assay data taken from irradiated fuel in Ohi-1 and Ohi-2 PWRs were documented in this paper. > These data were analyzed using the SWAT2.1 code, and the calculation results showed good agreement with experimental results. > These destructive assay data are suitable for the benchmarking of the burnup calculation code systems. - Abstract: The isotopic composition of spent nuclear fuels is vital data for studies on the nuclear fuel cycle and reactor physics. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been active in obtaining such data for pressurized water reactor (PWR) and boiling water reactor (BWR) fuels, and some data has already been published. These data have been registered with the international Spent Fuel Isotopic Composition Database (SFCOMPO) and widely used as international benchmarks for burnup calculation codes and libraries. In this paper, Assay Data of Spent Nuclear Fuel from two fuel assemblies irradiated in the Ohi-1 and Ohi-2 PWRs in Japan are shown. The destructive assay data from Ohi-2 have already been published. However, these data were not suitable for the benchmarking of calculation codes and libraries because several important specifications and data were not included. This paper summarizes the details of destructive assay data and specifications required for analyses of isotopic composition from Ohi-1 and Ohi-2. For precise burnup analyses, the burnup values of destructive assay samples were re-evaluated in this study. These destructive assay data were analyzed using the SWAT2.1 code, and the calculation results showed good agreement with experimental results. This indicates that the quality of destructive assay data from Ohi-1 and Ohi-2 PWRs is high, and that these destructive assay data are suitable for the benchmarking of burnup calculation code systems.

Fuel analysis code FAIR and its high burnup modelling capabilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prasad, P.S.; Dutta, B.K.; Kushwaha, H.S.; Mahajan, S.C.; Kakodkar, A.

1995-01-01

A computer code FAIR has been developed for analysing performance of water cooled reactor fuel pins. It is capable of analysing high burnup fuels. This code has recently been used for analysing ten high burnup fuel rods irradiated at Halden reactor. In the present paper, the code FAIR and its various high burnup models are described. The performance of code FAIR in analysing high burnup fuels and its other applications are highlighted. (author). 21 refs., 12 figs

New Burnup Calculation System for Fusion-Fission Hybrid System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isao Murata; Shoichi Shido; Masayuki Matsunaka; Keitaro Kondo; Hiroyuki Miyamaru

2006-01-01

Investigation of nuclear waste incineration has positively been carried out worldwide from the standpoint of environmental issues. Some candidates such as ADS, FBR are under discussion for possible incineration technology. Fusion reactor is one of such technologies, because it supplies a neutron-rich and volumetric irradiation field, and in addition the energy is higher than nuclear reactor. However, it is still hard to realize fusion reactor right now, as well known. An idea of combination of fusion and fission concepts, so-called fusion-fission hybrid system, was thus proposed for the nuclear waste incineration. Even for a relatively lower plasma condition, neutrons can be well multiplied by fission in the nuclear fuel, tritium is thus bred so as to attain its self-sufficiency, enough energy multiplication is then expected and moreover nuclear waste incineration is possible. In the present study, to realize it as soon as possible with the presently proven technology, i.e., using ITER model with the achieved plasma condition of JT60 in JAEA, Japan, a new calculation system for fusion-fission hybrid reactor including transport by MCNP and burnup by ORIGEN has been developed for the precise prediction of the neutronics performance. The author's group already has such a calculation system developed by them. But it had a problem that the cross section libraries in ORIGEN did not have a cross section library, which is suitable specifically for fusion-fission hybrid reactors. So far, those for FBR were approximately used instead in the analysis. In the present study, exact derivation of the collapsed cross section for ORIGEN has been investigated, which means it is directly evaluated from calculated track length by MCNP and point-wise nuclear data in the evaluated nuclear data file like JENDL-3.3. The system realizes several-cycle calculation one time, each of which consists of MCNP criticality calculation, MCNP fixed source calculation with a 3-dimensional precise

Measuring device for the distribution of burn-up degree in fuel assembly irradiated in nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumanomido, Hironori

1989-01-01

The object of the invention is to measure the distribution of burn-up degree, of fuel assemblies irradiated in a nuclear reactor in a short time and exactly. That is, the device comprises a device main body having substantially the same length as that for the axial length of a fuel assembly and a detector container disposed axially slidably to the main body. A plurality of radiation detectors are arranged at an equi-axial pitch and contained in the container. The container is caused to slide at a pitch equal to the equi-axial distance of the detectors. In the device having thus been constituted, measurement is conducted at least for twice at an axial position on the side of a fuel assembly irradiated in the nuclear reactor and a position caused to slide therefrom by one pitch. Based on the result, the sensitivities between each of the detectors are compared and the relative sensitivity of the radiation detectors is calibrated. Accordingly, the sensitivity between each of the detectors can be calibrated rapidly and easily. As a result, the distribution of the burn-up degree, etc of irradiated fuel assembly can be measured exactly. (K.M.)

Burnup credit demands for spent fuel management in Ukraine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medun, V.

2001-01-01

In fact, till now, burnup credit has not be applied in Ukrainian nuclear power for spent fuel management systems (storage and transport). However, application of advanced fuel at VVER reactors, arising spent fuel amounts, represent burnup credit as an important resource to decrease spent fuel management costs. The paper describes spent fuel management status in Ukraine from viewpoint of subcriticality assurance under spent fuel storage and transport. It also considers: 1. Regulation basis concerning subcriticality assurance, 2. Basic spent fuel and transport casks characteristics, 3. Possibilities and demands for burnup credit application at spent fuel management systems in Ukraine. (author)

Incentives for the allowance of burnup credit in the design of spent nuclear fuel shipping casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, T.L.; Westfall, R.M.; Jones, R.H.

1987-01-01

An analysis has been completed which indicates that the consideration of spent fuel histories ('burnup credit') in the criticality design of spent fuel shipping casks could result in considerable public risk benefits and cost savings in the transport of spent nuclear fuel. Capacities of casks could be increased considerably in some cases. These capacity increases result in lower public and occupational exposures to ionizing radiation due to the reduced number of shipments necessary to transport a given amount of fuel. Additional safety benefits result from reduced non-radiological risks to both public and occupational sectors. In addition, economic benefits result from lower in-transit shipping costs, reduced transportation fleet capital costs, and fewer cask handling requirements at both shipping and receiving facilities

Accuracy assessment of a new Monte Carlo based burnup computer code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El Bakkari, B.; ElBardouni, T.; Nacir, B.; ElYounoussi, C.; Boulaich, Y.; Meroun, O.; Zoubair, M.; Chakir, E.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A new burnup code called BUCAL1 was developed. ► BUCAL1 uses the MCNP tallies directly in the calculation of the isotopic inventories. ► Validation of BUCAL1 was done by code to code comparison using VVER-1000 LEU Benchmark Assembly. ► Differences from BM value were found to be ± 600 pcm for k ∞ and ±6% for the isotopic compositions. ► The effect on reactivity due to the burnup of Gd isotopes is well reproduced by BUCAL1. - Abstract: This study aims to test for the suitability and accuracy of a new home-made Monte Carlo burnup code, called BUCAL1, by investigating and predicting the neutronic behavior of a “VVER-1000 LEU Assembly Computational Benchmark”, at lattice level. BUCAL1 uses MCNP tally information directly in the computation; this approach allows performing straightforward and accurate calculation without having to use the calculated group fluxes to perform transmutation analysis in a separate code. ENDF/B-VII evaluated nuclear data library was used in these calculations. Processing of the data library is performed using recent updates of NJOY99 system. Code to code comparisons with the reported Nuclear OECD/NEA results are presented and analyzed.

Safety aspects related to burnup increase and mixed oxide fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomas, W.

1992-01-01

The dominant factor presently limiting the fuel burnup is the response of the cladding hulls. To maintain the excellent record of very low fuel failure rates for increased burnups further technical development is underway and necessary. In the nuclear fuel cycle increased burnups lead to a remarkable reduction of spent fuel arisings and corresponding economic savings. Thermal recycling of plutonium presently provides an opportunity to reduce the rising accumulation of plutunium in a situation where there is no demand for this fissile material in Fast Breeder Reactors. (orig.) [de

Parallel GPU implementation of PWR reactor burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heimlich, A.; Silva, F.C.; Martinez, A.S.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Three GPU algorithms used to evaluate the burn-up in a PWR reactor. • Exhibit speed improvement exceeding 200 times over the sequential. • The C++ container is expansible to accept new nuclides chains. - Abstract: This paper surveys three methods, implemented for multi-core CPU and graphic processor unit (GPU), to evaluate the fuel burn-up in a pressurized light water nuclear reactor (PWR) using the solutions of a large system of coupled ordinary differential equations. The reactor physics simulation of a PWR reactor spends a long execution time with burnup calculations, so performance improvement using GPU can imply in better core design and thus extended fuel life cycle. The results of this study exhibit speed improvement exceeding 200 times over the sequential solver, within 1% accuracy.

Performance of Bruce natural UO2 fuel irradiated to extended burnups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Y.N.; Floyd, M.R.; Ryz, M.A.

1995-11-01

Bruce-type bundles XY, AAH and GF were successfully irradiated in the NRU reactor at Chalk River Laboratories to outer-element burnups of 570-900 MWh/kgU. These bundles were of the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station (NGS)-A 'first-charge' design that contained gas plenums in the outer elements. The maximum outer-element linear powers were 33-37 kW/m. Post-irradiation examination of these bundles confirmed that all the elements were intact. Bundles XY and AAH, irradiated to outer-element burnups of 570-700 MWh/kgU, experienced low fission-gas release (FGR) ( 500 MWh/kgU (equivalent to bundle-average 450 MWh/kgU) when maximum outer-element linear powers are > 50 kW/m. The analysis in this paper suggests that CANDU 37-element fuel can be successfully irradiated (low-FGR/defect-free) to burnups of at least 700 MWh/kgU, provided maximum power do not exceed 40 kW/m. (author). 5 refs., 1 tab., 8 figs

Burn-up measurements coupling gamma spectrometry and neutron measurement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Toubon, H.; Pin, P. [AREVA/CANBERRA, 1 rue des Herons, 78182 St Quentin-en-Yvelines Cedex (France); Lebrun, A. [IAEA, Wagramer Strasse 5, PO Box 100, Vienna (Austria); Oriol, L.; Saurel, N. [CEA Cadarache, 13108 Saint Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Gain, T. [AREVA/COGEMA Reprocessing Business Unit, La Hague, 50444 Beaumont Hague Cedex (France)

2006-07-01

The need to apply for burn-up credit arises with the increase of the initial enrichment of nuclear fuel. When burn-up credit is used in criticality safety studies, it is often necessary to confirm it by measurement. For the last 10 years, CANBERRA has manufactured the PYTHON system for such measurements. However, the method used in the PYTHON itself uses certain reactor data to arrive at burn-up estimates. Based on R and D led by CEA and COGEMA in the framework of burn-up measurement for burn-up credit and safeguards applications, CANBERRA is developing the next generation of burn-up measurement device. This new product, named SMOPY, is able to measure burn-up of any kind of irradiated fuel assembly with a combination of gamma spectrometry and passive neutron measurements. The measurement data is used as input to the CESAR depletion code, which has been developed and qualified by CEA and COGEMA for burn-up credit determinations. In this paper, we explain the complementary nature of the gamma and neutron measurements. In addition, we draw on our previous experience from PYTHON system and from COGEMA La Hague to show what types of evaluations are required to qualify the SMOPY system, to estimate its uncertainties, and to detect discrepancies in the fuel data given by the reactor plant to characterize the irradiated fuel assembly. (authors)

Burn-up measurements coupling gamma spectrometry and neutron measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toubon, H.; Pin, P.; Lebrun, A.; Oriol, L.; Saurel, N.; Gain, T.

2006-01-01

The need to apply for burn-up credit arises with the increase of the initial enrichment of nuclear fuel. When burn-up credit is used in criticality safety studies, it is often necessary to confirm it by measurement. For the last 10 years, CANBERRA has manufactured the PYTHON system for such measurements. However, the method used in the PYTHON itself uses certain reactor data to arrive at burn-up estimates. Based on R and D led by CEA and COGEMA in the framework of burn-up measurement for burn-up credit and safeguards applications, CANBERRA is developing the next generation of burn-up measurement device. This new product, named SMOPY, is able to measure burn-up of any kind of irradiated fuel assembly with a combination of gamma spectrometry and passive neutron measurements. The measurement data is used as input to the CESAR depletion code, which has been developed and qualified by CEA and COGEMA for burn-up credit determinations. In this paper, we explain the complementary nature of the gamma and neutron measurements. In addition, we draw on our previous experience from PYTHON system and from COGEMA La Hague to show what types of evaluations are required to qualify the SMOPY system, to estimate its uncertainties, and to detect discrepancies in the fuel data given by the reactor plant to characterize the irradiated fuel assembly. (authors)

Recent developments of the TRANSURANUS code with emphasis on high burnup phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lassmann, K.; Schubert, A.; Laar, J. van de; Vennix, C.W.H.M.

2001-01-01

TRANSURANUS is a computer program for the thermal and mechanical analysis of fuel rods in nuclear reactors, which is developed at the Institute for Transuranium Elements. The code is in use in several European organisations, both in research and industry. In the paper the recent developments are summarised: the burnup degradation of the fuel thermal conductivity as well as the effects of gadolinium on the radial power distribution and thermal conductivity. Fission gas release from the High Burnup Structure is discussed. Finally, a new numerical method is outlined that is able to treat the highly non-linear mechanical equations in transients (RIAs and LOCAs). (author)

The octopus burnup and criticality code system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kloosterman, J.L.; Kuijper, J.C. [Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN), Petten (Netherlands); Leege, P.F.A. de

1996-09-01

The OCTOPUS burnup and criticality code system is described. This system links the spectrum codes from the SCALE4.1, WIMS7 and MCNP4A packages to the ORIGEN-S and FISPACT4.2 fuel depletion and activation codes, which enables us to perform very accurate burnup calculations in complicated three-dimensional geometries. The data used by all codes are consistently based on the JEF2.2 evaluated nuclear data file. Some special features of OCTOPUS not available in other codes are described, as well as the validation of the system. (author)

The OCTOPUS burnup and criticality code system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kloosterman, J.L. [Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN), Petten (Netherlands); Kuijper, J.C. [Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN), Petten (Netherlands); Leege, P.F.A. de [Technische Univ. Delft (Netherlands). Interfacultair Reactor Inst.

1996-06-01

The OCTOPUS burnup and criticality code system is described. This system links the spectrum codes from the SCALE4.1, WIMS7 and MCNP4A packages to the ORIGEN-S and FISPACT4.2 fuel depletion and activation codes, which enables us to perform very accurate burnup calculations in complicated three-dimensional goemetries. The data used by all codes are consistently based on the JEF2.2 evaluated nuclear data file. Some special features of OCTOPUS not available in other codes are described, as well as the validation of the system. (orig.).

The octopus burnup and criticality code system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kloosterman, J.L.; Kuijper, J.C.; Leege, P.F.A. de.

1996-01-01

The OCTOPUS burnup and criticality code system is described. This system links the spectrum codes from the SCALE4.1, WIMS7 and MCNP4A packages to the ORIGEN-S and FISPACT4.2 fuel depletion and activation codes, which enables us to perform very accurate burnup calculations in complicated three-dimensional geometries. The data used by all codes are consistently based on the JEF2.2 evaluated nuclear data file. Some special features of OCTOPUS not available in other codes are described, as well as the validation of the system. (author)

The OCTOPUS burnup and criticality code system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kloosterman, J.L.; Kuijper, J.C.; Leege, P.F.A. de

1996-06-01

The OCTOPUS burnup and criticality code system is described. This system links the spectrum codes from the SCALE4.1, WIMS7 and MCNP4A packages to the ORIGEN-S and FISPACT4.2 fuel depletion and activation codes, which enables us to perform very accurate burnup calculations in complicated three-dimensional goemetries. The data used by all codes are consistently based on the JEF2.2 evaluated nuclear data file. Some special features of OCTOPUS not available in other codes are described, as well as the validation of the system. (orig.)

Characterization of used nuclear fuel with multivariate analysis for process monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dayman, Kenneth J., E-mail: kenneth.dayman@gmail.com [University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78758 (United States); Coble, Jamie B.; Orton, Christopher R.; Schwantes, Jon M. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 902 Battelle Boulevard, P.O. Box 999, Richland, WA 99354 (United States)

2014-01-21

This paper presents initial development of a reactor-type classifier that is used to select a reactor-specific partial least squares model to predict used nuclear fuel burnup. Nuclide activities for prototypic used fuel samples were generated in ORIGEN-ARP and used to investigate techniques to characterize used nuclear fuel in terms of reactor type (pressurized or boiling water reactor) and burnup. A variety of reactor type classification algorithms, including k-nearest neighbors, linear and quadratic discriminant analyses, and support vector machines, were evaluated to differentiate used fuel from pressurized and boiling water reactors. Then, reactor type-specific partial least squares models were developed to predict the burnup of the fuel. Using these reactor type-specific models instead of a model trained for all light water reactors improved the accuracy of burnup predictions. The developed classification and prediction models were combined and applied to a large dataset that included eight fuel assembly designs, two of which were not used in training the models, and spanned the range of the initial {sup 235}U enrichment, cooling time, and burnup values expected of future commercial used fuel for reprocessing. Error rates were consistent across the range of considered enrichment, cooling time, and burnup values. Average absolute relative errors in burnup predictions for validation data both within and outside the training space were 0.0574% and 0.0597%, respectively. The errors seen in this work are artificially low, because the models were trained, optimized, and tested on simulated, noise-free data. However, these results indicate that the developed models may generalize well to new data and that the proposed approach constitutes a viable first step in developing a fuel characterization algorithm based on gamma spectra. -- Highlights: • We investigate characterization of used nuclear fuel with multivariate analysis. • PWR and BWR fuels expected in

Analysis of the Daya Bay Reactor Antineutrino Flux Changes with Fuel Burnup

Science.gov (United States)

Hayes, A. C.; Jungman, Gerard; McCutchan, E. A.; Sonzogni, A. A.; Garvey, G. T.; Wang, X. B.

2018-01-01

We investigate the recent Daya Bay results on the changes in the antineutrino flux and spectrum with the burnup of the reactor fuel. We find that the discrepancy between current model predictions and the Daya Bay results can be traced to the original measured U 235 /Pu 239 ratio of the fission β spectra that were used as a base for the expected antineutrino fluxes. An analysis of the antineutrino spectra that is based on a summation over all fission fragment β decays, using nuclear database input, explains all of the features seen in the Daya Bay evolution data. However, this summation method still allows for an anomaly. We conclude that there is currently not enough information to use the antineutrino flux changes to rule out the possible existence of sterile neutrinos.

Determination of nuclear fuel burnup by non-destructive gamma spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soares, A.J.

1979-01-01

The determination of nuclear fuel burnup by the non-destructive gamma spectroscopy method is studied. A MTR (Materials Testing Reactor) -type fuel element is used in the measurement. The fuel element was removed from the reactor core in 1958 and, because of the long decay time, show only one peak in is gamma spectrum at 661.6 Kev. Corresponding to 137 Cs. Measurements are made at 330 points of the element using a Nal detector and the final result revealed that the quantity of 235 U consumed was 3.3 +- 0,8 milligram in the entire element. The effect of the migration of 137 Cs in the element is neglected in view of the fact that it occurs only when the temperature is above 1000 0 C, which is not the case in IEAR-1. (Author)

Burnup dependent core neutronic calculations for research and training reactors via SCALE4.4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tombakoglu, M.; Cecen, Y.

2001-01-01

In this work, the full core modelling is performed to improve neutronic analyses capability for nuclear research reactors using SCALE4.4 code system. KENOV.a module of SCALE4.4 code system is utilized for full core neutronic analysis. The ORIGEN-S module is coupled with the KENOV.a module to perform burnup dependent neutronic analyses. Results of neutronic calculations for 1 st cycle of Cekmece TR-2 research reactor are presented. In particular, coupling of KENOV.a and ORIGEN-S modules of SCALE4.4 is discussed. The preliminary results of 2-D burnup dependent neutronic calculations are also given. These results are extended to burnup dependent core calculations of TRIGA Mark-II research reactors. The code system developed here is similar to the code system that couples MCNP and ORIGEN2.(author)

Monte Carlo burnup simulation of the TAKAHAMA-3 benchmark experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalle, Hugo M.

2009-01-01

High burnup PWR fuel is currently being studied at CDTN/CNEN-MG. Monte Carlo burnup code system MONTEBURNS is used to characterize the neutronic behavior of the fuel. In order to validate the code system and calculation methodology to be used in this study the Japanese Takahama-3 Benchmark was chosen, as it is the single burnup benchmark experimental data set freely available that partially reproduces the conditions of the fuel under evaluation. The burnup of the three PWR fuel rods of the Takahama-3 burnup benchmark was calculated by MONTEBURNS using the simplest infinite fuel pin cell model and also a more complex representation of an infinite heterogeneous fuel pin cells lattice. Calculations results for the mass of most isotopes of Uranium, Neptunium, Plutonium, Americium, Curium and some fission products, commonly used as burnup monitors, were compared with the Post Irradiation Examinations (PIE) values for all the three fuel rods. Results have shown some sensitivity to the MCNP neutron cross-section data libraries, particularly affected by the temperature in which the evaluated nuclear data files were processed. (author)

A guide to introducing burnup credit, preliminary version (English translation)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okuno, Hiroshi; Suyama, Kenya; Ryufuku, Susumu

2017-06-01

There is an ongoing discussion on the application of burnup credit to the criticality safety controls of facilities that treat spent fuels. With regard to such application of burnup credit in Japan, this document summarizes the current technical status of the prediction of the isotopic composition and criticality of spent fuels, as well as safety evaluation concerns and the current status of legal affairs. This report is an English translation of A Guide to Introducing Burnup Credit, Preliminary Version, originally published in Japanese as JAERI-Tech 2001-055 by the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Facility Safety Research Committee. (author)

Burnup credit in Spain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conde, J.M.; Recio, M.

2001-01-01

The status of development of burnup credit for criticality safety analyses in Spain is described in this paper. Ongoing activities in the country in this field, both national and international, are resumed. Burnup credit is currently being applied to wet storage of PWR fuel, and credit to integral burnable absorbers is given for BWR fuel storage. It is envisaged to apply burnup credit techniques to the new generation of transport casks now in the design phase. The analysis methodologies submitted for the analyses of PWR and BWR fuel wet storage are outlined. Analytical activities in the country are described, as well as international collaborations in this field. Perspectives for future research and development of new applications are finally resumed. (author)

Preparation of data relevant to ''Equivalent Uniform Burnup'' and Equivalent Initial Enrichment'' for burnup credit evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nomura, Yasushi; Okuno, Hiroshi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Murazaki, Minoru [Tokyo Nuclear Service Inc., Tokyo (Japan)

2001-11-01

Based on the PWR spent fuel composition data measured at JAERI, two kinds of simplified methods such as ''Equivalent Uniform Burnup'' and ''Equivalent Initial Enrichment'' have been introduced. And relevant evaluation curves have been prepared for criticality safety evaluation of spent fuel storage pool and transport casks, taking burnup of spent fuel into consideration. These simplified methods can be used to obtain an effective neutron multiplication factor for a spent fuel storage/transportation system by using the ORIGEN2.1 burnup code and the KENO-Va criticality code without considering axial burnup profile in spent fuel and other various factors introducing calculated errors. ''Equivalent Uniform Burnup'' is set up for its criticality analysis to be reactivity equivalent with the detailed analysis, in which the experimentally obtained isotopic composition together with a typical axial burnup profile and various factors such as irradiation history are considered on the conservative side. On the other hand, Equivalent Initial Enrichment'' is set up for its criticality analysis to be reactivity equivalent with the detailed analysis such as above when it is used in the so called fresh fuel assumption. (author)

Experimental studies of spent fuel burn-up in WWR-SM reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alikulov, Sh. A.; Baytelesov, S.A.; Boltaboev, A.F.; Kungurov, F.R. [Institute of Nuclear Physics, Ulughbek township, 100214, Tashkent (Uzbekistan); Menlove, H.O.; O’Connor, W. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Osmanov, B.S., E-mail: bari_osmanov@yahoo.com [Research Institute of Applied Physics, Vuzgorodok, 100174 Tashkent (Uzbekistan); Salikhbaev, U.S. [Institute of Nuclear Physics, Ulughbek township, 100214, Tashkent (Uzbekistan)

2014-10-01

Highlights: • Uranium burn-up measurement from {sup 137}Cs activity in spent reactor fuel. • Comparison to reference sample with known burn-up value (ratio method). • Cross-check of the approach with neutron-based measurement technique. - Abstract: The article reports the results of {sup 235}U burn-up measurements using {sup 137}Cs activity technique for 12 nuclear fuel assemblies of WWR-SM research reactor after 3-year cooling time. The discrepancy between the measured and the calculated burn-up values was about 3%. To increase the reliability of the data and for cross-check purposes, neutron measurement approach was also used. Average discrepancy between two methods was around 12%.

Calculation of pellet radial power distributions with a Monte Carlo burnup code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Motomu; Yamamoto, Toru; Nakata, Tetsuo

2010-01-01

The Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES) has been working on an irradiation test program of high-burnup MOX fuel at Halden Boiling Water Reactor (HBWR). MOX and UO 2 fuel rods had been irradiated up to about 64 GWd/t (rod avg.) as a Japanese utilities research program (1st phase), and using those fuel rods, in-situ measurement of fuel pellet centerline temperature was done during the 2nd phase of irradiation as the JNES test program. As part of analysis of the temperature data, power distributions in a pellet radial direction were analyzed by using a Monte Carlo burnup code MVP-BURN. In addition, the calculated results of deterministic burnup codes SRAC and PLUTON for the same problem were compared with those of MVP-BURN to evaluate their accuracy. Burnup calculations with an assembly model were performed by using MVP-BURN and those with a pin cell model by using SRAC and PLUTON. The cell pitch and, therefore, fuel to moderator ratio in the pin cell calculation was determined from the comparison of neutron energy spectra with those of MVP-BURN. The fuel pellet radial distributions of burnup and fission reaction rates at the end of the 1st phase irradiation were compared between the three codes. The MVP-BURN calculation results show a large peaking in the burnup and fission rates in the pellet outer region for the UO 2 and MOX pellets. The SRAC calculations give very close results to those of the MVP-BURN. On the other hand, the PLUTON calculations show larger burnup for the UO 2 and lower burnup for the MOX pellets in the pellet outer region than those of MVP-BURN, which lead to larger fission rates for the UO 2 and lower fission rates for the MOX pellets, respectively. (author)

The research on burnup characteristic of doping burnable poison in PWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiang Shenglong; Qin Dong; Chai Xiaoming; Yao Dong

2014-01-01

In PWR core design, burnable poisons are usually used for reactive compensation and power flatten. The choice of burnable poisons and how to match burnup would be the key-points for a long-life core design. We study the burnup character of doping burnable poisons (such as natural element, manual nuclide and soluble boron) in the PWR by the core burnup code MOI based on Monte Carlo method. The results show that Hf, Er and Eu doping burnable poison would be applicable for the nuclear design research on the long-life PWR core. (authors)

Numerical solution of matrix exponential in burn-up equation using mini-max polynomial approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawamoto, Yosuke; Chiba, Go; Tsuji, Masashi; Narabayashi, Tadashi

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We propose a new numerical solution of matrix exponential in burn-up depletion calculations. • The depletion calculation with extremely short half-lived nuclides can be done numerically stable with this method. • The computational time is shorter than the other conventional methods. - Abstract: Nuclear fuel burn-up depletion calculations are essential to compute the nuclear fuel composition transition. In the burn-up calculations, the matrix exponential method has been widely used. In the present paper, we propose a new numerical solution of the matrix exponential, a Mini-Max Polynomial Approximation (MMPA) method. This method is numerically stable for burn-up matrices with extremely short half-lived nuclides as the Chebyshev Rational Approximation Method (CRAM), and it has several advantages over CRAM. We also propose a multi-step calculation, a computational time reduction scheme of the MMPA method, which can perform simultaneously burn-up calculations with several time periods. The applicability of these methods has been theoretically and numerically proved for general burn-up matrices. The numerical verification has been performed, and it has been shown that these methods have high precision equivalent to CRAM

Increased fuel burn-up and fuel cycle equilibrium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Debes, M.

2001-01-01

Improvement of nuclear competitiveness will rely mainly on increased fuel performance, with higher burn-up, and reactors sustained life. Regarding spent fuel management, the EDF current policy relies on UO 2 fuel reprocessing (around 850 MTHM/year at La Hague) and MOX recycling to ensure plutonium flux adequacy (around 100 MTHM/year, with an electricity production equivalent to 30 TWh). This policy enables to reuse fuel material, while maintaining global kWh economy with existing facilities. It goes along with current perspective to increase fuel burn-up up to 57 GWday/t mean in 2010. The following presentation describes the consequences of higher fuel burn-up on fuel cycle and waste management and implementation of a long term and global equilibrium for decades in spent fuel management resulting from this strategy. (author)

OECD/NEA burnup credit calculational criticality benchmark Phase I-B results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeHart, M.D.; Parks, C.V. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Brady, M.C. [Sandia National Labs., Las Vegas, NV (United States)

1996-06-01

In most countries, criticality analysis of LWR fuel stored in racks and casks has assumed that the fuel is fresh with the maximum allowable initial enrichment. This assumption has led to the design of widely spaced and/or highly poisoned storage and transport arrays. If credit is assumed for fuel burnup, initial enrichment limitations can be raised in existing systems, and more compact and economical arrays can be designed. Such reliance on the reduced reactivity of spent fuel for criticality control is referred to as burnup credit. The Burnup Credit Working Group, formed under the auspices of the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, has established a set of well-defined calculational benchmarks designed to study significant aspects of burnup credit computational methods. These benchmarks are intended to provide a means for the intercomparison of computer codes, methods, and data applied in spent fuel analysis. The benchmarks have been divided into multiple phases, each phase focusing on a particular feature of burnup credit analysis. This report summarizes the results and findings of the Phase I-B benchmark, which was proposed to provide a comparison of the ability of different code systems and data libraries to perform depletion analysis for the prediction of spent fuel isotopic concentrations. Results included here represent 21 different sets of calculations submitted by 16 different organizations worldwide and are based on a limited set of nuclides determined to have the most important effect on the neutron multiplication factor of light-water-reactor spent fuel. A comparison of all sets of results demonstrates that most methods agree to within 10% in the ability to estimate the spent fuel concentrations of most actinides. All methods agree within 11% about the average for all fission products studied. Most deviations are less than 10%, and many are less than 5%. The exceptions are Sm 149, Sm 151, and Gd 155.

OECD/NEA burnup credit calculational criticality benchmark Phase I-B results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeHart, M.D.; Parks, C.V.; Brady, M.C.

1996-06-01

In most countries, criticality analysis of LWR fuel stored in racks and casks has assumed that the fuel is fresh with the maximum allowable initial enrichment. This assumption has led to the design of widely spaced and/or highly poisoned storage and transport arrays. If credit is assumed for fuel burnup, initial enrichment limitations can be raised in existing systems, and more compact and economical arrays can be designed. Such reliance on the reduced reactivity of spent fuel for criticality control is referred to as burnup credit. The Burnup Credit Working Group, formed under the auspices of the Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, has established a set of well-defined calculational benchmarks designed to study significant aspects of burnup credit computational methods. These benchmarks are intended to provide a means for the intercomparison of computer codes, methods, and data applied in spent fuel analysis. The benchmarks have been divided into multiple phases, each phase focusing on a particular feature of burnup credit analysis. This report summarizes the results and findings of the Phase I-B benchmark, which was proposed to provide a comparison of the ability of different code systems and data libraries to perform depletion analysis for the prediction of spent fuel isotopic concentrations. Results included here represent 21 different sets of calculations submitted by 16 different organizations worldwide and are based on a limited set of nuclides determined to have the most important effect on the neutron multiplication factor of light-water-reactor spent fuel. A comparison of all sets of results demonstrates that most methods agree to within 10% in the ability to estimate the spent fuel concentrations of most actinides. All methods agree within 11% about the average for all fission products studied. Most deviations are less than 10%, and many are less than 5%. The exceptions are Sm 149, Sm 151, and Gd 155

High frequency acoustic microscopy for the determination of porosity and Young's modulus in high burnup uranium dioxide nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchetti, M.; Laux, D.; Cappia, F.; Laurie, M.; Van Uffelen, P.; Rondinella, V.V.; Despaux, G.

2015-01-01

During irradiation UO 2 nuclear fuel experiences the development of a non-uniform distribution of porosity which contributes to establish varying mechanical properties along the radius of the pellet. Radial variations of the porosity and of elastic properties in high burnup UO 2 pellet can be investigated via high frequency acoustic microscopy. Ultrasound waves are generated by a piezoelectric transducer and focused on the sample, after having travelled through a coupling liquid. The elastic properties of the material are related to the velocity of the generated Rayleigh surface wave (VR). A 67 MWd/kgU UO 2 pellet was characterized using the acoustic microscope installed in the hot cells of the Institute of Transuranium Elements: 90 MHz frequency was applied, methanol was used as coupling liquid and VR was measured at different radial positions. By comparing the porosity values obtained via acoustic microscopy with those determined using ceramographic image analysis a good agreement was found, especially in the areas close to the centre. In addition Young's modulus was calculated and its radial profile was correlated to the corresponding burnup profile. (authors)

Impacts of the use of spent nuclear fuel burnup credit on DOE advanced technology legal weight truck cask GA-4 fleet size

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mobasheran, A.S.; Boshoven, J.; Lake, B.

1995-01-01

The object of this paper is to study the impact of full and partial spent fuel burnup credit on the capacity of the Legal Weight Truck Spent Fuel Shipping Cask (GA-4) and to determine the numbers of additional spent fuel assemblies which could be accommodated as a result. The scope of the study comprised performing nuclear criticality safety scoping calculations using the SCALE-PC software package and the 1993 spent fuel database to determine logistics for number of spent fuel assemblies to be shipped. The results of the study indicate that more capacity than 2 or 3 pressurized water reactor assemblies could be gained for GA-4 casks when burnup credit is considered. Reduction in GA-4 fleet size and number of shipments are expected to result from the acceptance of spent fuel burnup credit

Theoretical analysis of nuclear reactors (Phase I), I-V, Part IV, Nuclear fuel depletion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pop-Jordanov, J.

1962-07-01

Nuclear fuel depletion is analyzed in order to estimate the qualitative and quantitative fuel property changes during irradiation and the influence of changes on the reactivity during long-term reactor operation. The changes of fuel properties are described by changes of neutron absorption and fission cross sections. Part one of this report covers the economic significance of fuel burnup and the review of fuel isotopic changes during depletion. Pat two contains the analysis of the U 235 chain, analytical expressions for the concentrations of U 235 , U 236 and Np 237 as a function of burnup. Part three contains the analysis of neutron spectrum influence on the Westcott method for calculating the cross sections. Part four contains the calculation method applied on Calder Hall type reactor. The results were obtained by applying ZUSE-22 R digital computer

Extended burnup with SEU fuel in Atucha-1 NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez, L.; Casario, J.; Fink, J.; Perez, R.; Higa, M.

2002-01-01

Atucha-1 is a Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor originally fuelled with natural uranium. Fuel Assemblies consist of 36 fuel rods and the active length is 5300 mm. The total length of the fuel assembly is about 6 m. The average discharge burnup of natural UO 2 fuel is 5900 MWd/tU. After the deregulation of the Argentine electricity market there was an important incentive to reduce the impact of fuel cost on the cost of generation. To keep the competitiveness of the nuclear energy against another sources of electricity it was necessary to reduce the cost of the nuclear fuel. With this objective a program to introduce SEU (0.85 % 235 U) fuel in Atucha-1 was launched in 1993. As a result of this program the average SEU fuel discharge burnup increased to more than 11000 MWd/tU. The first SEU fuels were introduced in Atucha-1 in 1995 and, in the present stage of the program, 71% of core positions are loaded with this type of fuel. This paper describes key aspects of Atucha-1 fuel design and their relevance limiting the burnup extension and shows relevant data regarding the SEU in-reactor performance. At the present time 125 SEU Fuel Assemblies have been irradiated without failures associated with the extended burnup or unfavorable influences on the operation of the power station. (author)

Fission-gas release in fuel performing to extended burnups in Ontario Hydro nuclear generating stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Floyd, M.R.; Novak, J.; Truant, P.T.

1992-06-01

The average discharge burnup of CANDU fuel is about 200 MWh/kgU. A significant number of 37-element bundles have achieved burnups in excess of 400 MWh/kgU. Some of these bundles have experienced failures related to their extended operation. To date, hot-cell examinations have been performed on fuel elements from nine 37-element bundles irradiated in Bruce NGS-A that have burnups in the range of 300-800 MWh/kgU. 1 Most of these have declining power histories from peak powers of up to 59 kW/m. Fission-gas releases of up to 26% have been observed and exhibit a strong dependence on fuel power. This obscures any dependence on burnup. The extent of fission-gas release at extended burnups was not predicted by low-burnup code extrapolations. This is attributed primarily to a reduction in fuel thermal conductivity which results in elevated operating temperatures. Reduced conductivity is due, at least in part, to the buildup of fission products in the fuel matrix. Some evidence of hyperstoichiometry exists, although this needs to be further investigated along with any possible relation to CANLUB graphite coating behaviour and sheath oxidation. Residual tensile sheath strains of up to 2% have been observed and can be correlated with fuel power/fission-gas release. SCC 2 -related defects have been observed in the sheath and endcaps of elements from bundles experiencing declining power histories to burnups in excess of 500 MWh/kgU. This indicates that the current recommended burnup limit of 450 MWh/kgU is justified. SCC-related defects have also been observed in ramped bundles having burnups < 450 MWh/kgU. Hence, additional guidelines are in place for power ramping extended-burnup fuel

Burnup measurements at the RECH-1 research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henriquez, C.; Navarro, G.; Pereda, C.; Torres, H.; Pena, L.; Klein, J.; Calderon, D.; Kestelman, A.J.

2002-01-01

The Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission has decided to produce LEU fuel elements for the RECH-1 research reactor. During December 1998, the Fuel Fabrication Plant delivered the first four fuel elements, called leaders, to the RECH-1 reactor. The set was introduced into the reactor's core, following the normal routine, but performing a special follow-up on their behavior inside and outside the core. In order to measure the burn-up of the leader fuel elements, it was decided to develop a burn-up measurements system to be installed into the RECH-1 reactor pool, and to decline the use of a similar system, which operates in a hot cell. The main reason to build this facility was to have the capability to measure the burn-up of fuel elements without waiting for long decay period. This paper gives a brief description of the facility to measure the burn-up of spent fuel elements installed into the reactor pool, showing the preliminary obtained spectra and briefly discussing them. (author)

Post Irradiation Examination Plan for High-Burnup Demonstration Project Sister Rods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scaglione, John M [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Montgomery, Rose [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Bevard, Bruce Balkcom [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2016-04-01

This test plan describes the experimental work to be implemented by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) to characterize high burnup (HBU) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in conjunction with the High Burnup Dry Storage Cask Research and Development Project and serves to coordinate and integrate the multi-year experimental program to collect and develop data regarding the continued storage and eventual transport of HBU (i.e., >45 GWd/MTU) SNF. The work scope involves the development, performance, technical integration, and oversight of measurements and collection of relevant data, guided by analyses and demonstration of need.

Phenomena and parameters important to burnup credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parks, C.V.; Dehart, M.D.; Wagner, J.C.

2001-01-01

Since the mid-1980s, a significant number of studies have been directed at understanding the phenomena and parameters important to implementation of burnup credit in out-of-reactor applications involving pressurized-water- reactor (PWR) spent fuel. The efforts directed at burnup credit involving boiling-water-reactor (BWR) spent fuel have been more limited. This paper reviews the knowledge and experience gained from work performed in the United States and other countries in the study of burnup credit. Relevant physics and analysis phenomenon are identified, and an assessment of their importance to burnup credit implementation for transport and dry cask storage is given. (author)

An optimal model for fuel burnup in nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anton, V.

1979-05-01

An approach to minimize the number of the burnup equations taking into account the introduction of an appropriate number of fission products is given. The corresponding number of fission pseudo-products is defined. (author)

Whole core burnup calculations using `MCNP`

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haran, O; Shaham, Y [Israel Atomic Energy Commission, Beersheba (Israel). Nuclear Research Center-Negev

1996-12-01

Core parameters such as the reactivity, the power distribution and different reactivity coefficients calculated in simulations play an important role in the nuclear reactor handling. Operational safety margins are decided upon, based on the calculated parameters. Thus, the ability to accurately calculate those parameters is of uppermost importance. Such ability exists for fresh cores, using the Monte-Carlo method. The change in the core parameters that results from the core burnup is nowadays calculated within transport codes that simplifies the transport process by using approximations such as the diffusion approximation. The inaccuracy in the burned core parameters arising from the use of such approximations is hard to quantify, leading to an increased gap between the operational routines and the safety limits. A Monte Carlo transport code that caries out accurate static calculations in three dimensional geometries using continuous-energy neutron cross-section data such as the MCNP can be used to generate accurate reaction rates for burnup purposes. Monte Carlo method is statistical by nature, so that the reaction rates calculated will be accurate only to a certain known extent. The purpose of this work was to create a burnup routine that uses the capabilities of the Monte Carlo based MCNP code. It should be noted that burnup using Monte Carlo has been reported in the literatures, but this work is the result of an independent effort (authors).

Whole core burnup calculations using 'MCNP'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haran, O.; Shaham, Y.

1996-01-01

Core parameters such as the reactivity, the power distribution and different reactivity coefficients calculated in simulations play an important role in the nuclear reactor handling. Operational safety margins are decided upon, based on the calculated parameters. Thus, the ability to accurately calculate those parameters is of uppermost importance. Such ability exists for fresh cores, using the Monte-Carlo method. The change in the core parameters that results from the core burnup is nowadays calculated within transport codes that simplifies the transport process by using approximations such as the diffusion approximation. The inaccuracy in the burned core parameters arising from the use of such approximations is hard to quantify, leading to an increased gap between the operational routines and the safety limits. A Monte Carlo transport code that caries out accurate static calculations in three dimensional geometries using continuous-energy neutron cross-section data such as the MCNP can be used to generate accurate reaction rates for burnup purposes. Monte Carlo method is statistical by nature, so that the reaction rates calculated will be accurate only to a certain known extent. The purpose of this work was to create a burnup routine that uses the capabilities of the Monte Carlo based MCNP code. It should be noted that burnup using Monte Carlo has been reported in the literatures, but this work is the result of an independent effort (authors)

Burn-up dependent steady-state thermal hydraulic analysis of Pakistan research reactor-1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Atta

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The burn-up dependent steady-state thermal hydraulic analysis of Pakistan research reactor-1, reference operating core, has been carried out utilizing standard computer codes WIMS/D4, CITATION, and RELAP5/MOD3.4. Reactor codes WIMS/D4 and CITATION have been used for the calculations of neutronic parameters including peaking factors and power profiles at different burn-up considering a xenon free core and also the equilibrium xenon values. RELAP5/MOD3.4 code was utilized for the determination of peak fuel centerline, clad and coolant temperatures to ensure the safety of the reactor throughout the cycle. The calculations reveal that the reactor is safe and no nucleate boiling will commence at any part of the core throughout the cycle and that the safety margin increases with burnup as peaking factors decrease.

High Burnup Fuel: Implications and Operational Experience. Proceedings of a Technical Meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-08-01

This publication reports on the outcome of a technical meeting on high burnup fuel experience and economics, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2013. The purpose of the meeting was to revisit and update the current operational experience and economic conditions associated with high burnup fuel. International experts with significant experience in experimental programmes on high burnup fuel discussed and evaluated physical limitations at pellet, cladding and structural component levels, with a wide focus including fabrication, core behaviour, transport and intermediate storage for most types of commercial nuclear power plants

Development and verification of Monte Carlo burnup calculation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ando, Yoshihira; Yoshioka, Kenichi; Mitsuhashi, Ishi; Sakurada, Koichi; Sakurai, Shungo

2003-01-01

Monte Carlo burnup calculation code system has been developed to evaluate accurate various quantities required in the backend field. From the Actinide Research in a Nuclear Element (ARIANE) program, by using, the measured nuclide compositions of fuel rods in the fuel assemblies irradiated in the commercial Netherlands BWR, the analyses have been performed for the code system verification. The code system developed in this paper has been verified through analysis for MOX and UO2 fuel rods. This system enables to reduce large margin assumed in the present criticality analysis for LWR spent fuels. (J.P.N.)

Analyzing the BWR rod drop accident in high-burnup cores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diamond, D.J.; Neymotin, L.; Kohut, P.

1995-01-01

This study was undertaken for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to determine the fuel enthalpy during a rod drop accident (RDA) for cores with high burnup fuel. The calculations were done with the RAMONA-4B code which models the core with 3-dimensional neutron kinetics and multiple parallel coolant channels. The calculations were done with a model for a BWR/4 with fuel bundles having burnups up to 30 GWd/t and also with a model with bundle burnups to 60 GWd/t. This paper also discusses potential sources of uncertainty in calculations with high burnup fuel. One source is the ''rim'' effect which is the extra large peaking of the power distribution at the surface of the pellet. This increases the uncertainty in reactor physics and heat conduction models that assume that the energy deposition has a less peaked spatial distribution. Two other sources of uncertainty are the result of the delayed neutron fraction decreasing with burnup and the positive moderator temperature feedback increasing with burnup. Since these effects tend to increase the severity of the event, an RDA calculation for high burnup fuel will underpredict the fuel enthalpy if the effects are not properly taken into account. Other sources of uncertainty that are important come from the initial conditions chosen for the RDA. This includes the initial control rod pattern as well as the initial thermal-hydraulic conditions

EPRI/DOE High Burnup Fuel Sister Pin Test Plan Simplification and Visualization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saltzstein, Sylvia J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sorenson, Ken B. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Hanson, Brady [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Billone, Mike [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Scaglione, John [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Montgomery, Rose [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Bevard, Bruce [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2017-07-01

The EPRI/DOE High Burnup Confirmatory Data Project (herein called the "Demo") is a multi-year, multi-entity confirmation demonstration test with the purpose of providing quantitative and qualitative data to show how high-burnup fuel ages in dry storage over a ten-year period. The Demo involves obtaining 32 assemblies of high-burnup PWR fuel of four common cladding alloys from the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant, drying them according to standard plant procedures, and then storing them in an NRC-licensed TN-3 2B cask on the North Anna dry storage pad for ten years. After the ten-year storage time, the cask will be opened and the rods will be examined for signs of aging. Twenty-five rods from assemblies of similar claddings, in-reactor placement, and burnup histories (herein called "sister rods") have been shipped from the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant and are currently being nondestructively tested at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After the non-destructive testing has been completed for each of the twenty-five rods, destructive analysis will be performed at ORNL, PNNL, and ANL to obtain mechanical data. Opinions gathered from the expert interviews, ORNL and PNNL Sister Rod Test Plans, and numerous meetings has resulted in the Simplified Test Plan described in this document. Some of the opinions and discussions leading to the simplified test plan are included here. Detailed descriptions and background are in the ORNL and PNNL plans in the appendices . After the testing described in this simplified test plan h as been completed , the community will review all the collected data and determine if additional testing is needed.

Analysis of variation in few-group cross section behavior subjected to burnup and boron concentration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zongyao; Li Dongsheng.

1986-01-01

The paper analyzes the variations of few-group cross section behavior in neutron diffusion subjected to fuel burnup and critical boron concentration in a core. The influences of the behavior on the core excess reactivity, crirical boron concentration, power distribution and the yield of isotopes are also analyzed. A reactor core of samll-medium-sized nuclear power plant is analyzed as an example

Burnup credit effect on proposed cask payloads

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, I.K.

1989-01-01

The purpose of the Cask Systems Development Program (CSDP) is to develop a variety of cask systems which will allow safe and economical movement of commercial spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste from the generator to the Federal repository or Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS) facility. Program schedule objectives for the initial phase of the CSDP include the development of certified spent fuel cask systems by 1995 to support Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management shipments from the utilities beginning in the late 1990s. Forty-nine proposals for developing a family of spent fuel casks were received and comparisons made. General conclusions that can be drawn from the comparisons are that (1) the new generation of casks will have substantially increased payloads in comparison to current casks, and (2) an even greater payload increase may be achievable with burnup credit. The ranges in the payload estimates do not allow a precise separation of the payload increase attributable to the proposed allowance of fuel burnup credit, as compared wilt the no-burnup-credit case. The beneficial effects of cask payload increases on overall costs and risks of transporting spent fuel are significant; therefore further work aimed toward taking advantage of burnup credit is warranted

MCNPX and MCB coupled methodology for the burnup calculation of the KIPT accelerator driven subcritical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong, Z.; Gohar, Y.; Talamo, A.

2009-01-01

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) of USA and Kharkov Inst. of Physics and Technology (KIPT) of Ukraine have been collaborating on the conceptual design development of an electron accelerator driven subcritical facility (ADS). The facility will be utilized for basic research, medical isotopes production, and training young nuclear specialists. The burnup methodology and analysis of the KIPT ADS are presented in this paper. MCNPX and MCB Monte Carlo computer codes have been utilized. MCNPX has the capability of performing electron, photon and neutron coupled transport problems, but it lacks the burnup capability for driven subcritical systems. MCB has the capability for performing the burnup calculation of driven subcritical systems, while it cannot transport electrons. A calculational methodology coupling MCNPX and MCB has been developed, which can exploit the electrons transport capability of MCNPX for neutron production and the burnup capability of MCB for driven subcritical systems. In this procedure, a neutron source file is generated using MCNPX transport calculation, preserving the neutrons yield from photonuclear reactions initiated by electrons, and this source file is utilized by MCB for the burnup analyses with the same geometrical model. In this way, the ADS depletion calculation can be accurately. (authors)

Measurement of burnup in FBR MOX fuel irradiated to high burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koyama, Shin-ichi; Osaka, Masahiko; Sekine, Takashi; Morozumi, Katsufumi; Namekawa, Takashi; Itoh, Masahiko

2003-01-01

The burnup of fuel pins in the subassemblies irradiated at the range from 0.003 to 13.28% FIMA in the JOYO MK-II core were measured by the isotope dilution analysis. For the measurement, 75 and 51 specimens were taken from the fuel pins of driver fuel and irradiation test subassemblies, respectively. The data of burnup could be obtained within an experimental error of 4%, and were compared with the ones calculated by 3-dimensional neutron diffusion codes MAGI and ESPRIT-J, which are used for JOYO core management system. Both data of burnup almost agree with each other within an error of 5%. For the fuel pins loaded at the outer region of the subassembly in the 4th row, which was adjacent to reflectors, however, some of the calculation results were 15% less at most than the measured values. It is suggested from the calculation by a Monte Carlo code MCNP-4A that this difference between the calculated and the measured data attribute from the softening of neutron flux in the region adjacent to the reflector. (author)

Burnup calculations using Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, Biplab; Degweker, S.B.

2009-01-01

In the recent years, interest in burnup calculations using Monte Carlo methods has gained momentum. Previous burn up codes have used multigroup transport theory based calculations followed by diffusion theory based core calculations for the neutronic portion of codes. The transport theory methods invariably make approximations with regard to treatment of the energy and angle variables involved in scattering, besides approximations related to geometry simplification. Cell homogenisation to produce diffusion, theory parameters adds to these approximations. Moreover, while diffusion theory works for most reactors, it does not produce accurate results in systems that have strong gradients, strong absorbers or large voids. Also, diffusion theory codes are geometry limited (rectangular, hexagonal, cylindrical, and spherical coordinates). Monte Carlo methods are ideal to solve very heterogeneous reactors and/or lattices/assemblies in which considerable burnable poisons are used. The key feature of this approach is that Monte Carlo methods permit essentially 'exact' modeling of all geometrical detail, without resort to ene and spatial homogenization of neutron cross sections. Monte Carlo method would also be better for in Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS) which could have strong gradients due to the external source and a sub-critical assembly. To meet the demand for an accurate burnup code, we have developed a Monte Carlo burnup calculation code system in which Monte Carlo neutron transport code is coupled with a versatile code (McBurn) for calculating the buildup and decay of nuclides in nuclear materials. McBurn is developed from scratch by the authors. In this article we will discuss our effort in developing the continuous energy Monte Carlo burn-up code, McBurn. McBurn is intended for entire reactor core as well as for unit cells and assemblies. Generally, McBurn can do burnup of any geometrical system which can be handled by the underlying Monte Carlo transport code

Technique for sensitivity analysis of space- and energy-dependent burn-up calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, M.L.; White, J.R.

1979-01-01

A practical method is presented for sensitivity analysis of the very complex, space-energy dependent burn-up equations, in which the neutron and nuclide fields are coupled nonlinearly. The adjoint burn-up equations that are given are in a form which can be directly implemented into multi-dimensional depletion codes, such as VENTURE/BURNER. The data sensitivity coefficients can be used to determine the effect of data uncertainties on time-dependent depletion responses. Initial condition sensitivity coefficients provide a very effective method for computing the change in end of cycle parameters (such as k/sub eff/, fissile inventory, etc.) due to changes in nuclide concentrations at beginning of cycle

Application of depletion perturbation theory to fuel cycle burnup analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, J.R.

1979-01-01

Over the past several years static perturbation theory methods have been increasingly used for reactor analysis in lieu of more detailed and costly direct computations. Recently, perturbation methods incorporating time dependence have also received attention, and several authors have demonstrated their applicability to fuel burnup analysis. The objective of the work described here is to demonstrate that a time-dependent perturbation method can be easily and accurately applied to realistic depletion problems

Evaluation of fission product worth margins in PWR spent nuclear fuel burnup credit calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blomquist, R.N.; Finck, P.J.; Jammes, C.; Stenberg, C.G.

1999-01-01

Current criticality safety calculations for the transportation of irradiated LWR fuel make the very conservative assumption that the fuel is fresh. This results in a very substantial overprediction of the actual k eff of the transportation casks; in certain cases, this decreases the amount of spent fuel which can be loaded in a cask, and increases the cost of transporting the spent fuel to the repository. Accounting for the change of reactivity due to fuel depletion is usually referred to as ''burnup credit.'' The US DOE is currently funding a program aimed at establishing an actinide only burnup credit methodology (in this case, the calculated reactivity takes into account the buildup or depletion of a limited number of actinides). This work is undergoing NRC review. While this methodology is being validated on a significant experimental basis, it implicitly relies on additional margins: in particular, the absorption of neutrons by certain actinides and by all fission products is not taken into account. This provides an important additional margin and helps guarantee that the methodology is conservative provided these neglected absorption are known with reasonable accuracy. This report establishes the accuracy of fission product absorption rate calculations: (1) the analysis of European fission product worth experiments demonstrates that fission product cross-sections available in the US provide very good predictions of fission product worth; (2) this is confirmed by a direct comparison of European and US cross section evaluations; (3) accuracy of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) fission product content predictions is established in a recent ORNL report where several SNF isotopic assays are analyzed; and (4) these data are then combined to establish in a conservative manner the fraction of the predicted total fission product absorption which can be guaranteed based on available experimental data

The use of burnup credit for spent fuel cask design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lake, W.H.

1993-01-01

A new generation of high capacity spent fuel transport casks is being developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as part of the Federal Waste Management System (FWMS). Burnup credit, which recognizes the reduced reactivity of spent fuel is being used for these casks. Two cask designs being developed for DOE by Babcock and Wilcox and General Atomics use burnup credit. The cask designs must be certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) if they are to be used in the FWMS. Certification of these casks by the NRC would not require any change in the NRC's transport regulations, and would be consistent with past practices. Furthermore, use of burnup credit casks appears to be consistent with current International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) rules and regulations. To support NRC certification, DOE has identified the technical issues related to burnup credit, and embarked on a development program to resolve them. (J.P.N.)

High frequency acoustic microscopy for the determination of porosity and Young's modulus in high burnup uranium dioxide nuclear fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marchetti, M. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements P.O. Box 2340 76125 Karlsruhe (Germany); University of Montpellier, IES, UMR 5214, F-34000, Montpellier (France); Laux, D. [University of Montpellier, IES, UMR 5214, F-34000, Montpellier (France); CNRS, IES, UMR 5214, F-34000, Montpellier (France); Cappia, F. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements P.O. Box 2340 76125 Karlsruhe (Germany); Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Boltzmannstrasse 15, 85747 Garching bei Munchen (Germany); Laurie, M.; Van Uffelen, P.; Rondinella, V.V. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Transuranium Elements P.O. Box 2340 76125 Karlsruhe (Germany); Despaux, G. [University of Montpellier, IES, UMR 5214, F-34000, Montpellier (France); CNRS, IES, UMR 5214, F-34000, Montpellier (France)

2015-07-01

During irradiation UO{sub 2} nuclear fuel experiences the development of a non-uniform distribution of porosity which contributes to establish varying mechanical properties along the radius of the pellet. Radial variations of the porosity and of elastic properties in high burnup UO{sub 2} pellet can be investigated via high frequency acoustic microscopy. Ultrasound waves are generated by a piezoelectric transducer and focused on the sample, after having travelled through a coupling liquid. The elastic properties of the material are related to the velocity of the generated Rayleigh surface wave (VR). A 67 MWd/kgU UO{sub 2} pellet was characterized using the acoustic microscope installed in the hot cells of the Institute of Transuranium Elements: 90 MHz frequency was applied, methanol was used as coupling liquid and VR was measured at different radial positions. By comparing the porosity values obtained via acoustic microscopy with those determined using ceramographic image analysis a good agreement was found, especially in the areas close to the centre. In addition Young's modulus was calculated and its radial profile was correlated to the corresponding burnup profile. (authors)

The application of burnup credit for spent fuel operations in the United Kingdom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowden, R.

1998-01-01

This paper begins by outlining the structure of the nuclear industry in the United Kingdom. It then sets out the methodology of burnup credit, and provides a brief discussion of the validation and robustness of the calculational route. This leads to a description of both the current and intended applications of burnup credit in the United Kingdom. (author)

Fission-product burnup chain model for research reactor application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jung Do; Gil, Choong Sup; Lee, Jong Tai [Korea Atomic Energy Research Inst., Daeduk (Republic of Korea)

1990-12-01

A new fission-product burnup chain model was developed for use in research reactor analysis capable of predicting the burnup-dependent reactivity with high precision over a wide range of burnup. The new model consists of 63 nuclides treated explicitly and one fissile-independent pseudo-element. The effective absorption cross sections for the preudo-element and the preudo-element yield of actinide nuclides were evaluated in the this report. The model is capable of predicting the high burnup behavior of low-enriched uranium-fueled research reactors.(Author).

Modeling of PWR fuel at extended burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dias, Raphael Mejias

2016-01-01

This work studies the modifications implemented over successive versions in the empirical models of the computer program FRAPCON used to simulate the steady state irradiation performance of Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) fuel rods under high burnup condition. In the study, the empirical models present in FRAPCON official documentation were analyzed. A literature study was conducted on the effects of high burnup in nuclear fuels and to improve the understanding of the models used by FRAPCON program in these conditions. A steady state fuel performance analysis was conducted for a typical PWR fuel rod using FRAPCON program versions 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5. The results presented by the different versions of the program were compared in order to verify the impact of model changes in the output parameters of the program. It was observed that the changes brought significant differences in the results of the fuel rod thermal and mechanical parameters, especially when they evolved from FRAPCON-3.3 version to FRAPCON-3.5 version. Lower temperatures, lower cladding stress and strain, lower cladding oxide layer thickness were obtained in the fuel rod analyzed with the FRAPCON-3.5 version. (author)

Taking burnup credit for interim storage and transportation system for BWR fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshioka, Ken-ichi; Ando, Y.; Kumanomido, H.; Sasaki, T.; Mitsuhashi, I.; Ueda, M.

2001-01-01

In order to establish a realistic burnup credit design system, a calculation system has been developed for determining isotope compositions, burnup, and criticality. The calculation system consists of several modules such as TGBLA, ORIGEN, CITATION, MCNP, and KENO. The TGBLA code is a fuel design code for LWR fuels developed in TOSHIBA Corporation. A compact measurement system for a fuel assembly has been being developed to meet requirements for the burnup determination, the neutron emission-rate evaluation, and the nuclear materials management. For a spent MOX fuel, a neutron emission rate measurement method has been being developed. The system consists of Cd-Te detectors and / or fission chambers. Some model calculations were carried out for the latest design BWR fuels. The effect of taking burnup credit for a transportation cask is shown. (authors)

Role of measurement systems in burnup credit operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ewing, R.I.; Sanders, T.L.

1991-01-01

Spent fuel transport casks designed using burnup credit have increased payloads that may greatly reduce the number of shipments required to transport spent fuel from reactor sites to repositories. Burnup credit is obtained by applying the reduced reactivity of spent fuel to considerations of nuclear criticality in the design of transport casks. Although it does not appear to be possible to directly measure the criticality of spent fuel assemblies, measurements can be employed to ensure that the only assemblies loaded into a cask have the characteristics appropriate to that cask design. An effective on-site measurement system must be matched to the characteristics of the spent fuel cask design and to the inventory of spent fuel. For operation reasons the system should be simple, accurate, efficient, and easily calibrated. This paper is part of a study to examine the effects of the spent fuel inventory in the U.S. on the selection of measurement systems useful in burnup credit operations

Determination of axial profit performed burnup credit by SCALE 4.3-system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miro, R.; Verdu, G.; Munoz-Cobo, J. L.

1998-01-01

SCALE 4.3 is a modular code system designed for realizing standard computational analysis for licensing evaluation. Since now, spent fuel storage pools criticality analysis have been done considering this fuel as fresh, with its maximum enrichment. With burnup credit we can obtain cheaper and compact configurations. The procedure for calculating a spent fuel storage consists of a burnup calculation plus a criticality calculation. We can perform a conservative approximation for the burnup calculations using 1-D results, but, besides the geometry configurations for the 3-D criticality calculation. we need an appropriate approximation to model the burnup axial variation. We assume that for a burnup profile set, the most conservative profile is between the lower and the upper range of this profile, set. We consider only combinations of the maximum and minimum burnup in each axial region, for each burnup range. This gives an estimation of the different burnup shapes effect and the general characteristics of the most conservative shape. (Author) 6 refs

Isotopic biases for actinide-only burnup credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahimi, M.; Lancaster, D.; Hoeffer, B.; Nichols, M.

1997-01-01

The primary purpose of this paper is to present the new methodology for establishing bias and uncertainty associated with isotopic prediction in spent fuel assemblies for burnup credit analysis. The analysis applies to the design of criticality control systems for spent fuel casks. A total of 54 spent fuel samples were modeled and analyzed using the Shielding Analyses Sequence (SAS2H). Multiple regression analysis and a trending test were performed to develop isotopic correction factors for 10 actinide burnup credit isotopes. 5 refs., 1 tab

Status of burnup credit for transport of SNF in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parks, C.V.; Wagner, J.C.

2004-01-01

Allowing credit for the reduction in reactivity associated with fuel depletion can enable more cost-effective, higher-density storage, transportation, and disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) while maintaining a subcritical margin sufficient to establish an adequate safety basis. This paper reviews the current status of burnup credit applied to the design and transport of SNF casks in the United States. The existing U.S. regulatory guidance on burnup credit is limited to pressurized-water-reactor (PWR) fuel and to allowing credit only for actinides in the SNF. By comparing loading curves against actual SNF discharge data for U.S. reactors, the potential benefits that can be realized using the current regulatory guidance with actinide-only burnup credit are illustrated in terms of the inventory allowed in high-capacity casks and the concurrent reduction in SNF shipments. The additional benefits that might be realized by extending burnup credit to credit for select fission products are also illustrated. The curves show that, although fission products in SNF provide a small decrease in reactivity compared with actinides, the additional negative reactivity causes the SNF inventory acceptable for transportation to increase from roughly 30% to approximately 90% when fission products are considered. A savings of approximately $150M in transport costs can potentially be realized for the planned inventory of the repository. Given appropriate experimental data to support code validation, a realistic best-estimate analysis of burnup credit that includes validated credit for fission products is the enhancement that will yield the most significant impact on future transportation plans

Current applications of actinide-only burn-up credit within the Cogema group and R and D programme to take fission products into account

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toubon, H.; Guillou, E.; Cousinou, P.; Barbry, F.; Grouiller, J.P.; Bignan, G.

2001-01-01

Burn-up credit can be defined as making allowance for absorbent radioactive isotopes in criticality studies, in order to optimise safety margins and avoid over-engineering of nuclear facilities. As far as the COGEMA Group is concerned, the three fields in which burn-up credit proves to be an advantage are the transport of spent fuel assemblies, their interim storage in spent fuel pools and reprocessing. In the case of transport, burn-up credit means that cask size do not need to be altered, despite an increase in the initial enrichment of the fuel assemblies. Burn-up credit also makes it possible to offer new cask designs with higher capacity. Burn-up credit means that fuel assemblies with a higher initial enrichment can be put into interim storage in existing facilities and opens the way to the possibility of more compact ones. As far as reprocessing is concerned, burn-up credit makes it possible to keep up current production rates, despite an increase in the initial enrichment of the fuel assemblies being reprocessed. In collaboration with the French Atomic Energy Commission and the Institute for Nuclear Safety and Protection, the COGEMA Group is participating in an extensive experimental programme and working to qualify criticality and fuel depletion computer codes. The research programme currently underway should mean that by 2003, allowance will be made for fission products in criticality safety analysis

Current applications of actinide-only burn-up credit within the Cogema group and R and D programme to take fission products into account

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Toubon, H. [Cogema, 78 - Saint Quentin en Yvelines (France); Guillou, E. [Cogema Etablissement de la Hague, D/SQ/SMT, 50 - Beaumont Hague (France); Cousinou, P. [CEA Fontenay aux Roses, Inst. de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire, 92 (France); Barbry, F. [CEA Valduc, Inst. de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire, 21 - Is sur Tille (France); Grouiller, J.P.; Bignan, G. [CEA Cadarache, 13 - Saint Paul lez Durance (France)

2001-07-01

Burn-up credit can be defined as making allowance for absorbent radioactive isotopes in criticality studies, in order to optimise safety margins and avoid over-engineering of nuclear facilities. As far as the COGEMA Group is concerned, the three fields in which burn-up credit proves to be an advantage are the transport of spent fuel assemblies, their interim storage in spent fuel pools and reprocessing. In the case of transport, burn-up credit means that cask size do not need to be altered, despite an increase in the initial enrichment of the fuel assemblies. Burn-up credit also makes it possible to offer new cask designs with higher capacity. Burn-up credit means that fuel assemblies with a higher initial enrichment can be put into interim storage in existing facilities and opens the way to the possibility of more compact ones. As far as reprocessing is concerned, burn-up credit makes it possible to keep up current production rates, despite an increase in the initial enrichment of the fuel assemblies being reprocessed. In collaboration with the French Atomic Energy Commission and the Institute for Nuclear Safety and Protection, the COGEMA Group is participating in an extensive experimental programme and working to qualify criticality and fuel depletion computer codes. The research programme currently underway should mean that by 2003, allowance will be made for fission products in criticality safety analysis.

Implementation of burnup credit in spent fuel management systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dyck, H.P.

2001-01-01

Improved calculational methods allow one to take credit for the reactivity reduction associated with fuel burnup. This means reducing the analysis conservatism while maintaining an adequate safety margin. The motivation for using burnup credit in criticality safety applications is based on economic considerations and additional benefits contributing to public health and safety and resource conservation. Interest in the implementation of burnup credit has been shown by many countries. In 1997, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) started a task to monitor the implementation of burnup credit in spent fuel management systems, to provide a forum to exchange information, to discuss the matter and to gather and disseminate information on the status of national practices of burnup credit implementation in the Member States. The task addresses current and future aspects of burnup credit. This task was continued during the following years. (author)

High burn-up structure in nuclear fuel: impact on fuel behavior - 4005

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noirot, J.; Pontillon, Y.; Zacharie-Aubrun, I.; Hanifi, K.; Bienvenu, P.; Lamontagne, J.; Desgranges, L.

2016-01-01

When UO 2 and (U,Pu)O 2 fuels locally reach high burn-up, a major change in the microstructure takes place. The initial grains are replaced by thousands of much smaller grains, fission gases form micrometric bubbles and metallic fission products form precipitates. This occurs typically at the rim of the pellets and in heterogeneous MOX fuel Pu rich agglomerates. The high burn-up at the rim of the pellets is due to a high capture of epithermal neutrons by 238 U leading locally to a higher concentration of fissile Pu than in the rest of the pellet. In the heterogeneous MOX fuels, this rim effect is also active, but most of the high burn-up structure (HBS) formation is linked to the high local concentration of fissile Pu in the Pu agglomerates. This Pu distribution leads to sharp borders between HBS and non-HBS areas. It has been shown that the size of the new grains, of the bubbles and of the precipitates increase with the irradiation local temperatures. Other parameters have been shown to have an influence on the HBS initiation threshold, such as the irradiation density rate, the fuel composition with an effect of the Pu presence, but also of the Gd concentration in poisoned fuels, some of the studied additives, like Cr, and, maybe some of the impurities. It has been shown by indirect and direct approaches that HBS formation is not the main contributor to the increase of fission gas release at high burn-up and that the HBS areas are not the main source of the released gases. The impact of HBS on the fuel behavior during ramp on high burn-up fuels is still unclear. This short paper is followed by the slides of the presentation

Physical models for high burnup fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanyukova, V.; Khoruzhii, O.; Likhanskii, V.; Solodovnikov, G.; Sorokin, A.

2003-01-01

In this paper some models of processes in high burnup fuel developed in Src of Russia Troitsk Institute for Innovation and Fusion Research are presented. The emphasis is on the description of the degradation of the fuel heat conductivity, radial profiles of the burnup and the plutonium accumulation, restructuring of the pellet rim, mechanical pellet-cladding interaction. The results demonstrate the possibility of rather accurate description of the behaviour of the fuel of high burnup on the base of simplified models in frame of the fuel performance code if the models are physically ground. The development of such models requires the performance of the detailed physical analysis to serve as a test for a correct choice of allowable simplifications. This approach was applied in the SRC of Russia TRINITI to develop a set of models for the WWER fuel resulting in high reliability of predictions in simulation of the high burnup fuel

EVOLUT - a computer program for fast burnup evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Craciunescu, T.; Dobrin, R.; Stamatescu, L.; Alexa, A.

1999-01-01

EVOLUT is a computer program for burnup evaluation. The input data consist on the one hand of axial and radial gamma-scanning profiles (for the experimental evaluation of the number of nuclei of a fission product - the burnup monitor - at the end of irradiation) and on the other hand of the history of irradiation (the time length and values proportional to the neutron flux for each step of irradiation). Using the equation of evolution of the burnup monitor the flux values are iteratively adjusted, by a multiplier factor, until the calculated number of nuclei is equal to the experimental one. The flux values are used in the equation of evolution of the fissile and fertile nuclei to determine the fission number and consequently the burnup. EVOLUT was successfully used in the analysis of several hundreds of CANDU and TRIGA-type fuel rods. We appreciate that EVOLUT is a useful tool in the burnup evaluation based on gamma spectrometry measurements. EVOLUT can be used on an usual AT computer and in this case the results are obtained in a few minutes. It has an original and user-friendly graphical interface and it provides also output in script MATLAB files for graphical representation and further numerical analysis. The computer program needs simple data and it is valuable especially when a large number of burnup analyses are required quickly. (authors)

Method for adding additional isotopes to actinide-only burnup credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lancaster, D.B.; Fuentes, E.; Kang, C.

1998-01-01

The Topical Report on Actinide-Only Burnup Credit for Pressurized Water Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Packages requires computer code validation to be performed against a benchmark set of chemical assays for isotopic concentration and against a benchmark set of critical experiments for package criticality. Both sets contain all the isotopes included in the methodology. The chemical assays used include the uranium and plutonium isotopes, while the critical experiments were composed of UO 2 or MOX rods, covering the isotopes in the actinide only approach. Since other isotopes are not included in the validation benchmark sets, it would be necessary to justify both the content and worth of any additional isotope for which burnup credit is to be taken (i.e., both the concentration and criticality effect of each particular isotope must be validated). A method is proposed here that can be used for any number of additional isotopes. As does the actinide-only burnup credit methodology, this method makes use of chemical assay data to establish the conservatism in the prediction of each isotope's concentration. Criticality validation is also performed using a benchmark set of UO 2 and MOX critical experiments, where the additional isotopes are validated using worth experiments to conservatively account for any uncertainty in their cross sections. The remaining requirements (analysis and modeling parameters, loading criteria generation, and physical implementation and controls) are performed exactly as described in the actinide-only burnup credit methodology. This report provides insight into each particular requirement in the new methodology

Parameterized representation of macroscopic cross section in the PWR fuel element considering burn-up cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belo, Thiago F.; Fiel, Joao Claudio B.

2015-01-01

Nuclear reactor core analysis involves neutronic modeling and the calculations require problem dependent nuclear data generated with few neutron energy groups, as for instance the neutron cross sections. The methods used to obtain these problem-dependent cross sections, in the reactor calculations, generally uses nuclear computer codes that require a large processing time and computational memory, making the process computationally very expensive. Presently, analysis of the macroscopic cross section, as a function of nuclear parameters, has shown a very distinct behavior that cannot be represented by simply using linear interpolation. Indeed, a polynomial representation is more adequate for the data parameterization. To provide the cross sections of rapidly and without the dependence of complex systems calculations, this work developed a set of parameterized cross sections, based on the Tchebychev polynomials, by fitting the cross sections as a function of nuclear parameters, which include fuel temperature, moderator temperature and density, soluble boron concentration, uranium enrichment, and the burn-up. In this study is evaluated the problem-dependent about fission, scattering, total, nu-fission, capture, transport and absorption cross sections for a typical PWR fuel element reactor, considering burn-up cycle. The analysis was carried out with the SCALE 6.1 code package. The results of comparison with direct calculations with the SCALE code system and also the test using project parameters, such as the temperature coefficient of reactivity and fast fission factor, show excellent agreements. The differences between the cross-section parameterization methodology and the direct calculations based on the SCALE code system are less than 0.03 percent. (author)

Parameterized representation of macroscopic cross section in the PWR fuel element considering burn-up cycles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belo, Thiago F.; Fiel, Joao Claudio B., E-mail: thiagofbelo@hotmail.com [Instituto Militar de Engenharia (IME), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2015-07-01

Nuclear reactor core analysis involves neutronic modeling and the calculations require problem dependent nuclear data generated with few neutron energy groups, as for instance the neutron cross sections. The methods used to obtain these problem-dependent cross sections, in the reactor calculations, generally uses nuclear computer codes that require a large processing time and computational memory, making the process computationally very expensive. Presently, analysis of the macroscopic cross section, as a function of nuclear parameters, has shown a very distinct behavior that cannot be represented by simply using linear interpolation. Indeed, a polynomial representation is more adequate for the data parameterization. To provide the cross sections of rapidly and without the dependence of complex systems calculations, this work developed a set of parameterized cross sections, based on the Tchebychev polynomials, by fitting the cross sections as a function of nuclear parameters, which include fuel temperature, moderator temperature and density, soluble boron concentration, uranium enrichment, and the burn-up. In this study is evaluated the problem-dependent about fission, scattering, total, nu-fission, capture, transport and absorption cross sections for a typical PWR fuel element reactor, considering burn-up cycle. The analysis was carried out with the SCALE 6.1 code package. The results of comparison with direct calculations with the SCALE code system and also the test using project parameters, such as the temperature coefficient of reactivity and fast fission factor, show excellent agreements. The differences between the cross-section parameterization methodology and the direct calculations based on the SCALE code system are less than 0.03 percent. (author)

A Study for Burn-up Calculation applied on 400MWth PBMR Core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luu, Nam Hai; Kim, Hong Chul; Kim, Soon Young; Kim, Jong Kyung; Noh, Jae Man

2007-01-01

The 400MWth Pebble-bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) is an advanced high temperature gas cooled-reactor (HTGR). It possesses a very high efficiency and attractive economics without compromising the high levels of passive safety expected of advanced nuclear designs. With this reason, PBMR is a target which researchers especially in nuclear engineering field study carefully and therefore it is regarded as the leader in the power generation field. There are many research results about benchmark problems but results of the burn-up process are still poor. Hence, in this study a burn-up calculation was performed with PBMR using MONTEBURNS code in which MCNP modeling linked a depletion systems is used

Analysis of the behavior under irradiation of high burnup nuclear fuels with the computer programs FRAPCON and FRAPTRAN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reis, Regis; Silva, Antonio Teixeira e, E-mail: teixeira@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2017-11-01

The objective of this paper is to verify the validity and accuracy of the results provided by computer programs FRAPCON-3.4a and FRAPTRAN-1.4, used in the simulation process of the irradiation behavior of Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) fuel rods, in steady-state and transient operational conditions at high burnup. To achieve this goal, the results provided by these computer simulations are compared with experimental data available in the database FUMEX III. Through the results, it was found that the computer programs used have a good ability to predict the operational behavior of PWR fuel rods in high burnup steady-state conditions and under the influence of Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA). (author)

Parametric neutronic analyses related to burnup credit cask design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parks, C.V.

1989-01-01

The consideration of spent fuel histories (burnup credit) in the design of spent fuel shipping casks will result in cost savings and public risk benefits in the overall fuel transportation system. The purpose of this paper is to describe the depletion and criticality analyses performed in conjunction with and supplemental to the referenced analysis. Specifically, the objectives are to indicate trends in spent fuel isotopic composition with burnup and decay time; provide spent fuel pin lattice values as a function of burnup, decay time, and initial enrichment; demonstrate the variation of k eff for infinite arrays of spent fuel assemblies separated by generic cask basket designs (borated and unborated) of varying thicknesses; and verify the potential cask reactivity margin available with burnup credit via analysis with generic cask models

Features of fuel performance at high fuel burnups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Proselkov, V.N.; Scheglov, A.S.; Smirnov, A.V.; Smirnov, V.P.

2001-01-01

Some features of fuel behavior at high fuel burnups, in particular, initiation and development of rim-layer, increase in the rate of fission gas release from the fuel and increase in the inner gas pressure in the fuel rod are briefly described. Basing on the analysis of the data of post-irradiation examinations of fuel rods of WWER-440 working FA and CR fuel followers, that have been operated for five fuel cycles and got the average fuel burnup or varies as 50MW-day/kgU, a conclusion is made that the WWER-440 fuel burnup can be increased at least to average burnups of 55-58 MW-day/kgU per fuel assembly (Authors)

Burnup credit applications in a high-capacity truck cask

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boshoven, J.K.

1993-01-01

The use of burnup credit in the criticality safety analysis of the GA-4 Cask increases the cask's capacity from three spent fuel assemblies to four, resulting in reduced public and occupational risk and reduced life cycle costs. GA's criticality calculations for burnup credit, including the associated uncertainties and analytical bias, establish the minimum burnup required as a function of initial enrichment to maintain K eff ≤ 0.95 under any conceivable condition. The minimum burnup requirement as a function of initial enrichment has been determined to be 15,000 MWd/MTU for 3.5 wt% U-235 fuel, 20,000 MWd/MTU for 4.0 wt% U-235 fuel and 25,000 MWd/MTU for 4.5 wt% U-235 fuel. The minimum burnup requirement as a function of enrichment is well below the typical burnup levels seen in the current and projected spent fuel inventory. (J.P.N.)

PENBURN - A 3-D Zone-Based Depletion/Burnup Solver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manalo, Kevin; Plower, Thomas; Rowe, Mireille; Mock, Travis; Sjoden, Glenn E.

2008-01-01

PENBURN (Parallel Environment Burnup) is a general depletion/burnup solver which, when provided with zone-based reaction rates, computes time-dependent isotope concentrations for a set of actinides and fission products. Burnup analysis in PENBURN is performed with a direct Bateman-solver chain solution technique. Specifically, in tandem with PENBURN is the use of PENTRAN, a parallel multi-group anisotropic Sn code for 3-D Cartesian geometries. In PENBURN, the linear chain method is actively used to solve individual isotope chains which are then fully attributed by the burnup code to yield integrated isotope concentrations for each nuclide specified. Included with the discussion of code features, a single PWR fuel pin calculation with the burnup code is performed and detailed with a benchmark comparison to PIE (Post-Irradiation Examination) data within the SFCOMPO (Spent Fuel Composition / NEA) database, and also with burnup codes in SCALE5.1. Conclusions within the paper detail, in PENBURN, the accuracy of major actinides, flux profile behavior as a function of burnup, and criticality calculations for the PWR fuel pin model. (authors)

Estimate of fuel burnup spatial a multipurpose reactor in computer simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Nadia Rodrigues dos; Lima, Zelmo Rodrigues de; Moreira, Maria de Lourdes

2015-01-01

In previous research, which aimed, through computer simulation, estimate the spatial fuel burnup for the research reactor benchmark, material test research - International Atomic Energy Agency (MTR/IAEA), it was found that the use of the code in FORTRAN language, based on the diffusion theory of neutrons and WIMSD-5B, which makes cell calculation, bespoke be valid to estimate the spatial burnup other nuclear research reactors. That said, this paper aims to present the results of computer simulation to estimate the space fuel burnup of a typical multipurpose reactor, plate type and dispersion. the results were considered satisfactory, being in line with those presented in the literature. for future work is suggested simulations with other core configurations. are also suggested comparisons of WIMSD-5B results with programs often employed in burnup calculations and also test different methods of interpolation values obtained by FORTRAN. Another proposal is to estimate the burning fuel, taking into account the thermohydraulics parameters and the appearance of xenon. (author)

Lattice cell burnup calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pop-Jordanov, J.

1977-01-01

Accurate burnup prediction is a key item for design and operation of a power reactor. It should supply information on isotopic changes at each point in the reactor core and the consequences of these changes on the reactivity, power distribution, kinetic characters, control rod patterns, fuel cycles and operating strategy. A basic stage in the burnup prediction is the lattice cell burnup calculation. This series of lectures attempts to give a review of the general principles and calculational methods developed and applied in this area of burnup physics

Review of Technical Studies in the United States in Support of Burnup Credit Regulatory Guidance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, John C.; Parks, Cecil V.; Mueller, Don; Gauld, Ian C.

2010-01-01

Taking credit for the reduction in reactivity associated with fuel depletion can enable more cost-effective, higher-density storage, transport, disposal, and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) while maintaining sufficient subcritical margin to establish an adequate safety basis. Consequently, there continues to be considerable interest in the United States (U.S.), as well as internationally, in the increased use of burnup credit in SNF operations, particularly related to storage, transport, and disposal of commercial SNF. This interest has motivated numerous technical studies related to the application of burnup credit, both domestically and internationally, as well as the design of SNF storage, transport and disposal systems that rely on burnup credit for maintaining subcriticality. Responding to industry requests and needs, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) initiated a burnup credit research program in 1999, with support from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), to develop regulatory guidance and the supporting technical bases for allowing and expanding the use of burnup credit in pressurized-water reactor SNF storage and transport applications. Although this NRC research program has not been continuous since its inception, considerable progress has been achieved in many key areas in terms of increased understanding of relevant phenomena and issues, availability of relevant information and data, and subsequently updated regulatory guidance for expanded use of burnup credit. This paper reviews technical studies performed by ORNL for the U.S. NRC burnup credit research program. Examples of topics include reactivity effects associated with reactor operating characteristics, fuel assembly characteristics, burnable absorbers, control rods, spatial burnup distributions, cooling time, and assembly misloading; methods and data for validation of isotopic composition predictions; methods and data for validation of criticality calculations; and

Benefits of actinide-only burnup credit for shutdown PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lancaster, D.; Fuentes, E.; Kang, C.; Rivard, D.

1998-02-01

Owners of PWRs that are shutdown prior to resolution of interim storage or permanent disposal issues have to make difficult decisions on what to do with their spent fuel. Maine Yankee is currently evaluating multiple options for spent fuel storage. Their spent fuel pool has 1,434 assemblies. In order to evaluate the value to a utility of actinide-only burnup credit, analysis of the number of canisters required with and without burnup credit was made. In order to perform the analysis, loading curves were developed for the Holtec Hi-Star 100/MPC-32. The MPC-32 is hoped to be representative of future burnup credit designs from many vendors. The loading curves were generated using the actinide-only burnup credit currently under NRC review. The canister was analyzed for full loading (32 assemblies) and with partial loadings of 30 and 28 assemblies. If no burnup credit is used the maximum capacity was assumed to be 24 assemblies. this reduced capacity is due to the space required for flux traps which are needed to sufficiently reduce the canister reactivity for the fresh fuel assumption. Without burnup credit the 1,343 assemblies would require 60 canisters. If all the fuel could be loaded into the 32 assembly canisters only 45 canisters would be required. Although the actinide-only burnup credit approach is very conservative, the total number of canisters required is only 47 which is only two short of the minimum possible number of canisters. The utility is expected to buy the canister and the storage overpack. A reasonable cost estimate for the canister plus overpack is $500,000. Actinide-only burnup credit would save 13 canisters and overpacks which is a savings of about $6.5 million. This savings is somewhat reduced since burnup credit requires a verification measurement of burnup. The measurement costs for these assemblies can be estimated as about $1 million. The net savings would be $5.5 million

iBEST: a program for burnup history estimation of spent fuels based on ORIGEN-S

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Do Yeon; Hong, Ser Gi; Ahn, Gil Hoon

2015-01-01

In this paper, we describe a computer program, iBEST (inverse Burnup ESTimator), that we developed to accurately estimate the burnup histories of spent nuclear fuels based on sample measurement data. The burnup history parameters include initial uranium enrichment, burnup, cooling time after discharge from reactor, and reactor type. The program uses algebraic equations derived using the simplified burnup chains of major actinides for initial estimations of burnup and uranium enrichment, and it uses the ORIGEN-S code to correct its initial estimations for improved accuracy. In addition, we newly developed a stable bisection method coupled with ORIGEN-S to correct burnup and enrichment values and implemented it in iBEST in order to fully take advantage of the new capabilities of ORIGEN-S for improving accuracy. The iBEST program was tested using several problems for verification and well-known realistic problems with measurement data from spent fuel samples from the Mihama-3 reactor for validation. The test results show that iBEST accurately estimates the burnup history parameters for the test problems and gives an acceptable level of accuracy for the realistic Mihama-3 problems

The importance of input interactions in the uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of nuclear fuel behavior

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ikonen, T., E-mail: timo.ikonen@vtt.fi; Tulkki, V.

2014-08-15

Highlights: • Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of modeled nuclear fuel behavior is performed. • Burnup dependency of the uncertainties and sensitivities is characterized. • Input interactions significantly increase output uncertainties for irradiated fuel. • Identification of uncertainty sources is greatly improved with higher order methods. • Results stress the importance of using methods that take interactions into account. - Abstract: The propagation of uncertainties in a PWR fuel rod under steady-state irradiation is analyzed by computational means. A hypothetical steady-state scenario of the Three Mile Island 1 reactor fuel rod is modeled with the fuel performance FRAPCON, using realistic input uncertainties for the fabrication and model parameters, boundary conditions and material properties. The uncertainty and sensitivity analysis is performed by extensive Monte Carlo sampling of the inputs’ probability distribution and by applying correlation coefficient and Sobol’ variance decomposition analyses. The latter includes evaluation of the second order and total effect sensitivity indices, allowing the study of interactions between input variables. The results show that the interactions play a large role in the propagation of uncertainties, and first order methods such as the correlation coefficient analyses are in general insufficient for sensitivity analysis of the fuel rod. Significant improvement over the first order methods can be achieved by using higher order methods. The results also show that both the magnitude of the uncertainties and their propagation depends not only on the output in question, but also on burnup. The latter is due to onset of new phenomena (such as the fission gas release) and the gradual closure of the pellet-cladding gap with increasing burnup. Increasing burnup also affects the importance of input interactions. Interaction effects are typically highest in the moderate burnup (of the order of 10–40 MWd

Development of a method for xenon determination in the microstructure of high burn-up nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horvath, M. I.

2008-01-01

In nuclear fuel, in approximately one quarter of the fissions, one of the two formed fission products is gaseous. These are mainly the noble gases xenon and krypton with isotopes of xenon contributing up to 90% of the product gases. These noble fission gases do not combine with other species, and have a low solubility in the normally used uranium oxide matrix. They can be dissolved in the fuel matrix or precipitate in nanometer-sized bubbles within the fuel grain, in micrometer-sized bubbles at the grain boundaries, and a fraction also precipitates in fuel pores, coming from fuel fabrication. A fraction of the gas can also be released into the plenum of the fuel rod. With increasing fission, and therefore burn-up, the ceramic fuel material experiences a transformation of its structure in the 'cooler' rim region of the fuel. A subdivision occurs of the original fuel grains of few microns size into thousands of small grains of sub-micron sizes. Additionally, larger pores are formed, which also leads into an increasing porosity in the fuel rim, called high burn-up structure. In this structure, only a small fraction of the fission gas remains in the matrix, the major quantity is said to accumulate in these pores. Because of this accumulation, the knowledge of the quantities of gas within these pores is of major interest in consideration to burn-up, fuel performance and especially for safety issues. In case of design based accidents, i.e. rapidly increasing temperature transients, the behavior of the fuel has to be estimated. Various analytical techniques have been used to determine the Xe concentration in nuclear fuel samples. The capabilities of EPMA (Electron Probe Micro-Analyser) and SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) have been studied and provided some qualitative information, which has been used for determining Xe-matrix concentrations. First approaches combining these two techniques to estimate pore pressures have been recently reported. However, relevant Xe

Application of Candle burnup to small fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekimoto, H.; Satoshi, T.

2004-01-01

A new reactor burnup strategy CANDLE (Constant Axial shape of Neutron flux, nuclide densities and power shape During Life of Energy producing reactor) was proposed, where shapes of neutron flux, nuclide densities and power density distributions remain constant but move to an axial direction. An equilibrium state was obtained for a large fast reactor (core radius is 2 m and reflector thickness is 0.5 m) successfully by using a newly developed direct analysis code. However, it is difficult to apply this burnup strategy to small reactors, since its neutron leakage becomes large and neutron economy becomes worse. Fuel enrichment should be increased in order to sustain the criticality. However, higher enrichment of fresh fuel makes the CANDLE burnup difficult. We try to find some small reactor designs, which can realize the CANDLE burnup. We have successfully find a design, which is not the CANDLE burnup in the strict meaning, but satisfies qualitatively its characteristics mentioned at the top of this abstract. In the final paper, the general description of CANDLE burnup and some results on the obtained small fast reactor design are presented.(author)

Effects of pellet-to-cladding gap design parameters on the reliability of high burnup PWR fuel rods under steady state and transient conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tas, Fatma Burcu; Ergun, Sule

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Fuel performance of a typical Pressurized Water Reactor rod is analyzed. • Steady state fuel rod behavior is examined to see the effects of pellet to cladding gap thickness and gap gas pressure. • Transient fuel rod behavior is examined to see the effects of pellet to cladding gap thickness and gap gas pressure. • The optimum pellet to cladding gap thickness and gap gas pressure values of the simulated fuel are determined. • The effects of pellet to cladding gap design parameters on nuclear fuel reliability are examined. - Abstract: As an important improvement in the light water nuclear reactor operations, the nuclear fuel burnup rate is increased in recent decades and this increase causes heavier duty for the nuclear fuel. Since the high burnup fuel is exposed to very high thermal and mechanical stresses and since it operates in an environment with high radiation for about 18 month cycles, it carries the risk of losing its integrity. In this study; it is aimed to determine the effects of pellet–cladding gap thickness and gap pressure on reliability of high burnup nuclear fuel in Pressurized Water Reactors (PWRs) under steady state operation conditions and suggest optimum values for the examined parameters only and validate these suggestions for a transient condition. In the presented study, fuel performance was analyzed by examining the effects of pellet–cladding gap thickness and gap pressure on the integrity of high burnup fuels. This work is carried out for a typical Westinghouse type PWR fuel. The steady state conditions were modeled and simulated with FRAPCON-3.4a steady state fuel performance code and the FRAPTRAN-1.4 fuel transient code was used to calculate transient fuel behavior. The analysis included the changes in the important nuclear fuel design limitations such as the centerline temperature, cladding stress, strain and oxidation with the change in pellet–cladding gap thickness and initial pellet–cladding gap gas

Simulation of integral local tests with high-burnup fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gyori, G.

2011-01-01

The behaviour of nuclear fuel under LOCA conditions may strongly depend on the burnup-dependent fuel characteristics, as it has been indicated by recent integral experiments. Fuel fragmentation and the associated fission gas release can influence the integral fuel behaviour, the rod rupture and the radiological release. The TRANSURANUS fuel performance code is a proper tool for the consistent simulation of burnup-dependent phenomena during normal operation and the thermo-mechanical behaviour of the fuel rod in a subsequent accident. The code has been extended with an empirical model for micro-cracking induced FGR and fuel fragmentation and verified against integral LOCA tests of international projects. (author)

Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel Waste Package Misload Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

J.K. Knudson

2003-01-01

The purpose of this calculation is to estimate the probability of misloading a commercial spent nuclear fuel waste package with a fuel assembly(s) that has a reactivity (i.e., enrichment and/or burnup) outside the waste package design. The waste package designs are based on the expected commercial spent nuclear fuel assemblies and previous analyses (Macheret, P. 2001, Section 4.1 and Table 1). For this calculation, a misloaded waste package is defined as a waste package that has a fuel assembly(s) loaded into it with an enrichment and/or burnup outside the waste package design. An example of this type of misload is a fuel assembly designated for the 21-PWR Control Rod waste package being incorrectly loaded into a 21-PWR Absorber Plate waste package. This constitutes a misloaded 21-PWR Absorber Plate waste package, because the reactivity (i.e., enrichment and/or burnup) of a 21-PWR Control Rod waste package fuel assembly is outside the design of a 21-PWR Absorber Plate waste package. These types of misloads (i.e., fuel assembly with enrichment and/or burnup outside waste package design) are the only types that are evaluated in this calculation. This calculation utilizes information from ''Frequency of SNF Misload for Uncanistered Fuel Waste Package'' (CRWMS M and O 1998) as the starting point. The scope of this calculation is limited to the information available. The information is based on the whole population of fuel assemblies and the whole population of waste packages, because there is no information about the arrival of the waste stream at this time. The scope of this calculation deviates from that specified in ''Technical Work Plan for: Risk and Criticality Department'' (BSC 2002a, Section 2.1.30) in that only waste package misload is evaluated. The remaining issues identified (i.e., flooding and geometry reconfiguration) will be addressed elsewhere. The intended use of the calculation is to provide information and inputs to the Preclosure Safety Analysis

Development of a set of benchmark problems to verify numerical methods for solving burnup equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lago, Daniel; Rahnema, Farzad

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Description transmutation chain benchmark problems. • Problems for validating numerical methods for solving burnup equations. • Analytical solutions for the burnup equations. • Numerical solutions for the burnup equations. - Abstract: A comprehensive set of transmutation chain benchmark problems for numerically validating methods for solving burnup equations was created. These benchmark problems were designed to challenge both traditional and modern numerical methods used to solve the complex set of ordinary differential equations used for tracking the change in nuclide concentrations over time due to nuclear phenomena. Given the development of most burnup solvers is done for the purpose of coupling with an established transport solution method, these problems provide a useful resource in testing and validating the burnup equation solver before coupling for use in a lattice or core depletion code. All the relevant parameters for each benchmark problem are described. Results are also provided in the form of reference solutions generated by the Mathematica tool, as well as additional numerical results from MATLAB.

Observations on the CANDLE burn-up in various geometries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seifritz, W.

2007-01-01

We have looked at all geometrical conditions under which an auto catalytically propagating burnup wave (CANDLE burn-up) is possible. Thereby, the Sine Gordon equation finds a new place in the burn-up theory of nuclear fission reactors. For a practical reactor design the axially burning 'spaghetti' reactor and the azimuthally burning 'pancake' reactor, respectively, seem to be the most promising geometries for a practical reactor design. Radial and spherical burn-waves in cylindrical and spherical geometry, respectively, are principally impossible. Also, the possible applicability of such fission burn-waves on the OKLO-phenomenon and the GEOREACTOR in the center of Earth, postulated by Herndon, is discussed. A fast CANDLE-reactor can work with only depleted uranium. Therefore, uranium mining and uranium-enrichment are not necessary anymore. Furthermore, it is also possible to dispense with reprocessing because the uranium utilization factor is as high as about 40%. Thus, this completely new reactor type can open a new era of reactor technology

Burnup credit implementation plan and preparation work at JAERI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomura, Y.; Itahara, K.

2001-01-01

Application of the burnup credit concept is considered to be very effective to the design of spent fuel transport and storage facilities. This technology is all the more important when considering construction of the intermediate spent fuel storage facility, which is to be commissioned by 2010 due to increasing amount of accumulated spent fuel in Japan. Until reprocessing and recycling all the spent fuel arising, they will be stored as an energy stockpile until such time as they can be reprocessed. On the other hand, the burnup credit has been partly taken into account for the spent fuel management at Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, which is to be commissioned in 2005. They have just finished the calibration tests for their burnup monitor with initially accepted several spent fuel assemblies. Because this monitoring system is employed with highly conservative safety margin, it is considered necessary to develop the more rational and simplified method to confirm burnup of spent fuel. A research program has been instituted to improve the present method employed at the spent fuel management system for the Spent Fuel Receiving and Storage Pool of Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant. This program is jointly performed by Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited (JNFL) and JAERI.This presentation describes the current status of spent fuel accumulation discharged from PWR and BWR in Japan and the recent incentive to introduce burnup credit into design of spent fuel storage and transport facilities. This also includes the content of the joint research program initiated by JNFL and JAERI. The relevant study has been continued at JAERI. The results by these research programs will be included in the Burnup Credit Guide Original Version compiled by JAERI. (author)

Improvements for Monte Carlo burnup calculation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shenglong, Q.; Dong, Y.; Danrong, S.; Wei, L., E-mail: qiangshenglong@tsinghua.org.cn, E-mail: d.yao@npic.ac.cn, E-mail: songdr@npic.ac.cn, E-mail: luwei@npic.ac.cn [Nuclear Power Inst. of China, Cheng Du, Si Chuan (China)

2015-07-01

Monte Carlo burnup calculation is development trend of reactor physics, there would be a lot of work to be done for engineering applications. Based on Monte Carlo burnup code MOI, non-fuel burnup calculation methods and critical search suggestions will be mentioned in this paper. For non-fuel burnup, mixed burnup mode will improve the accuracy of burnup calculation and efficiency. For critical search of control rod position, a new method called ABN based on ABA which used by MC21 will be proposed for the first time in this paper. (author)

Burn-up calculation of fusion-fission hybrid reactor using thorium cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shido, S.; Matsunaka, M.; Kondo, K.; Murata, I.; Yamamoto, Y.

2006-01-01

A burn-up calculation system has been developed to estimate performance of blanket in a fusion-fission hybrid reactor which is a fusion reactor with a blanket region containing nuclear fuel. In this system, neutron flux is calculated by MCNP4B and then burn-up calculation is performed by ORIGEN2. The cross-section library for ORIGEN2 is made from the calculated neutron flux and evaluated nuclear data. The 3-dimensional ITER model was used as a base fusion reactor. The nuclear fuel (reprocessed plutonium as the fission materials mixed with thorium as the fertile materials), transmutation materials (minor actinides and long-lived fission products) and tritium breeder were loaded into the blanket. Performances of gas-cooled and water-cooled blankets were compared with each other. As a result, the proposed reactor can meet the requirement for TBP and power density. As far as nuclear waste incineration is concerned, the gas-cooled blanket has advantages. On the other hand, the water cooled-blanket is suited to energy production. (author)

Conceptual cask design with burnup credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Seong Hee; Ahn, Joon Gi; Hwang, Hae Ryong

2003-01-01

Conceptual design has been performed for a spent fuel transport cask with burnup credit and a neutron-absorbing material to maximize transportation capacity. Both fresh and burned fuel are assumed to be stored in the cask and boral and borated stainless steel are selected for the neutron-absorbing materials. Three different sizes of cask with typical 14, 21 and 52 PWR fuel assemblies are modeled and analyzed with the SCALE 4.4 code system. In this analysis, the biases and uncertainties through validation calculations for both isotopic predictions and criticality calculation for the spent fuel have been taken into account. All of the reactor operating parameters, such as moderator density, soluble boron concentration, fuel temperature, specific power, and operating history, have been selected in a conservative way for the criticality analysis. Two different burnup credit loading curves are developed for boral and borated stainless steel absorbing materials. It is concluded that the spent fuel transport cask design with burnup credit is feasible and is expected to increase cask payloads. (author)

Revised SWAT. The integrated burnup calculation code system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suyama, Kenya; Mochizuki, Hiroki; Kiyosumi, Takehide

2000-07-01

SWAT is an integrated burnup code system developed for analysis of post irradiation examination, transmutation of radioactive waste, and burnup credit problem. This report shows an outline and a user's manual of revised SWAT. This revised SWAT includes expansion of functions, increasing supported machines, and correction of several bugs reported from users of previous SWAT. (author)

Revised SWAT. The integrated burnup calculation code system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suyama, Kenya; Mochizuki, Hiroki [Department of Fuel Cycle Safety Research, Nuclear Safety Research Center, Tokai Research Establishment, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan); Kiyosumi, Takehide [The Japan Research Institute, Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

2000-07-01

SWAT is an integrated burnup code system developed for analysis of post irradiation examination, transmutation of radioactive waste, and burnup credit problem. This report shows an outline and a user's manual of revised SWAT. This revised SWAT includes expansion of functions, increasing supported machines, and correction of several bugs reported from users of previous SWAT. (author)

On the theories, techniques, and computer codes used in numerical reactor criticality and burnup calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Osery, I.A.

1981-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the theories, techniques and computer codes that are frequently used in numerical reactor criticality and burnup calculations. It is a part of an integrated nuclear reactor calculation scheme conducted by the Reactors Department, Inshas Nuclear Research Centre. The crude part in numerical reactor criticality and burnup calculations includes the determination of neutron flux distribution which can be obtained in principle as a solution of Boltzmann transport equation. Numerical methods used for solving transport equations are discussed. Emphasis are made on numerical techniques based on multigroup diffusion theory. These numerical techniques include nodal, modal, and finite difference ones. The most commonly known computer codes utilizing these techniques are reviewed. Some of the main computer codes that have been already developed at the Reactors Department and related to numerical reactor criticality and burnup calculations have been presented

High Burnup Effects Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barner, J.O.; Cunningham, M.E.; Freshley, M.D.; Lanning, D.D.

1990-04-01

This is the final report of the High Burnup Effects Program (HBEP). It has been prepared to present a summary, with conclusions, of the HBEP. The HBEP was an international, group-sponsored research program managed by Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratories (BNW). The principal objective of the HBEP was to obtain well-characterized data related to fission gas release (FGR) for light water reactor (LWR) fuel irradiated to high burnup levels. The HBEP was organized into three tasks as follows: Task 1 -- high burnup effects evaluations; Task 2 -- fission gas sampling; and Task 3 -- parameter effects study. During the course of the HBEP, a program that extended over 10 years, 82 fuel rods from a variety of sources were characterized, irradiated, and then examined in detail after irradiation. The study of fission gas release at high burnup levels was the principal objective of the program and it may be concluded that no significant enhancement of fission gas release at high burnup levels was observed for the examined rods. The rim effect, an as yet unquantified contributor to athermal fission gas release, was concluded to be the one truly high-burnup effect. Though burnup enhancement of fission gas release was observed to be low, a full understanding of the rim region and rim effect has not yet emerged and this may be a potential area of further research. 25 refs., 23 figs., 4 tabs

Comparison of scale/triton and helios burnup calculations for high burnup LWR fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tittelbach, S.; Mispagel, T.; Phlippen, P.W. [WTI Wissenschaftlich-Technische Ingenieurberatung GmbH, Juelich (Germany)

2009-07-01

The presented analyses provide information about the suitability of the lattice burnup code HELIOS and the recently developed code SCALE/TRITON for the prediction of isotopic compositions of high burnup LWR fuel. The accurate prediction of the isotopic inventory of high burnt spent fuel is a prerequisite for safety analyses in and outside of the reactor core, safe loading of spent fuel into storage casks, design of next generation spent fuel casks and for any consideration of burnup credit. Depletion analyses are performed with both burnup codes for PWR and BWR fuel samples which were irradiated far beyond 50 GWd/t within the LWR-PROTEUS Phase II project. (orig.)

Analysis of collective life-cycle dose for burnup credit shipping casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brentlinger, L.A.; Peterson, R.W.; Hofmann, P.L.

1989-01-01

In 1987, several studies were conducted by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to investigate the feasibility of and the incentive to justify the consideration of spent fuel histories in the design of spent fuel shipping casks. Taking credit for reduction in fissile content of fuel elements resulting from burnup credit is not current practice in the design and certification of shipping casks. The general argument can be made, however, that if this were done cask capacities could be increased over the current shipping cask designs which do not take the benefit of such burnup credit. This paper deals specifically with the question of occupational and public dose reduction via the use of a series of postulated burnup-credit cask designs

EPRI/DOE High-Burnup Fuel Sister Rod Test Plan Simplification and Visualization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saltzstein, Sylvia J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Sorenson, Ken B. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Hanson, B. D. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Shimskey, R. W. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Klymyshyn, N. A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Webster, R. A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Jensen, P. J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); MacFarlan, P. J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Billone, Mike [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Scaglione, John [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Montgomery, Rose [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Bevard, Bruce [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2017-09-15

The EPRI/DOE High-Burnup Confirmatory Data Project (herein called the “Demo”) is a multi-year, multi-entity test with the purpose of providing quantitative and qualitative data to show if high-burnup fuel mechanical properties change in dry storage over a ten-year period. The Demo involves obtaining 32 assemblies of high-burnup PWR fuel of common cladding alloys from the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant, loading them in an NRC-licensed TN-32B cask, drying them according to standard plant procedures, and then storing them on the North Anna dry storage pad for ten years. After the ten-year storage time, the cask will be opened and the mechanical properties of the rods will be tested and analyzed.

Analysis of high burnup fuel behavior under control rod ejection accident in Korea standard nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Chan Bok; Lee, Chung Chan; Kim, Oh Hwan; Kim, Jong Jin

1996-07-01

Test results of high burnup fuel behavior under RIA(reactivity insertion accident) indicated that fuel might fail at the fuel enthalpy lower than that in the current fuel failure criteria was derived by the conservative assumptions and analysis of fuel failure mechanisms, and applied to the analysis of control rod ejection accident in the 1,000 MWe Korea standard PWR. Except that three dimensional core analysis was performed instead of conventional zero dimensional analysis, all the other conservative assumptions were kept. Analysis results showed that less than on percent of the fuel rods in the core has failed which was much less than the conventional fuel failure fraction, 9.8 %, even though a newly derived fuel failure criteria -Fuel failure occurs at the power level lower than that in the current fuel failure criteria. - was applied, since transient fuel rod power level was significantly decreased by analyzing the transient fuel rod power level was significantly decreased by analyzing the transient core three dimensionally. Therefore, it can be said that results of the radiological consequence analysis for the control rod ejection accident in the FSAR where fuel failure fraction was assumed 9.8 % is still bounding. 18 tabs., 48 figs., 39 refs. (Author)

Burn-up measurement in the HTR-module-reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerhards, E.

1993-05-01

The burn-up status of spherical HTR-fuel elements is determined by a γ-spectrometric analysis of Cs-137 activity. The γ-spectrum recorded by a semiconductor detector up to now is analyzed by complex mathematical and time-consuming methods. For the operation of the HTR-Module-Reactor, however, a fast evaluation of the burn-up status is necessary. It is shown that this can be ensured by a comparison between the measured spectra and simulation results. Using the computer-program HTROGEN and the program system SPECCALC especially developed for this problem the γ-spectra are evaluated as a function of the burn-up status. The method is applied to results available from the operation of the AVR-reactor. The burn-up status determined with different methods corresponds very well within the limits of accuracy. (orig.)

Study on the sensitivity of Self-Powered Neutron Detectors (SPND) and its change due to burn-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Gyuseong; Lee, Wanno; Yoon, Jeong-Hyoun.

1996-01-01

Self-Powered Neutron Detectors (SPND) are currently used to estimate the power generation distribution and fuel burn-up in several nuclear power reactors in Korea. While they have several advantages such as small size, low cost, and relatively simple electronics required in conjunction with its usage, it has some intrinsic problems of the low level of output current, a slow response time, the rapid change of sensitivity which makes it difficult to use for a long term. In this paper, Monte Carlo simulation was accomplished to calculate the escape probability as a function of the birth position for the typical geometry of rhodium-based SPNDs. Using the simulation result, the burn-up profile of rhodium number density and the neutron sensitivity is calculated as a function of burn-up time in the reactor. The sensitivity of the SPND decreases non-linearly due to the high absorption cross-section and the non-uniform burn-up of rhodium in the emitter rod. The method used here can be applied to the analysis of other types of SPNDs and will be useful in the optimum design of new SPNDs for long-term usage. (author)

End effects in the criticality analysis of burnup credit casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brady, M.C.; Parks, C.V.

1990-01-01

A study to evaluate the effect of axially dependent burnup on k eff has been performed as part of an effort to qualify procedures to be used in establishing burnup credit in shipping cask design and certification. This study was performed using a generic 31-element modular cast-iron cask (wall thickness 33.1 cm) with a 1-cm-thick borated stainless-steel basket for reactivity control. Fuel isotopics used here are those of the 17 x 17 Westinghouse assemblies from the North Anna Unit 1 reactor. Virginia Power (VP) provided detailed spatial isotopics for the fuel assemblies in-core at beginning-of-cycle 5 (BOC-5) as generated from their PDQ analyses. Twenty-two axial planes were defined in the original VP data. The isotopics used in this study were for a 3.41 initial wt % 235 U and an average burnup of 31.5 GWd/MTU

High Burnup Fuel Performance and Safety Research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bang, Je Keun; Lee, Chan Bok; Kim, Dae Ho (and others)

2007-03-15

The worldwide trend of nuclear fuel development is to develop a high burnup and high performance nuclear fuel with high economies and safety. Because the fuel performance evaluation code, INFRA, has a patent, and the superiority for prediction of fuel performance was proven through the IAEA CRP FUMEX-II program, the INFRA code can be utilized with commercial purpose in the industry. The INFRA code was provided and utilized usefully in the universities and relevant institutes domesticallly and it has been used as a reference code in the industry for the development of the intrinsic fuel rod design code.

Automated software analysis of nuclear core discharge data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larson, T.W.; Halbig, J.K.; Howell, J.A.; Eccleston, G.W.; Klosterbuer, S.F.

1993-03-01

Monitoring the fueling process of an on-load nuclear reactor is a full-time job for nuclear safeguarding agencies. Nuclear core discharge monitors (CDMS) can provide continuous, unattended recording of the reactor's fueling activity for later, qualitative review by a safeguards inspector. A quantitative analysis of this collected data could prove to be a great asset to inspectors because more information can be extracted from the data and the analysis time can be reduced considerably. This paper presents a prototype for an automated software analysis system capable of identifying when fuel bundle pushes occurred and monitoring the power level of the reactor. Neural network models were developed for calculating the region on the reactor face from which the fuel was discharged and predicting the burnup. These models were created and tested using actual data collected from a CDM system at an on-load reactor facility. Collectively, these automated quantitative analysis programs could help safeguarding agencies to gain a better perspective on the complete picture of the fueling activity of an on-load nuclear reactor. This type of system can provide a cost-effective solution for automated monitoring of on-load reactors significantly reducing time and effort

High burnup issues and modelling strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutta, B.K.

2005-01-01

The performance of high burnup fuel is affected by a number of phenomena, such as, conductivity degradation, modified radial flux profile, fission gas release from high burnup structures, PCMI, burnup dependent thermo-mechanical properties, etc. The modelling strategies of some of these phenomena are available in literature. These can be readily incorporated in a fuel modelling performance code. The computer code FAIR has been developed in BARC over the years to evaluate the fuel performance at extended burnup and modelling of the fuel rods for advanced fuel cycles. The present paper deals with the high burnup issues in the fuel pins, their modelling strategies and results of the case studies specifically involving high burnup fuel. (author)

Quantification of the computational accuracy of code systems on the burn-up credit using experimental re-calculations; Quantifizierung der Rechengenauigkeit von Codesystemen zum Abbrandkredit durch Experimentnachrechnungen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Behler, Matthias; Hannstein, Volker; Kilger, Robert; Moser, Franz-Eberhard; Pfeiffer, Arndt; Stuke, Maik

2014-06-15

In order to account for the reactivity-reducing effect of burn-up in the criticality safety analysis for systems with irradiated nuclear fuel (''burnup credit''), numerical methods to determine the enrichment and burnup dependent nuclide inventory (''burnup code'') and its resulting multiplication factor k{sub eff} (''criticality code'') are applied. To allow for reliable conclusions, for both calculation systems the systematic deviations of the calculation results from the respective true values, the bias and its uncertainty, are being quantified by calculation and analysis of a sufficient number of suitable experiments. This quantification is specific for the application case under scope and is also called validation. GRS has developed a methodology to validate a calculation system for the application of burnup credit in the criticality safety analysis for irradiated fuel assemblies from pressurized water reactors. This methodology was demonstrated by applying the GRS home-built KENOREST burnup code and the criticality calculation sequence CSAS5 from SCALE code package. It comprises a bounding approach and alternatively a stochastic, which both have been exemplarily demonstrated by use of a generic spent fuel pool rack and a generic dry storage cask, respectively. Based on publicly available post irradiation examination and criticality experiments, currently the isotopes of uranium and plutonium elements can be regarded for.

Comparison of measured and calculated burn-up of AVR-Fuel-Elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wagemann, R.

1974-03-15

Burn-up comparisons are made for small batches of three types of AVR fuel elements using a coupled EREBUS-MUPO neutronic analysis compared against test results from both nondestructive gamma-ray measurements of cesium-137 activity and destructive mass spectrometry measurements of the ratio of U-233 to U-235. The comparisons are relatively good for average burn-up and reasonably good for burn-up distributions.

Investigation of Burnup Credit Issues in BWR Fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broadhead, B.L.; DeHart, M.D.

1999-01-01

Calculations for long-term-disposal criticality safety of spent nuclear fuel requires the application of burnup credit because of the large mass of fissile material that will be present in the repository. Burnup credit calculations are based on depletion calculations that provide a conservative estimate of spent fuel contents, followed by criticality calculations to assess the value of keff for a spent fuel cask or a fuel configuration under a variety of probabilistically derived events. In order to ensure that the depletion calculation is conservative, it is necessary to both qualify and quantify assumptions that can be made in depletion models used to characterize spent fuel. Most effort in the United States this decade has focused on burnup issues related to pressurized-water reactors. However, requirements for the permanent disposal of fuel from boiling-water reactors has necessitated development of methods for prediction of spent fuel contents for such fuels. Concomitant with such analyses, validation is also necessary. This paper provides a summary of initial efforts at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to better understand and validate spent fuel analyses for boiling-water-reactor fuel

New burnup calculation of TRIGA IPR-R1 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meireles, Sincler P. de; Campolina, Daniel de A.M.; Santos, Andre A. Campagnole dos; Menezes, Maria A.B.C.; Mesquita, Amir Z.

2015-01-01

The IPR-R1 TRIGA Mark I research reactor, located at the Nuclear Technology Development Center - CDTN, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, operates since 1960.The reactor is operating for more than fifty years and has a long history of operation. Determining the current composition of the fuel is very important to calculate various parameters. The reactor burnup calculation has been performed before, however, new techniques, methods, software and increase of the processing capacity of the new computers motivates new investigations to be performed. This work presents the evolution of effective multiplication constant and the results of burnup. This new model has a more detailed geometry with the introduction of the new devices, like the control rods and the samarium discs. This increase of materials in the simulation in burnup calculation was very important for results. For these series of simulations a more recently cross section library, ENDF/B-VII, was used. To perform the calculations two Monte Carlo particle transport code were used: Serpent and MCNPX. The results obtained from two codes are presented and compared with previous studies in the literature. (author)

Burnup credit feasibility for BWR spent fuel shipments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broadhead, B.L.

1990-01-01

Considerable interest in the allowance of reactivity credit for the exposure history of power reactor fuel currently exists. This ''burnup credit'' issue has the potential to greatly reduce risk and cost when applied to the design and certification of spent of fuel casks used for transportation and storage. Analyses 1 have shown the feasibility estimated the risk and economic incentives for allowing burnup credit in pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent fuel shipping cask applications. This paper summarizes the extension of the previous PWR feasibility assessments to boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel. As with the PWR analysis, the purpose was not verification of burnup credit (see ref. 2 for ongoing work in this area) but a reasonable assessment of the feasibility and potential gains from its use in BWR applications. This feasibility analysis aims to apply simple methods that adequately characterize the time-dependent isotopic compositions of typical BWR fuel. An initial analysis objective was to identify a simple and reliable method for characterizing BWR spent fuel. The method includes characterization of a typical pin-cell spectrum, using a one-dimensional (1-D) model of a BWR assembly. The calculated spectrum allows burnup-dependent few-group material constants to be generated. Point depletion methods were then used to obtain the time-varying characteristics of the fuel. These simple methods were validated, where practical, with multidimensional methods. 6 refs., 1 tab

OECD/NEA burnup credit criticality benchmarks phase IIIB: Burnup calculations of BWR fuel assemblies for storage and transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okuno, Hiroshi; Naito, Yoshitaka; Suyama, Kenya

2002-02-01

The report describes the final results of the Phase IIIB Benchmark conducted by the Expert Group on Burnup Credit Criticality Safety under the auspices of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Benchmark was intended to compare the predictability of current computer code and data library combinations for the atomic number densities of an irradiated PWR fuel assembly model. The fuel assembly was irradiated under specific power of 25.6 MW/tHM up to 40 GWd/tHM and cooled for five years. The void fraction was assumed to be uniform throughout the channel box and constant, at 0, 40 and 70%, during burnup. In total, 16 results were submitted from 13 institutes of 7 countries. The calculated atomic number densities of 12 actinides and 20 fission product nuclides were found to be for the most part within a range of ±10% relative to the average, although some results, esp. 155 Eu and gadolinium isotopes, exceeded the band, which will require further investigation. Pin-wise burnup results agreed well among the participants. The results in the infinite neutron multiplication factor k ∞ also accorded well with each other for void fractions of 0 and 40%; however some results deviated from the averaged value noticeably for the void fraction of 70%. (author)

OECD/NEA burnup credit criticality benchmarks phase IIIB. Burnup calculations of BWR fuel assemblies for storage and transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okuno, Hiroshi; Naito, Yoshitaka; Suyama, Kenya [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

2002-02-01

The report describes the final results of the Phase IIIB Benchmark conducted by the Expert Group on Burnup Credit Criticality Safety under the auspices of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The Benchmark was intended to compare the predictability of current computer code and data library combinations for the atomic number densities of an irradiated PWR fuel assembly model. The fuel assembly was irradiated under specific power of 25.6 MW/tHM up to 40 GWd/tHM and cooled for five years. The void fraction was assumed to be uniform throughout the channel box and constant, at 0, 40 and 70%, during burnup. In total, 16 results were submitted from 13 institutes of 7 countries. The calculated atomic number densities of 12 actinides and 20 fission product nuclides were found to be for the most part within a range of {+-}10% relative to the average, although some results, esp. {sup 155}Eu and gadolinium isotopes, exceeded the band, which will require further investigation. Pin-wise burnup results agreed well among the participants. The results in the infinite neutron multiplication factor k{sub {infinity}} also accorded well with each other for void fractions of 0 and 40%; however some results deviated from the averaged value noticeably for the void fraction of 70%. (author)

Modelling the high burnup UO2 structure in LWR fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lassmann, K.; Walker, C.T.; Laar, J. van de; Lindstroem, F.

1995-01-01

The concept of a burnup threshold for the formation of the high burnup UO 2 structure (HBS) is supported by experimental data, which also reveal that a transition zone exists between the normal UO 2 structure and the fully developed HBS. From the analysis of radial xenon profiles measured by EPMA a threshold burnup is obtained in the range 60-75 GW d/t U. The lower value is considered to be the threshold for the onset of the HBS and the higher value the threshold for the fully developed HBS. Xenon depletion in the transition zone and the fully developed HBS can be described by a simple model. At local burnups above 120 GW d/t U the xenon generated is in equilibrium with the xenon lost to the fission gas pores and the concentration does not fall below 0.25 wt%. The TRANSURANUS burnup model TUBRNP predicts reasonably well the penetration of the HBS and the associated xenon depletion up to a cross section average burnup of approximately 70 GW d/t U. (orig.)

Power ramp tests of high burnup BWR segment rods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, H.; Etoh, Y.; Tsukuda, Y.; Shimada, S.; Sakurai, H.

2002-01-01

Lead use assemblies (LUAs) of high burnup 8x8 fuel design for Japanese BWRs were irradiated up to 5 cycles in Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station No. 2 Unit. Segment rods were installed in LUAs and used for power ramp tests in Japanese Material Test Reactor (JMTR). Post irradiation examinations (PIEs) of segment rods were carried out at Nippon Nuclear Fuel Development Co., Ltd. before and after ramp tests. Maximum linear heat rates of LUAs were kept above 300 W/cm in the first cycle, above 250 W/cm in the second and third cycles and decreased to 200 W/cm in the fourth cycle and 80 W/cm in the fifth cycle. The integrity of high burnup 8x8 fuel was confirmed up to the bundle burnup of 48 GWd/t after 5 cycles of irradiation. Systematic and high quality data were collected through detailed PIEs. The main results are as follows. The oxide on the outer surface of cladding tubes was uniform and its thickness was less than 20 micro-meter after 5 cycles of irradiation and was almost independent of burnup. Hydrogen contents in cladding tubes were less than 150 ppm after 5 cycles of irradiation, although hydrogen contents increased during the fourth and fifth irradiation cycles. Mechanical properties of cladding tubes were on the extrapolated line of previous data up to 5 cycles of irradiation. Fission gas release rates were in the low level (mainly less than 6%) up to 5 cycles of irradiation due to the design to decrease pellet temperature. Pellet-cladding bonding layers were observed after the third cycle and almost full bonding was observed after the fifth cycle. Pellet volume increased with burnup in proportion to solid swelling rate up to the forth cycle. After the fifth cycle, slightly higher pellet swelling was confirmed. Power ramp tests were carried out and satisfactory performance of Zr-lined cladding tube was confirmed up to 60 GWd/t (segment average burnup). One segment rod irradiated for 3 cycles failed by a single step ramp test at terminal ramp power of 614 W

Implementation of burnup credit in spent fuel management systems. Proceedings of an advisory group meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-04-01

The criticality safety analysis of spent fuel systems has traditionally assumed that the fuel is fresh. This results in significant conservatism in the calculated value of the system's reactivity. Improved calculational methods allows one to take credit for the reactivity reduction associated with fuel burnup, hence reducing the analysis conservatism while maintaining an adequate criticality safety margin. Motivation for using burnup credit in criticality safety applications is generally based on economic considerations. Although economics may be a primary factor in deciding to use burnup credit, other benefits may be realized. Many of the additional benefits of burnup credit that are not strictly economic, may be considered to contribute to public health and safety, and resource conservation and environmental quality. Interest in the implementation of burnup credit has been shown by many countries. A summary of the information gathered by the IAEA about ongoing activities and regulatory status of burnup credit in different countries is included. Burnup credit implementation introduces new parameters and effects that should be addressed in the criticality analysis (e.g., axial and radial burnup shapes, fuel irradiation history, and others). Analysis of these parameters introduces new variations as well as the uncertainties, that should be considered in the safety assessment of the system. Also, the need arises to validate the isotopic composition that results from a depletion calculation, as well as to extend the current validation range of criticality codes to cover spent fuel. The use of burnup credit implies a verification of the fuel burnup before loading for transport, storage, disposal, or reprocessing each assembly, to make sure that the burnup level achieved complies with the criteria established. Methods and procedures used in different countries are described in this report

Implementation of burnup credit in spent fuel management systems. Proceedings of an advisory group meeting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-04-01

The criticality safety analysis of spent fuel systems has traditionally assumed that the fuel is fresh. This results in significant conservatism in the calculated value of the system`s reactivity. Improved calculational methods allows one to take credit for the reactivity reduction associated with fuel burnup, hence reducing the analysis conservatism while maintaining an adequate criticality safety margin. Motivation for using burnup credit in criticality safety applications is generally based on economic considerations. Although economics may be a primary factor in deciding to use burnup credit, other benefits may be realized. Many of the additional benefits of burnup credit that are not strictly economic, may be considered to contribute to public health and safety, and resource conservation and environmental quality. Interest in the implementation of burnup credit has been shown by many countries. A summary of the information gathered by the IAEA about ongoing activities and regulatory status of burnup credit in different countries is included. Burnup credit implementation introduces new parameters and effects that should be addressed in the criticality analysis (e.g., axial and radial burnup shapes, fuel irradiation history, and others). Analysis of these parameters introduces new variations as well as the uncertainties, that should be considered in the safety assessment of the system. Also, the need arises to validate the isotopic composition that results from a depletion calculation, as well as to extend the current validation range of criticality codes to cover spent fuel. The use of burnup credit implies a verification of the fuel burnup before loading for transport, storage, disposal, or reprocessing each assembly, to make sure that the burnup level achieved complies with the criteria established. Methods and procedures used in different countries are described in this report. Refs, figs, tabs.

Fission product margin in burnup credit analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finck, P.J.; Stenberg, C.G.

1998-01-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is currently working toward the licensing of a methodology for using actinide-only burnup credit for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel (SNF). Important margins are built into this methodology. By using comparisons with a representative experimental database to determine bias factors, the methodology ensures that actinide concentrations and worths are estimated conservatively; furthermore, the negative net reactivity of certain actinides and all fission products (FPs) is not taken into account, thus providing additional margin. A future step of DOE's effort might aim at establishing an actinide and FP burnup credit methodology. The objective of this work is to establish the uncertainty to be applied to the total FP worth in SNF. This will serve two ends. First, it will support the current actinide-only methodology by demonstrating the margin available from FPs. Second, it will identify the major contributions to the uncertainty and help set priorities for future work

Visualization of fuel rod burnup analysis by Scilab

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsai, Chiung-Wen

2013-01-01

The goal of this technical note is to provide an alternative, the freeware Scilab, by which means we may construct custom GUIs and distribute them without extra constrains and cost. A post-processor has been constructed by Scilab to visualize the fuel rod burnup analysis data calculated by FRAPCON-3.4. This post-processor incorporates a graphical user interface (GUI), providing users a rapid overview of the characteristics of the numerical results with 2-D and 3-D graphs, as well as the animations of fuel temperature distribution. An assessment case input file provided by FRAPCON user group was applied to demonstrate the construction of a post-processor with GUI by object-oriented GUI tool, as well as the capability of visualization functions of Scilab

Visualization of fuel rod burnup analysis by Scilab

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsai, Chiung-Wen, E-mail: d937121@oz.nthu.edu.tw

2013-12-15

The goal of this technical note is to provide an alternative, the freeware Scilab, by which means we may construct custom GUIs and distribute them without extra constrains and cost. A post-processor has been constructed by Scilab to visualize the fuel rod burnup analysis data calculated by FRAPCON-3.4. This post-processor incorporates a graphical user interface (GUI), providing users a rapid overview of the characteristics of the numerical results with 2-D and 3-D graphs, as well as the animations of fuel temperature distribution. An assessment case input file provided by FRAPCON user group was applied to demonstrate the construction of a post-processor with GUI by object-oriented GUI tool, as well as the capability of visualization functions of Scilab.

Development of a method for xenon determination in the microstructure of high burn-up nuclear fuel[Dissertation 17527

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horvath, M. I

2008-07-01

In nuclear fuel, in approximately one quarter of the fissions, one of the two formed fission products is gaseous. These are mainly the noble gases xenon and krypton with isotopes of xenon contributing up to 90% of the product gases. These noble fission gases do not combine with other species, and have a low solubility in the normally used uranium oxide matrix. They can be dissolved in the fuel matrix or precipitate in nanometer-sized bubbles within the fuel grain, in micrometer-sized bubbles at the grain boundaries, and a fraction also precipitates in fuel pores, coming from fuel fabrication. A fraction of the gas can also be released into the plenum of the fuel rod. With increasing fission, and therefore burn-up, the ceramic fuel material experiences a transformation of its structure in the 'cooler' rim region of the fuel. A subdivision occurs of the original fuel grains of few microns size into thousands of small grains of sub-micron sizes. Additionally, larger pores are formed, which also leads into an increasing porosity in the fuel rim, called high burn-up structure. In this structure, only a small fraction of the fission gas remains in the matrix, the major quantity is said to accumulate in these pores. Because of this accumulation, the knowledge of the quantities of gas within these pores is of major interest in consideration to burn-up, fuel performance and especially for safety issues. In case of design based accidents, i.e. rapidly increasing temperature transients, the behavior of the fuel has to be estimated. Various analytical techniques have been used to determine the Xe concentration in nuclear fuel samples. The capabilities of EPMA (Electron Probe Micro-Analyser) and SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) have been studied and provided some qualitative information, which has been used for determining Xe-matrix concentrations. First approaches combining these two techniques to estimate pore pressures have been recently reported. However

Burnup credit for storage and transportation casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wells, A.H.

1988-01-01

The application of burnup credit to storage and transportation cask licensing results in a significant improvement in cask capacity and an associated reduction of the cost per kilogram of uranium in the cask contents. The issues for licensing with burnup credit deal primarily with the treatment of fission product poisons and methods of verification of burnup during cask operations. Other issues include benchmarking of cross-section sets and codes and the effect of spatial variation of burnup within an assembly. The licensing of burnup credit for casks will be complex, although the criticality calculations are not themselves difficult. Attention should be directed to the use of fission product poisons and the uncertainties that they introduce. Verification of burnup by measurements will remove some of the concerns for criticality safety. Calculations for burnup credit casks should consider rod-to-rod and axial variations of burnup, as well as variability of burnable poisons it they are used in the assembly. In spite of the complexity of cask burnup credit licensing issues, these issues appear to be resolvable within the current state of the art of criticality safety

Application of burnup credit concept to transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Futamura, Yoshiaki; Nakagome, Yoshihiro.

1994-01-01

For the design and safety assessment of the casks for transporting spent fuel, the fuel contained in them has been assumed to be new fuel. The reason is, it was difficult to evaluate the variation of the reactivity of fuel, and the research on the affecting factors and the method of measuring burnup were not much advanced. Recently, high burnup fuel has been adopted, and initial degree of enrichment rose. The research has been advanced for pursuing the economy of the casks for spent fuel, and burnup credit has become applicable to their design and safety assessment. As the result, the containing capacity increases by about 20%. When burnup credit is considered, it is necessary to confirm accurately the burnup of spent fuel. The burnup dependence of the concentration of fissile substances and neutron emissivity, the coolant void dependence of the concentration of fissile substances, and the relation of neutron multiplication rate with initial degree of enrichment or burnup are discussed. The conceptual design of casks considering burnup credit and its assessment, the merit, problem and the countermeasures to it when burnup credit is introduced are described. (K.I.)

SWAT3.1 - the integrated burnup code system driving continuous energy Monte Carlo codes MVP and MCNP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suyama, Kenya; Mochizuki, Hiroki; Takada, Tomoyuki; Ryufuku, Susumu; Okuno, Hiroshi; Murazaki, Minoru; Ohkubo, Kiyoshi

2009-05-01

Integrated burnup calculation code system SWAT is a system that combines neutronics calculation code SRAC,which is widely used in Japan, and point burnup calculation code ORIGEN2. It has been used to evaluate the composition of the uranium, plutonium, minor actinides and the fission products in the spent nuclear fuel. Based on this idea, the integrated burnup calculation code system SWAT3.1 was developed by combining the continuous energy Monte Carlo code MVP and MCNP, and ORIGEN2. This enables us to treat the arbitrary fuel geometry and to generate the effective cross section data to be used in the burnup calculation with few approximations. This report describes the outline, input data instruction and several examples of the calculation. (author)

Current studies related to the use of burnup credit in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raby, Jerome; Lavarenne, Caroline; Barreau, Anne; Riffard, Cecile; Roque, Benedicte; Bioux, Philippe; Doucet, Michel; Guillou, Eric; Leka, Georges; Toubon, Herve

2003-01-01

In order to avoid criticality risks, a large number of facilities using spent fuels have been designed considering the fuel as fresh. This choice has obviously led to considerable safety margins. In the early 80's, a method was accepted by the French Safety Authorities allowing to consider the changes in the fuel composition during the depletion with some very pessimistic hypothesis: only actinides were considered and the amount of burnup used in the studies was equal to the mean burnup in the 50-least-irradiated centimeters. As many facilities still want to optimize their processes (e.g. transportation, storage, fuel reprocessing), the main companies involved in the French nuclear industry, researchers and IRSN set up a Working Group in order to study the way burnup could be taken into account in the criticality calculations, considering some fission products and a more realistic axial profile of burnup. The first of this article introduces the current French method used to take burnup into account in the criticality studies. The second part is devoted to the studies achieved by the Working Group to improve this method, especially concerning the consideration of the neutron absorption of some fission products and of an axial profile of burnup: for that purpose, some results are presented related to the steps of the process like the depletion calculations, the definition of an axial profile and the criticality calculation. In the third part, some results (keff) obtained with fission products and an axial profile are compared to those obtained with the current one. The conclusions presented are related to the present state of knowledge and may differ from the final conclusions of the Working Group. (author)

UO2 fuel behaviour at rod burn-ups up to 105 MWd/kgHM. A review of 10 years of high burn-up examinations commissioned by AREVA NP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goll, W.; Hoffmann, P.B.; Hellwig, C.; Sauser, W.; Spino, J.; Walker, C.T.

2007-01-01

Irradiation experience gained on fuel rods with burn-ups greater than 60 MWd/kgHM irradiated in the Nuclear Power Plant Goesgen, Switzerland, is described. Emphasis is placed on the fuel behaviour, which has been analysed by hot cell examinations at the Institute for Transuranium Elements and the Paul-Scherrer-Institute. Above 60 MWd/kgHM, the so-called high burn-up structure (HBS) forms and the fission gas release increases with burn-up and rod power. Examinations performed in the outer region of the fuel revealed that most if not all of the fission gas created was retained in the HBS, even at 25% porosity. Furthermore, the HBS has a relatively low swelling rate, greatly increased plasticity, and its thermal conductivity is higher than expected from the porosity. The post-irradiation examinations showed that the HBS has no detrimental effects on the performance of stationary irradiated PWR fuel irradiated to the high burn-ups that can be achieved with 5 wt% U-235 enrichment. On the contrary, the HBS results in fuel performance that is generally better than it would have been if the HBS had not formed. (orig.)

Benefits of cycle stretchout in pressurized water reactor extended-burnup fuel cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matzie, R.A.; Leung, D.C.; Liu, Y.; Beekmann, R.W.

1981-01-01

Nuclear reactors are inherently capable of operating for a substantial period beyond their nominal end of cycle (EOC) as a result of negative moderator and fuel temperature coefficients and the decrease in xenon poisoning with lower core power levels. This inherent capability can be used to advantage to reduce annual uranium makeup requirements and cycle energy costs by the use of planned EOC stretchout. This paper discusses the fuel utilization efficiency and economics of both the five-batch, extended-burnup cycle and the three-batch, standard-burnup cycle, which can be improved by employing planned EOC (end of cycle) stretchout. 11 refs

End effect Keff bias curve for actinide-only burnup credit casks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, C.H.; Lancaster, D.B.

1997-01-01

A conservative end effect k eff bias curve for actinide-only burnup credit for spent fuel casks is presented in this paper. The k eff bias values can be added to the uniform axial burnup analysis to conservatively bound the actinide-only end effect. A normalized axial burnup distribution for the standard Westinghouse 17 x 17 assembly design is used for calculating k eff . The end effect calculated is a strong function of burnup, and increases as cask size size decreases. The presence of poison plates increases the end effect. The bias curve presented is based on the most limiting cask configuration of a single PWR assembly with completely black poison plates. Therefore, axially uniform criticality calculations with application of the proposed k eff could eliminate the need for axially burnup dependent analyses. 7 refs., 1 fig

The Impact of Operating Parameters and Correlated Parameters for Extended BWR Burnup Credit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ade, Brian J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Marshall, William B. J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Ilas, Germina [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Betzler, Benjamin R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Bowman, Stephen M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2017-06-01

Applicants for certificates of compliance for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) transportation and dry storage systems perform analyses to demonstrate that these systems are adequately subcritical per the requirements of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Parts 71 and 72. For pressurized water reactor (PWR) SNF, these analyses may credit the reduction in assembly reactivity caused by depletion of fissile nuclides and buildup of neutron-absorbing nuclides during power operation. This credit for reactivity reduction during depletion is commonly referred to as burnup credit (BUC). US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff review BUC analyses according to the guidance in the Division of Spent Fuel Storage and Transportation Interim Staff Guidance (ISG) 8, Revision 3, Burnup Credit in the Criticality Safety Analyses of PWR Spent Fuel in Transportation and Storage Casks.

Impacts of SNF burnup credit on the shipment capability of the GA-4 cask

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mobasheran, A.S.; Lake, W.; Richardson, J.

1996-01-01

Scoping analyses were performed to determine the impacts of two different levels of burnup credit and two different spent fuel pickup rates on the shipment capability and the minimum fleet size of the GA-4 cask. The analyses involved developing loading curves for the GA-4 cask based on the actinide-only and principal-isotope burnup credit considerations. The analyses also involved examination of the spent nuclear fuel assembly population at nine reactor sites and categorization of the assemblies in accordance with the loading restrictions imposed. The results revealed that for the nine sites considered, depending on the level of burnup credit and the pickup rate assumed, the total savings in shipment and cask fleet costs (1994 dollars) can range from $55 million to $74 million

Computational Benchmark for Estimation of Reactivity Margin from Fission Products and Minor Actinides in PWR Burnup Credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wagner, J.C.

2001-01-01

This report proposes and documents a computational benchmark problem for the estimation of the additional reactivity margin available in spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from fission products and minor actinides in a burnup-credit storage/transport environment, relative to SNF compositions containing only the major actinides. The benchmark problem/configuration is a generic burnup credit cask designed to hold 32 pressurized water reactor (PWR) assemblies. The purpose of this computational benchmark is to provide a reference configuration for the estimation of the additional reactivity margin, which is encouraged in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) guidance for partial burnup credit (ISG8), and document reference estimations of the additional reactivity margin as a function of initial enrichment, burnup, and cooling time. Consequently, the geometry and material specifications are provided in sufficient detail to enable independent evaluations. Estimates of additional reactivity margin for this reference configuration may be compared to those of similar burnup-credit casks to provide an indication of the validity of design-specific estimates of fission-product margin. The reference solutions were generated with the SAS2H-depletion and CSAS25-criticality sequences of the SCALE 4.4a package. Although the SAS2H and CSAS25 sequences have been extensively validated elsewhere, the reference solutions are not directly or indirectly based on experimental results. Consequently, this computational benchmark cannot be used to satisfy the ANS 8.1 requirements for validation of calculational methods and is not intended to be used to establish biases for burnup credit analyses

Threshold burnup for recrystallization and model for rim porosity in the high burnup UO2 fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Byung Ho; Koo, Yang Hyun; Sohn, Dong Seong

1998-01-01

Applicability of the threshold burnup for rim formation was investigated as a function of temperature by Rest's model. The threshold burnup was the lowest in the intermediate temperature region, while on the other temperature regions the threshold burnup is higher. The rim porosity was predicted by the van der Waals equation based of the rim pore radius of 0.75μm and the overpressurization model on rim pores. The calculated centerline temperature is in good agreement with the measured temperature. However, more efforts seem to be necessary for the mechanistic model of the rim effect including rim growth with the fuel burnup

Plutonium isotopic composition of high burnup spent fuel discharged from light water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakano, Yoshihiro; Okubo, Tsutomu

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Pu isotopic composition of fuel affects FBR core nuclear characteristics very much. → Spent fuel compositions of next generation LWRs with burnup of 70 GWd/t were obtained. → Pu isotopic composition and amount in the spent fuel with 70 GWd/t were evaluated. → Spectral shift rods of high burnup BWR increases the fissile Pu fraction of spent fuel. → Wide fuel rod pitch of high burnup PWR lowers the fissile Pu fraction of spent fuel. - Abstract: The isotopic composition and amount of plutonium (Pu) in spent fuel from a high burnup boiling water reactor (HB-BWR) and a high burnup pressurized water reactor (HB-PWR), each with an average discharge burnup of 70 GWd/t, were estimated, in order to evaluate fast breeder reactor (FBR) fuel composition in the transition period from LWRs to FBRs. The HB-BWR employs spectral shift rods and the neutron spectrum is shifted through the operation cycle. The weight fraction of fissile plutonium (Puf) isotopes to the total plutonium in HB-BWR spent fuel after 5 years cooling is 62%, which is larger than that of conventional BWRs with average burnup of 45 GWd/t, because of the spectral shift operation. The amount of Pu produced in the HB-BWR is also larger than that produced in a conventional BWR. The HB-PWR uses a wider pitch 17 x 17 fuel rod assembly to optimize neutron slowing down. The Puf fraction of HB-PWR spent fuel after 5 years cooling is 56%, which is smaller than that of conventional PWRs with average burnup of 49 GWd/t, mainly because of the wider pitch. The amount of Pu produced in the HB-PWR is also smaller than that in conventional PWRs.

IFPE/TRIBULATION R1, Fuel Rod Behaviour at High Burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turnbull, J.A.

2002-01-01

Description: The TRIBULATION (Tests Relative to High Burnup Limitations Arising Normally in LWRs) International Programme started in July 1980 and was organized jointly by BelgoNucleaire and the Nuclear Energy Centre at Mol (CEN/SCK) with the co-sponsorship of 14 participating organizations. The objectives of the programme were twofold. It was primarily a demonstration programme aimed at assessing the fuel rod behaviour at high burn-up, when an earlier transient had occurred in the power plant. The second objective was to investigate the behaviour of different fuel rod designs and manufacturers when subjected to a steady state irradiation history to high burn-up. The first objective was met by irradiating fuel rods under steady state conditions in the BR3 reactor and under transient conditions in BR2. The effect of the transient was determined by comparing data from 4 identical rods tested as follows: i) BR3 irradiation followed by PIE; ii) BR3 irradiation followed by BR2 transient then PIE; iii) BR3 irradiation followed by BR2 transient and re-irradiated in BR3 before PIE; iv) BR3 irradiation and continued BR3 irradiation to maximum burn-up before PIE. The Database contains data from 19 cases using rods fabricated by BelgoNucleaire (BN) (11) and Brown Boveri Reactor GmbH (BBR) (8)

Study on burnup credit evaluation method at JAERI towards securing criticality safety rationale for management of spent fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomura, Y.

1998-01-01

Lately, due to massive accumulation of spent fuel discharged from light water reactors in Japan, it is gradually demanded to introduce the so-called burnup credit methodology into criticality safety design for nuclear fuel cycle facilities, such as spent fuel storage pools and transport casks. In order to save space in the spent fuel storage pool of the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant, the burnup credit design has been firstly implemented for its criticality safety evaluation. Here, its design conditions and operational control procedures are briefly shown and research using burned fuel at JAERI is explained to support its licensing safety review, focusing on the relevant content of the Nuclear Criticality Safety Handbook of Japan, which has been prepared so far and planned in the near future. Finally, international co-operation for study on burnup credit issues practiced by JAERI is addressed. (author)

Extended burnup demonstration: reactor fuel program. Pre-irradiation characterization and summary of pre-program poolside examinations. Big Rock Point extended burnup fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Exarhos, C.A.; Van Swam, L.F.; Wahlquist, F.P.

1981-12-01

This report is a resource document characterizing the 64 fuel rods being irradiated at the Big Rock Point reactor as part of the Extended Burnup Demonstration being sponsored jointly by the US Department of Energy, Consumers Power Company, Exxon Nuclear Company, and General Public Utilities. The program entails extending the exposure of standard BWR fuel to a discharge average of 38,000 MWD/MTU to demonstrate the feasibility of operating fuel of standard design to levels significantly above current limits. The fabrication characteristics of the Big Rock Point EBD fuel are presented along with measurement of rod length, rod diameter, pellet stack height, and fuel rod withdrawal force taken at poolside at burnups up to 26,200 MWD/MTU. A review of the fuel examination data indicates no performance characteristics which might restrict the continued irradiation of the fuel

A simplified burnup calculation strategy with refueling in static molten salt reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srivastava, A.K.; Gupta, Anurag; Krishnani, P.D.

2015-01-01

Molten Salt Reactors, by nature can be refuelled and reprocessed online. Thus, a simulation methodology has to be developed which can consider online refueling and reprocessing aspect of the reactor. To cater such needs a simplified burnup calculation strategy to account for refueling and removal of molten salt fuel at any desired burnup has been identified in static molten salt reactor in batch mode as a first step of way forward. The features of in-house code ITRAN has been explored for such calculations. The code also enables us to estimate the reactivity introduced in the system due to removal of any number of considered nuclides at any burnup. The effect of refueling fresh fuel and removal of burned fuel has been studied in batch mode with in-house code ITRAN. The effect of refueling and burnup on change in reactivity per day has been analyzed. The analysis of removal of 233 Pa at a particular burnup has been carried out. The similar analysis has been performed for some other nuclides also. (author)

Preferential removal of Sm by evaporation from Nd-Sm mixture and its application in direct burn-up determination of spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sajimol, R.; Bera, S.; Nalini, S.; Sivaraman, N.; Joseph, M.; Kumar, T.

2016-01-01

Rate of evaporation of Sm and Nd from their mixture was studied based on their ion intensities using thermal ionization mass spectrometry. Because of the comparatively larger evaporation rate of Sm, it was found possible to get the isotopic composition of Nd (fission product monitor) free from isobaric interference of Sm isotopes. The decrease in ion intensity of Sm was studied as a function of time and filament temperature. Based on this study, an easy and time effective method for the determination of burn-up of spent nuclear fuel was examined and the results are compared with that obtained by the conventional method. Typical burn-up value obtained for a pressurized heavy water reactor fuel dissolver solution using the direct method by preferential evaporation of Sm is: 0.84 at.%, whereas the one obtained by the use of conventional method is 0.82 at.%. In both the cases, Nd was employed as the fission product monitor. (author)

Isotopic analyses and calculation by use of JENDL-3.2 for high burn-up UO2 and MOX spent fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasahara, Akihiro; Matsumura, Tetsuo; Nicolaou, G.; Betti, M.; Walker, C.T.

1997-01-01

The post irradiation examinations (PIE) were carried out for high burn-up UO 2 spent fuel (3.8%U235, average burn-up:60GWd/t) and mixed oxide (MOX) spent fuel (5.07%Pu, average burn-up:45GWd/t). The PIE includes, a) isotopic analysis, b) electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) in pellet cross section and so on. The results of isotopic analyses and EPMA were compared with ORIGEN2/82 and VIM-BURN calculation results. In VIM-BURN calculation, the nuclear data of actinides were proceeded from new data file, JENDL-3.2. The sensitivities of power history and moderator density to nuclides composition were investigated by VIM-BURN calculation and consequently power history mainly effected on Am241 and Am242m and moderator density effected on fissile nuclides. From EPMA results of U and Pu distribution in pellet, VIM-BURN calculation showed reasonable distribution in pellet cross section. (author)

Burnup measurement study and prototype development in HTR-PM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan Weihua; Zhang Zhao; Xiao Zhigang; Zhang Liguo

2014-01-01

In a pebble-bed core which employs the multi-pass scheme, it is mandatory to determine the burnup of each pebble after the pebble has been extracted from the core in order to determine whether its design burnup has been reached or whether it has to be reinserted into the core again. The burnup of the fuel pebbles can be determined by measuring the activity of 137 Cs with an HPGe detector because of their good correspondence, which is independent of the irradiation history in the core. Based on experiments and Geant4 simulation, the correction factor between the fuel and calibration source was derived by using the efficiency transfer method. By optimizing spectrum analysis algorithm and parameters, the relative standard deviation of the 137 Cs activity can be still controlled below 3.0% despite of the presence of interfering peaks. On the foundation of the simulation and experiment research, a complete solution for burnup measurement system in HTR-PM is provided. (authors)

Decay heat power of spent nuclear fuel of power reactors with high burnup at long-term storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ternovykh Mikhail

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Decay heat power of actinides and fission products from spent nuclear fuel of power VVER-1000 type reactors at long-term storage is calculated. Two modes of storage are considered: mode in which single portion of actinides or fission products is loaded in storage facility, and mode in which actinides or fission products from spent fuel of one VVER reactor are added every year in storage facility during 30 years and then accumulated nuclides are stored without addition new nuclides. Two values of fuel burnup 40 and 70 MW·d/kg are considered for the mode of storage of single fuel unloading. For the mode of accumulation of spent fuel with subsequent storage, one value of burnup of 70 MW·d/kg is considered. Very long time of storage 105 years accepted in calculations allows to simulate final geological disposal of radioactive wastes. Heat power of fission products decreases quickly after 50-100 years of storage. The power of actinides decreases very slow. In passing from 40 to 70 MW·d/kg, power of actinides increases due to accumulation of higher fraction of 244Cm. These data are important in the back end of fuel cycle when improved cooling system of the storage facility will be required along with stronger radiation protection during storage, transportation and processing.

Decay heat power of spent nuclear fuel of power reactors with high burnup at long-term storage

Science.gov (United States)

Ternovykh, Mikhail; Tikhomirov, Georgy; Saldikov, Ivan; Gerasimov, Alexander

2017-09-01

Decay heat power of actinides and fission products from spent nuclear fuel of power VVER-1000 type reactors at long-term storage is calculated. Two modes of storage are considered: mode in which single portion of actinides or fission products is loaded in storage facility, and mode in which actinides or fission products from spent fuel of one VVER reactor are added every year in storage facility during 30 years and then accumulated nuclides are stored without addition new nuclides. Two values of fuel burnup 40 and 70 MW·d/kg are considered for the mode of storage of single fuel unloading. For the mode of accumulation of spent fuel with subsequent storage, one value of burnup of 70 MW·d/kg is considered. Very long time of storage 105 years accepted in calculations allows to simulate final geological disposal of radioactive wastes. Heat power of fission products decreases quickly after 50-100 years of storage. The power of actinides decreases very slow. In passing from 40 to 70 MW·d/kg, power of actinides increases due to accumulation of higher fraction of 244Cm. These data are important in the back end of fuel cycle when improved cooling system of the storage facility will be required along with stronger radiation protection during storage, transportation and processing.

Non-destructive analysis of spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popovic, D.

1961-12-01

Nondestructive analysis of fuel elements dealt with determining the isotope contents which provide information about the burnup level, quantities of fission products and neutron-multiplication properties of the irradiated fuel. Methods for determination of the isotope ratio of the spent fuel are both numerical and experimental. This report deals with the experimental method. This means development of the experimental methods for direct measurement of the isotope content. A number of procedures are described: measurements of α, β and γ activities of the isotopes; measurement of secondary effects of nuclear reactions with thermal neutrons and fast neutrons; measurement of cross sections; detection of prompt and delayed neutrons

Burnup studies of the subcritical fusion-driven in-zinerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persson, C. M.; Gudowski, W.; Venneri, F.

2007-01-01

A fusion-driven subcritical core, 'In-Zinerator', has been proposed for nuclear waste transmutation [1]. In this concept, a powerful Z-pinch neutron source will produce pulses of 14 MeV neutrons that multiply in a surrounding subcritical core consisting of spent fuel from the LWR fuel cycle or from deep burn high temperature reactors. The proposed design has pulse frequency 0.1 Hz and a thermal power of 3 GWth. The Z-pinch fusion experiment is located at Sandia Laboratories, USA, and can today fire once a day. However, investigations have been made how to increase the frequency to several fires per minute. Each fire yields 300 MJ corresponding to 1020 neutrons per pulse. The source chamber will in the In-Zinerator concept be surrounded by spent fuel to reach an effective multiplication factor, k e ff, of 0.97. The core will be cooled by liquid lead. In this paper, the burnup of different fuel compositions in the In-Zinerator will be studied as function of initial k e ff. The Monte Carlo based continuous energy burnup code MCB [2][3]will be used. References: [1] B.B. Cipiti, Fusion Transmutation of Waste and the Role of the In-Zinerator in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Sandia Report SAND2006-3522, Sandia National Laboratories, USA, 2006. [2] J. Cetnar, J Wallenius and W Gudowski, MCB: A continuous energy Monte-Carlo burnup simulation code, Actinide and fission product partitioning and transmutation, Proc. of the Fifth Int. Information Exchange Meeting, Mol, Belgium, 25-27 November 1998, 523, OECD/NEA, 1998. [3] http://www.nea.fr/abs/html/nea-1643.html

Researches on nuclear criticality safety evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Okuno, Hiroshi; Suyama, Kenya; Nomura, Yasushi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

2003-10-01

For criticality safety evaluation of burnup fuel, the general-purpose burnup calculation code, SWAT, was revised, and its precision was confirmed through comparison with other results from OECD/NEA's burnup credit benchmarks. Effect by replacing the evaluated nuclear data from JENDL-3.2 to ENDF/B-VI and JEF-2.2 was also studied. Correction factors were derived for conservative evaluation of nuclide concentrations obtained with the simplified burnup code ORIGEN2.1. The critical masses of curium were calculated and evaluated for nuclear criticality safety management of minor actinides. (author)

Researches on nuclear criticality safety evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okuno, Hiroshi; Suyama, Kenya; Nomura, Yasushi

2003-01-01

For criticality safety evaluation of burnup fuel, the general-purpose burnup calculation code, SWAT, was revised, and its precision was confirmed through comparison with other results from OECD/NEA's burnup credit benchmarks. Effect by replacing the evaluated nuclear data from JENDL-3.2 to ENDF/B-VI and JEF-2.2 was also studied. Correction factors were derived for conservative evaluation of nuclide concentrations obtained with the simplified burnup code ORIGEN2.1. The critical masses of curium were calculated and evaluated for nuclear criticality safety management of minor actinides. (author)

Fission product model for BWR analysis with improved accuracy in high burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikehara, Tadashi; Yamamoto, Munenari; Ando, Yoshihira

1998-01-01

A new fission product (FP) chain model has been studied to be used in a BWR lattice calculation. In attempting to establish the model, two requirements, i.e. the accuracy in predicting burnup reactivity and the easiness in practical application, are simultaneously considered. The resultant FP model consists of 81 explicit FP nuclides and two lumped pseudo nuclides having the absorption cross sections independent of burnup history and fuel composition. For the verification, extensive numerical tests covering over a wide range of operational conditions and fuel compositions have been carried out. The results indicate that the estimated errors in burnup reactivity are within 0.1%Δk for exposures up to 100GWd/t. It is concluded that the present model can offer a high degree of accuracy for FP representation in BWR lattice calculation. (author)

Development of burnup methods and capabilities in Monte Carlo code RMC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

She, Ding; Liu, Yuxuan; Wang, Kan; Yu, Ganglin; Forget, Benoit; Romano, Paul K.; Smith, Kord

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► The RMC code has been developed aiming at large-scale burnup calculations. ► Matrix exponential methods are employed to solve the depletion equations. ► The Energy-Bin method reduces the time expense of treating ACE libraries. ► The Cell-Mapping method is efficient to handle massive amounts of tally cells. ► Parallelized depletion is necessary for massive amounts of burnup regions. -- Abstract: The Monte Carlo burnup calculation has always been a challenging problem because of its large time consumption when applied to full-scale assembly or core calculations, and thus its application in routine analysis is limited. Most existing MC burnup codes are usually external wrappers between a MC code, e.g. MCNP, and a depletion code, e.g. ORIGEN. The code RMC is a newly developed MC code with an embedded depletion module aimed at performing burnup calculations of large-scale problems with high efficiency. Several measures have been taken to strengthen the burnup capabilities of RMC. Firstly, an accurate and efficient depletion module called DEPTH has been developed and built in, which employs the rational approximation and polynomial approximation methods. Secondly, the Energy-Bin method and the Cell-Mapping method are implemented to speed up the transport calculations with large numbers of nuclides and tally cells. Thirdly, the batch tally method and the parallelized depletion module have been utilized to better handle cases with massive amounts of burnup regions in parallel calculations. Burnup cases including a PWR pin and a 5 × 5 assembly group are calculated, thereby demonstrating the burnup capabilities of the RMC code. In addition, the computational time and memory requirements of RMC are compared with other MC burnup codes.

Optimization of TRU burnup in modular helium reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yonghee, Kim; Venneri, F.

2007-01-01

An optimization study of a single-pass TRU (transuranic) deep-burn (DB) has been performed for a block-type MHR (Modular Helium Reactor) proposed by General Atomics. Assuming a future equilibrium scenario of advanced LWRs, a high-burnup TRU vector is considered: 50 GWD/MTU and 5-year cooling. For 3-D equilibrium cores, the performance analysis is done by using a continuous energy Monte Carlo depletion code MCCARD. The core optimization is performed from the viewpoints of the core configuration, fuel management, TRISO fuel specification, and neutron spectrum. With regard to core configuration, two annular cores are investigated in terms of the neutron economy. A conventional radial shuffling scheme of fuel blocks is compared with an axial block shuffling strategy in terms of the fuel burnup and core power distributions. The impact of the kernel size of TRISO fuel is evaluated and a diluted kernel, instead of a conventional concentrated kernel, is introduced to maximize the TRU burnup by reducing the self-shielding effects of TRISO fuels. A higher graphite density is evaluated in terms of the fuel burnup. In addition, it is shown that the core power distribution can be effectively controlled by zoning of the packing fraction of TRISO fuels. We also have shown that a long-cycle DB-MHR core can be designed by using a small batch size for fuel reloading, at the expense of a marginal decrease of the TRU discharge burnup. Depending on the fuel management scheme, fuel specifications, and core parameters, the TRU burnup in an optimized DB-MHR core is over 60% in a single-pass irradiation campaign. (authors)

The adequacy of methods used for the approval of high burnup core loading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonnenburg, H.G.

2002-01-01

New fuel assembly designs and new core loading strategies are foreseen by most utilities, optimising the use of nuclear fuel in nuclear power plants. Increasing the burn-up to high values above 50 MWd/kg affects the fuel and cladding conditions, which could have safety relevant consequences. It is the task of the safety authorities to assess the impact of these changes with respect to compliance with safety regulations. Usually this assessment is based on code analyses which contain models developed at a time when the burn-up was significantly lower. Because the high burn-up is accompanied with the development of new phenomena like the rim effect on fuel pellets, the codes' models need to be revised for the representation of these new phenomena. The objective of this paper is to present a review of the knowledge base of the fuel phenomena under high-burn-up conditions as seen from safety aspects. The safety relevant fuel rod phenomena will be discussed. It will further provide an assessment of the limitations of the methodologies so far applied in the context of LOCA and RIA transients. The recently started research activities in Germany to improve the methodologies will be presented. (author)

Studies on the primary and secondary residues from the dissolution of high-burnup nuclear fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmid, M.

1986-01-01

To clarify the composition of residues from the dissolution of high-burnup nuclear fuels a sample with a burnup of 4.5 GWd and a two year cooling period was studied with the help of REM-EDX. In a parallel experiment an inactive simulator of a solution was subjected to a similar chemical treatment. The residues which resulted from this were analysed analogously. As a result of the results the chemistry of the following compounds in HNO 3 were studied: MoO 3 , ZrMo 2 O 5 (OH) 2 x2H 2 O, the oxide of antimony as well as Sb 4 O 4 (OH) 2 (NO 3 ) 2 , PdO.xH 2 O, Ag 2 Se, Ag 2 Te, and CsTcO 4 . Of special interest here were the solubility and precipitation formation of these compounds as well as the influence of a high (ca. 1 mol/l) concentration of uranium on these characteristics. With high radiation doses to the simulated solution a radiolytical reduction of Pd 2+ was established and was studied more closely with pure Pd(NO 3 ) 2 solutions. In primary dissolution residues the presence of the radionuclides Ru-106, Ag-110m, Sb-125, Cs-134, and Cs-137 was γ-spectrometrically proven. The residue was made up primarily of an element combination of Mo and Ru. As other components Rh, Pd and Tc appear in an alloy as the so-called ε phase, which already has to be present in the fuel, because this phase was not exhibited in the similarly handled simulator. Zirconium molybdate was not identified in the real feed slurries, but was definitely present in the precipitation of the simulated feed solution. The analysis of the primary residues also showed pure zirconium particles, presumably from the zirconium alloy of the fuel cans, as well as undissolved fuel particles. The precipitation from the fuel solution was made up of agglomerates of the smallest particles of the ε phase, upon which silver halogenides were crystallized. Radiochemically reduced Pd was also found. (orig./RB) [de

Burnup credit study and application in spent fuel management in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruan Keqiang; Xue Xiaogang; Shen Leisheng

2001-01-01

This paper gives a brief of spent fuel situation of nuclear power plants in China, problems faced with, and measures to be taken. The main research items in this field in next five years are introduced. It is imperative to put burnup credit to use in spent fuel storage, transport and reprocessing. (author)

Isotopic analyses and calculation by use of JENDL-3.2 for high burn-up UO{sub 2} and MOX spent fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sasahara, Akihiro; Matsumura, Tetsuo [Central Research Inst. of Electric Power Industry, Komae, Tokyo (Japan). Komae Research Lab.; Nicolaou, G.; Betti, M.; Walker, C.T.

1997-03-01

The post irradiation examinations (PIE) were carried out for high burn-up UO{sub 2} spent fuel (3.8%U235, average burn-up:60GWd/t) and mixed oxide (MOX) spent fuel (5.07%Pu, average burn-up:45GWd/t). The PIE includes, (a) isotopic analysis, (b) electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) in pellet cross section and so on. The results of isotopic analyses and EPMA were compared with ORIGEN2/82 and VIM-BURN calculation results. In VIM-BURN calculation, the nuclear data of actinides were proceeded from new data file, JENDL-3.2. The sensitivities of power history and moderator density to nuclides composition were investigated by VIM-BURN calculation and consequently power history mainly effected on Am241 and Am242m and moderator density effected on fissile nuclides. From EPMA results of U and Pu distribution in pellet, VIM-BURN calculation showed reasonable distribution in pellet cross section. (author)

3D core burnup studies in 500 MWe Indian prototype fast breeder reactor to attain enhanced core burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choudhry, Nakul; Riyas, A.; Devan, K.; Mohanakrishnan, P.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Enhanced burnup potential of existing prototype fast breeder reactor core is studied. ► By increasing the Pu enrichment, fuel burnup can be increased in existing PFBR core. ► Enhanced burnup increase economy and reduce load of fuel fabrication and reprocessing. ► Beginning of life reactivity is suppressed by increasing the number of diluents. ► Absorber rod worth requirements can be achieved by increasing 10 B enrichment. -- Abstract: Fast breeder reactors are capable of producing high fuel burnup because of higher internal breeding of fissile material and lesser parasitic capture of neutrons in the core. As these reactors need high fissile enrichment, high fuel burnup is desirable to be cost effective and to reduce the load on fuel reprocessing and fabrication plants. A pool type, liquid sodium cooled, mixed (Pu–U) oxide fueled 500 MWe prototype fast breeder reactor (PFBR), under construction at Kalpakkam is designed for a peak burnup of 100 GWd/t. This limitation on burnup is purely due to metallurgical properties of structural materials like clad and hexcan to withstand high neutron fluence, and not by the limitation on the excess reactivity available in the core. The 3D core burnup studies performed earlier for approach to equilibrium core of PFBR is continued to demonstrate the burnup potential of existing PFBR core. To increase the fuel burnup of PFBR, plutonium oxide enrichment is increased from 20.7%/27.7% to 22.1%/29.4% of core-1/core-2 which resulted in cycle length increase from 180 to 250 effective full power days (efpd), so that the peak fuel burnup increases from 100 to 134 GWd/t, keeping all the core parameters under allowed safety limits. Number of diluents subassemblies is increased from eight to twelve at beginning of life core to bring down the initial core excess reactivity. PFBR refueling is revised to accommodate twelve diluents. Increase of 10 B enrichment in control safety rods (CSRs) and diverse safety rods (DSRs

Computer modelling of the WWER fuel elements under high burnup conditions by the computer codes PIN-W and RODQ2D

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valach, M; Zymak, J; Svoboda, R [Nuclear Research Inst. Rez plc, Rez (Czech Republic)

1997-08-01

This paper presents the development status of the computer codes for the WWER fuel elements thermomechanical behavior modelling under high burnup conditions at the Nuclear Research Institute Rez. The accent is given on the analysis of the results from the parametric calculations, performed by the programmes PIN-W and RODQ2D, rather than on their detailed theoretical description. Several new optional correlations for the UO2 thermal conductivity with degradation effect caused by burnup were implemented into the both codes. Examples of performed calculations document differences between previous and new versions of both programmes. Some recommendations for further development of the codes are given in conclusion. (author). 6 refs, 9 figs.

Computer modelling of the WWER fuel elements under high burnup conditions by the computer codes PIN-W and RODQ2D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valach, M.; Zymak, J.; Svoboda, R.

1997-01-01

This paper presents the development status of the computer codes for the WWER fuel elements thermomechanical behavior modelling under high burnup conditions at the Nuclear Research Institute Rez. The accent is given on the analysis of the results from the parametric calculations, performed by the programmes PIN-W and RODQ2D, rather than on their detailed theoretical description. Several new optional correlations for the UO2 thermal conductivity with degradation effect caused by burnup were implemented into the both codes. Examples of performed calculations document differences between previous and new versions of both programmes. Some recommendations for further development of the codes are given in conclusion. (author). 6 refs, 9 figs

Depletion of gadolinium burnable poison in a PWR assembly with high burnup fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Refeat, Riham Mahmoud [Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority (NRRA), Cairo (Egypt). Safety Engineering Dept.

2015-12-15

A tendency to increase the discharge burnup of nuclear fuel for Advanced Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR) has been a characteristic of its operation for many years. It will be able to burn at very high burnup of about 70 GWd/t with UO{sub 2} fuels. The U-235 enrichment must be higher than 5 %, which leads to the necessity of using an extremely efficient burnable poison like Gadolinium oxide. Using gadolinium isotope is significant due to its particular depletion behavior (''Onion-Skin'' effect). In this paper, the MCNPX2.7 code is used to calculate the important neutronic parameters of the next generation fuels of PWR. K-infinity, local peaking factor and fission rate distributions are calculated for a PWR assembly which burn at very high burnup reaching 70 GWd/t. The calculations are performed using the recently released evaluated Gadolinium cross section data. The results obtained are close to those of a LWR next generation fuel benchmark problem. This demonstrates that the calculation scheme used is able to accurately model a PWR assembly that operates at high burnup values.

Core burn-up calculation method of JRR-3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Tomoaki; Yamashita, Kiyonobu

2007-01-01

SRAC code system is utilized for core burn-up calculation of JRR-3. SRAC code system includes calculation modules such as PIJ, PIJBURN, ANISN and CITATION for making effective cross section and calculation modules such as COREBN and HIST for core burn-up calculation. As for calculation method for JRR-3, PIJBURN (Cell burn-up calculation module) is used for making effective cross section of fuel region at each burn-up step. PIJ, ANISN and CITATION are used for making effective cross section of non-fuel region. COREBN and HIST is used for core burn-up calculation and fuel management. This paper presents details of NRR-3 core burn-up calculation. FNCA Participating countries are expected to carry out core burn-up calculation of domestic research reactor by SRAC code system by utilizing the information of this paper. (author)

Technological and licensing challenges for high burnup fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gross, H.; Urban, P.; Fenzlein, C.

2002-01-01

Deregulation of electricity markets is driving electricity prices downward as well in the U.S. as in Europe. As a consequence high burnup fuel will be demanded by utilities using either the storage or the reprocessing option. At a minimum, burnups consistent with the current political enrichment limit of 5 w/o will be required for both markets.Significant progress has been achieved in the past by Siemens in meeting the demands of utilities for increased fuel burnup. The technological challenges posed by the increased burnup are mainly related to the corrosion and hydrogen pickup of the clad, the high burnup properties of the fuel and the dimensional changes of the fuel assembly structure. Clad materials with increased corrosion resistance appropriate for high burnup have been developed. The high burnup behaviour of the fuel has been extensively investigated and the decrease of thermal conductivity with burnup, the rim effect of the pellet and the increase of fission gas release with burnup can be described, with good accuracy, in fuel rod computer codes. Advanced statistical design methods have been developed and introduced. Materials with increased corrosion resistance are also helpful controlling the dimensional changes of the fuel assembly structure. In summary, most of the questions about the fuel operational behaviour and reliability in the high burnup range have been solved - some of them are still in the process of verification - or the solutions are visible. This fact is largely acknowledged by regulators too. The main licensing challenges for high burnup fuel are currently seen for accident condition analyses, especially for RIA and LOCA. (author)

Assessment of Fission Product Cross-Section Data for Burnup Credit Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leal, Luiz C; Derrien, Herve; Dunn, Michael E; Mueller, Don

2007-01-01

Past efforts by the Department of Energy (DOE), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and others have provided sufficient technical information to enable the NRC to issue regulatory guidance for implementation of pressurized-water reactor (PWR) burnup credit; however, consideration of only the reactivity change due to the major actinides is recommended in the guidance. Moreover, DOE, NRC, and EPRI have noted the need for additional scientific and technical data to justify expanding PWR burnup credit to include fission product (FP) nuclides and enable burnup credit implementation for boiling-water reactor (BWR) spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The criticality safety assessment needed for burnup credit applications will utilize computational analyses of packages containing SNF with FP nuclides. Over the years, significant efforts have been devoted to the nuclear data evaluation of major isotopes pertinent to reactor applications (i.e., uranium, plutonium, etc.); however, efforts to evaluate FP cross-section data in the resonance region have been less thorough relative to actinide data. In particular, resonance region cross-section measurements with corresponding R-matrix resonance analyses have not been performed for FP nuclides. Therefore, the objective of this work is to assess the status and performance of existing FP cross-section and cross-section uncertainty data in the resonance region for use in burnup credit analyses. Recommendations for new cross-section measurements and/or evaluations are made based on the data assessment. The assessment focuses on seven primary FP isotopes (103Rh, 133Cs, 143Nd, 149Sm, 151Sm, 152Sm, and 155Gd) that impact reactivity analyses of transportation packages and two FP isotopes (153Eu and 155Eu) that impact prediction of 155Gd concentrations. Much of the assessment work was completed in 2005, and the assessment focused on the latest FP cross-section evaluations available in the

Analysis of bubble pressure in the rim region of high burnup PWR fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koo, Yang Hyun; Lee, Byung Ho; Sohn, Dong Seong [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejeon (Korea)

2000-02-01

Bubble pressure in the rim region of high burnup PWR UO{sub 2} fuel has been modeled based on measured rim width, porosity and bubble density. Using the assumption that excessive bubble pressure in the rim is inversely proportional to its radius, proportionality constant is derived as a function of average pellet burnup and bubble radius. This approach is possible because the integration of the number of Xe atoms retained in the rim bubbles, which can be calculated as a function of bubble radius, over the bubble radius gives the total number of Xe atoms in the rim bubbles. Here the total number of Xe atoms in the rim bubbles can be derived from the measured Xe depletion fraction in the matrix and the calculated rim thickness. Then the rim bubble pressure is obtained as a function of fuel burnup and bubble size from the proportionality constant. Therefore, the present model can provide some useful information that would be required to analyze the behavior of high burnup PWR UO{sub 2} fuel under both normal and transient operating conditions. 28 refs., 9 figs. (Author)

Nuclear data for fission reactor core design and safety analysis: Requirements and status of accuracy of nuclear data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rowlands, J.L.

1984-01-01

The types of nuclear data required for fission reactor design and safety analysis, and the ways in which the data are represented and approximated for use in reactor calculations, are summarised first. The relative importance of different items of nuclear data in the prediction of reactor parameters is described and ways of investigating the accuracy of these data by evaluating related integral measurements are discussed. The use of sensitivity analysis, together with estimates of the uncertainties in nuclear data and relevant integral measurements, in assessing the accuracy of prediction of reactor parameters is described. The inverse procedure for deciding nuclear data requirements from the target accuracies for prediction of reactor parameters follows on from this. The need for assessments of the uncertainties in nuclear data evaluations and the form of the uncertainty information is discussed. The status of the accuracies of predictions and nuclear data requirements are then summarised. The reactor parameters considered include: (a) Criticality conditions, conversion and burn-up effects. (b) Energy production and deposition, decay heating, irradiation damage, dosimetry and induced radioactivity. (c) Kinetics characteristics and control, including temperature, power and coolant density coefficients, delayed neutrons and control absorbers. (author)

Feasibility assessment of burnup credit in the criticality analysis of shipping casks with boiling water reactor spent fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broadhead, B.L.

1991-08-01

Considerable interest in the allowance of reactivity credit for the exposure history of power reactor fuel currently exists. This ''burnup credit'' issue has the potential to greatly reduce risk and cost when applied to the design and certification of spent fuel casks used for transportation and storage. Recently, analyses have demonstrated the technical feasibility and estimated the risk and economic incentives for allowing burnup credit in pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent fuel shipping cask applications. This report summarizes the extension of the previous PWR technical feasibility assessment to boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel. This feasibility analysis aims to apply simple methods that adequately characterize the time-dependent isotopic compositions of typical BWR fuel. An initial analysis objective was to identify a simple and reliable method for characterizing BWR spent fuel. Two different aspects of fuel characterization were considered:l first, the generation of burn- up dependent material interaction probabilities; second, the prediction of material inventories over time (depletion). After characterizing the spent fuel at various stages of exposure and decay, three dimensional (3-D) models for an infinite array of assemblies and, in several cases, infinite arrays of assemblies in a typical shipping cask basket were analyzed. Results for assemblies without a basket provide reactivity control requirements as a function of burnup and decay, while results including the basket allow assessment of typical basket configurations to provide sufficient reactivity control for spent BWR fuel. Resulting basket worths and reactivity trends over time are then evaluated to determine whether burnup credit is needed and feasible in BWR applications

'CANDLE' burnup regime after LWR regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekimoto, Hiroshi; Nagata, Akito

2008-01-01

CANDLE (Constant Axial shape of Neutron flux, nuclide densities and power shape During Life of Energy producing reactor) burnup strategy can derive many merits. From safety point of view, the change of excess reactivity along burnup is theoretically zero, and the core characteristics, such as power feedback coefficients and power peaking factor, are not changed along burnup. Application of this burnup strategy to neutron rich fast reactors makes excellent performances. Only natural or depleted uranium is required for the replacing fuels. About 40% of natural or depleted uranium undergoes fission without the conventional reprocessing and enrichment. If the LWR produced energy of X Joules, the CANDLE reactor can produce about 50X Joules from the depleted uranium left at the enrichment facility for the LWR fuel. If we can say LWRs have produced energy sufficient for full 20 years, we can produce the energy for 1000 years by using the CANDLE reactors with depleted uranium. We need not mine any uranium ore, and do not need reprocessing facility. The burnup of spent fuel becomes 10 times. Therefore, the spent fuel amount per produced energy is also reduced to one-tenth. The details of the scenario of CANDLE burnup regime after LWR regime will be presented at the symposium. (author)

A simple gamma spectrometry method for evaluating the burnup of MTR-type HEU fuel elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Makmal, T. [The Unit of Nuclear Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of The Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105 (Israel); Nuclear Physics and Engineering Division, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne 81800 (Israel); Aviv, O. [Radiation Safety Division, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne 81800 (Israel); Gilad, E., E-mail: gilade@bgu.ac.il [The Unit of Nuclear Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of The Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105 (Israel)

2016-10-21

A simple method for the evaluation of the burnup of a materials testing reactor (MTR) fuel element by gamma spectrometry is presented. The method was applied to a highly enriched uranium MTR nuclear fuel element that was irradiated in a 5 MW pool-type research reactor for a total period of 34 years. The experimental approach is based on in-situ measurements of the MTR fuel element in the reactor pool by a portable high-purity germanium detector located in a gamma cell. To corroborate the method, analytical calculations (based on the irradiation history of the fuel element) and computer simulations using a dedicated fuel cycle burnup code ORIGEN2 were performed. The burnup of the MTR fuel element was found to be 52.4±8.8%, which is in good agreement with the analytical calculations and the computer simulations. The method presented here is suitable for research reactors with either a regular or an irregular irradiation regime and for reactors with limited infrastructure and/or resources. In addition, its simplicity and the enhanced safety it confers may render this method suitable for IAEA inspectors in fuel element burnup assessments during on-site inspections. - Highlights: • Simple, inexpensive, safe and flexible experimental setup that can be quickly deployed. • Experimental results are thoroughly corroborated against ORIGEN2 burnup code. • Experimental uncertainty of 9% and 5% deviation between measurements and simulations. • Very high burnup MTR fuel element is examined, with 60% depletion of {sup 235}U. • Impact of highly irregular irradiation regime on burnup evaluation is studied.

Nuclear characteristics analysis report for system-integrated modular advanced reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Sang Yoon; Lee, Chung Chan; Song, Jae Seung; Cho, Byung Oh; Zee, Sung Quun

1998-11-01

This report present nuclear characteristics analysis results for SMART. Information is given on fuel loading, power density distributions, reactivity coefficients and control rod worths. The core consists of 57 modified Korean Standard Fuel Assemblies (m-KOFAs), and all fuel assemblies contain burnable absorbers to control the power distribution and the excess reactivity that is required for soluble boron-free and ultra longer cycle operation. The cycle length of SMART amounts to 990 EFPD corresponding to a cycle burnup of 26,250 MWD/MTU. (author). 4 refs., 6 tabs., 85 figs.

Nuclear characteristics analysis report for system-integrated modular advanced reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Sang Yoon; Lee, Chung Chan; Song, Jae Seung; Cho, Byung Oh; Zee, Sung Quun

1998-11-01

This report present nuclear characteristics analysis results for SMART. Information is given on fuel loading, power density distributions, reactivity coefficients and control rod worths. The core consists of 57 modified Korean Standard Fuel Assemblies (m-KOFAs), and all fuel assemblies contain burnable absorbers to control the power distribution and the excess reactivity that is required for soluble boron-free and ultra longer cycle operation. The cycle length of SMART amounts to 990 EFPD corresponding to a cycle burnup of 26,250 MWD/MTU. (author). 4 refs., 6 tabs., 85 figs

Nuclear analysis of the experimental VHTR fuel lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doi, Takeshi; Shindo, Ryuiti; Hirano, Mitsumasa; Takano, Makoto

1984-11-01

Nuclear properties of a fuel lattice in the experimental VHTR core were analyzed with DELIGHT-6 and SRAC codes. Analytical results by both codes were compared by using various calculational model. The nuclear parameters were analyzed, such as a multiplication factor of a fuel lattice and it's variation with burnup, a temperature effect on reactivity, an effect of double-heterogeniety in a resonance absorption calculation, a resonance integral of 238 U and a reactivity worth of burnable poison. From these analyses, following results were obtained. Firstly, on calculational models, 1) Effect of double-heterogeniety in the resonance absorption calculation for Mark-III fuel element, causing a decrease of about 5.5 barns in the resonance integral and an increase of about 2.6 %ΔK in the infinite multiplication factor, 2) The heterogeneous calculation with the collision probability method resulted in about 0.6 %ΔK higher the multiplication factor of fuel lattice than that with the point model, 3) The reactivity worth of burnable poison rod by a multi-region model is about 20 % less than that by a 2-region model at an initial state of burnup and it's variation with burnup are fairly different, Secondly, on comparison between the results by DELIGHT-6 and SRAC, 4) The nuclear parameters obtained with both codes agreed well, Lastly, on the improvement in DELIGHT-6, 5) Consideration of the neutron spectrum shielding effect in the resonance effective cross section calculation caused a decrease of about 2.4 %ΔK in the multiplication factor of fuel lattice, 6) The lattice multiplication factor increased about 0.5 %ΔK by introducing lambda-parameters for the non-resonant nuclie. (J.P.N.)

Effects of Burnable Absorbers on PWR Spent Nuclear Fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Leary, P.M.; Pitts, M.L.

2000-01-01

Burnup credit is an ongoing issue in designing and licensing transportation and storage casks for spent nuclear fuel (SNF). To address this issue, in July 1999, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Spent Fuel Project Office, issued Interim Staff Guidance-8 (ISG-8), Revision 1 allowing limited burnup credit for pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) to be used in transport and storage casks. However, one of the key limitations for a licensing basis analysis as stipulated in ISG-8, Revision 1 is that ''burnup credit is restricted to intact fuel assemblies that have not used burnable absorbers''. Because many PWR fuel designs have incorporated burnable-absorber rods for more than twenty years, this restriction places an unnecessary burden on the commercial nuclear power industry. This paper summarizes the effects of in-reactor irradiation on the isotopic inventory of PWR fuels containing different types of integral burnable absorbers (BAs). The work presented is illustrative and intended to represent typical magnitudes of the reactivity effects from depleting PWR fuel with different types of burnable absorbers

Assesment of advanced step models for steady state Monte Carlo burnup calculations in application to prismatic HTGR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kępisty Grzegorz

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we compare the methodology of different time-step models in the context of Monte Carlo burnup calculations for nuclear reactors. We discuss the differences between staircase step model, slope model, bridge scheme and stochastic implicit Euler method proposed in literature. We focus on the spatial stability of depletion procedure and put additional emphasis on the problem of normalization of neutron source strength. Considered methodology has been implemented in our continuous energy Monte Carlo burnup code (MCB5. The burnup simulations have been performed using the simplified high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR system with and without modeling of control rod withdrawal. Useful conclusions have been formulated on the basis of results.

PIE and separate effect test of high burnup UO2 fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Yong Sik; Kim, S.K.; Kim, D.H.

2005-01-01

To investigate the performance of a high burnup UO 2 fuel, the highest burnup fuel assembly in KOREA was transported to the PIE facility in KAERI. It was a 17·17 fuel assembly irradiated at the Ulchin Unit 2 PWR. The peak fuel rod average burnup was about 57MWd/kgU and locally 65MWd/kgU. The general PIE was performed to investigate the fuel rod irradiation performance. Fission gas release, burnup, oxide thickness, hydrogen pickup, CRUD, and density change were measured by destructive of non-destructive test. Microstructure change, bubble and pore size distributions were observed by optical microscopy, SEM and EPMA. All generated and available PIE results were used to verify high burnup fuel performance code INFRA. Several rods were cut for additional separate effect test. For the high burnup fission gas release behaviour analysis, annealing apparatus were developed and installed in hot cell and preliminary test was performed. In addition to current apparatus new induction furnace will be installed in hot cell to investigate the high temperature and transient fission gas release behaviour. Ring tensile test was performed to analyze the material property degradation which caused by the oxidation and hydride, and additional mechanical tests will be performed. (Author)

On the thermal conductivity of UO2 nuclear fuel at a high burn-up of around 100 MWd/kgHM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walker, C.T.; Staicu, D.; Sheindlin, M.; Papaioannou, D.; Goll, W.; Sontheimer, F.

2006-01-01

A study of the thermal conductivity of a commercial PWR fuel with an average pellet burn-up of 102 MWd/kgHM is described. The thermal conductivity data reported were derived from the thermal diffusivity measured by the laser flash method. The factors determining the fuel thermal conductivity at high burn-up were elucidated by investigating the recovery that occurred during thermal annealing. It was found that the thermal conductivity in the outer region of the fuel was much higher than it would have been if the high burn-up structure were not present. The increase in thermal conductivity is a consequence of the removal of fission products and radiation defects from the fuel lattice during recrystallisation of the fuel grains (an integral part of the formation process of the high burn-up structure). The gas porosity in the high burn-up structure lowers the increase in thermal conductivity caused by recrystallisation

Analysis of effects of pellet-cladding bonding on trapping of the released fission gases in high burnup KKL BWR fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brankov, Vladimir [Laboratory for Reactor Physics and Systems Behaviour at the Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Route Cantonale, 1015 Lausanne (Switzerland); Khvostov, Grigori; Mikityuk, Konstantin [Laboratory for Reactor Physics and Systems Behaviour at the Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Pautz, Andreas [Laboratory for Reactor Physics and Systems Behaviour at the Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), Route Cantonale, 1015 Lausanne (Switzerland); Restani, Renato; Abolhassani, Sousan [Laboratory for Nuclear Materials at the Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen-PSI (Switzerland); Ledergerber, Guido [Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt, 5325 Leibstadt (Switzerland); Wiesenack, Wolfgang [Institutt for Energiteknikk - OECD Halden Reactor Project, Os Allé 5, 1777 Halden (Norway)

2016-08-15

Highlights: • Explanation for the scatter in measured fission gas release in high-BU BWR fuel rods. • Partial fuel-clad bond layer formation in high-BU BWR fuel. • Hypothesis for fission gas trapping facilitated by the pellet-cladding bond layer. • Correlation between burnup asymmetry and the quantity of trapped fission gas. • Implications of the trapped FG in LOCA transient. - Abstract: The first part of the paper presents results of a numerical analysis of the fuel behavior during base irradiation in the Kernkraftwerk Leibstadt Boiling Water Reactor (KKL BWR) using EPRI’s FALCON code coupled to GRSW-A – an advanced model for fuel swelling and fission gas release. Post-irradiation examinations conducted at the Paul Scherrer Institute’s (PSI) hot laboratory gave evidence of a distinct circumferential non-uniformity of local burnup at pellet surfaces. For several fuel samples, intact pellet-cladding bonding areas on the high burnup sides of the pellets at high burnup above ∼70 MWd/kgU were observed. It is hypothesized that a part of the fission gases, which are expected to be released by those areas, can be trapped and do not reach the rod plenum. In this paper, a simple approach to modeling of fission gas trapping is employed which reveals a potential correlation between the position of the rod within the fuel assembly (and therefore the degree of circumferential burnup non-uniformity) and the degree of fission gas trapping. A model is suggested to correlate the amount of locally trapped gas with the integral of the local contact pressure and the degree of circumferential burnup non-uniformity. The model is calibrated with available measurements of FGR from rod puncturing at the level of the plenums. In future work, the hypothesis about the axial distribution of trapped fission gas will be extrapolated to the Loss-Of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) analysis as an attempt to explain the fission gas release observed in some samples fabricated from

Models for fuel rod behaviour at high burnup

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jernkvist, Lars O.; Massih, Ali R. [Quantum Technologies AB, Uppsala Science Park, Uppsala (Sweden)

2004-12-01

This report deals with release of fission product gases and irradiation-induced restructuring in uranium dioxide nuclear fuel. Waterside corrosion of zirconium alloy clad tubes to light water reactor fuel rods is also discussed. Computational models, suitable for implementation in the FRAPCON-3.2 computer code, are proposed for these potentially life-limiting phenomena. Hence, an integrated model for the calculation or thermal fission gas release by intragranular diffusion, gas trapping in grain boundaries, irradiation-induced re-solution, grain boundary saturation, and grain boundary sweeping in UO{sub 2} fuel, under time varying temperature loads, is formulated. After a brief review of the status of thermal fission gas release modelling, we delineate the governing equations for the aforementioned processes. Grain growth kinetic modelling is briefly reviewed and pertinent data on grain growth of high burnup fuel obtained during power ramps in the Third Risoe Fission Gas Release Project are evaluated. Sample computations are performed, which clearly show the connection between fission gas release and gram growth as a function of time at different isotherms. Models are also proposed for the restructuring of uranium dioxide fuel at high burnup, the so-called rim formation, and its effect on fuel porosity build-up, fuel thermal conductivity and fission gas release. These models are assessed by use of recent experimental data from the High Burnup Rim Project, as well as from post irradiation examinations of high-burnup fuel, irradiated in power reactors. Moreover, models for clad oxide growth and hydrogen pickup in PWRs, applicable to Zircaloy-4, ZIRLO or M5 cladding, are formulated, based on recent in-reactor corrosion data for high-burnup fuel rods. Our evaluation of these data indicates that the oxidation rate of ZIRLO-type materials is about 20% lower than for standard Zircaloy-4 cladding under typical PWR conditions. Likewise, the oxidation rate of M5 seems to be

High Burnup Fuel Behaviour under LOCA Conditions as Observed in Halden Reactor Experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kolstad, E.; Wiesenack, W.; Oberlander, B.; Tverberg, T.

2013-01-01

In the context of assessing the validity of safety criteria for loss of coolant accidents with high burnup fuel, the OECD Halden Reactor Project has implemented an integral in-pile LOCA test series. In this series, fuel fragmentation and relocation, axial gas communication in high burnup rods as affected by gap closure and fuel- clad bonding, and secondary cladding oxidation and hydriding are of major interest. In addition, the data are being used for code validation as well as model development and verification. So far, nine tests with irradiated fuel segments (burnup 40-92 MW.d.kg -1 ) from PWR, BWR and VVER commercial nuclear power plants have been carried out. The in-pile measurements and the PIE results show a good repeatability of the experiments. The paper describes the experimental setup as well as the principal features and main results of these tests. Fuel fragmentation and relocation have occurred to varying degrees in these tests. The paper compares the conditions leading to the presence or absence of fuel fragmentation, e.g., burnup and loss of constraint. Axial gas flow is an important driving force for clad ballooning, fuel relocation and fuel expulsion. The experiments have provided evidence that such gas flow can be impeded in high burnup fuel with a potential impact on the ballooning and fuel dispersal. Although the results of the Halden LOCA tests are, to some extent, amplified by conditions and features deliberately introduced into the test series, the fuel behaviour identified in the Halden tests has an impact on the safety assessment of high burnup fuel and should give rise to improvements of the predictive capabilities of LOCA modelling codes. (author)

Increased burnup of fuel elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahlf, J.

1983-01-01

The specialists' group for fuel elements of the Kerntechnische Gesellschaft e.V. held a meeting on ''Increased Burnup of Fuel Elements'' on 9th and 10th of November 1982 at the GKSS Research Center Geesthacht. Most papers dealt with the problems of burnup increase of fuel elements for light water reactors with respect to fuel manufacturing, power plant operation and reprocessing. Review papers were given on the burnup limits for high temperature gas cooled reactors and sodium fast breeder reactors. The meeting ended with a presentation of the technical equipment of the hot laboratory of the GKSS and the programs which are in progress there. (orig.) [de

DELIGHT-B/REDEL, point reactivity burnup code for high-temperature gas-cooled reactor cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shindo, Ryuiti; Watanabe, Takashi.

1977-03-01

Code DELIGHT-2 was previously developed to analyze cell burnup characteristics and to produce few-group constants for core burnup calculation in high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. In the code, burnup dependency of the burnable poison, boron-10, is considered with the homogeneous model of space. In actuality, however, the burnable poison is used as homogeneous rods or uniform rods of small granular poison and graphite, to control the reactivity and power distribution. Precise analysis of the burnup characteristics is thus difficult because of the heterogeneity due to the configuration of poison rods. In cell burnup calculation, the DELIGHT-B, which is a modification of DELIGHT-2, takes into consideration this heterogeneous effect. The auxiliary code REDEL, a reduction of DELIGHT-B, used in combination with 3 dimensional diffusion code CITATION, is for core burnup calculation with the macro-scopic cross section model. (auth.)

Study on nuclear analysis method for high temperature gas-cooled reactor and its nuclear design (Thesis)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goto, Minoru

2015-03-01

An appropriate configuration of fuel and reactivity control equipment in a nuclear reactor core, which allows the design of the nuclear reactor core for low cost and high performance, is performed by nuclear design with high accuracy. The accuracy of nuclear design depends on a nuclear data library and a nuclear analysis method. Additionally, it is one of the most important issues for the nuclear design of a High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) that an insertion depth of control rods into the reactor core should be retained shallow by reducing excess reactivity with a different method to keep fuel temperature below its limitation thorough a burn-up period. In this study, using experimental data of the High Temperature engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), which is a Japan's HTGR with 30 MW of thermal power, the following issues were investigated: applicability of nuclear data libraries to nuclear analysis for HTGRs; applicability of the improved nuclear analysis method for HTGRs; and effectiveness of a rod-type burnable poison on HTGR reactivity control. A nuclear design of a small-sized HTGR with 50 MW of thermal power (HTR50S) was performed using these results. In the nuclear design of the HTR50S, we challenged to decrease the kinds of the fuel enrichments and to increase the power density compared with the HTTR. As a result, the nuclear design was completed successfully by reducing the kinds of the fuel enrichment to only three from twelve of the HTTR and increasing the power density by 1.4 times as much as that of the HTTR. (author)

Nuclear Energy Research Initiative. Development of a Stabilized Light Water Reactor Fuel Matrix for Extended Burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BD Hanson; J Abrefah; SC Marschman; SG Prussin

2000-01-01

The main objective of this project is to develop an advanced fuel matrix capable of achieving extended burnup while improving safety margins and reliability for present operations. In the course of this project, the authors improve understanding of the mechanism for high burnup structure (HBS) formation and attempt to design a fuel to minimize its formation. The use of soluble dopants in the UO 2 matrix to stabilize the matrix and minimize fuel-side corrosion of the cladding is the main focus

Overview of the burnup credit activities at OECD/NEA/NSC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brady Raap, M.C.; Nomura, Y.; Sartori, E.

2001-01-01

This article summarizes activities of the OECD/NEA Burnup Credit Expert Panel, a subordinate group to the Working Party on Nuclear Criticality Safety (WPNCS). The WPNCS of the OECD/NEA coordinates and carries out work in the domain of criticality safety at the international level. Particular attention is devoted to establishing sound databases required in this area and to addressing issues of high relevance such as burnup credit. The activities of the expert panel are aimed toward improving safety and identifying economic solutions to issues concerning the back-end of the fuel cycle. The main objective of the activities of the OECD/NEA Burnup Credit Expert Panel is to demonstrate that the available criticality safety calculational tools are appropriate for application to burned fuel systems and that a reasonable safety margin can be established. The method established by the expert panel for investigating the physics and predictability of burnup credit is based on the specification and comparison of calculational benchmark problems. A wide range of fuel types, including PWR, BWR, MOX, and VVER fuels, has been or are being addressed by the expert panel. The objective and status of each of these benchmark problems is reviewed in this article. It is important to note that the focus of the expert panel is the comparison of the results submitted by each participant to assess the capability of commonly used code systems, not to quantify the physical phenomena investigated in the comparisons or to make recommendations for licensing action. (author)

Documentation for WIMSD-formatted libraries based on ENDF/B-VII.1 evaluated nuclear data files with extended actinide burn-up chains and cross section data up to 2000 K for fuel materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

López Aldama, Daniel

2014-11-01

In the frame of WIMS Library Update Project the WIMSD-IAEA-69 and WIMSD-IAEA-172 libraries were prepared and made available at the Nuclear Data Section (NDS) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The main libraries were prepared from different sources of evaluated nuclear data that were available before December 2003. Also others WIMSD libraries were prepared from the major evaluated nuclear data libraries and made available at http://www-nds.iaea.org/wimsd. During the last ten years new libraries have been prepared every time that a major version of an evaluated nuclear data library has been released, namely JEFF-3.1 and ENDF/B-VII.0. Recently, end-users have requested to extend the temperature ranges of fuel materials included in the libraries and also to extend the burn-up chains to higher actinides up to Cf-254. The inclusion of new structural materials, like bismuth, has been also considered. Therefore, new WIMSD-formatted libraries in the 69- and 172-energy structure have been prepared with more materials, extended actinides burn-up chains and higher temperatures in thermal and resonance range

Reactivity loss validation of high burn-up PWR fuels with pile-oscillation experiments in MINERVE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leconte, P.; Vaglio-Gaudard, C.; Eschbach, R.; Di-Salvo, J.; Antony, M.; Pepino, A. [CEA, DEN, DER, Cadarache, F-13108 Saint-Paul-Lez-Durance (France)

2012-07-01

The ALIX experimental program relies on the experimental validation of the spent fuel inventory, by chemical analysis of samples irradiated in a PWR between 5 and 7 cycles, and also on the experimental validation of the spent fuel reactivity loss with bum-up, obtained by pile-oscillation measurements in the MINERVE reactor. These latter experiments provide an overall validation of both the fuel inventory and of the nuclear data responsible for the reactivity loss. This program offers also unique experimental data for fuels with a burn-up reaching 85 GWd/t, as spent fuels in French PWRs never exceeds 70 GWd/t up to now. The analysis of these experiments is done in two steps with the APOLLO2/SHEM-MOC/CEA2005v4 package. In the first one, the fuel inventory of each sample is obtained by assembly calculations. The calculation route consists in the self-shielding of cross sections on the 281 energy group SHEM mesh, followed by the flux calculation by the Method Of Characteristics in a 2D-exact heterogeneous geometry of the assembly, and finally a depletion calculation by an iterative resolution of the Bateman equations. In the second step, the fuel inventory is used in the analysis of pile-oscillation experiments in which the reactivity of the ALIX spent fuel samples is compared to the reactivity of fresh fuel samples. The comparison between Experiment and Calculation shows satisfactory results with the JEFF3.1.1 library which predicts the reactivity loss within 2% for burn-up of {approx}75 GWd/t and within 4% for burn-up of {approx}85 GWd/t. (authors)

Burn-up calculation of different thorium-based fuel matrixes in a thermal research reactor using MCNPX 2.6 code

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gholamzadeh Zohreh

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Decrease of the economically accessible uranium resources and the inherent proliferation resistance of thorium fuel motivate its application in nuclear power systems. Estimation of the nuclear reactor’s neutronic parameters during different operational situations is of key importance for the safe operation of nuclear reactors. In the present research, thorium oxide fuel burn-up calculations for a demonstrative model of a heavy water- -cooled reactor have been performed using MCNPX 2.6 code. Neutronic parameters for three different thorium fuel matrices loaded separately in the modelled thermal core have been investigated. 233U, 235U and 239Pu isotopes have been used as fissile element in the thorium oxide fuel, separately. Burn-up of three different fuels has been calculated at 1 MW constant power. 135X and 149Sm concentration variations have been studied in the modelled core during 165 days burn-up. Burn-up of thorium oxide enriched with 233U resulted in the least 149Sm and 135Xe productions and net fissile production of 233U after 165 days. The negative fuel, coolant and void reactivity of the used fuel assures safe operation of the modelled thermal core containing (233U-Th O2 matrix. Furthermore, utilisation of thorium breeder fuel demonstrates several advantages, such as good neutronic economy, 233U production and less production of long-lived α emitter high radiotoxic wastes in biological internal exposure point of view

Application of instrumental neutron activation analysis of uranium in burn-up measurements using. gamma. -ray spectrometric method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chao, H E; Lu, W D

1975-12-01

In uranium burnup measurements, the amount of uranium in the irradiated sample needs to be determined, and the application of instrumental neutron activation analysis for this purpose is investigated. The method uses the gamma-ray activities of /sup 239/Np and some short-lived fission products of half-lives no longer than a few days to determine the quantities of /sup 238/U and /sup 235/U respectively. The advantages of the method include: (1) the amounts of both /sup 235/U and /sup 238/U of the sample can be simultaneously determined with good accuracy, (2) the same sample may be used to determine both the fission numbers and the amount of uranium remaining simultaneously or one after another, thus the exact amount of the sample is not necessarily known, (3) since the amount of the sample needed for the determination is usually small, i.e., about 10 ..mu..g, it should be easily handled even for high-level burnup samples. The error of the method is about 3 percent for a single measurement. The burnup values measured for an irradiated natural uranium sample from three aliquots using several fission products are in good agreement. The effective cross section for /sup 235/U deduced from the burnup and the integrated flux from a cobalt monitor is found to be 589 +- 19 barn which is in agreement with the literature value of 577 +- 1 barn.

Fission gas release and pellet microstructure change of high burnup BWR fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itagaki, N.; Ohira, K.; Tsuda, K.; Fischer, G.; Ota, T.

1998-01-01

UO 2 fuel, with and without Gadolinium, irradiated for three, five, and six irradiation cycles up to about 60 GWd/t pellet burnup in a commercial BWR were studied. The fission gas release and the rim effect were investigated by the puncture test and gas analysis method, OM (optical microscope), SEM (scanning electron microscope), and EPMA (electron probe microanalyzer). The fission gas release rate of the fuel rods irradiated up to six cycles was below a few percent; there was no tendency for the fission gas release to increase abruptly with burnup. On the other hand, microstructure changes were revealed by OM and SEM examination at the rim position with burnup increase. Fission gas was found depleted at both the rim position and the pellet center region using EPMA. There was no correlation between the fission gas release measured by the puncture test and the fission gas depletion at the rim position using EPMA. However, the depletion of fission gas in the center region had good correlation with the fission gas release rate determined by the puncture test. In addition, because the burnup is very large at the rim position of high burnup fuel and also due to the fission rate of the produced Pu, the Xe/Kr ratio at the rim position of high burnup fuel is close to the value of the fission yield of Pu. The Xe/Kr ratio determined by the gas analysis after the puncture test was equivalent to the fuel average but not to the pellet rim position. From the results, it was concluded that fission gas at the rim position was released from the UO 2 matrix in high burnup, however, most of this released fission gas was held in the porous structure and not released from the pellet to the free volume. (author)

Cellular automata approach to investigation of high burn-up structures in nuclear reactor fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akishina, E.P.; Ivanov, V.V.; Kostenko, B.F.

2005-01-01

Micrographs of uranium dioxide (UO 2 ) corresponding to exposure times in reactor during 323, 953, 971, 1266 and 1642 full power days were investigated. The micrographs were converted into digital files isomorphous to cellular automata (CA) checkerboards. Such a representation of the fuel structure provides efficient tools for its dynamics simulation in terms of primary 'entities' imprinted in the micrographs. Besides, it also ensures a possibility of very effective micrograph processing by CA means. Interconnection between the description of fuel burn-up development and some exactly soluble models is ascertained. Evidences for existence of self-organization in the fuel at high burn-ups were established. The fractal dimension of microstructures is found to be an important characteristic describing the degree of radiation destructions

A semi-empirical model for the formation and depletion of the high burnup structure in UO{sub 2}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pizzocri, D. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Directorate for Nuclear Safety and Security, PO Box 2340, 76125, Karlsruhe (Germany); Politecnico di Milano, Department of Energy, Nuclear Engineering Division, Via La Masa 34, 20156, Milan (Italy); Cappia, F. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Directorate for Nuclear Safety and Security, PO Box 2340, 76125, Karlsruhe (Germany); Technische Universität München, Boltzmannstraße 15, 85747, Garching bei München (Germany); Luzzi, L., E-mail: lelio.luzzi@polimi.it [Politecnico di Milano, Department of Energy, Nuclear Engineering Division, Via La Masa 34, 20156, Milan (Italy); Pastore, G. [Idaho National Laboratory, Fuel Modeling and Simulation Department, 2525 Fremont Avenue, 83415, Idaho Falls (United States); Rondinella, V.V.; Van Uffelen, P. [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Directorate for Nuclear Safety and Security, PO Box 2340, 76125, Karlsruhe (Germany)

2017-04-15

In the rim zone of UO{sub 2} nuclear fuel pellets, the combination of high burnup and low temperature drives a microstructural change, leading to the formation of the high burnup structure (HBS). In this work, we propose a semi-empirical model to describe the formation of the HBS, which embraces the polygonisation/recrystallization process and the depletion of intra-granular fission gas, describing them as inherently related. For this purpose, we performed grain-size measurements on samples at radial positions in which the restructuring was incomplete. Based on these new experimental data, we infer an exponential reduction of the average grain size with local effective burnup, paired with a simultaneous depletion of intra-granular fission gas driven by diffusion. The comparison with currently used models indicates the applicability of the herein developed model within integral fuel performance codes. - Highlights: •Development of a new model for the formation and depletion of the high burnup structure. •New average grain-size measurements to support model development. •Formation threshold of the high burnup structure based on the concept of effective burnup. •Coupled description of grain recrystallization/polygonisation and depletion of intra-granular fission gas. •Model suitable for application in fuel performance codes.

Calculation study of the WWER-440 fuel performance for extended burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kujal, J.; Pazdera, F.; Barta, O.

1984-01-01

The results of preliminary calculational study of extended burnup cycling schemes impact on WWER-440 fuel performance are presented. Two high burnup schemes were proposed with three and four cycles, resp. Comparison was made with three cycle reference case. The thermal mechanical analysis was performed with PIN and RELA codes. The values of rod internal pressure, fuel centerline temperatures and fuel-cladding gap are expressed as function of power history. (author)

Burnup calculation for a tokamak commercial hybrid reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Kaiming; Xie Zhongyou

1990-08-01

A computer code ISOGEN-III and its associated data library BULIB have been developed for fusion-fission hybrid reactor burnup calculations. These are used to calcuate burnup of a tokamak commercial hybrid reactor. The code and library are introduced briefly, and burnup calculation results are given

COGEMA/TRANSNUCLEAIRE's experience with burnup credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chanzy, Y.; Guillou, E.

1998-01-01

Facing a continuous increase in the fuel enrichments, COGEMA and TRANSNUCLEAIRE have implemented step by step a burnup credit programme to improve the capacity of their equipment without major physical modification. Many authorizations have been granted by the French competent authority in wet storage, reprocessing and transport since 1981. As concerns transport, numerous authorizations have been validated by foreign competent authorities. Up to now, those authorizations are restricted to PWR Fuel type assemblies made of enriched uranium. The characterization of the irradiated fuel and the reactivity of the systems are evaluated by calculations performed with well qualified French codes developed by the CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission): CESAR as a depletion code and APPOLO-MORET as a criticality code. The authorizations are based on the assurance that the burnup considered is met on the least irradiated part of the fuel assemblies. Besides, the most reactive configuration is calculated and the burnup credit is restricted to major actinides only. This conservative approach allows not to take credit for any axial profile. On the operational side, the procedures have been reevaluated to avoid misloadings and a burnup verification is made before transport, storage and reprocessing. Depending on the level of burnup credit, it consists of a qualitative (go/no-go) verification or of a quantitative measurement. Thus the use of burnup credit is now a common practice in France and Germany and new improvements are still in progress: extended qualifications of the codes are made to enable the use of six selected fission products in the criticality evaluations. (author)

Impact of nuclear data uncertainty on safety calculations for spent nuclear fuel geological disposal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herrero J.J.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the design of a spent nuclear fuel disposal system, one necessary condition is to show that the configuration remains subcritical at time of emplacement but also during long periods covering up to 1,000,000 years. In the context of criticality safety applying burn-up credit, k-eff eigenvalue calculations are affected by nuclear data uncertainty mainly in the burnup calculations simulating reactor operation and in the criticality calculation for the disposal canister loaded with the spent fuel assemblies. The impact of nuclear data uncertainty should be included in the k-eff value estimation to enforce safety. Estimations of the uncertainty in the discharge compositions from the CASMO5 burn-up calculation phase are employed in the final MCNP6 criticality computations for the intact canister configuration; in between, SERPENT2 is employed to get the spent fuel composition along the decay periods. In this paper, nuclear data uncertainty was propagated by Monte Carlo sampling in the burn-up, decay and criticality calculation phases and representative values for fuel operated in a Swiss PWR plant will be presented as an estimation of its impact.

Benchmarking burnup reconstruction methods for dynamically operated research reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sternat, Matthew R. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Charlton, William S. [Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE (United States). National Strategic Research Institute; Nichols, Theodore F. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2016-03-01

The burnup of an HEU fueled dynamically operated research reactor, the Oak Ridge Research Reactor, was experimentally reconstructed using two different analytic methodologies and a suite of signature isotopes to evaluate techniques for estimating burnup for research reactor fuel. The methods studied include using individual signature isotopes and the complete mass spectrometry spectrum to recover the sample’s burnup. The individual, or sets of, isotopes include ¹⁴⁸Nd, ¹³⁷Cs+¹³⁷Ba, ¹³⁹La, and ¹⁴⁵Nd+¹⁴⁶Nd. The storage documentation from the analyzed fuel material provided two different measures of burnup: burnup percentage and the total power generated from the assembly in MWd. When normalized to conventional units, these two references differed by 7.8% (395.42GWd/MTHM and 426.27GWd/MTHM) in the resulting burnup for the spent fuel element used in the benchmark. Among all methods being evaluated, the results were within 11.3% of either reference burnup. The results were mixed in closeness to both reference burnups; however, consistent results were achieved from all three experimental samples.

Burn-up analysis of uranium silicide fuels 20% 235U, in the LFR facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amor, Ricardo A.; Bouza, Edgardo; Cabrejas, Julian L.; Devida, Claudio A.; Gil, Daniel A.; Stankevicius, Alejandro; Gautier, Eduardo; Garavaglia, Ricardo N.; Lobo, Alfredo

2003-01-01

The LFR Facility is a laboratory designed and constructed with a Hot-Cells line, a Globe-Box and a Fume-Hood, all of them suited to work with radioactive materials such as samples of irradiated silicide MTR fuel elements. A series of dissolutions of this material was performed. From the resulting solutions, two fractions were separated by HPLC. One contained U + Pu, and other the fission product Nd. The concentrations of these elements were obtained by isotopic dilution and mass spectrometry (IDMS). It is concluded that this technique is very powerful and accurate when properly applied, and makes the validation of burn-up calculation codes possible. It is worth remarking the Lfr capacity to carry on different Research and Development (R + D) tasks in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle field. (author)

Cost analysis of the US spent nuclear fuel reprocessing facility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schneider, E.A.; Deinert, M.R. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin TX (United States); Cady, K.B. [Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Cornell University, Ithaca NY (United States)

2009-09-15

The US Department of Energy is actively seeking ways in which to delay or obviate the need for additional nuclear waste repositories beyond Yucca Mountain. All of the realistic approaches require the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. However, the US currently lacks the infrastructure to do this and the costs of building and operating the required facilities are poorly established. Recent studies have also suggested that there is a financial advantage to delaying the deployment of such facilities. We consider a system of government owned reprocessing plants, each with a 40 year service life, that would reprocess spent nuclear fuel generated between 2010 and 2100. Using published data for the component costs, and a social discount rate appropriate for intergenerational analyses, we establish the unit cost for reprocessing and show that it increases slightly if deployment of infrastructure is delayed by a decade. The analysis indicates that achieving higher spent fuel discharge burnup is the most important pathway to reducing the overall cost of reprocessing. The analysis also suggests that a nuclear power production fee would be a way for the US government to recover the costs in a manner that is relatively insensitive to discount and nuclear power growth rates. (author)

Sensibility analysis of fuel depletion using different nuclear fuel depletion codes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martins, F.; Velasquez, C.E.; Castro, V.F.; Pereira, C.; Silva, C. A. Mello da, E-mail: felipmartins94@gmail.com, E-mail: carlosvelcab@hotmail.com, E-mail: victorfariascastro@gmail.com, E-mail: claubia@nuclear.ufmg.br, E-mail: clarysson@nuclear.ufmg.br [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear

2017-07-01

Nowadays, the utilization of different nuclear codes to perform the depletion and criticality calculations has been used to simulated nuclear reactors problems. Therefore, the goal is to analyze the sensibility of the fuel depletion of a PWR assembly using three different nuclear fuel depletion codes. The burnup calculations are performed using the codes MCNP5/ORIGEN2.1 (MONTEBURNS), KENO-VI/ORIGEN-S (TRITONSCALE6.0) and MCNPX (MCNPX/CINDER90). Each nuclear code performs the burnup using different depletion codes. Each depletion code works with collapsed energies from a master library in 1, 3 and 63 groups, respectively. Besides, each code uses different ways to obtain neutron flux that influences the depletions calculation. The results present a comparison of the neutronic parameters and isotopes composition such as criticality and nuclides build-up, the deviation in results are going to be assigned to features of the depletion code in use, such as the different radioactive decay internal libraries and the numerical method involved in solving the coupled differential depletion equations. It is also seen that the longer the period is and the more time steps are chosen, the larger the deviation become. (author)

Sensibility analysis of fuel depletion using different nuclear fuel depletion codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, F.; Velasquez, C.E.; Castro, V.F.; Pereira, C.; Silva, C. A. Mello da

2017-01-01

Nowadays, the utilization of different nuclear codes to perform the depletion and criticality calculations has been used to simulated nuclear reactors problems. Therefore, the goal is to analyze the sensibility of the fuel depletion of a PWR assembly using three different nuclear fuel depletion codes. The burnup calculations are performed using the codes MCNP5/ORIGEN2.1 (MONTEBURNS), KENO-VI/ORIGEN-S (TRITONSCALE6.0) and MCNPX (MCNPX/CINDER90). Each nuclear code performs the burnup using different depletion codes. Each depletion code works with collapsed energies from a master library in 1, 3 and 63 groups, respectively. Besides, each code uses different ways to obtain neutron flux that influences the depletions calculation. The results present a comparison of the neutronic parameters and isotopes composition such as criticality and nuclides build-up, the deviation in results are going to be assigned to features of the depletion code in use, such as the different radioactive decay internal libraries and the numerical method involved in solving the coupled differential depletion equations. It is also seen that the longer the period is and the more time steps are chosen, the larger the deviation become. (author)

Theoretical analysis of nuclear reactors (Phase I), I-V, Part IV, Nuclear fuel depletion; Razrada metoda teorijske analize nuklearnih reaktora (I faza) I-V, IV Deo, Promena izotopnog sastava goriva

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pop-Jordanov, J [Institute of Nuclear Sciences Boris Kidric, Vinca, Beograd (Serbia and Montenegro)

1962-07-15

Nuclear fuel depletion is analyzed in order to estimate the qualitative and quantitative fuel property changes during irradiation and the influence of changes on the reactivity during long-term reactor operation. The changes of fuel properties are described by changes of neutron absorption and fission cross sections. Part one of this report covers the economic significance of fuel burnup and the review of fuel isotopic changes during depletion. Pat two contains the analysis of the U{sup 235} chain, analytical expressions for the concentrations of U{sup 235}, U{sup 236} and Np{sup 237} as a function of burnup. Part three contains the analysis of neutron spectrum influence on the Westcott method for calculating the cross sections. Part four contains the calculation method applied on Calder Hall type reactor. The results were obtained by applying ZUSE-22 R digital computer.

Evaluation of Cross-Section Sensitivities in Computing Burnup Credit Fission Product Concentrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gauld, I.C.

2005-01-01

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Interim Staff Guidance 8 (ISG-8) for burnup credit covers actinides only, a position based primarily on the lack of definitive critical experiments and adequate radiochemical assay data that can be used to quantify the uncertainty associated with fission product credit. The accuracy of fission product neutron cross sections is paramount to the accuracy of criticality analyses that credit fission products in two respects: (1) the microscopic cross sections determine the reactivity worth of the fission products in spent fuel and (2) the cross sections determine the reaction rates during irradiation and thus influence the accuracy of predicted final concentrations of the fission products in the spent fuel. This report evaluates and quantifies the importance of the fission product cross sections in predicting concentrations of fission products proposed for use in burnup credit. The study includes an assessment of the major fission products in burnup credit and their production precursors. Finally, the cross-section importances, or sensitivities, are combined with the importance of each major fission product to the system eigenvalue (k eff ) to determine the net importance of cross sections to k eff . The importances established the following fission products, listed in descending order of priority, that are most likely to benefit burnup credit when their cross-section uncertainties are reduced: 151 Sm, 103 Rh, 155 Eu, 150 Sm, 152 Sm, 153 Eu, 154 Eu, and 143 Nd

Burnup simulations of different fuel grades using the MCNPX Monte Carlo code

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asah-Opoku Fiifi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Global energy problems range from the increasing cost of fuel to the unequal distribution of energy resources and the potential climate change resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. A sustainable nuclear energy would augment the current world energy supply and serve as a reliable future energy source. This research focuses on Monte Carlo simulations of pressurized water reactor systems. Three different fuel grades - mixed oxide fuel (MOX, uranium oxide fuel (UOX, and commercially enriched uranium or uranium metal (CEU - are used in this simulation and their impact on the effective multiplication factor (Keff and, hence, criticality and total radioactivity of the reactor core after fuel burnup analyzed. The effect of different clad materials on Keff is also studied. Burnup calculation results indicate a buildup of plutonium isotopes in UOX and CEU, as opposed to a decline in plutonium radioisotopes for MOX fuel burnup time. For MOX fuel, a decrease of 31.9% of the fissile plutonium isotope is observed, while for UOX and CEU, fissile plutonium isotopes increased by 82.3% and 83.8%, respectively. Keff results show zircaloy as a much more effective clad material in comparison to zirconium and stainless steel.

Burnup credit activities in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lake, W.H.; Thomas, D.A.; Doering, T.W.

2001-01-01

This report covers progress in burnup credit activities that have occurred in the United States of America (USA) since the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA's) Advisory Group Meeting (AGM) on Burnup Credit was convened in October 1997. The Proceeding of the AGM were issued in April 1998 (IAEA-TECDOC-1013, April 1998). The three applications of the use of burnup credit that are discussed in this report are spent fuel storage, spent fuel transportation, and spent fuel disposal. (author)

Application of Genetic Algorithm methodologies in fuel bundle burnup optimization of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jayalal, M.L.; Ramachandran, Suja; Rathakrishnan, S.; Satya Murty, S.A.V.; Sai Baba, M.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We study and compare Genetic Algorithms (GA) in the fuel bundle burnup optimization of an Indian Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) of 220 MWe. • Two Genetic Algorithm methodologies namely, Penalty Functions based GA and Multi Objective GA are considered. • For the selected problem, Multi Objective GA performs better than Penalty Functions based GA. • In the present study, Multi Objective GA outperforms Penalty Functions based GA in convergence speed and better diversity in solutions. - Abstract: The work carried out as a part of application and comparison of GA techniques in nuclear reactor environment is presented in the study. The nuclear fuel management optimization problem selected for the study aims at arriving appropriate reference discharge burnup values for the two burnup zones of 220 MWe Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) core. Two Genetic Algorithm methodologies namely, Penalty Functions based GA and Multi Objective GA are applied in this study. The study reveals, for the selected problem of PHWR fuel bundle burnup optimization, Multi Objective GA is more suitable than Penalty Functions based GA in the two aspects considered: by way of producing diverse feasible solutions and the convergence speed being better, i.e. it is capable of generating more number of feasible solutions, from earlier generations. It is observed that for the selected problem, the Multi Objective GA is 25.0% faster than Penalty Functions based GA with respect to CPU time, for generating 80% of the population with feasible solutions. When average computational time of fixed generations are considered, Penalty Functions based GA is 44.5% faster than Multi Objective GA. In the overall performance, the convergence speed of Multi Objective GA surpasses the computational time advantage of Penalty Functions based GA. The ability of Multi Objective GA in producing more diverse feasible solutions is a desired feature of the problem selected, that helps the

Life cycle analysis of advanced nuclear power generation technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchiyama, Yoji; Yokoyama, Hayaichi

1996-01-01

In this research, as for light water reactors and fast breeder reactors, for the object of all the processes from the mining, transport and refining of fuel, electric power generation to the treatment and disposal of waste, the amount of energy input and the quantity of CO 2 emission over the life cycle were analyzed, and regarding the influence that the technical progress of nuclear power generation exerted to environment, the effect of improvement was elucidated. Attention has been paid to nuclear power generation as its CO 2 emission is least, and the effect of global warming is smallest. In order to reduce the quantity of radioactive waste generation in LWRs and the cost of fuel cycle, and to extend the operation cycle, the technical development for heightening fuel burnup is in progress. The process of investigation of the new technologies of nuclear power generation taken up in this research is described. The analysis of the energy balance of various power generation methods is discussed. In the case of pluthermal process, the improvement of energy balance ratio is dependent on uranium enrichment technology. Nuclear power generation requires much materials and energy for the construction, and emits CO 2 indirectly. The CO 2 unit emission based on the analysis of energy balance was determined for the new technologies of nuclear power generation, and the results are shown. (K.I.)

Comparative analysis of LWR and FBR spent fuels for nuclear forensics evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Permana, Sidik; Suzuki, Mitsutoshi; Su'ud, Zaki

2012-01-01

Some interesting issues are attributed to nuclide compositions of spent fuels from thermal reactors as well as fast reactors such as a potential to reuse as recycled fuel, and a possible capability to be manage as a fuel for destructive devices. In addition, analysis on nuclear forensics which is related to spent fuel compositions becomes one of the interesting topics to evaluate the origin and the composition of spent fuels from the spent fuel foot-prints. Spent fuel compositions of different fuel types give some typical spent fuel foot prints and can be estimated the origin of source of those spent fuel compositions. Some technics or methods have been developing based on some science and technological capability including experimental and modeling or theoretical aspects of analyses. Some foot-print of nuclear forensics will identify the typical information of spent fuel compositions such as enrichment information, burnup or irradiation time, reactor types as well as the cooling time which is related to the age of spent fuels. This paper intends to evaluate the typical spent fuel compositions of light water (LWR) and fast breeder reactors (FBR) from the view point of some foot prints of nuclear forensics. An established depletion code of ORIGEN is adopted to analyze LWR spent fuel (SF) for several burnup constants and decay times. For analyzing some spent fuel compositions of FBR, some coupling codes such as SLAROM code, JOINT and CITATION codes including JFS-3-J-3.2R as nuclear data library have been adopted. Enriched U-235 fuel composition of oxide type is used for fresh fuel of LWR and a mixed oxide fuel (MOX) for FBR fresh fuel. Those MOX fuels of FBR come from the spent fuels of LWR. Some typical spent fuels from both LWR and FBR will be compared to distinguish some typical foot-prints of SF based on nuclear forensic analysis.

Comparative analysis of LWR and FBR spent fuels for nuclear forensics evaluation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Permana, Sidik; Suzuki, Mitsutoshi; Su' ud, Zaki [Department of Science and Technology for Nuclear Material Management (STNM), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), 2-4 Shirane, Shirakata, Tokai Mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki 319-1195 Nuclear Physics and Bio (Indonesia); Department of Science and Technology for Nuclear Material Management (STNM), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), 2-4 Shirane, Shirakata, Tokai Mura, Naka-gun, Ibaraki 319-1195 (Japan); Nuclear Physics and Bio Physics Research Group, Department of Physics, Bandung Institute of Technology, Gedung Fisika, Jl. Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132 (Indonesia)

2012-06-06

Some interesting issues are attributed to nuclide compositions of spent fuels from thermal reactors as well as fast reactors such as a potential to reuse as recycled fuel, and a possible capability to be manage as a fuel for destructive devices. In addition, analysis on nuclear forensics which is related to spent fuel compositions becomes one of the interesting topics to evaluate the origin and the composition of spent fuels from the spent fuel foot-prints. Spent fuel compositions of different fuel types give some typical spent fuel foot prints and can be estimated the origin of source of those spent fuel compositions. Some technics or methods have been developing based on some science and technological capability including experimental and modeling or theoretical aspects of analyses. Some foot-print of nuclear forensics will identify the typical information of spent fuel compositions such as enrichment information, burnup or irradiation time, reactor types as well as the cooling time which is related to the age of spent fuels. This paper intends to evaluate the typical spent fuel compositions of light water (LWR) and fast breeder reactors (FBR) from the view point of some foot prints of nuclear forensics. An established depletion code of ORIGEN is adopted to analyze LWR spent fuel (SF) for several burnup constants and decay times. For analyzing some spent fuel compositions of FBR, some coupling codes such as SLAROM code, JOINT and CITATION codes including JFS-3-J-3.2R as nuclear data library have been adopted. Enriched U-235 fuel composition of oxide type is used for fresh fuel of LWR and a mixed oxide fuel (MOX) for FBR fresh fuel. Those MOX fuels of FBR come from the spent fuels of LWR. Some typical spent fuels from both LWR and FBR will be compared to distinguish some typical foot-prints of SF based on nuclear forensic analysis.

Development of methods for burn-up calculations for LWR's

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaschik, W.

1978-01-01

This method is based on all burn-up depending data, namely particle densities and neutron spectra, being available in a burn-up library. This one is created by means of a small number of cell burn-up calculations which can easily be carried out and in which the heterogeneous cell structure and self-shielding effects can explicitly be accounted for. Then the cluster burn-up is simulated by adequate correlation of the burn-up data. The advantage of this method is given by - an exact determination of the real spectrum distribution in the individual fuel element clusters; - an exact determination of the burn-up related spectrum variations for each fuel rod and for each burn-up value obtained; - accounting for heterogeneity of the fuel rod cells and the self-shielding in the fuel; high accuracy of the results of a comparably low effort and - simple handling by largely automating the process of computation. Programed realization was achieved by establishing the RSYST modules ABRAJA, MITHOM, and SIMABB and their implementation within the code system. (orig./HP) [de

A Monte Carlo burnup code linking MCNP and REBUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanan, N. A.

1998-01-01

The REBUS-3 burnup code, used in the ANL RERTR Program, is a very general code that uses diffusion theory (DIF3D) to obtain the fluxes required for reactor burnup analyses. Diffusion theory works well for most reactors. However, to include the effects of exact geometry and strong absorbers that are difficult to model using diffusion theory, a Monte Carlo method is required. MCNP, a general-purpose, generalized-geometry, time-dependent, Monte Carlo transport code, is the most widely used Monte Carlo code. This paper presents a linking of the MCNP code and the REBUS burnup code to perform these difficult burnup analyses. The linked code will permit the use of the full capabilities of REBUS which include non-equilibrium and equilibrium burnup analyses. Results of burnup analyses using this new linked code are also presented

Technical and economic limits to fuel burnup extension. Proceedings of a technical committee meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-07-01

For many years, the increase of efficiency in the production of nuclear electricity has been an economic challenge in many countries which have developed this kind of energy. The increase of fuel burnup leads to a reduction in the volume of spent fuel discharged to longer fuel cycles in the reactor, which means bigger availability and capacity factors. After having increased the authorized burnup in plants, developing new alloys capable of resisting high burnup, and having accumulated data on fuel evolution with burnup, it has become necessary to establish the limitations which could be imposed by the physical evolution of the fuel, influencing fuel management, neutron properties, reprocessing or, more generally, the management of waste and irradiated fuels. It is also necessary to verify whether the benefits of lower electricity costs would not be offset by an increase in fuel management costs. The main questions are: Are technical and economic limits to the increasing of fuel burnup in parallel? Can we envisage nowadays the hardest limitation in some of these areas? Which are the main points to be solved from the technical point of view? Is this effort worthwhile considering the economy of the cycle? To which extent? For these reasons, the IAEA, following a recommendation by the International Working Group on Fuel Performance and Technology, held a Technical Committee Meeting on Technical and Economic Limits to Fuel Burnup Extension. The purpose of this meeting was to provide an international forum to review the evolution of fuel properties at increased burnup in order to estimate the limitations both from a physical and an economic point of view. The meeting was therefore divided into two parts. The first part, focusing on technical limits, was devoted to the improvement of the fuel element, such as fission gas release (FGR), RIM effect, cladding, etc. and the fabrication, core management, spent fuel and reprocessing. Eighteen related papers were presented which

Effect of core configuration on the burnup calculations of MTR research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussein, H.M.; Amin, E.H.; Sakr, A.M.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • 3D burn-up calculations of MTR-type research reactor were performed. Examination of the effect of control rod pattern on power density and neutron flux distributions is presented. • The calculations are performed using the MTR P C package and the programs (WIMS and CITVAP). • An empirical formula was generated for every fuel element type, to correlate irradiation to burn-up. - Abstract: In the present paper, three-dimensional burn-up calculations were performed using different patterns of control rods, in order to examine their effect on power density and neutron flux distributions through out the entire core and hence on the local burn-up distribution. These different cores burn-up calculations are carried out for an operating cycle equivalent to 15 Full Power Days (FPDs), with a power rating of 22 MW. Calculations were performed using an example of a typical research reactor of MTR-type using the internationally known computer codes’ package “MTR P C system”, using the cell calculation transport code WIMS-D4 with 12 energy groups and the core calculation diffusion code CITVAP with 5 energy groups. A depletion study was done and the effects on the research reactor fuel (U-235) were performed. The burn-up percentage (B.U.%) curves for every fuel element type were drawn versus irradiation (MWD/TE). Then an empirical formula was generated for every fuel element type, to correlate irradiation to burn-up percentage. Charts of power density and neutron flux distribution for each core were plotted at different sections of each fuel element of the reactor core. Then a complete discussion and analysis of these curves are performed with comparison between the different core configurations, illustrating the effect of insertion or extraction of either of the four control rods directly on the neutron flux and consequently on the power distribution and burn-up. A detailed study of fuel burn-up gives detailed insight on the different B.U.% calculations

High burnup MOX fuel assembly

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanpain, P.; Brunel, L.

1999-01-01

From the outset, the MOX product was required to have the same performance as UO 2 in terms of burnup and operational flexibility. In fact during the first years the UO 2 managements could not be applied to MOX. The changeover to an AFA 2G type fuel allowed an improvement in NPP operational flexibility. The move to the AFA 3G design fuel will enable an increase in the burnup of the MOX assemblies to the level of the UO 2 ones ('MOX Parity' project). But the FRAMATOME fuel development objective does not stop at the obtaining of parity between the current MOX and UO 2 products: this parity must remain guaranteed and the MOX managements must evolve in the same way as the UO 2 managements. The goal of the MOX product development programmes underway with COGEMA and the CEA is the demonstration over the next 10 years of a fuel capable of reaching burnups of 70 GWD/T. The research programmes focus on the fission gas release aspect, with three issues explored: optimization of pellet microstructures and validation in experimental reactor ; build-up of experience feedback from fission gas release at elevated burnups in commercial reactors, both for current and experimental products; adaptation and qualification of the design models and tools, over the ranges and for the products concerned. The product arising from these development programmes should be offered on the market around 2010. While meeting safety requirements, it will cater for the needs of the utilities in terms of product reliability, personnel dosimetry and kWh output costs (increase in burnup, NPP maneuverability and availability, minimization of process waste). (authors)

Changes of the inventory of radioactive materials in reactor fuel from uranium in changing to higher burn-up and determining the important effects of this

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kirchner, G.; Schaefer, R.

1985-01-01

The knowledge of the nuclide composition during and after use in the reactor is an essential, in order to be able to determine the effects associated with the operation of nuclear plants. The missing reliable data on the inventory of radioactive materials resulting from the expected change to higher burn-ups of uranium fuels in West Germany are calculated. The reliability of the program system used for this, which permits a one-dimensional account taken of the fuel rod cell and measurement of the changes of specific sets of nuclear data depending on burn-up, is confirmed by the comparison with experimentally found concentrations of important nuclides in fuel samples at Obrigheim nuclear power station. Realistic conditions of use are defined for a range of burn-up of 33 GWd/t to 55 GWd/t and the effects of changes of the number of cycles and the use of types of fuel elements being developed on the composition of the inventory are determined. The plutonium compositions during use in the reactor are given and are tabulated with the inventory for decay times up to 30 years. Effects during change to higher burn-ups are examined and discussed for the maximum inventories during use of fuel and for heat generation during final storage. (orig./HP) [de

Implementation of the Westinghouse nuclear design system for incore fuel management analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoskins, K.C.; Kichty, M.J.; Liu, Y.S.; Nguyen, T.Q.

1990-01-01

Development of the Westinghouse Advanced Nuclear Design System, which includes PHOENIX-P and ANC, has been continued to improve the efficiency, reliability, accuracy, and flexibility of models. The new codes ALPHA and PHIRE provide complete automation and interface functions for PHOENIX-P, ANC, and other codes. PHOENIX-P has been modified to generate data for ANC based on single or multi-assembly calculations. ANC has several enhancements, including improved pin power reconstruction, automated 2D model generation, and rod burnup prediction capability. The excellent performance of PHOENIX-P/ANC models is demonstrated by the results of over 30 models covering the range of Westinghouse designs. This Nuclear Design System is now the standard Westinghouse methodology for core design and analysis

Comparison of MCB and MONTEBURNS Monte Carlo burnup codes on a one-pass deep burn

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talamo, Alberto; Ji, Wei; Cetnar, Jerzy; Gudowski, Waclaw

2006-01-01

Numerical applications implemented on the Monte Carlo method have developed in line with the increase of computer power; nowadays, in the field of nuclear reactor physics, it is possible to perform burnup simulations in a detailed 3D geometry and a continuous energy description by the Monte Carlo method; moreover, the required computing time can be abundantly reduced by taking advantage of a computer cluster. In this paper we focused on comparing the results of the two major Monte Carlo burnup codes, MONTEBURNS and MCB, when they share the same MCNP geometry, nuclear data library, core thermal power, and they apply the same refueling and shuffling schedule. While simulating a total operation time of the Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor of 2100 effective full power days and a one-pass deep burn in-core fuel management schedule, we have found that the two Monte Carlo codes produce very similar results both on the criticality value of the core and the transmutation of the key actinides

Comparison of MCB and MONTEBURNS Monte Carlo burnup codes on a one-pass deep burn

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Talamo, Alberto [Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Roslagstullsbacken 21, Stockholm S-10691 (Sweden)]. E-mail: alby@anl.gov; Ji, Wei [University of Michigan, Bonisteel Boulevard 2355, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2104 (United States); Cetnar, Jerzy [AGH-University of Science and Technology, Al. Mickiewicza 30 Cracow (Poland); Gudowski, Waclaw [Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Roslagstullsbacken 21, Stockholm S-10691 (Sweden)

2006-09-15

Numerical applications implemented on the Monte Carlo method have developed in line with the increase of computer power; nowadays, in the field of nuclear reactor physics, it is possible to perform burnup simulations in a detailed 3D geometry and a continuous energy description by the Monte Carlo method; moreover, the required computing time can be abundantly reduced by taking advantage of a computer cluster. In this paper we focused on comparing the results of the two major Monte Carlo burnup codes, MONTEBURNS and MCB, when they share the same MCNP geometry, nuclear data library, core thermal power, and they apply the same refueling and shuffling schedule. While simulating a total operation time of the Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor of 2100 effective full power days and a one-pass deep burn in-core fuel management schedule, we have found that the two Monte Carlo codes produce very similar results both on the criticality value of the core and the transmutation of the key actinides.

A Criticality Evaluation of the GBC-32 Dry Storage Cask in PWR Burnup Credit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoon, Hyoungju; Park, Kwangheon; Hong, Ser Gi [Kyung Hee Univ., Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

The current criticality safety evaluation assumes the only unirradiated fresh fuels with the maximum enrichment in a dry storage cask (DSC) for conservatism without consideration of the depletion of fissile nuclides and the generation of neutron-absorbing fission products. However, the large conservatism leads to the significant increase of the storage casks required. Thus, the application of burnup credit which takes credit for the reduction of reactivity resulted from fuel depletion can increase the capacity in storage casks. On the other hand, the burnup credit application introduces lots of complexity into a criticality safety analysis such as the accurate estimation of the isotopic inventories and the burnup of UNFs and the validation of the criticality calculation. The criticality evaluation with an effect of burnup credit was performed for the DSC of GBC-32 by using SCALE 6.1/STARBUCS. keff values were calculated as a function of burnup and cooling time for four initial enrichments of 2, 3, 4, and 5 wt. % 235U. The values were calculated for the burnup range of 0 to 60,000 MWD/MTU, in increments of 10,000 MWD/MTU, and for five cooling times of 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 years.

Research and development of the software for visualizing nuclear reactor and neutronics analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okui, Shota; Sekimoto, Hiroshi

2009-01-01

It is not easy to image three-dimensional construct of a nuclear reactor with only its two-dimensional figure because it contains a number of structures and its construction is very complicated. Several visualization softwares for the nuclear reactor or some other plant exist, but require high skills and their operation is not simple. In this study, we developed nuclear reactor visualization software, called 'Visual Reactor (VR)', which does not require specific skills. We added the neutronics analysis code to that software. This code executes cell calculation, neutron diffusion calculation and nuclide burnup calculation by itself without any other codes. We tried to treat simple physics model in order to perform these calculation in a short time. Neutronics characteristics, such as neutron flux and power density distribution, are visualized on structure of nuclear reactor. Target operating system is Microsoft Windows XP or Vista. VR is utilized to figure out the structure of nuclear reactor and whole picture of neutronics characteristics. (author)

Validation of integrated burnup code system SWAT2 by the analyses of isotopic composition of spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suyama, K.; Mochizuki, H.; Okuno, H.; Miyoshi, Y.

2004-01-01

This paper provides validation results of SWAT2, the revised version of SWAT, which is a code system combining point burnup code ORIGEN2 and continuous energy Monte Carlo code MVP, by the analysis of post irradiation examinations (PIEs). Some isotopes show differences of calculation results between SWAT and SWAT2. However, generally, the differences are smaller than the error of PIE analysis that was reported in previous SWAT validation activity, and improved results are obtained for several important fission product nuclides. This study also includes comparison between an assembly and a single pin cell geometry models. (authors)

Benefits of the delta K of depletion benchmarks for burnup credit validation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lancaster, D.; Machiels, A.

2012-01-01

Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) burnup credit validation is demonstrated using the benchmarks for quantifying fuel reactivity decrements, published as 'Benchmarks for Quantifying Fuel Reactivity Depletion Uncertainty,' EPRI Report 1022909 (August 2011). This demonstration uses the depletion module TRITON available in the SCALE 6.1 code system followed by criticality calculations using KENO-Va. The difference between the predicted depletion reactivity and the benchmark's depletion reactivity is a bias for the criticality calculations. The uncertainty in the benchmarks is the depletion reactivity uncertainty. This depletion bias and uncertainty is used with the bias and uncertainty from fresh UO 2 critical experiments to determine the criticality safety limits on the neutron multiplication factor, k eff . The analysis shows that SCALE 6.1 with the ENDF/B-VII 238-group cross section library supports the use of a depletion bias of only 0.0015 in delta k if cooling is ignored and 0.0025 if cooling is credited. The uncertainty in the depletion bias is 0.0064. Reliance on the ENDF/B V cross section library produces much larger disagreement with the benchmarks. The analysis covers numerous combinations of depletion and criticality options. In all cases, the historical uncertainty of 5% of the delta k of depletion ('Kopp memo') was shown to be conservative for fuel with more than 30 GWD/MTU burnup. Since this historically assumed burnup uncertainty is not a function of burnup, the Kopp memo's recommended bias and uncertainty may be exceeded at low burnups, but its absolute magnitude is small. (authors)

Sensitivity and parametric evaluations of significant aspects of burnup credit for PWR spent fuel packages

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

DeHart, M.D.

1996-05-01

Spent fuel transportation and storage cask designs based on a burnup credit approach must consider issues that are not relevant in casks designed under a fresh-fuel loading assumption. For example, the spent fuel composition must be adequately characterized and the criticality analysis model can be complicated by the need to consider axial burnup variations. Parametric analyses are needed to characterize the importance of fuel assembly and fuel cycle parameters on spent fuel composition and reactivity. Numerical models must be evaluated to determine the sensitivity of criticality safety calculations to modeling assumptions. The purpose of this report is to describe analyses and evaluations performed in order to demonstrate the effect physical parameters and modeling assumptions have on the criticality analysis of spent fuel. The analyses in this report include determination and ranking of the most important actinides and fission products; study of the effect of various depletion scenarios on subsequent criticality calculations; establishment of trends in neutron multiplication as a function of fuel enrichment, burnup, cooling time- and a parametric and modeling evaluation of three-dimensional effects (e.g., axially varying burnup and temperature/density effects) in a conceptual cask design. The sensitivity and parametric evaluations were performed with the consideration of two different burnup credit approaches: (1) only actinides in the fuel are considered in the criticality analysis, and (2) both actinides and fission products are considered. Calculations described in this report were performed using the criticality and depletion sequences available in the SCALE code system and the SCALE 27-group burnup library. Although the results described herein do not constitute a validation of SCALE for use in spent fuel analysis, independent validation efforts have been completed and are described in other reports.

Sensitivity and parametric evaluations of significant aspects of burnup credit for PWR spent fuel packages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeHart, M.D.

1996-05-01

Spent fuel transportation and storage cask designs based on a burnup credit approach must consider issues that are not relevant in casks designed under a fresh-fuel loading assumption. For example, the spent fuel composition must be adequately characterized and the criticality analysis model can be complicated by the need to consider axial burnup variations. Parametric analyses are needed to characterize the importance of fuel assembly and fuel cycle parameters on spent fuel composition and reactivity. Numerical models must be evaluated to determine the sensitivity of criticality safety calculations to modeling assumptions. The purpose of this report is to describe analyses and evaluations performed in order to demonstrate the effect physical parameters and modeling assumptions have on the criticality analysis of spent fuel. The analyses in this report include determination and ranking of the most important actinides and fission products; study of the effect of various depletion scenarios on subsequent criticality calculations; establishment of trends in neutron multiplication as a function of fuel enrichment, burnup, cooling time- and a parametric and modeling evaluation of three-dimensional effects (e.g., axially varying burnup and temperature/density effects) in a conceptual cask design. The sensitivity and parametric evaluations were performed with the consideration of two different burnup credit approaches: (1) only actinides in the fuel are considered in the criticality analysis, and (2) both actinides and fission products are considered. Calculations described in this report were performed using the criticality and depletion sequences available in the SCALE code system and the SCALE 27-group burnup library. Although the results described herein do not constitute a validation of SCALE for use in spent fuel analysis, independent validation efforts have been completed and are described in other reports

Application of burnup credit for PWR spent fuel storage pool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Hee Sung; Ro, Seung-Gy; Bae, Kang Mok; Kim, Ik Soo; Shin, Young Joon

1999-01-01

A study on the application of burnup credit for a PWR spent fuel storage pool has been investigated using a computer code system such as CSAS6 module of SCALE 4.3 in association with 44-group SCALE cross-section library. The calculation bias of the code system at a 95% probability with a 95% confidence level seems to be 0.00951 by benchmarking the system for forty six experimental data. With the aid of this computer code system, criticality analysis has been performed for the PWR spent fuel storage pool. Uncertainties due to postulated abnormal and accidental conditions, and manufacturing tolerance such as stainless steel thickness of storage rack, fuel enrichment, fuel density and box size have statistically been combined and resulted in 0.00674. Also, isotopic correction factor which was based on the calculated and measured concentration of 43 isotopes for both selected actinides and fission products important in burnup credit application has been taken into account in the criticality analysis. It is revealed that the minimum burnup with the corrected isotopic concentrations as required for the safe storage is 5,730 MWd/tU in enriched fuel of 5.0 wt%. (author)

Simulation of the neutron-physical properties of the classical UO2 fuel and of MOX fuel during the burn-up by Transuranus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breza, J. jr.; Necas, V.; Daoeilek, P.

2005-01-01

The classical nuclear fuel UO 2 is well known for VVER reactors. Nevertheless, in the near future it will be possible to replace this fuel by novel, advanced kinds of fuel, for instance MOX, inert matrices fuel, etc., that will allow to increase the level of burn-up and minimize the amount of hazardous waste. The code Transuranus [2], designed at ITU Karlsruhe, is intended for thermal and mechanical analyses of fuel elements in nuclear reactors. We have utilized the code Transuranus to simulate the neutron-physical properties of the classical UO 2 fuel and of MOX fuel during the burn-up to a level of 40 MWd/kgHM. We compare obtained results of uranium and plutonium nuclides concentrations, their changes during burn-up, with results obtained by code HELIOS [3], which is well-validated code for this kind of applications. We performed calculations of fission gasses concentrations, namely xenon and krypton. (author)

Investigation of very high burnup UO{sub 2} fuels in Light Water Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cappia, Fabiola

2017-03-27

Historically, the average discharge burnup of Light Water Reactor (LWR) fuel has increased almost continuously. On one side, increase in the average discharge burnup is attractive because it contributes to decrease part of the fuel cycle costs. On the other side, it raises the practical problem of predicting the performance, longevity and properties of reactor fuel elements upon accumulation of irradiation damage and fission products both during in-reactor operation and after discharge. Performance of the fuel and structural components of the core is one of the critical areas on which the economic viability and public acceptance of nuclear energy production hinges. Along the pellet radius, the fuel matrix is subjected to extremely heterogeneous alteration and damage, as a result of temperature and burnup gradients. In particular, in the peripheral region of LWR UO{sub 2} fuel pellets, when the local burnup exceeds 50-70 GWd/tHM, a microstructural transformation starts to take place, as a consequence of enhanced accumulation of radiation damage, fission products and limited thermal recovery. The newly formed structure is commonly named High Burnup Structure (HBS). The HBS is characterised by three main features: (a) formation of submicrometric grains from the original grains, (b) depletion of fission gas from the fuel matrix, (c) steep increase in the porosity, which retains most of the gas depleted from the fuel matrix. The last two aspects rose significant attention because of the important impact of the fission gas behaviour on integral fuel performance. The porosity increase controls the gas-driven swelling, worsening the cladding loading once the fuel-cladding gap is closed. Another concern is that the large retention of fission gas within the HBS could lead to significant release at high burnups through the degradation of thermal conductivity or contribute to fuel pulverisation during accidental conditions. Need of more experimental investigations about the

TRIGA criticality experiment for testing burn-up calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persic, Andreja; Ravnik, Matjaz; Zagar, Tomaz

1999-01-01

A criticality experiment with partly burned TRIGA fuel is described. 20 wt % enriched standard TRIGA fuel elements initially containing 12 wt % U are used. Their average burn-up is 1.4 MWd. Fuel element burn-up is calculated in 2-D four group diffusion approximation using TRIGLAV code. The burn-up of several fuel elements is also measured by reactivity method. The excess reactivity of several critical and subcritical core configurations is measured. Two core configurations contain the same fuel elements in the same arrangement as were used in the fresh TRIGA fuel criticality experiment performed in 1991. The results of the experiment may be applied for testing the computer codes used for fuel burn-up calculations. (author)

Analysis of recent post irradiation tests by Japanese and French burnup analysis code systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwasaki, Tomohiko; Hiraizumi, Hiroaki; Youinou, Gilles

2002-01-01

Benchmark problem based on Japanese Post Irradiation Experiment (PIE) data was analyzed by Japanese burnup analysis code and French one under the cooperative research program between the Japanese University Association (JUA) in Japan and Commissariat a l'Enegie Atomique (CEA) in France. Significant discrepancies over 10% were found between the Japanese and French results for 238 Pu, 243 Am, 244 Cm, 125 Sb, 154 Eu, 134 Cs and 144 Ce. It is supposed that the difference of C/E for 243 Am and 244 Cm between Japanese results and French ones is due to the (n,gamma) reaction of 242m Am. For 125 Sb and 154 Eu, the C/E values are improved by using new cross section and fission yield libraries. (author)

Optimum Discharge Burnup and Cycle Length for PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Secker, Jeffrey R.; Johansen, Baard J.; Stucker, David L.; Ozer, Odelli; Ivanov, Kostadin; Yilmaz, Serkan; Young, E.H.

2005-01-01

This paper discusses the results of a pressurized water reactor fuel management study determining the optimum discharge burnup and cycle length. A comprehensive study was performed considering 12-, 18-, and 24-month fuel cycles over a wide range of discharge burnups. A neutronic study was performed followed by an economic evaluation. The first phase of the study limited the fuel enrichments used in the study to 235 U consistent with constraints today. The second phase extended the range of discharge burnups for 18-month cycles by using fuel enriched in excess of 5 wt%. The neutronic study used state-of-the-art reactor physics methods to accurately determine enrichment requirements. Energy requirements were consistent with today's high capacity factors (>98%) and short (15-day) refueling outages. The economic evaluation method considers various component costs including uranium, conversion, enrichment, fabrication and spent-fuel storage costs as well as the effect of discounting of the revenue stream. The resulting fuel cycle costs as a function of cycle length and discharge burnup are presented and discussed. Fuel costs decline with increasing discharge burnup for all cycle lengths up to the maximum discharge burnup considered. The choice of optimum cycle length depends on assumptions for outage costs

Development of base technology for high burnup PWR fuel improvement Volume 1 and 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yang Eun; Lee, Sang Hee; Bae, Seong Man [Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), Taejon (Korea, Republic of). Research Center; Chung, Jin Gon; Chung, Sun Kyo; Kim, Sun Du [Korea Atomic Energy Research Inst., Daeduk (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jae Won; Chung, Sun Kyo; Kim, Sun Du [Korea Nuclear Fuel Development Inst., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1995-12-31

Development of base technology for high burnup nuclear fuel -Development of UO{sub 2} pellet manufacturing technology -Improvement of fuel rod performance code -Improvement of plenum spring design -Study on the mechanical characteristics of fuel cladding -Organization of fuel failure mechanism Establishment of next stage R and D program (author). 226 refs., 100 figs.

Fundamental burn-up mode in a pebble-bed type reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Xue-Nong; Kiefhaber, Edgar; Maschek, Werner

2008-01-01

This paper deals with a pebble-bed type reactor, in which the fuel is loaded from one side (top) and discharged from the other side (bottom). A boundary value problem of a single group diffusion equation coupled with simplified burn-up equations is studied, where the natural radioactive decay processes are neglected in the burn-up modelling. An asymptotic burning wave solution is found analytically in the one-dimensional case, which is called as fundamental burn-up mode. Among this solution family there are two particular cases, namely, a classic fundamental solution with a zero burn-up and a partial solitary burn-up wave solution with a highest burn-up. An example of Th-U conversion is considered and the solutions are presented in order to show the mechanism of the burning wave. (author)

A relative risk comparison of criticality control strategies based on fresh fuel and burnup credit design bases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, T.L.

1989-01-01

The fresh fuel design basis provides some margin of safety, i.e., criticality safety is almost independent of loading operations if fuel designs do not change significantly over the next 40 years. However, the design basis enrichment for future nuclear fuel will most likely vary with time. As a result, it cannot be guaranteed that the perceived passivity of the concept will be maintained over the life cycle of a future cask system. Several options are available to ensure that the reliability of a burnup credit system is comparable to or greater than that of a system based on a fresh fuel assumption. Criticality safety and control reliability could increase with burnup credit implementation. The safety of a burnup credit system could be comparable to that for a system based on the fresh fuel assumption. A burnup credit philosophy could be implemented without any cost-benefit tradeoff. A burnup credit design basis could result in a significant reduction in total system risk as well as economic benefits. These reductions occur primarily as a result of increased cask capacities and, thus, fewer shipments. Fewer shipments also result in fewer operations over the useful life of a cask, and opportunities for error decrease. The system concept can be designed such that only benefits occur. These benefits could include enhanced criticality safety and the overall reliability of cask operations, as well as system risk and economic benefits. Thus, burnup credit should be available as an alternative for the criticality design of spent fuel shipping casks

Alloy development for high burnup cladding (PWR)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hahn, R. [Kraftwerk Union AG, Mulheim (Germany); Jeong, Y.H.; Baek, K.H.; Kim, S.J.; Choi, B.K.; Kim, J.M. [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1999-04-01

An overview on current alloy development for high burnup PWR fuel cladding is given. It is mainly based on literature data. First, the reasons for an increase of the current mean discharge burnup from 35 MWd / kg(U) to 70 MWd / kg(U) are outlined. From the material data, it is shown that a batch average burnup of 60-70 MWd / kg(U), as aimed by many fuel vendors, can not be achieved with stand (=ASTM-) Zry-4 cladding tubes without violating accepted design criteria. Specifically criteria which limit maximum oxide scale thickness and maximum hydrogen content, and to a less degree, maximum creep and growth rate, can not be achieved. The development potential of standard Zry-4 is shown. Even when taking advantage of this potential, it is shown that an 'improved' Zry-4 is reaching its limits when it achieves the target burnup. The behavior of some Zr alloys outside the ASTM range is shown, and the advantages and disadvantages of the 3 alloy groups (ZrSn+transition metals, ZrNb, ZrSnNb+transition metals) which are currently considered to have the development potential for high burnup cladding materials are depicted. Finally, conclusions are drawn. (author). 14 refs., 11 tabs., 82 figs.

Manufacturing Data Uncertainties Propagation Method in Burn-Up Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Frosio

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A nuclear data-based uncertainty propagation methodology is extended to enable propagation of manufacturing/technological data (TD uncertainties in a burn-up calculation problem, taking into account correlation terms between Boltzmann and Bateman terms. The methodology is applied to reactivity and power distributions in a Material Testing Reactor benchmark. Due to the inherent statistical behavior of manufacturing tolerances, Monte Carlo sampling method is used for determining output perturbations on integral quantities. A global sensitivity analysis (GSA is performed for each manufacturing parameter and allows identifying and ranking the influential parameters whose tolerances need to be better controlled. We show that the overall impact of some TD uncertainties, such as uranium enrichment, or fuel plate thickness, on the reactivity is negligible because the different core areas induce compensating effects on the global quantity. However, local quantities, such as power distributions, are strongly impacted by TD uncertainty propagations. For isotopic concentrations, no clear trends appear on the results.

Development of a parallel processing couple for calculations of control rod worth in terms of burn-up in a WWER-1000 reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Noori-Kalkhoran, Omid; Ahangari, R. [Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute (NSTRI), Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Reactor Research school; Shirani, A.S. [Shahid Beheshti Univ., Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Faculty of Engineering

2017-03-15

In this study a code based method has been developed for calculation of integral and differential control rod worth in terms of burn-up for a WWER-1000 reactor. Parallel processing of WIMSD-5B, PARCS V2.7 and COBRA-EN has been used for this purpose. WIMSD-5B has been used for cell calculation and handling burn-up of core at different days. PARCS V2.7?has been used for neutronic calculation of core and critical boron concentration search. Thermal-hydraulic calculation has been performed by COBRA-EN. A Parallel processing algorithm has been developed by MATLAB to couple and transfer suitable data between these codes in each step. Steady-State Power Picking Factors (PPFs) of the core and Control rod worth have been calculated from Beginning Of Cycle (BOC) to 289.7 Effective full Power Days (EFPDs) in some steps. Results have been compared with Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR) results. The results show great similarity and confirm the ability of developed coupling in calculation of control rod worth in terms of burn-up.

Past experience and future needs for the use of burnup credit in LWR fuel storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyd, W.A.; Wrights, G.N.

1987-01-01

To achieve improved fuel economics and reduce the amount of fuel discharged annually, utilities are engaging in fuel management strategies that will achieve higher discharge burnups for their fuel assemblies. Although burnup credit methodologies have been developed and spent-fuel racks have been licensed, burnup credit fuel storage racks are not the answer for all utilities. Off-site and out-of-pool spent-fuel storage may be more appropriate. This is leading to the development of dry spent-fuel storage and shipping casks. Cask designs with spent-fuel storage capability between 20 and 32 assemblies are being developed by several vendors. The US Dept. of Energy is also funding work by VEPCO. Westinghouse is currently licensing its dry storage cask, developing a shipping cask for the domestic market, and is involved in a joint venture to develop a cask for the international market. Although methods of taking credit for fuel burnup in spent-fuel storage racks have been developed and licensed, use of these methods on dry spent-fuel storage and shipping casks can lead to new issues. These issues arise because the excess reactivity margin that is inherent in a burnup credit spent-fuel storage rack criticality analysis will not be available in a dry cask analysis

Burnup code for fuel assembly by Monte Carlo code. MKENO-BURN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naito, Yoshitaka; Suyama, Kenya; Masukawa, Fumihiro; Matsumoto, Kiyoshi; Kurosawa, Masayoshi; Kaneko, Toshiyuki.

1996-12-01

The evaluation of neutron spectrum is so important for burnup calculation of the heterogeneous geometry like recent BWR fuel assembly. MKENO-BURN is a multi dimensional burnup code that based on the three dimensional monte carlo neutron transport code 'MULTI-KENO' and the routine for the burnup calculation of the one dimensional burnup code 'UNITBURN'. MKENO-BURN analyzes the burnup problem of arbitrary regions after evaluating the neutron spectrum and making one group cross section in three dimensional geometry with MULTI-KENO. It enables us to do three dimensional burnup calculation. This report consists of general description of MKENO-BURN and the input data. (author)

Burnup code for fuel assembly by Monte Carlo code. MKENO-BURN

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naito, Yoshitaka; Suyama, Kenya; Masukawa, Fumihiro; Matsumoto, Kiyoshi; Kurosawa, Masayoshi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Kaneko, Toshiyuki

1996-12-01

The evaluation of neutron spectrum is so important for burnup calculation of the heterogeneous geometry like recent BWR fuel assembly. MKENO-BURN is a multi dimensional burnup code that based on the three dimensional monte carlo neutron transport code `MULTI-KENO` and the routine for the burnup calculation of the one dimensional burnup code `UNITBURN`. MKENO-BURN analyzes the burnup problem of arbitrary regions after evaluating the neutron spectrum and making one group cross section in three dimensional geometry with MULTI-KENO. It enables us to do three dimensional burnup calculation. This report consists of general description of MKENO-BURN and the input data. (author)

Nuclear power reactor analysis, methods, algorithms and computer programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matausek, M.V

1981-01-01

Full text: For a developing country buying its first nuclear power plants from a foreign supplier, disregarding the type and scope of the contract, there is a certain number of activities which have to be performed by local stuff and domestic organizations. This particularly applies to the choice of the nuclear fuel cycle strategy and the choice of the type and size of the reactors, to bid parameters specification, bid evaluation and final safety analysis report evaluation, as well as to in-core fuel management activities. In the Nuclear Engineering Department of the Boris Kidric Institute of Nuclear Sciences (NET IBK) the continual work is going on, related to the following topics: cross section and resonance integral calculations, spectrum calculations, generation of group constants, lattice and cell problems, criticality and global power distribution search, fuel burnup analysis, in-core fuel management procedures, cost analysis and power plant economics, safety and accident analysis, shielding problems and environmental impact studies, etc. The present paper gives the details of the methods developed and the results achieved, with the particular emphasis on the NET IBK computer program package for the needs of planning, construction and operation of nuclear power plants. The main problems encountered so far were related to small working team, lack of large and powerful computers, absence of reliable basic nuclear data and shortage of experimental and empirical results for testing theoretical models. Some of these difficulties have been overcome thanks to bilateral and multilateral cooperation with developed countries, mostly through IAEA. It is the authors opinion, however, that mutual cooperation of developing countries, having similar problems and similar goals, could lead to significant results. Some activities of this kind are suggested and discussed. (author)

A PWR Thorium Pin Cell Burnup Benchmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weaver, Kevan Dean; Zhao, X.; Pilat, E. E; Hejzlar, P.

2000-05-01

As part of work to evaluate the potential benefits of using thorium in LWR fuel, a thorium fueled benchmark comparison was made in this study between state-of-the-art codes, MOCUP (MCNP4B + ORIGEN2), and CASMO-4 for burnup calculations. The MOCUP runs were done individually at MIT and INEEL, using the same model but with some differences in techniques and cross section libraries. Eigenvalue and isotope concentrations were compared on a PWR pin cell model up to high burnup. The eigenvalue comparison as a function of burnup is good: the maximum difference is within 2% and the average absolute difference less than 1%. The isotope concentration comparisons are better than a set of MOX fuel benchmarks and comparable to a set of uranium fuel benchmarks reported in the literature. The actinide and fission product data sources used in the MOCUP burnup calculations for a typical thorium fuel are documented. Reasons for code vs code differences are analyzed and discussed.

Specific application of burnup credit for MOX PWR fuels in the rotary dissolver

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caplin, Gregory; Coulaud, Alexandre; Klenov, Pavel; Toubon, Herve

2003-01-01

In prospect of a Mixed OXide spent fuels processing in the rotary dissolver in COGEMA/La Hague plant, it is interesting to quantify the criticality-safety margins from the burnup credit. Using the current production computer codes and considering a minimal fuel irradiation of 3 200 megawatt-day per ton, this paper shows the impact of burnup credit on industrial parameters such as the permissible concentration in the dissolution solution or the permissible oxide mass in the rotary dissolver. Moreover, the burnup credit is broken down into five sequences in order to quantify the contribution of fissile nuclides decrease and of minor actinides and fission products formation. The implementation of the burnup credit in the criticality-safety analysis of the rotary dissolver may lead to workable industrial conditions for the particular MOX fuel studied. It can eventually be noticed that minor actinides contribution is negligible and that considering only the six major fission products is sufficient, owing to the weak fuel irradiation contemplated. (author)

A Monte Carlo burnup code linking MCNP and REBUS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanan, N.A.; Olson, A.P.; Pond, R.B.; Matos, J.E.

1998-01-01

The REBUS-3 burnup code, used in the anl RERTR Program, is a very general code that uses diffusion theory (DIF3D) to obtain the fluxes required for reactor burnup analyses. Diffusion theory works well for most reactors. However, to include the effects of exact geometry and strong absorbers that are difficult to model using diffusion theory, a Monte Carlo method is required. MCNP, a general-purpose, generalized-geometry, time-dependent, Monte Carlo transport code, is the most widely used Monte Carlo code. This paper presents a linking of the MCNP code and the REBUS burnup code to perform these difficult analyses. The linked code will permit the use of the full capabilities of REBUS which include non-equilibrium and equilibrium burnup analyses. Results of burnup analyses using this new linked code are also presented. (author)

Nuclear criticality safety: general. 5. Reactivity Effect of Burnable Absorbers in Burnup Credit for the CASTOR X/32S Storage and Transport Cask

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rombough, Charles T.; Lancaster, Dale B.; Diersch, Rudolf; Spilker, Harry

2001-01-01

When considering burnup credit in the licensing of storage and transportation casks, a significant effect is whether or not the burned fuel was depleted with burnable absorbers present. This paper presents the results of detailed calculations to quantitatively determine the burnable absorber effect for the CASTOR X/32S transport cask, which assumes burnup of the fuel in the criticality analysis. A radial view of the CASTOR X/32S cask is shown in Fig. 1. This is the actual plot of the geometry as modeled in KENO V.a. Note that there are no water-filled flux traps and the assemblies are tightly packed. This reduces the overall dimensions of the cask for a given number of fuel assemblies. Reactivity is held down by borated aluminum plates between the fuel assemblies and by placing absorber rod modules (ARMs) in the guide tubes of selected assemblies. If burnup of the fuel is not considered and the initial enrichment is 5.0 wt% 235 U, then 28 of the 32 fuel assemblies must contain an ARM to maintain a k eff 3 ; 4. moderator temperature of 604 K; 5. cooling time of 9.5 yr; 6. specific power of 60 W/g of U metal; 7. conservative axial and radial burnup shape distribution; 8. Westinghouse BP material containing 12.5 wt% B 4 C. Using the model described earlier, calculations were performed with varying numbers of BP fingers inserted for different exposure times. The results are shown in Tables I and II. The 1 s statistical error in these results is σ equals ±0.05%. Note that the BP finger and exposure effects decrease with fuel burnup and the effect is smaller when the cask contains ARMs. Conservatively combining the results from Tables I and II and interpolating, we can equate fewer BP fingers with longer BP exposure time as shown in Table III. The Table III results were checked by running the actual cases (for example, 20 BP fingers for 24 GWd/tonne exposure) to verify that the k eff 's for the cask were always less than the base-case values. These results can also be

Thermochemistry of nuclear fuels in advanced reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agarwal, Renu

2015-01-01

The presence of a large number of elements, accompanied with steep temperature gradient results in dynamic chemistry during nuclear fuel burn-up. Understanding this chemistry is very important for efficient and safe usage of nuclear fuels. The radioactive nature of these fuels puts lot of constraint on regulatory bodies to ensure their accident free operation in the reactors. One of the common aims of advanced fuels is to achieve high burn-up. As burn-up of the fuel increases, chemistry of fission-products becomes increasingly more important. To understand different phenomenon taking place in-pile, many out of-pile experiments are carried out. Extensive studies of thermodynamic properties, phase analysis, thermophysical property evaluation, fuel-fission product clad compatibility are carried out with relevant compounds and simulated fuels (SIMFUEL). All these data are compiled and jointly evaluated using different computational methods to predict fuel behaviour during burn-up. Only when this combined experimental and theoretical information confirms safe operation of the pin, a test pin is prepared and burnt in a test reactor. Every fuel has a different chemistry and different constraints associated with it. In this talk, various thermo-chemical aspects of some of the advanced fuels, mixed carbide, mixed nitride, 'Pu' rich MOX, 'Th' based AHWR fuels and metallic fuels will be discussed. (author)

Characterization of the non-uniqueness of used nuclear fuel burnup signatures through a Mesh-Adaptive Direct Search

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skutnik, Steven E., E-mail: sskutnik@utk.edu; Davis, David R.

2016-05-01

The use of passive gamma and neutron signatures from fission indicators is a common means of estimating used fuel burnup, enrichment, and cooling time. However, while characteristic fission product signatures such as {sup 134}Cs, {sup 137}Cs, {sup 154}Eu, and others are generally reliable estimators for used fuel burnup within the context where the assembly initial enrichment and the discharge time are known, in the absence of initial enrichment and/or cooling time information (such as when applying NDA measurements in a safeguards/verification context), these fission product indicators no longer yield a unique solution for assembly enrichment, burnup, and cooling time after discharge. Through the use of a new Mesh-Adaptive Direct Search (MADS) algorithm, it is possible to directly probe the shape of this “degeneracy space” characteristic of individual nuclides (and combinations thereof), both as a function of constrained parameters (such as the assembly irradiation history) and unconstrained parameters (e.g., the cooling time before measurement and the measurement precision for particular indicator nuclides). In doing so, this affords the identification of potential means of narrowing the uncertainty space of potential assembly enrichment, burnup, and cooling time combinations, thereby bounding estimates of assembly plutonium content. In particular, combinations of gamma-emitting nuclides with distinct half-lives (e.g., {sup 134}Cs with {sup 137}Cs and {sup 154}Eu) in conjunction with gross neutron counting (via {sup 244}Cm) are able to reasonably constrain the degeneracy space of possible solutions to a space small enough to perform useful discrimination and verification of fuel assemblies based on their irradiation history.

Time step length versus efficiency of Monte Carlo burnup calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dufek, Jan; Valtavirta, Ville

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Time step length largely affects efficiency of MC burnup calculations. • Efficiency of MC burnup calculations improves with decreasing time step length. • Results were obtained from SIE-based Monte Carlo burnup calculations. - Abstract: We demonstrate that efficiency of Monte Carlo burnup calculations can be largely affected by the selected time step length. This study employs the stochastic implicit Euler based coupling scheme for Monte Carlo burnup calculations that performs a number of inner iteration steps within each time step. In a series of calculations, we vary the time step length and the number of inner iteration steps; the results suggest that Monte Carlo burnup calculations get more efficient as the time step length is reduced. More time steps must be simulated as they get shorter; however, this is more than compensated by the decrease in computing cost per time step needed for achieving a certain accuracy

The commercial impact of burnup increase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fenzlein, C.; Schricker, W.

2002-01-01

Deregulation has a dramatic effect on competition in the electricity markets. This will lead to a continued pressure on the prices in virtually all areas of the nuclear fuel cycle and will encourage further optimization, technical and technological progress and innovations with respect to further cost reductions of power production. The permission of direct disposal, in Germany legally granted in 1994 as an alternative to the reprocessing path, made possible cost savings and has consequently resulted in a decline of reprocessing prices. In addition, suppliers as well as operators are making considerable efforts to reduce the disposal costs fraction by optimizing disposal technologies and concepts. The increase of discharge has essentially contributed to the reduction the disposal cost fraction. Compared to former scenarios, the economic potential of burn-up increase is decreasing

Appropriate burnup measurements for transportation burnup credit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lancaster, D.; Fuentes, E.

1997-01-01

This paper addresses two of the measurement specifications used in analyzing spent fuel packages to gain burnup credit. The philosophy and calculation of rejection criteria and measurement accuracy are discussed. Any assembly for which the declared measured value and reactor record value deviate by more than 10% will be rejected. Measurement accuracy requirements are established for dependent and independent systems. The requirements have been tested and are achievable, ensuring safe operation without extra cost. 6 refs

Reliability analysis of dispersion nuclear fuel elements

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Shurong; Jiang, Xin; Huo, Yongzhong; Li, Lin an

2008-03-01

Taking a dispersion fuel element as a special particle composite, the representative volume element is chosen to act as the research object. The fuel swelling is simulated through temperature increase. The large strain elastoplastic analysis is carried out for the mechanical behaviors using FEM. The results indicate that the fission swelling is simulated successfully; the thickness increments grow linearly with burnup; with increasing of burnup: (1) the first principal stresses at fuel particles change from tensile ones to compression ones, (2) the maximum Mises stresses at the particles transfer from the centers of fuel particles to the location close to the interfaces between the matrix and the particles, their values increase with burnup; the maximum Mises stresses at the matrix exist in the middle location between the two particles near the mid-plane along the length (or width) direction, and the maximum plastic strains are also at the above region.

Reliability analysis of dispersion nuclear fuel elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding Shurong [Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China)], E-mail: dsr1971@163.com; Jiang Xin [Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China); Huo Yongzhong [Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China)], E-mail: yzhuo@fudan.edu.cn; Li Linan [Department of Mechanics, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China)

2008-03-15

Taking a dispersion fuel element as a special particle composite, the representative volume element is chosen to act as the research object. The fuel swelling is simulated through temperature increase. The large strain elastoplastic analysis is carried out for the mechanical behaviors using FEM. The results indicate that the fission swelling is simulated successfully; the thickness increments grow linearly with burnup; with increasing of burnup: (1) the first principal stresses at fuel particles change from tensile ones to compression ones, (2) the maximum Mises stresses at the particles transfer from the centers of fuel particles to the location close to the interfaces between the matrix and the particles, their values increase with burnup; the maximum Mises stresses at the matrix exist in the middle location between the two particles near the mid-plane along the length (or width) direction, and the maximum plastic strains are also at the above region.

Development of a new measurement method for fast breeder reactor fuel burnup using a shielded ion microprobe analyzer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizuno, M.; Enokido, Y.; Itaki, T.; Kono, K.; Unno, I.; Yamanouchi, S.

1985-01-01

A new method of burnup measurement using a shielded ion microprobe analyzer (SIMA) has been developed. The method is based on the isotope analysis of uranium, plutonium, and fission products in irradiated mixed oxide fuel by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Fourteen samples irradiated in the Japanese experimental fast reactor JOYO were examined. The maximum local burnup of JOYO MK-I core fuels was about5.1 at. %. The axial burnup distribution of the fuel pin was in good agreement with that of the sibling pin in the same subassembly, measured by surface ionization mass spectrometry, which requires the chemical separation of fission products and heavy metals. The new method facilitates the rapid and accurate measurement of fast breeder reactor fuel burnup without human radiation exposure during sample preparation and analysis

A complete NUHOMS {sup registered} solution for storage and transport of high burnup spent fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bondre, J. [Transnuclear, Inc. (AREVA Group), Fremont, CA (United States)

2004-07-01

The discharge burnups of spent fuel from nuclear power plants keep increasing with plants discharging or planning to discharge fuel with burnups in excess of 60,000 MWD/MTU. Due to limited capacity of spent fuel pools, transfer of older cooler spent fuel from fuel pool to dry storage, and very limited options for transport of spent fuel, there is a critical need for dry storage of high burnup, higher heat load spent fuel so that plants could maintain their full core offload reserve capability. A typical NUHOMS {sup registered} solution for dry spent fuel storage is shown in the Figure 1. Transnuclear, Inc. offers two advanced NUHOMS {sup registered} solutions for the storage and transportation of high burnup fuel. One includes the NUHOMS {sup registered} 24PTH system for plants with 90.7 Metric Ton (MT) crane capacity; the other offers the higher capacity NUHOMS {sup registered} 32PTH system for higher crane capacity. These systems include NUHOMS {sup registered} - 24PTH and -32PTH Transportable Canisters stored in a concrete storage overpack (HSM-H). These canisters are designed to meet all the requirements of both storage and transport regulations. They are designed to be transported off-site either directly from the spent fuel pool or from the storage overpack in a suitable transport cask.

Efficiency improvement of nuclear power plant operation: the significant role of advanced nuclear fuel technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Velde Van de, A.; Burtak, F.

2001-01-01

Due to the increased liberalisation of the power markets, nuclear power generation is being exposed to high cost reduction pressure. In this paper we highlight the role of advanced nuclear fuel technologies to reduce the fuel cycle costs and therefore increase the efficiency of nuclear power plant operation. The key factor is a more efficient utilisation of the fuel and present developments at Siemens are consequently directed at (i) further increase of batch average burnup, (ii) improvement of fuel reliability, (iii) enlargement of fuel operation margins and (iv) improvement of methods for fuel design and core analysis. As a result, the nuclear fuel cycle costs for a typical LWR have been reduced during the past decades by about US$ 35 million per year. The estimated impact of further burnup increases on the fuel cycle costs is expected to be an additional saving of US$10 - 15 million per year. Due to the fact that the fuel will operate closer to design limits, a careful approach is required when introducing advanced fuel features in reload quantities. Trust and co-operation between the fuel vendors and the utilities is a prerequisite for the common success. (authors)

A microcomputer program for coupled cycle burnup calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Driscoll, M.J.; Downar, T.J.; Taylor, E.L.

1986-01-01

A program, designated BRACC (Burnup, Reactivity, And Cycle Coupling), has been developed for fuel management scoping calculations, and coded in the BASIC language in an interactive format for use with microcomputers. BRACC estimates batch and cycle burnups for sequential reloads for a variety of initial core conditions, and permits the user to specify either reload batch properties (enrichment, burnable poison reactivity) or the target cycle burnup. Most important fuel management tactics (out-in or low-leakage loading, coastdown, variation in number of assemblies charged) can be simulated

Modification in the FUDA computer code to predict fuel performance at high burnup

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Das, M; Arunakumar, B V; Prasad, P N [Nuclear Power Corp., Mumbai (India)

1997-08-01

The computer code FUDA (FUel Design Analysis) participated in the blind exercises organized by the IAEA CRP (Co-ordinated Research Programme) on FUMEX (Fuel Modelling at Extended Burnup). While the code prediction compared well with the experiments at Halden under various parametric and operating conditions, the fission gas release and fission gas pressure were found to be slightly over-predicted, particularly at high burnups. In view of the results of 6 FUMEX cases, the main models and submodels of the code were reviewed and necessary improvements were made. The new version of the code FUDA MOD 2 is now able to predict fuel performance parameter for burn-ups up to 50000 MWD/TeU. The validation field of the code has been extended to prediction of thorium oxide fuel performance. An analysis of local deformations at pellet interfaces and near the end caps is carried out considering the hourglassing of the pellet by finite element technique. (author). 15 refs, 1 fig.

Modification in the FUDA computer code to predict fuel performance at high burnup

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, M.; Arunakumar, B.V.; Prasad, P.N.

1997-01-01

The computer code FUDA (FUel Design Analysis) participated in the blind exercises organized by the IAEA CRP (Co-ordinated Research Programme) on FUMEX (Fuel Modelling at Extended Burnup). While the code prediction compared well with the experiments at Halden under various parametric and operating conditions, the fission gas release and fission gas pressure were found to be slightly over-predicted, particularly at high burnups. In view of the results of 6 FUMEX cases, the main models and submodels of the code were reviewed and necessary improvements were made. The new version of the code FUDA MOD 2 is now able to predict fuel performance parameter for burn-ups up to 50000 MWD/TeU. The validation field of the code has been extended to prediction of thorium oxide fuel performance. An analysis of local deformations at pellet interfaces and near the end caps is carried out considering the hourglassing of the pellet by finite element technique. (author). 15 refs, 1 fig

MTR fuel element burn-up measurements by the reactivity method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuniga, A.; Cuya, T.R.; Ravnik, M.

2003-01-01

Fuel element burn-up was measured by the reactivity method in the 10 MW Peruvian MTR reactor RP-10. The main purpose of the experiment was testing the reactivity method for an MTR reactor as the reactivity method was originally developed for TRIGA reactors. The reactivity worth of each measured fuel element was measured in its original core position in order to measure the burn-up of the fuel elements that were part of the experimental core. The burn-up of each measured fuel element was derived by interpolating its reactivity worth from the reactivity worth of two reference fuel elements of known burn-up, whose reactivity worth was measured in the position of the measured fuel element. The accuracy of the method was improved by separating the reactivity effect of burn-up from the effect of the position in the core. The results of the experiment showed that the modified reactivity method for fuel element burn-up determination could be applied also to MTR reactors. (orig.)

ZZ CANDULIB-AECL, Burnup-Dependent ORIGEN-S Cross-Section Libraries for Candu Reactor Fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

and fission cross sections were obtained from collapsed 89-group ENDF/B-V and -VI data from the WIMS-AECL lattice code. Other reaction cross sections were obtained from the SCALE 27-group ENDF/B-IV data. In all, cross sections for more than 200 important actinides and fission products were updated with burnup-dependent data. The source of the nuclear decay data and cross sections not updated were the base ORIGEN-S libraries distributed with the SCALE 4.2 code package. The burnup-dependent cross sections were generated using eight burnup intervals that extend up to a burnup of approximately 12000 MWd/MgU. The cross sections for each interval are stored in positions on the ORIGEN-S library and are accessed by referencing the position number. The burnup values associated with each position are listed below. They are the same for both the 37-element and 28-element libraries. Library Position → Burnup (MWd/MgU): 1 → 240; 2 → 720; 3 → 1440; 4 → 2880; 5 → 4800; 6 → 6720; 7 → 8640; 8 → 10560

Impact on burnup performance of coated particle fuel design in pebble bed reactor with ROX fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho, Hai Quan; Obara, Toru

2015-01-01

The pebble bed reactor (PBR), a kind of high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR), is expected to be among the next generation of nuclear reactors as it has excellent passive safety features, as well as online refueling and high thermal efficiency. Rock-like oxide (ROX) fuel has been studied at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) as a new once-through type fuel concept. Rock-like oxide used as fuel in a PBR can be expected to achieve high burnup and improve chemical stabilities. In the once-through fuel concept, the main challenge is to achieve as high a burnup as possible without failure of the spent fuel. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact on burnup performance of different coated fuel particle (CFP) designs in a PBR with ROX fuel. In the study, the AGR-1 Coated Particle design and Deep-Burn Coated Particle design were used to make the burnup performance comparison. Criticality and core burnup calculations were performed by MCPBR code using the JENDL-4.0 library. Results at equilibrium showed that the two reactors utilizing AGR-1 Coated Particle and Deep-Burn Coated Particle designs could be critical with almost the same multiplication factor k eff . However, the power peaking factor and maximum power per fuel ball in the AGR-1 coated particle design was lower than that of Deep-Burn coated particle design. The AGR-1 design also showed an advantage in fissions per initial fissile atoms (FIFA); the AGR-1 coated particle design produced a higher FIFA than the Deep-Burn coated particle design. These results suggest that the difference in coated particle fuel design can have an effect on the burnup performance in ROX fuel. (author)

CARMEN-SYSTEM, Programs System for Thermal Neutron Diffusion and Burnup with Feedback

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahnert, Carol; Aragones, Jose M.

1983-01-01

1 - Description of problem or function: CARMEN is a system of programs developed for the neutronic calculation of PWR cycles. It includes the whole chain of analysis from cell calculations to core calculations with burnup. The core calculations are based on diffusion theory with cross sections depending on the relevant space-dependent feedback effects which are present at each moment along the cycles. The diffusion calculations are in one, two or three dimensions and in two energy groups. The feedback effects which are treated locally are: burnup, water density, power density and fission products. In order to study in detail these parameters the core should be divided into as many zones as different cross section sets are expected to be required in order to reproduce reality correctly. A relevant difference in any feedback parameter between zones produces different cross section sets for the corresponding zones. CARMEN is also capable to perform the following calculations: - Multiplication factor by burnup step with fixed boron concentration - Buckling and control rod insertion - Buckling search by burnup step - Boron search by burnup step - Control rod insertion search by burnup step. 2 - Method of solution: The cell code (LEOPARD-TRACA) generates the fuel assembly cross sections versus burnup. This is the basic library to be used in the CARMEN code proper. With a planar distribution guess for power density, water density and fluxes, the macroscopic cross sections by zone are calculated by CARMEN, and then a diffusion calculation is done in the whole geometry. With the distribution of power density, heat accumulated in the coolant and the thermal and fast fluxes determined in the diffusion calculation, CARMEN calculates the values of the most relevant parameters that influence the macroscopic cross sections by zone: burnup, water density, effective fuel temperature and fission product concentrations. If these parameters by zone are different from the reference

Framatome-ANP extended burnup experience and views on LWR fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esteve, B.; Gueldner, R.; Hoffman, R.; Watteau, M.

2002-01-01

In every sense of the term, nuclear fuel forms the core of nuclear power plants (NPPs). Although there are many equipment items important for their safety function or for their participation in NPP availability, the fuel, in essence renewable, is one of the key elements which have to be acted upon if utilities are to be helped to fulfil their mission of generating power in total safety and supplying the kWh to their customers at the best price. Nuclear fuel is also the core business of the Framatome-ANP Fuel Business Group: pooling and rationalising the available skills - technical, cultural and human - supplied by each of the partners forms a challenge which it is up to each and every one to meet in a cooperative spirit. This paper gives an outline of the company's extended burnup experience, current R and D, and its plans for the future. (author)

New approach to derive linear power/burnup history input for CANDU fuel codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lac Tang, T.; Richards, M.; Parent, G.

2003-01-01

The fuel element linear power / burnup history is a required input for the ELESTRES code in order to simulate CANDU fuel behavior during normal operating conditions and also to provide input for the accident analysis codes ELOCA and SOURCE. The purpose of this paper is to present a new approach to derive 'true', or at least more realistic linear power / burnup histories. Such an approach can be used to recreate any typical bundle power history if only a single pair of instantaneous values of bundle power and burnup, together with the position in the channel, are known. The histories obtained could be useful to perform more realistic simulations for safety analyses for cases where the reference (overpower) history is not appropriate. (author)

The Width of High Burnup Structure in LWR UO2 Fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koo, Yang-Hyun; Lee, Byung-Ho; Oh, Jae-Yong; Sohn, Dong-Seong

2007-01-01

The measured data available in the open literature on the width of high burnup structure (HBS) in LWR UO 2 fuel were analyzed in terms of pellet average burnup, enrichment, and grain size. Dependence of the HBS width on pellet average burnup was shown to be divided into three regions; while the HBS width is governed by accumulation of fission damage (i.e., burnup) for burnup below 60 GWd/tU, it seems to be restricted to some limiting value of around 1.5 mm for burnup above 75 GWd/tU due to high temperature which might have caused extensive annealing of irradiation damage. As for intermediate burnup between 60 and 75 GWd/tU, although temperature would not have been so high as to induce extensive annealing, the microstructural damage could have been partly annealed, resulting in the reduction of the HBS width. It was found that both enrichment and grain size also affects the HBS width. However, as long as the pellet average burnup is lower than about 75 GWd/tU, the effect does not appear to be significant for the enrichment and grain size that are typically used in current LWR fuel. (authors)

Advancements in reactor physics modelling methodology of Monte Carlo Burnup Code MCB dedicated to higher simulation fidelity of HTR cores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cetnar, Jerzy

2014-01-01

The recent development of MCB - Monte Carlo Continuous Energy Burn-up code is directed towards advanced description of modern reactors, including double heterogeneity structures that exist in HTR-s. In this, we exploit the advantages of MCB methodology in integrated approach, where physics, neutronics, burnup, reprocessing, non-stationary process modeling (control rod operation) and refined spatial modeling are carried in a single flow. This approach allows for implementations of advanced statistical options like analysis of error propagation, perturbation in time domain, sensitivity and source convergence analyses. It includes statistical analysis of burnup process, emitted particle collection, thermal-hydraulic coupling, automatic power profile calculations, advanced procedures of burnup step normalization and enhanced post processing capabilities. (author)

Burnup performance of OTTO cycle pebble bed reactors with ROX fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ho, Hai Quan; Obara, Toru

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A 300 MW t Small Pebble Bed Reactor with Rock-like oxide fuel is proposed. • Using ROX fuel can achieve high discharged burnup of spent fuel. • High geological stability can be expected in direct disposal of the spent ROX fuel. • The Pebble Bed Reactor with ROX fuel can be critical at steady state operation. • All the reactor designs have a negative temperature coefficient. - Abstract: A pebble bed high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (PBR) with rock-like oxide (ROX) fuel was designed to achieve high discharged burnup and improve the integrity of the spent fuel in geological disposal. The MCPBR code with a JENDL-4.0 library, which developed the analysis of the Once-Through-Then-Out (OTTO) cycle in PBR, was used to perform the criticality and burnup analysis. Burnup calculations for eight cases were carried out for both ROX fuel and a UO 2 fuel reactor with different heavy-metal loading conditions. The effective multiplication factor of all cases approximately equalled unity in the equilibrium condition. The ROX fuel reactor showed lower FIFA than the UO 2 fuel reactor at the same heavy-metal loading, about 5–15%. However, the power peaking factor and maximum power per fuel ball in the ROX fuel core were lower than that of UO 2 fuel core. This effect makes it possible to compensate for the lower-FIFA disadvantage in a ROX fuel core. All reactor designs had a negative temperature coefficient that is needed for the passive safety features of a pebble bed reactor

Establishment of THERPRO Database and Estimation of the Effect of Fuel Burn-up on the Thermal Conductivity of Uranium Dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hyun Seon

2005-02-01

Materials property data are an essential part of major disciplines in many engineering fields. To nuclear engineering, fundamental understanding of thermo-physical chemical mechanical properties of nuclear materials is very important. THERPRO data base that is re-designed and re-constructed through this study is a web-based on-line nuclear materials properties data base. For the future upgrade of the data base contemporary information technologies have been incorporated during the construction. Basically THERPRO data base has a hierarchical structure consisting of several levels: home page, element, compound, property, author, report, and bibliography level. All of data sets in each level are interconnected using network structure and thus every data can be easily retrieved including the bibliographical information by an appropriate query action. As a part of THERPRO DB utilization, the effect of fuel burn-up on the thermal conductivity of irradiated uranium dioxide is analyzed with the data contained in the data base as well as recent data published in the relevant journals. Their data are comparatively studied and the effect is estimated using FRAPCON-3 code with two in-pile data sets, BR-3 111i5 and Oconee rod 15309. The results show that the fuel center line temperature can differ 200 .deg. C∼400 .deg. C from thermal conductivity models depending on burn-up, which can significantly influence high burn-up fuel performance. In conclusion, it is demonstrated through this study that THERPRO data base can be a great utility for nuclear engineers and researchers, if appropriately utilized

Modeling of WWER-440 Fuel Pin Behavior at Extended Burn-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Koliel, M.S.; Abou-Zaid, A.A.; El-Kafas, A.A.

2004-01-01

Currently, there is an ongoing effort to increase fuel discharge burn-up of all LWRs fuel including WWER's as much as possible in order to decrease power production cost. Therefore, burn-up is expected to be increased to 60 to 70 Mwd/kg U. The change in the fuel radial power distribution as a function of fuel burn up can affect the radial fuel temperature distribution as well as the fuel microstructure in the fuel pellet rim. In this paper, the radial burn-up and fissile products distributions of WWER-440 UO 2 fuel pin were evaluated using MCNP 4B and ORIGEN2 codes. The impact of the thermal conductivity on predicted fission gas release calculations is needed. For the analysis, a typical WWER-440 fuel pin and surrounding water moderator are considered in a hexagonal pin cell well. The thermal release and the athermal release from the pellet rim were modeled separately. The fraction of the rim structure and the excessive porosity in the rim structure in isothermal irradiation as a function of the fuel burn-up was predicted. a computer program; RIMSC-01, is developed to perform the required FGR calculations. Finally, the relevant phenomena and the corresponding models together with their validation are presented