Basic plan of partitioning and transmutation technology development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikegami, Tetsuo; Ozawa, Masaki

2003-04-01

Basic plan of partitioning and transmutation technology development has been made in more detail and concrete manner in terms of development goal, nuclides to be portioned and to be transmuted, and development schedule, based on the pre-evaluation results of the Research Evaluation Committee on Research and development of partitioning and transmutation technology for long life nuclides' held in August 2000. A step by step approach, consists of three steps, to reach the goal of partitioning and transmutation technology has been adopted under the recognition that the partitioning and transmutation technology development should be progressed steadily as a long term them. The first step is supposed to be able to attain within about 5 years by the present technology and on the extension of it. Such researches as collective separation of TRU, MA/Ln effective separation, and irradiation experiment of iodine and technetium. The second step is such a goal that is expected to be able to realize the engineering feasibility, within about 15 years, through the progress of science technology in future, although the engineering feasibility is not sufficiently foreseen at present. It will need revolutionary technology or breakthrough. Nuclides to be partitioned and to be transmuted have been selected in view points of 'radioactivity and radio-toxicity', 'geological repository', and 'effective utilization', corresponding to the each step of the development goal. Collaboration with other research organizations and with universities in the world should be pursued. Especially, such collaborations with France, with which information exchange on JOYO/PHENIX irradiation experiments is progressing, and with USA, which has recently developed positive activities in this field, are strongly expected. (author)

Program on fuels for transmutation: present status and prospects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rouault, J.; Garnier, J.C.; Chauvin, N.; Pillon, S. [CEA Cadarache, 13 - Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France). Dept. d' Etudes des Combustibles

2001-07-01

The performance calculations of appropriate fuel cycle facilities and reactor configurations (scenarios) relying on current reactor technologies (Pressurized Water Reactor and Fast neutrons Reactors) or innovative reactors (Accelerator Driven Systems) have proved the scientific feasibility of some P and T strategies. To insure the technological feasibility, a large program on fuels and materials is underway, including advanced concepts for PWRs and the development of specific targets (dispersed fuels) for transmutation in Fast Reactors. Experiments in different reactors including Phenix are being prepared. The program is presented and recent results are given. (author)

Program on fuels for transmutation: present status and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rouault, J.; Garnier, J.C.; Chauvin, N.; Pillon, S.

2001-01-01

The performance calculations of appropriate fuel cycle facilities and reactor configurations (scenarios) relying on current reactor technologies (Pressurized Water Reactor and Fast neutrons Reactors) or innovative reactors (Accelerator Driven Systems) have proved the scientific feasibility of some P and T strategies. To insure the technological feasibility, a large program on fuels and materials is underway, including advanced concepts for PWRs and the development of specific targets (dispersed fuels) for transmutation in Fast Reactors. Experiments in different reactors including Phenix are being prepared. The program is presented and recent results are given. (author)

PHENIX WBS notes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-02-01

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Book begins with this Overview section, which contains the high-level summary cost estimate, the cost profile, and the global construction schedule. The summary cost estimate shows the total US cost and the cost in terms of PHENIX construction funds for building the PHENIX detector. All costs in the WBS book are shown in FY 1993 dollars. Also shown are the institutional and foreign contributions, the level of pre-operations funding, and the cost of deferred items. Pie charts are presented at PHENIX WBS level 1 and 2 that show this information. The PHENIX construction funds are shown broken down to PHENIX WBS level 3 items per fiscal year, and the resulting profile is compared to the RHIC target profile. An accumulated difference of the two profiles is also shown. The PHENIX global construction schedule is presented at the end of the Overview section. Following the Overview are sections for each subsystem. Each subsystem section begins with a summary cost estimate, cost profile, and critical path. The total level 3 cost is broken down into fixed costs (M ampersand S), engineering costs (EDIA) and labor costs. Costs are further broken down in terms of PHENIX construction funds, institutional and foreign contributions, pre-operations funding, and deferred items. Also shown is the contingency at level 3 and the level 4 breakdown of the total cost. The cost profile in fiscal years is shown at level 3. The subsystem summaries are followed by the full cost estimate and schedule sheets for that subsystem. These detailed sheets are typically carried down to level 7 or 8. The cost estimate Total, M ampersand S, EDIA, and Labor breakdowns, as well as contingency, for each WBS entry

First results and future trends for the transmutation of long-lived radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prunier, C.; Salvatores, M.; Guerin, Y.; Zaetta, A.

1993-01-01

In the frame of the CEA SPIN program, a project has been set-up at the Direction of Nuclear Reactors of CEA, to study the transmutation of long-lived radioactive products (both minor actinides and fission products) resulting from the operation of current nuclear power plants. The program is focused on: transmutation in minor actinides (Np, Am) in fission reactors of known technology (both of the PWR or the fast reactor type), using the so-called ''homogeneous'' (mixed with Uranium or Uranium-Plutonium), and ''heterogeneous'' (mixed with inert matrices) recycling modes for both type of reactors. Transmutation studies in dedicated devices (both fission reactors with actinide/plutonium fuel or with high thermal flux, and particle accelerator-based systems). Fuel studies related to both homogeneous and heterogeneous recycling modes in fission reactors. For the homogeneous recycling mode, some experimental irradiations results are available from past PHENIX programs. For the heterogeneous mode, very limited experimental results are available, and new theoretical and experimental work is underway on the use of appropriate inert matrices. Basic data studies to assess the quality of existing nuclear data for fission reactor transmutation studies, future data needs of relevance, and model/data developments needed for accelerator-based systems. Strategy studies, to evaluate the consequences of the different transmutation options on the fuel cycle, according to different scenarios of nuclear power development. 7 refs., 3 figs., 5 tabs

Transmutation studies in France, R and D programme on fuels and targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boidron, M.; Chauvin, N.; Garnier, J.C.; PIllon, S.; Vambenepe, G.

2001-01-01

For the management of high level and long-lived radioactive waste, a large and continuous research and development effort is carried out in France, to provide a wide range of scientific and technical alternatives along three lines, partitioning and transmutation, disposal in deep geological formations and long term interim surface or subsurface storage. For the line one, and in close link with the partitioning studies, research is carried out to evaluate the transmutation potential of long-lived waste in appropriate reactors configurations (scenarios) relying on current technologies as well as innovative reactors. Performed to evaluate the theoretical feasibility of the Pu consumption and waste transmutation from the point of view of the reactor cores physics to reach the equilibrium of the material fluxes (i.e. consumption = production) and of the isotopic compositions of the fuels, these studies insure the 'scientific' part of the transmutation feasibility. For the technological part of the feasibility of waste transmutation in reactors, a large programme on fuel development is underway. This includes solutions based on the advanced concepts for plutonium fuels in PWR and the development of specific fuels and targets for transmutation in fast reactors in the critical or sub-critical state. For the waste transmutation in fast reactors, an important programme has been launched to develop specific fuels and targets with experiments at various stages of preparation in different experimental reactors including Phenix. Composite fuels as well as particle fuels are considered. This programme is presented and recent results concerning the preparation of the experiments, the characterisation of the compounds properties, the thermal and mechanical modelling and the behaviour of U free fuels are given. (author)

PHENIX Work Breakdown Structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-02-01

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Book begins with this Overview section, which contains the high-level summary cost estimate, the cost profile, and the global construction schedule. The summary cost estimate shows the total US cost and the cost in terms of PHENIX construction funds for building the PHENIX detector. All costs in the WBS book are shown in FY 1993 dollars. Also shown are the institutional and foreign contributions, the level of pre-operations funding, and the cost of deferred items. Pie charts are presented at PHENIX WBS level 1 and 2 that show this information. The PHENIX construction funds are shown broken down to PHENIX WBS level 3 items per fiscal year, and the resulting profile is compared to the RHIC target profile. An accumulated difference of the two profiles is also shown. The PHENIX global construction schedule is presented at the end of the Overview section. Following the Overview are sections for each subsystem. Each subsystem section begins with a summary cost estimate, cost profile, and critical path. The total level 3 cost is broken down into fixed costs (M ampersand S), engineering costs (EDIA) and labor costs. Costs are further broken down in terms of PHENIX construction funds, institutional and foreign contributions, pre-operations funding, and deferred items. Also shown is the contingency at level 3 and the level 4 breakdown of the total cost. The cost profile in fiscal years is shown at level 3. The subsystem summaries are followed by the full cost estimate and schedule sheets for that subsystem. These detailed sheets are typically carried down to level 7 or 8. The cost estimate shows Total, M ampersand S, EDIA, and Labor breakdowns, as well as contingency, for each WBS entry

Draft of the PHENIX Management Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The PHENIX Management Plan provides the baselines and controls that the PHENIX and RHIC Projects will follow to meet the technical, cost, and schedule goals for the PHENIX detector at RHIC. This plan will be reviewed and updated as required, with revisions made by agreement among the signed participants

Status of the French research programme for actinides and fission products partitioning and transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warin, D.

2003-01-01

The paper focus on separation and transmutation research and development programme and main results over these ten last years. The massive research programme on enhanced separation, conducted by CEA and supported by broad international cooperation, has recently achieved some vital progress. Based on real solutions derived from the La Hague process, the CEA demonstrated the lab-scale feasibility of extracting minor actinides and some fission products (I, Cs and Tc) using an hydrometallurgical process that can be extrapolated on the industrial scale. The CEA also conducted programmes proving the technical feasibility of the elimination of minor actinides and fission products by transmutation: fabrication of specific targets and fuels for transmutation tests in the HFR and Phenix reactors, neutronics and technology studies for ADS developments in order to support the MEGAPIE, TRADE and MYRRHA experiments and the future 100 MW international ADS demonstrator. Scenarios studies aimed at stabilizing the inventory with long-lived radionuclides, plutonium, minor actinides and certain long-lived fission products in different nuclear power plant parks and to verify the feasibility at the level of the cycle facilities and fuels involved in those scenarios. Three French Research Groups CEA-CNRS carry out partitioning (PRACTIS) and transmutation (NOMADE and GEDEON) more basic studies. (author)

Overview of the French program in chemical separations and transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baudin, G.

1993-01-01

A long-range effort has begun in France that is aimed at the reduction of the volume and activity level of wastes containing long half-life radionuclides. This effort constitutes the SPIN (SeParations-INcineration) Program which investigates separations techniques that can improve current reprocessing technologies coupled with destruction of long-lived species through transmutation. Removal and destruction of specific radionuclides (e.g., neptunium, americium, technetium, iodine, cesium, and strontium) will be emphasized. Advanced solvent extraction chemistry focusing, for example, on development and implementation of diamides for actinide-lanthanide separations constitutes an important component of the SPIN program. The second component of the program focuses on inventory reductions through transmutation of such long-lived nuclides in fast reactor systems (Super Phenix). Accelerator-based systems are also being evaluated as a possible long-term option. Both of these components of the SPIN program are aimed at further reduction of the potential radiotoxicity and radiological impact of high-level wastes destined for geological storage. In this presentation, major activities of the SPIN Program will be described with emphasis on activities related to advanced chemical separations

PHENIX Conceptual Design Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

The PHENIX Conceptual Design Report (CDR) describes the detector design of the PHENIX experiment for Day-1 operation at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The CDR presents the physics capabilities, technical details, cost estimate, construction schedule, funding profile, management structure, and possible upgrade paths of the PHENIX experiment. The primary goals of the PHENIX experiment are to detect the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and to measure its properties. Many of the potential signatures for the QGP are measured as a function of a well-defined common variable to see if any or all of these signatures show a simultaneous anomaly due to the formation of the QGP. In addition, basic quantum chromodynamics phenomena, collision dynamics, and thermodynamic features of the initial states of the collision are studied. To achieve these goals, the PHENIX experiment measures lepton pairs (dielectrons and dimuons) to study various properties of vector mesons, such as the mass, the width, and the degree of yield suppression due to the formation of the QGP. The effect of thermal radiation on the continuum is studied in different regions of rapidity and mass. The eμ coincidence is measured to study charm production, and aids in understanding the shape of the continuum dilepton spectrum. Photons are measured to study direct emission of single photons and to study π 0 and η production. Charged hadrons are identified to study the spectrum shape, production of antinuclei, the φ meson (via K + K - decay), jets, and two-boson correlations. The measurements are made down to small cross sections to allow the study of high p T spectra, and J/ψ and Υ production. The PHENIX collaboration consists of over 300 scientists, engineers, and graduate students from 43 institutions in 10 countries. This large international collaboration is supported by US resources and significant foreign resources

Rebirth of a control rod at the Phenix power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Carvalho, Corinne; Vignau, Bernard; Masson, Marc

2007-01-01

This paper outlines the operations involved in cleaning the control rod for the complementary shutdown system in the Phenix Power Plant, the French sodium-cooled fast reactor. The Phenix reactor is controlled by six control rods and a complementary shutdown system. The latter comprises a control rod and a mechanism maintaining the rod in position by means of an electromagnet. The electromagnet is continuously supplied with power and holds the rod control assembly in position by magnetisation on a plane circular surface made from pure iron. The bearing capacity of the mechanism on the rod was initially 80 daN with a rod weight of 26.3 daN. This deteriorated progressively over time. The bearing surface of the rod and the electromagnet became contaminated with a deposit of sodium oxides and metallic particles, thus creating an air gap. This reached a figure of 36 daN in 2005 and was deemed not to be sufficient to prevent the rod from dropping at the wrong time during reactor operation. The Power Plant thus decided to replace the rod mechanism in the reactor in an initial phase, followed by the control rod itself. As the Phenix Power Plant had no spare control rods left, they initiated a 'salvage' plan, over two stages, for the rod removed from the reactor and placed in the fuel storage drum: - Inspection of the bearing surface of the rod by means of a borescope to check whether the rod could be salvaged, - A cleaning operation on the bearing face and checks on the bearing capacity of the rod. The operation is subject to very stringent requirements: the rod must not be taken out of the sodium to ensure that it can be reused in the reactor. The operation must thus take place in the fuel storage drum where there are no facilities for such an operation and where operating conditions are very hostile: high temperatures (the sodium in the fuel storage drum is at a temperature of 150 deg. C, high dose rate (3 mGy/h on the bearing surface) and the bearing surface is submerged

PHENIX Conceptual Design Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nagamiya, Shoji; Aronson, Samuel H.; Young, Glenn R.; Paffrath, Leo

1993-01-29

The PHENIX Conceptual Design Report (CDR) describes the detector design of the PHENIX experiment for Day-1 operation at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The CDR presents the physics capabilities, technical details, cost estimate, construction schedule, funding profile, management structure, and possible upgrade paths of the PHENIX experiment. The primary goals of the PHENIX experiment are to detect the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and to measure its properties. Many of the potential signatures for the QGP are measured as a function of a well-defined common variable to see if any or all of these signatures show a simultaneous anomaly due to the formation of the QGP. In addition, basic quantum chromodynamics phenomena, collision dynamics, and thermodynamic features of the initial states of the collision are studied. To achieve these goals, the PHENIX experiment measures lepton pairs (dielectrons and dimuons) to study various properties of vector mesons, such as the mass, the width, and the degree of yield suppression due to the formation of the QGP. The effect of thermal radiation on the continuum is studied in different regions of rapidity and mass. The e[mu] coincidence is measured to study charm production, and aids in understanding the shape of the continuum dilepton spectrum. Photons are measured to study direct emission of single photons and to study [pi][sup 0] and [eta] production. Charged hadrons are identified to study the spectrum shape, production of antinuclei, the [phi] meson (via K[sup +]K[sup [minus

First results from RHIC-PHENIX

CERN Document Server

Ghosh, T K; Adler, S S; Ajitanand, N N; Akiba, Y; Alexander, J; Aphecetche, L; Arai, Y; Aronson, S H; Averbeck, R; Awes, T C; Barish, K N; Barnes, P D; Barrette, J; Bassalleck, B; Bathe, S; Baublis, V; Bazilevsky, A; Belikov, S V; Bellaiche, F G; Belyaev, S T; Bennett, M J; Berdnikov, Yu A; Botelho, S S; Brooks, M L; Brown, D S; Bruner, N L; Bucher, D; Büsching, H; Bunce, G M; Burward-Hoy, J M; Butsyk, S; Carey, T A; Chand, P; Chang, J; Chang, W C; Chavez, L L; Chernichenko, S K; Chi, C Y; Chiba, J; Chiu, M; Choudhury, R K; Christ, T; Chujo, T; Chung, M S; Chung, P; Cianciolo, V; Cole, B A; D'Enterria, D G; Dávid, G; Delagrange, H; Denisov, A; Deshpande, A A; Desmond, E J; Dietzsch, O; Dinesh, B V; Drees, A; Durum, A A; Dutta, D; Ebisu, K; Efremenko, Yu V; Chenawi, K E; En-Yo, H; Esumi, S C; Ewell, L A; Ferdousi, T; Fields, D E; Fokin, S L; Fraenkel, Zeev; Franz, A; Frawley, A D; Fung, S Y; Garpman, S; Ghosh, T K; Glenn, A; Godoi, A L; Goto, Y; Greene, S V; Grosse-Perdekamp, M; Gupta, S K; Guryn, W; Gustafsson, Hans Åke; Haggerty, J S; Hamagaki, H; Hansen, A G; Hara, H; Hartouni, E P; Havano, R; Hayashi, N; He, X; Hemmick, T K; Heuser, J M; Hill, J C; Ho, D S; Homma, K; Hong, B; Hoover, A; Ichihara, T; Imai, K; Ippolitov, M S; Ishihara, M; Jacak, B V; Jang, W Y; Jia, J; Johnson, B M; Johnson, S C; Joo, K S; Kametani, S; Kang, J H; Kann, M; Kapoor, S S; Kelly, S; Khachaturov, B A; Khanzadeev, A V; Kikuchi, J; Kim, D J; Kim, H J; Kim, S Y; Kim, Y G; Kinnison, W W; Kistenev, E P; Kiyomichi, A; Klein-Bösing, C; Klinksiek, S A; Kochenda, L M; Kochetkov, D; Kochetkov, V; Köhler, D; Kohama, T; Kozlov, A; Kroon, P J; Kurita, K; Kweon, M J; Kwon, Y; Kyle, G S; Lacey, R A; Lajoie, J G; Lauret, J; Lebedev, A; Lee, D M; Leitch, M J; Li, X H; Li, Z; Lim, D J; Liu, M X; Liu, X; Liu, Z; Maguire, C F; Mahon, J; Makdisi, Y I; Man'ko, V I; Mao, Y; Mark, S K; Markacs, S; Martínez, G; Marx, M D; Massaike, A; Matathias, F; Matsumoto, T; McGaughey, P L; Melnikov, E A; Merschmeyer, M; Messer, F; Messer, M; Miake, Y; Miller, T E; Milov, A; Mioduszewski, S; Mischke, R E; Mishra, G C; Mitchell, J T; Mohanty, A K; Morrison, D P; Moss, J M; Muhlbacher, F; Muniruzzaman, M; Murata, J; Nagamiya, S; Nagasaka, Y; Nagle, J L; Nakada, Y; Nandi, B K; Newby, J; Nikkinen, L; Nilsson, P O; Nishimura, S; Nyanin, A S; Nystrand, J; O'Brien, E; Ogilvie, C A; Ohnishi, H; Ojha, I D; Ono, M; Onuchin, V A; Oskarsson, A; Österman, L; Otterlund, I; Oyama, K; Paffrath, L; Palounek, A P T; Pantuev, V S; Papavassiliou, V; Pate, S F; Peitzmann, Thomas; Petridis, A N; Pinkenburg, C H; Pisani, R P; Pitukhin, P; Plasil, F; Pollack, M E; Pope, K; Purschke, M L; Ravinovich, I; Read, K F; Reygers, K; Riabov, V; Riabov, Y; Rosati, M; Rose, A A; Ryu, S S; Saitô, N; Sakaguchi, A; Sakaguchi, T; Sako, H; Sakuma, T; Samsonov, V; Sangster, T C; Santo, R; Sato, H D; Sato, S; Sawada, S; Schlei, B R; Schutz, Y; Semenov, V; Seto, R; Shea, T K; Shein, I; Shibata, T A; Shigaki, K; Shiina, T; Shin, Y H; Sibiryak, Yu; Silvermyr, D; Sim, K S; Simon-Gillo, J; Singh, C P; Singh, V; Sivertz, M; Soldatov, A; Soltz, R A; Sørensen, S; Stankus, P W; Starinsky, N; Steinberg, P; Stenlund, E; Ster, A; Stoll, S P; Sugioka, M; Sugitate, T; Sullivan, J P; Sumi, Y; Sun, Z; Suzuki, M; Takagui, E M; Taketani, A; Tamai, M; Tanaka, Y; Taniguchi, E; Tannenbaum, M J; Thomas, J; Thomas, J H; Thomas, T L; Tian, W; Tojo, J; Torii, H A; Towell, R S; Tserruya, Itzhak; Tsuruoke, H; Tsvetkov, A A; Tuli, S K; Tydesjo, H; Tyurin, N; Ushiroda, T; van Hecke, H; Velissaris, C; Velkovska, J; Velkovsky, M; Vingradov, A A; Volkov, M A; Vorobyov, A A; Vznuzdaev, E A; Wang, H; Watanabe, Y; White, S N; Witzig, C; Wohn, F K; Woody, C L; Xie, W; Yagi, K; Yokkaichi, S; Young, G R; Yushmanov, I E; Zajc, W A; Zhang, Z; Zhou, S

2001-01-01

The PHENIX experiment consists of a large detector system located at the newly commissioned Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The primary goal of the PHENIX experiment is to look for signatures of the QCD prediction of a deconfined high-energy-density phase of nuclear matter and the quark gluon plasma. PHENIX started taking data for Au+Au collisions at square root (s/sub NN/)=130 GeV in June 2000. The signals from the beam-beam counter (BBC) and zero degree calorimeter (ZDC) are used to determine the centrality of the collision. A Glauber model reproduces the ZDC spectrum reasonably well to determine the participants in a collision. The charged particle multiplicity distribution from the first PHENIX paper is compared with the other RHIC experiment and the CERN and SPS results. Transverse momentum of photons are measured in the electro-magnetic calorimeter (EMCal) and preliminary results an presented. Particle identification is made by a time-of-flight (TOF) detecto...

PHENIX reports. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

The various tasks outlined in the Statement of Work for the PHENIX Program have been accomplished. Reports were generated which cover the work done. This report is a compilation of the following reports: Progress Report for May 1998; Progress Report for April 1998; PHENIX FEA Mount/Electron Shield Structural Analysis report; Progress Report for February 1998; Progress Report for March 1998; and Progress Report for December 1997 and January 1998

Towards automated crystallographic structure refinement with phenix.refine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Afonine, Pavel V., E-mail: pafonine@lbl.gov; Grosse-Kunstleve, Ralf W.; Echols, Nathaniel; Headd, Jeffrey J.; Moriarty, Nigel W. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, One Cyclotron Road, MS64R0121, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Mustyakimov, Marat; Terwilliger, Thomas C. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, M888, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Urzhumtsev, Alexandre [CNRS–INSERM–UdS, 1 Rue Laurent Fries, BP 10142, 67404 Illkirch (France); Université Henri Poincaré, Nancy 1, BP 239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy (France); Zwart, Peter H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, One Cyclotron Road, MS64R0121, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Adams, Paul D. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, One Cyclotron Road, MS64R0121, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

2012-04-01

phenix.refine is a program within the PHENIX package that supports crystallographic structure refinement against experimental data with a wide range of upper resolution limits using a large repertoire of model parameterizations. This paper presents an overview of the major phenix.refine features, with extensive literature references for readers interested in more detailed discussions of the methods. phenix.refine is a program within the PHENIX package that supports crystallographic structure refinement against experimental data with a wide range of upper resolution limits using a large repertoire of model parameterizations. It has several automation features and is also highly flexible. Several hundred parameters enable extensive customizations for complex use cases. Multiple user-defined refinement strategies can be applied to specific parts of the model in a single refinement run. An intuitive graphical user interface is available to guide novice users and to assist advanced users in managing refinement projects. X-ray or neutron diffraction data can be used separately or jointly in refinement. phenix.refine is tightly integrated into the PHENIX suite, where it serves as a critical component in automated model building, final structure refinement, structure validation and deposition to the wwPDB. This paper presents an overview of the major phenix.refine features, with extensive literature references for readers interested in more detailed discussions of the methods.

The PHENIX experimental irradiation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michel, P.; Courcon, P.; Coulon, P.

1985-03-01

The PHENIX experimental irradiation program represents a substancial volume of work. For example, more than forty experiments were in the core during the 33rd PHENIX irradiation cycle at the end of 1984. This program ensures the implementation, optimization and qualification of new solutions for the future developpment of French LMFBRs in three significant areas: fissile, fertile and absorber elements

From the Phenix irradiation end to the analytical results: PROFIL R target destructive characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferlay, G.; Dancausse, J. Ph.

2009-01-01

In the French long-lived radionuclide (LLRN) transmutation program, several irradiation experiments were initiated in the Phenix fast neutron reactor to obtain a better understanding of the transmutation processes. The PROFIL experiments are performed in order to collect accurate information on the total capture integral cross sections of the principal heavy isotopes and some important fission products in the spectral range of fast reactors. One of the final goals is to diminish the uncertainties on the capture cross-section of the fission products involved in reactivity losses in fast reactors. This program includes two parts: PROFIL-R irradiated in a standard fast reactor spectrum and PROFIL-M irradiated in a moderated spectrum. The PROFIL-R and PROFIL-M irradiations were completed in August 2005 and May 2008, respectively. For both irradiations more than a hundred containers with isotopes of pure actinides and other elements in different chemical forms must be characterized. This raises a technical and analytical challenge: how to recover by selective dissolution less than 5 mg of isotope powder from a container with dimensions of only a few millimeters using hot cell facilities, and how to determine analytically both trace and ultra-trace elemental and isotopic compositions with sufficient accuracy to be useful for code calculations. (authors)

Update on the FUTURIX-FTA Experiment in PHENIX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaecki, P.; Pillon, S.; Warin, D.; Donnet, L.; Jorion, F.; Drin, N.; Hayes, S.L.; Kennedy, J.R.; Pasamehmetoglu, K.; Voit, S.L.; Haas, D.; Fernandez, A.

2006-01-01

Europe and the USA are following similar R and D partitioning and transmutation strategies to manage long lived waste, especially minor actinides. Actinide transmutation and recycle is presently being considered in dedicated systems such as Accelerator-Driven Systems (ADS), in Generation IV fast reactors, and in current light water reactors. In ADS, this leads to specific fuel formulations, highly enriched in Minor Actinides. Fertile uranium is excluded from ADS fuels to avoid the production of plutonium ('non-fertile or U-free fuels'). For low-fertile fuels, Uranium content is adjusted to achieve a conversion ratio of 0.25 or less and plutonium production is therefore limited. Very little information is available about the irradiation behaviour of the resulting fuel compositions. The FUTURIX-FTA experiment objective is to compare in similar and representative conditions the behaviour of fuels proposed for TRU burning. The FUTURIX-FTA program began in January 2003 and the irradiation in Phenix will start at the beginning of 2007. This progress report focuses on the latest results, R and D and irradiation test design which are almost complete. The paper has the following contents: I. Introduction; II. Fuel compositions; III. CERCER Fuels; 1. Design and safety considerations; 2. R and D on CERCER fuel fabrication; Preparation of (Pu,Am)O 2 by co-conversion; Fabrication of composites; Oxygen (O/M) stoichiometry, density and crystal structures of the actinide compounds; (Pu 0.2 Am 0.8 )O 2-x MgO Cercer Matrix; Microstructure and Porosity of the Compounds; IV. CERMET Fuels; 1. Design and safety considerations; 2. R and D on CERMET fuel fabrication; V. Metallic fuels; 1. Design and safety considerations; 2. R and D on CERMET fuel fabrication; VI. Nitride fuels; 1. Design and safety considerations;. R and D on NITRIDE fuel fabrication; II. Irradiation conditions; III. Conclusion. To summarize, preliminary design work is complete, and the final design will be fixed in 2006

The sPHENIX Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez Lara, Carlos E.

2018-02-01

Our understanding of QCD under extreme conditions has advanced tremendously in the last 20 years with the discovery of the Quark Gluon Plasma and its characterisation in heavy ion collisions at RHIC and LHC. The sPHENIX detector planned at RHIC is designed to further study the microscopic nature of the QGP through precision measurements of jet, upsilon and open heavy flavor probes over a broad pT range. The multi-year sPHENIX physics program will commence in early 2023, using state-of-the art detector technologies to fully exploit the highest RHIC luminosities. The experiment incorporates the 1.4 T former BaBar solenoid magnet, and will feature high precision tracking and vertexing capabilities, provided by a compact TPC, Si-strip intermediate tracker and MAPS vertex detector. This is complemented by highly granular electromagnetic and hadronic calorimetry with full azimuthal coverage. In this document I describe the sPHENIX detector design and physics program, with particular emphasis on the comprehensive open heavy flavour program enabled by the experiment's large coverage, high rate capability and precision vertexing.

Actinide partitioning-transmutation program final report. III. Transmutation studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wachter, J.W.; Croff, A.G.

1980-07-01

Transmutation of the long-lived nuclides contained in fuel cycle wastes has been suggested as a means of reducing the long-term toxicity of the wastes. A comprehensive program to evaluate the feasibility and incentives for recovering the actinides from wastes (partitioning) and transmuting them to short-lived or stable nuclides has been in progress for 3 years under the direction of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This report constitutes the final assessment of transmutation in support of this program. Included are (1) a summary of recent transmutation literature, (2) a generic evaluation of actinide transmutation in thermal, fast, and other transmutation devices, (3) a preliminary evaluation of 99 Tc and 129 I transmutation, and (4) a characterization of a pressurized-water-reactor fuel cycle with and without provisions for actinide recovery and transmutation for use in other parts of the ORNL program. The principal conclusion of the report is that actinide transmutation is feasible in both thermal and fast reactors, subject to demonstrating satisfactory fuel performance, with relatively little impact on the reactor. It would also appear that additional transmutation studies are unwarranted until a firm decision to proceed with actinide transmutation has been made by the responsible authorities

Nuclear transmutations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikulaj, V.

1992-01-01

Two types of nuclear transmutations are outlined, namely the radioactive transmutations and nuclear reactions. The basic characteristics are given of radioactive transmutations (gamma transmutations and isomeric transitions, beta, alpha transmutations, spontaneous fission and spontaneous emission of nucleons), their kinetics and the influence of the physical and chemical state of the radionuclide on the transmutation rate. The basic characteristics are described of nuclear reactions (reactions of neutrons including fission, reactions induced by charged particles and photons), their kinetics, effective cross sections and their mechanism. Chemical reactions caused by nuclear transmutations are discussed (recoil energy, properties of hot atoms, Szilard-Chalmers effect). A brief information is given on the behavior of radionuclides in trace concentrations. (Z.S.) 2 tabs., 19 figs., 12 refs

PHENIX WBS notes. Cost and schedule review copy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-02-01

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Book begins with this Overview section, which contains the high-level summary cost estimate, the cost profile, and the global construction schedule. The summary cost estimate shows the total US cost and the cost in terms of PHENIX construction funds for building the PHENIX detector. All costs in the WBS book are shown in FY 1993 dollars. Also shown are the institutional and foreign contributions, the level of pre-operations funding, and the cost of deferred items. Pie charts are presented at PHENIX WBS level 1 and 2 that show this information. The PHENIX construction funds are shown broken down to PHENIX WBS level 3 items per fiscal year, and the resulting profile is compared to the RHIC target profile. An accumulated difference of the two profiles is also shown. The PHENIX global construction schedule is presented at the end of the Overview section. Following the Overview are sections for each subsystem. Each subsystem section begins with a summary cost estimate, cost profile, and critical path. The total level 3 cost is broken down into fixed costs (M&S), engineering costs (EDIA) and labor costs. Costs are further broken down in terms of PHENIX construction funds, institutional and foreign contributions, pre-operations funding, and deferred items. Also shown is the contingency at level 3 and the level 4 breakdown of the total cost. The cost profile in fiscal years is shown at level 3. The subsystem summaries are followed by the full cost estimate and schedule sheets for that subsystem. These detailed sheets are typically carried down to level 7 or 8. The cost estimate Total, M&S, EDIA, and Labor breakdowns, as well as contingency, for each WBS entry.

Automated Structure Solution with the PHENIX Suite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zwart, Peter H.; Zwart, Peter H.; Afonine, Pavel; Grosse-Kunstleve, Ralf W.; Hung, Li-Wei; Ioerger, Tom R.; McCoy, A.J.; McKee, Eric; Moriarty, Nigel; Read, Randy J.; Sacchettini, James C.; Sauter, Nicholas K.; Storoni, L.C.; Terwilliger, Tomas C.; Adams, Paul D.

2008-06-09

Significant time and effort are often required to solve and complete a macromolecular crystal structure. The development of automated computational methods for the analysis, solution and completion of crystallographic structures has the potential to produce minimally biased models in a short time without the need for manual intervention. The PHENIX software suite is a highly automated system for macromolecular structure determination that can rapidly arrive at an initial partial model of a structure without significant human intervention, given moderate resolution and good quality data. This achievement has been made possible by the development of new algorithms for structure determination, maximum-likelihood molecular replacement (PHASER), heavy-atom search (HySS), template and pattern-based automated model-building (RESOLVE, TEXTAL), automated macromolecular refinement (phenix.refine), and iterative model-building, density modification and refinement that can operate at moderate resolution (RESOLVE, AutoBuild). These algorithms are based on a highly integrated and comprehensive set of crystallographic libraries that have been built and made available to the community. The algorithms are tightly linked and made easily accessible to users through the PHENIX Wizards and the PHENIX GUI.

Automated structure solution with the PHENIX suite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Terwilliger, Thomas C [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Zwart, Peter H [LBNL; Afonine, Pavel V [LBNL; Grosse - Kunstleve, Ralf W [LBNL

2008-01-01

Significant time and effort are often required to solve and complete a macromolecular crystal structure. The development of automated computational methods for the analysis, solution, and completion of crystallographic structures has the potential to produce minimally biased models in a short time without the need for manual intervention. The PHENIX software suite is a highly automated system for macromolecular structure determination that can rapidly arrive at an initial partial model of a structure without significant human intervention, given moderate resolution, and good quality data. This achievement has been made possible by the development of new algorithms for structure determination, maximum-likelihood molecular replacement (PHASER), heavy-atom search (HySS), template- and pattern-based automated model-building (RESOLVE, TEXTAL), automated macromolecular refinement (phenix. refine), and iterative model-building, density modification and refinement that can operate at moderate resolution (RESOLVE, AutoBuild). These algorithms are based on a highly integrated and comprehensive set of crystallographic libraries that have been built and made available to the community. The algorithms are tightly linked and made easily accessible to users through the PHENIX Wizards and the PHENIX GUI.

Actinide nitride ceramic transmutation fuels for the Futurix-FTA irradiation experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voit, St.; McClellan, K.; Stanek, Ch.; Maloy, St.

2007-01-01

Full text of publication follows. The transmutation of plutonium and other minor actinides is an important component of an advanced nuclear fuel cycle. The Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) is currently considering mono-nitrides as potential transmutation fuel material on account of the mutual solubility of actinide mono-nitrides as well as their desirable thermal characteristics. The feedstock is most commonly produced by a carbothermic reduction/nitridisation process, as it is for this programme. Fuel pellet fabrication is accomplished via a cold press/sinter approach. In order to allow for easier investigation of the synthesis and fabrication processes, surrogate material studies are used to compliment the actinide activities. Fuel compositions of particular interest denoted as low fertile (i.e. containing uranium) and non-fertile (i.e. not containing uranium) are (PuAmNp) 0.5 U 0.5 N and (PuAm) 0.42 Zr 0.58 N, respectively. The AFCI programme is investigating the validity of these fuel forms via Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) and Phenix irradiations. Here, we report on the recent progress of actinide-nitride transmutation fuel development and production for the Futurix-FTA irradiation experiment. Furthermore, we highlight specific cases where the complimentary approach of surrogate studies and actinide development aid in the understanding complex material issues. In order to allow for easier investigation of the fundamental materials properties, surrogate materials have been used. The amount of surrogate in each compound was determined by comparing both molar concentration and lattice parameter mismatch via Vegard Law. Cerium was chosen to simultaneously substitute for Pu, Am and Np, while depleted U was chosen to substitute for enriched U. Another goal of this work was the optimisation of added graphite during carbothermic reduction in order to minimise the duration of the carbon removal step (i.e. heat treatment under H 2 containing gas). One proposed

The Phenix Detector magnet subsystem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, R.M.; Bowers, J.M.; Harvey, A.R.

1995-01-01

The PHENIX [Photon Electron New Heavy Ion Experiment] Detector is one of two large detectors presently under construction for RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) located at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Its primary goal is to detect a new phase of matter; the quark-gluon plasma. In order to achieve this objective, the PHENIX Detector utilizes a complex magnet subsystem which is comprised of two large magnets identified as the Central Magnet (CM) and the Muon Magnet (MM). Muon Identifier steel is also included as part of this package. The entire magnet subsystem stands over 10 meters tall and weighs in excess of 1900 tons (see Fig. 1). Magnet size alone provided many technical challenges throughout the design and fabrication of the project. In addition, interaction with foreign collaborators provided the authors with new areas to address and problems to solve. Russian collaborators would fabricate a large fraction of the steel required and Japanese collaborators would supply the first coil. This paper will describe the overall design of the PHENIX magnet subsystem and discuss its present fabrication status

The Phenix Detector magnet subsystem

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamamoto, R.M.; Bowers, J.M.; Harvey, A.R. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)] [and others

1995-05-19

The PHENIX [Photon Electron New Heavy Ion Experiment] Detector is one of two large detectors presently under construction for RHIC (Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider) located at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Its primary goal is to detect a new phase of matter; the quark-gluon plasma. In order to achieve this objective, the PHENIX Detector utilizes a complex magnet subsystem which is comprised of two large magnets identified as the Central Magnet (CM) and the Muon Magnet (MM). Muon Identifier steel is also included as part of this package. The entire magnet subsystem stands over 10 meters tall and weighs in excess of 1900 tons (see Fig. 1). Magnet size alone provided many technical challenges throughout the design and fabrication of the project. In addition, interaction with foreign collaborators provided the authors with new areas to address and problems to solve. Russian collaborators would fabricate a large fraction of the steel required and Japanese collaborators would supply the first coil. This paper will describe the overall design of the PHENIX magnet subsystem and discuss its present fabrication status.

Transmutation Capability of a Once-Through Molten-Salt and Other Transmuting Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenspan, E.; Lowenthal, M.; Barnes, D.; Kawasaki, D.; Kimball, D.; Matsumoto, H.; Sagara, H.; Vietez, E.R.

2002-01-01

A preliminary assessment is done of the transmutation characteristics of three reactor technologies: a multi-batch liquid metal (LM) cooled transmuter, a once-through molten-salt (MS) transmuter and a pebble bed (PB) transmuter. It was found that for the same fractional transmutation and same k eff drop with burnup (Δk effBU ), lead-bismuth offers smaller peak-to-average core power density, and it requires a smaller pumping power but a larger and heavier core than a sodium cooled transmuter. 99 Tc cannot effectively serve as a burnable absorber to reduce Δk effBU of LM transmuters. However, addition of thorium can greatly flatten k eff and almost double the fractional transmutation of the LWR spent fuel from ∼20% to ∼40%. If the 'once-through' MS transmuter is operated with continuous complete removal of fission products, it can achieve ∼85% fractional transmutation provided that the equilibrium concentration of actinides in the MS can reach 4 mole %. If the fission products are not actively removed, the fractional transmutation is reduced to ∼75%. The fractional transmutation of a PB transmuter can exceed 40%. More thorough analysis is required to better quantify the transmutation capability of the different transmuter technologies. (authors)

Steam generator development in France for the Super Phenix project; Generateurs de vapeur developpes en France pour Super Phenix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robin, M G

1975-07-01

'Steam Generator Development for Super Phenix Project'. The development program of steam generators studied by Fives-Cail Babcock and Stein Industrie Companies, jointly with CEA end EDF, for the Super Phenix 1200 MWe Fast Breeder Power Plant, is presented. The main characteristics of both sodium heated steam generators are emphasized and experimental studies related to their key features are reported. (author)

Transmutation detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Viererbl, L., E-mail: vie@ujv.c [Research Centre Rez Ltd. (Czech Republic); Nuclear Research Institute Rez plc (Czech Republic); Lahodova, Z. [Research Centre Rez Ltd. (Czech Republic); Nuclear Research Institute Rez plc (Czech Republic); Klupak, V. [Nuclear Research Institute Rez plc (Czech Republic); Sus, F. [Research Centre Rez Ltd. (Czech Republic); Nuclear Research Institute Rez plc (Czech Republic); Kucera, J. [Research Centre Rez Ltd. (Czech Republic); Nuclear Physics Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Czech Republic); Kus, P.; Marek, M. [Research Centre Rez Ltd. (Czech Republic); Nuclear Research Institute Rez plc (Czech Republic)

2011-03-11

We have designed a new type of detectors, called transmutation detectors, which can be used primarily for neutron fluence measurement. The transmutation detector method differs from the commonly used activation detector method in evaluation of detector response after irradiation. Instead of radionuclide activity measurement using radiometric methods, the concentration of stable non-gaseous nuclides generated by transmutation in the detector is measured using analytical methods like mass spectrometry. Prospective elements and nuclear reactions for transmutation detectors are listed and initial experimental results are given. The transmutation detector method could be used primarily for long-term measurement of neutron fluence in fission nuclear reactors, but in principle it could be used for any type of radiation that can cause transmutation of nuclides in detectors. This method could also be used for measurement in accelerators or fusion reactors.

Transmutation detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viererbl, L.; Lahodova, Z.; Klupak, V.; Sus, F.; Kucera, J.; Kus, P.; Marek, M.

2011-01-01

We have designed a new type of detectors, called transmutation detectors, which can be used primarily for neutron fluence measurement. The transmutation detector method differs from the commonly used activation detector method in evaluation of detector response after irradiation. Instead of radionuclide activity measurement using radiometric methods, the concentration of stable non-gaseous nuclides generated by transmutation in the detector is measured using analytical methods like mass spectrometry. Prospective elements and nuclear reactions for transmutation detectors are listed and initial experimental results are given. The transmutation detector method could be used primarily for long-term measurement of neutron fluence in fission nuclear reactors, but in principle it could be used for any type of radiation that can cause transmutation of nuclides in detectors. This method could also be used for measurement in accelerators or fusion reactors.

PHENIX Work Breakdown Structure. Cost and schedule review copy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1994-02-01

The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Book begins with this Overview section, which contains the high-level summary cost estimate, the cost profile, and the global construction schedule. The summary cost estimate shows the total US cost and the cost in terms of PHENIX construction funds for building the PHENIX detector. All costs in the WBS book are shown in FY 1993 dollars. Also shown are the institutional and foreign contributions, the level of pre-operations funding, and the cost of deferred items. Pie charts are presented at PHENIX WBS level 1 and 2 that show this information. The PHENIX construction funds are shown broken down to PHENIX WBS level 3 items per fiscal year, and the resulting profile is compared to the RHIC target profile. An accumulated difference of the two profiles is also shown. The PHENIX global construction schedule is presented at the end of the Overview section. Following the Overview are sections for each subsystem. Each subsystem section begins with a summary cost estimate, cost profile, and critical path. The total level 3 cost is broken down into fixed costs (M&S), engineering costs (EDIA) and labor costs. Costs are further broken down in terms of PHENIX construction funds, institutional and foreign contributions, pre-operations funding, and deferred items. Also shown is the contingency at level 3 and the level 4 breakdown of the total cost. The cost profile in fiscal years is shown at level 3. The subsystem summaries are followed by the full cost estimate and schedule sheets for that subsystem. These detailed sheets are typically carried down to level 7 or 8. The cost estimate shows Total, M&S, EDIA, and Labor breakdowns, as well as contingency, for each WBS entry.

Design and fabrication procedures of Super-Phenix fuel elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leclere, J.; Vialard, J.-L.; Delpeyroux, P.

1975-01-01

For Super-Phenix fuel assemblies, Phenix technological arrangements will be used again, but they will be simplified as far as possible. The maximum fuel can temperature has been lowered in order to obtain a good behavior of hexagonal tubes and cans at high irradiation levels. An important experimental programme and the experience gained from Phenix operation will confirm the merits of the options retained. The fuel element fabrication is envisaged to take place in the plutonium workshop at Cadarache. Usual procedures will be employed and both reliability and automation will be increased [fr

Global variables and identified hadrons in the PHENIX experiment

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

verse momentum, mean transverse energy, and net charge are presented for particles ... Other talks at this conference summarized the PHENIX results for high pT charged ... The major goal of the heavy-ion program in PHENIX is to detect and.

Impressive Super Phenix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olds, F.C.

1979-01-01

The 1200-MWe fast breeder reactor, Super Phenix at Creys-Malville, is scheduled for commercial operation in 1983. This is the world's first near-commercial-sized fast breeder. As a near-commercial-sized unit, it represents essentially the technology and hardware of the first fully commercial follow-on units. In its size, its components, its design, the technology it represents, and its project schedule, it is impressive. As of May 1979, the Super Phenix nuclear steam boiler in the Creys-Malville plant bore an estimated cost of $700 million, without fuel. The total cost of the Creys-Malville plant now is estimated at about $1.4 billion. This is about twice the cost of a comparable standardized PWR being built in France today. However, it should be borne in mind that Creys-Malville carries the high cost of a first-of-the-line prototype, and that France's PWRs are standardized, second-generation units. Electricity from Creys-Malville is estimated to cost a little more than electricity would cost from a coal-fired plant complete with flue gas scrubbing

Electronics for the RHIC PHENIX detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, G.R.

1992-01-01

The PHENIX detector for RHIC is being designed to measure lepton pairs, direct photons and hadrons emitted in collisions of heavy nuclei at center of mass energies up to 200 GeV/(nucleon-pair). The physics goal is tests of predictions concerning the existence and nature of a deconfined state of strongly-interacting matter. The relatively large final state multiplicities, which reach 1500 charged particles per unit of rapidity, place strong demands on detector segmentation and control of electronics cost and power consumption. An overview of present ideas concerning signal processing and data rates for PHENIX will be presented

Intermediate heat exchanger project for Super Phenix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roumailhac, J.; Desir, D.

1975-01-01

The Super Phenix (1200 MWe) intermediate heat exchangers are derived directly from those of Phenix (250 MWe). The intermediate exchangers are housed in the reactor vessel annulus: as this annulus must be of the smallest volume possible, these IHX are required to work at a high specific rating. The exchange surface is calculated for nominal conditions. A range is then defined, consistent with the above requirements and throughout which the ratio between bundle thickness and bundle length remains acceptable. Experimental technics and calculations were used to determine the number of tube constraint systems required to keep the vibration amplitude within permissible limits. From a knowledge of this number, the pressure drop produced by the primary flow can be calculated. The bundle geometry is determined together with the design of the corresponding tube plates and the way in which these plates should be joined to the body of the IHX. The experience (technical and financial) acquired in the construction of Phenix is then used to optimize the design of the Super Phenix project. An approximate definition of the structure of the IHX is obtained by assuming a simplified load distribution in the calculations. More sophisticated calculations (e.g. finite element method) are then used to determine the behaviour of the different points of the IHX, under nominal and transient conditions

Conception and fabrication of innovative Am-Based targets: the ca mix/Cochix experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, N.; Croixmarie, Y.; Abonneau, E.; Ottaviani, J.P.; Donnet, L.; Desmouliere, F.; Konings, R.J.M.; Fernandez, A.

2003-01-01

A large experimental programme has been planned to be carried out in the French PHENIX reactor. The purpose is to evaluate the technical feasibility of minor actinide transmutation in fast reactors. Two major series of experiments have been designed for the heterogeneous transmutation mode. The first one, the MATINA (Matrices for Incineration of Actinides) series, aims at testing both different inert matrices in a fast flux and different concepts. The study is generic and focuses on the material behaviour under representative irradiation conditions. Targets are free of minor actinides to make the fabrication and design steps easier and faster. The second one, ECRIX, CAMIX (Compounds of Americium in PHENIX) and COCHIX (Concept Optimized microstructure in PHENIX), is a further step in the demonstration phase of the ''once-through'' transmutation and deals with Am-bearing targets irradiated in a fast neutron spectrum ''locally'' moderated. The moderator materials tested will be calcium hydride CaH 2-x (cases of ECRIX-H, CAMIX and COCHIX) and boron carbide 11 B 4 C (case of ECRIX-B) in order to accelerate the process of transmutation significantly. (author)

Exploring forward physics with the PHENIX MPC-EX upgrade

Science.gov (United States)

Novitzky, Norbert; Phenix Collaboration

2014-09-01

The MPC-EX detector is a Si-W preshower extension to the existing Muon Piston Calorimeter (MPC) at PHENIX. Located at forward rapidity, 3 . 1 double showers. The single versus double shower separation was tested with an electron beam at the SLAC test beam facility. Results from the test beam data will be presented in this talk. The MPC-EX detector is a Si-W preshower extension to the existing Muon Piston Calorimeter (MPC) at PHENIX. Located at forward rapidity, 3 . 1 double showers. The single versus double shower separation was tested with an electron beam at the SLAC test beam facility. Results from the test beam data will be presented in this talk. Norbert Novitzky for PHENIX collaboration.

Towards automated crystallographic structure refinement with phenix.refine

OpenAIRE

Afonine, Pavel V.; Grosse-Kunstleve, Ralf W.; Echols, Nathaniel; Headd, Jeffrey J.; Moriarty, Nigel W.; Mustyakimov, Marat; Terwilliger, Thomas C.; Urzhumtsev, Alexandre; Zwart, Peter H.; Adams, Paul D.

2012-01-01

phenix.refine is a program within the PHENIX package that supports crystallographic structure refinement against experimental data with a wide range of upper resolution limits using a large repertoire of model parameterizations. It has several automation features and is also highly flexible. Several hundred parameters enable extensive customizations for complex use cases. Multiple user-defined refinement strategies can be applied to specific parts of the model in a single refinement run. An i...

PHENIX Fast TOF

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soha, Aria [Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Chiu, Mickey [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Mannel, Eric [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Stoll, Sean [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Lynch, Don [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Boose, Steve [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Northacker, Dave [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Alfred, Marcus [Howard Univ., Washington, DC (United States); Lindesay, James [Howard Univ., Washington, DC (United States); Chujo, Tatsuya [Univ. of Tsukuba (Japan); Inaba, Motoi [Univ. of Tsukuba (Japan); Nonaka, Toshihiro [Univ. of Tsukuba (Japan); Sato, Wataru [Univ. of Tsukuba (Japan); Sakatani, Ikumi [Univ. of Tsukuba (Japan); Hirano, Masahiro [Univ. of Tsukuba (Japan); Choi, Ihnjea [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)

2014-01-15

This is a technical scope of work (TSW) between the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) and the experimenters of PHENIX Fast TOF group who have committed to participate in beam tests to be carried out during the FY2014 Fermilab Test Beam Facility program. The goals for this test beam experiment are to verify the timing performance of the two types of time-of-flight detector prototypes.

Pin clad strains in Phenix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Languille, A.

1979-07-01

The Phenix reactor has operated for 4 years in a satisfactory manner. The first 2 sub-assembly loadings contained pins clad in solution treated 316. The principal pin strains are: diametral strain (swelling and irradiation creep), ovality and spiral bending of the pin (interaction of wire and pin cluster and wrapper). A pin cluster irradiated to a dose of 80 dpa F reached a pin diameter strain of 5%. This strain is principally due to swelling (low fission gas pressure). The principal parameters governing the swelling are instantaneous dose, time and temperature for a given type of pin cladding. Other types of steel are or will be irradiated in Phenix. In particular, cold-worked titanium stabilised 316 steel should contribute towards a reduction in the pin clad strains and increase the target burn-up in this reactor. (author)

Tube tightness survey during Phenix steam generator operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cambillard, E.

1976-01-01

Phenix steam generators are once-through vessels with single-wall heat-exchange tubes. This design means that any leakage of water into the sodium must be detected as quickly as possible so that the installation can be shut down before extensive damage occurs. The detection of water leaks in Phenix steam generators is based on measurement of the concentration in the sodium, of hydrogen produced by the sodium-water reaction. Since the various modules--evaporators, superheaters, and reheaters--have no free sodium surfaces, detection of hydrogen in argon is not used in Phenix steam generators. The measurement systems employ a probe made of nickel tubes 0.3 mm thick. Hydrogen in the sodium diffuses into a chamber kept under vacuum by an ion pump. The hydrogen pressure in the chamber is measured by a quadrupole mass spectrometer. The nine measurement systems (three per steam generator) are calibrated by injecting hydrogen into the sodium of the secondary circuits. The data-processing computer calculates the hydrogen concentration in the sodium from the spectrometer signals and the probe temperatures, which are not regulated in Phenix; it generates instructions that enable the operator to act if a leak appears. So far, no leaks have been detected. These systems also make it possible to determine rates of hydrogen diffusion caused by corrosion of the steel walls on the water side

Improving PHENIX search with Solr, Nutch and Drupal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrison, Dave; Sourikova, Irina

2012-01-01

During its 20 years of R and D, construction and operation the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has accumulated large amounts of proprietary collaboration data that is hosted on many servers around the world and is not open for commercial search engines for indexing and searching. The legacy search infrastructure did not scale well with the fast growing PHENIX document base and produced results inadequate in both precision and recall. After considering the possible alternatives that would provide an aggregated, fast, full text search of a variety of data sources and file formats we decided to use Nutch [1] as a web crawler and Solr [2] as a search engine. To present XML-based Solr search results in a user-friendly format we use Drupal [3] as a web interface to Solr. We describe the experience of building a federated search for a heterogeneous collection of 10 million PHENIX documents with Nutch, Solr and Drupal.

Improving PHENIX search with Solr, Nutch and Drupal.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Dave; Sourikova, Irina

2012-12-01

During its 20 years of R&D, construction and operation the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) has accumulated large amounts of proprietary collaboration data that is hosted on many servers around the world and is not open for commercial search engines for indexing and searching. The legacy search infrastructure did not scale well with the fast growing PHENIX document base and produced results inadequate in both precision and recall. After considering the possible alternatives that would provide an aggregated, fast, full text search of a variety of data sources and file formats we decided to use Nutch [1] as a web crawler and Solr [2] as a search engine. To present XML-based Solr search results in a user-friendly format we use Drupal [3] as a web interface to Solr. We describe the experience of building a federated search for a heterogeneous collection of 10 million PHENIX documents with Nutch, Solr and Drupal.

Transmutation Technology Development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, T. Y.; Park, W. S.; Kim, Y. H. (and others)

2007-06-15

The spent fuel coming from the PWR is one of the most difficult problems to be solved for the continuous use of nuclear power. It takes a few million years to be safe under the ground. Therefore, it is not easy to take care of the spent fuel for such a long time. Transmutation technology is the key technology which can solve the spent fuel problem basically. Transmutation is to transmute long-lived radioactive nuclides in the spent fuel into short-lived or stable nuclide through nuclear reactions. The long-lived radioactive nuclides can be TRU and fission products such as Tc-99 and I-129. Although the transmutation technology does not make the underground disposal totally unnecessary, the period to take care of the spent fuel can be reduced to the order of a few hundred years. In addition to the environmental benefit, transmutation can be considered to recycle the energy in the spent fuel since the transmutation is performed through nuclear fission reaction of the TRU in the spent fuel. Therefore, transmutation technology is worth being developed in economical aspect. The results of this work can be a basis for the next stage research. The objective of the third stage research was to complete the core conceptual design and verification of the key technologies. The final results will contribute to the establishment of Korean back end fuel cycle policy by providing technical guidelines.

Steam generator development in France for the Super Phenix project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Robin, M.G.

1975-01-01

'Steam Generator Development for Super Phenix Project'. The development program of steam generators studied by Fives-Cail Babcock and Stein Industrie Companies, jointly with CEA end EDF, for the Super Phenix 1200 MWe Fast Breeder Power Plant, is presented. The main characteristics of both sodium heated steam generators are emphasized and experimental studies related to their key features are reported. (author)

Phenix plant - Complementary safety assessment of the Phenix plant (INB 71) in the light of the Fukushima accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This CSA (Complementary Safety Assessment) analyses the robustness of the Phenix reactor to extreme situations such as those that led to the Fukushima accident and proposes a series of improvements. The Phenix reactor stands on the Marcoule site of CEA and was stopped definitely in 2009 for electricity production. Robustness is the ability for the facility to withstand events beyond the level for which the facility was designed. Robustness is linked to safety margins but also to the situations leading to a sudden deterioration of the accident sequence (cliff edge effect). Safety is not only a matter of design or of engineered systems, it is also a matter of organization. So issues like crisis organization and work organization via subcontracting are also taken into consideration. This report is divided into 9 main chapters: 1) main features of the Phenix facility, 2) identification of cliff edge risks as well as structures and equipment essential to safety, 3) earthquake risk, 4) flood risk, 5) risks due to other extreme natural disasters, 6) the loss of electrical power supplies and of cooling systems, 7) management of severe accidents, 8) subcontracting policy, 9) synthesis. This study shows that it is necessary to take some measures to reinforce the robustness of the plant concerning flood risks. (A.C.)

PHENIX EXPERIMENT AT RHIC: DECADAL PLAN 2004-2013

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ZAJC, W.

2003-01-01

The PHENIX Collaboration has developed a plan for the detailed investigation of quantum chromodynamics in the next decade. The demonstrated capabilities of the PHENIX experiment to measure rare processes in hadronic, leptonic and photonic channels, in combination with RHIC's unparalleled flexibility as a hadronic collider, provides a physics program of extraordinary breadth and depth. A superlative set of measurements to elucidate the states of both hot and cold nuclear matter, and to measure the spin structure of the proton has been identified. The components of this plan include: (1) Definitive measurements that will establish the nature of the matter created in nucleus+nucleus collisions, that will determine if the description of such matter as a quark-gluon plasma is appropriate, and that will quantify both the equilibrium and non-equilibrium features of the produced medium. (2) Precision measurements of the gluon structure of the proton, and of the spin structure of the gluon and sea-quark distributions of the proton via polarized proton+proton collisions. (3) Determination of the gluon distribution in cold nuclear matter using proton+nucleus collisions. Each of these fundamental fields of investigation will be addressed through a program of correlated measurements in some or all of the following channels: (1) Particle production at high transverse momentum, studied via single particle inclusive measurements of identified charged and neutral hadrons, multi-particle correlations and jet production. (2) Direct photon, photon+jet and virtual photon production. (3) Light and heavy vector mesons. (4) Heavy flavor production. These measurements, together with the established PHENIX abilities to identify hadrons at low transverse momentum, to perform detailed centrality selections, and to monitor polarization and luminosity with high precision create a superb opportunity for performing world-class science with PHENIX for the next decade. A portion of this program is

PHENIX EXPERIMENT AT RHIC: DECADAL PLAN 2004-2013

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

ZAJC,W.ET. AL.

2003-11-30

The PHENIX Collaboration has developed a plan for the detailed investigation of quantum chromodynamics in the next decade. The demonstrated capabilities of the PHENIX experiment to measure rare processes in hadronic, leptonic and photonic channels, in combination with RHIC's unparalleled flexibility as a hadronic collider, provides a physics program of extraordinary breadth and depth. A superlative set of measurements to elucidate the states of both hot and cold nuclear matter, and to measure the spin structure of the proton has been identified. The components of this plan include: (1) Definitive measurements that will establish the nature of the matter created in nucleus+nucleus collisions, that will determine if the description of such matter as a quark-gluon plasma is appropriate, and that will quantify both the equilibrium and non-equilibrium features of the produced medium. (2) Precision measurements of the gluon structure of the proton, and of the spin structure of the gluon and sea-quark distributions of the proton via polarized proton+proton collisions. (3) Determination of the gluon distribution in cold nuclear matter using proton+nucleus collisions. Each of these fundamental fields of investigation will be addressed through a program of correlated measurements in some or all of the following channels: (1) Particle production at high transverse momentum, studied via single particle inclusive measurements of identified charged and neutral hadrons, multi-particle correlations and jet production. (2) Direct photon, photon+jet and virtual photon production. (3) Light and heavy vector mesons. (4) Heavy flavor production. These measurements, together with the established PHENIX abilities to identify hadrons at low transverse momentum, to perform detailed centrality selections, and to monitor polarization and luminosity with high precision create a superb opportunity for performing world-class science with PHENIX for the next decade. A portion of this

PHENIX central arm tracking detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adcox, K.; Ajitanand, N.N.; Alexander, J.; Autrey, D.; Averbeck, R.; Azmoun, B.; Barish, K.N.; Baublis, V.V.; Belkin, R.; Bhaganatula, S.; Biggs, J.C.; Borland, D.; Botelho, S.; Bryan, W.L.; Burward-Hoy, J.; Butsyk, S.A.; Chang, W.C.; Christ, T.; Dietzsch, O.; Drees, A.; Rietz, R. du; El Chenawi, K.; Evseev, V.A.; Fellenstein, J.; Ferdousi, T.; Fraenkel, Z.; Franz, A.; Fung, S.Y.; Gannon, J.; Garpman, S.; Godoi, A.L.; Greene, S.V.; Gustafsson, H.-A.; Harder, J.; Hemmick, T.K.; Heuser, J.M.; Holzmann, W.; Hutter, R.; Issah, M.; Ivanov, V.I.; Jacak, B.V.; Jagadish, U.; Jia, J.; Johnson, S.C.; Kandasamy, A.; Kann, M.R.; Kelley, M.A.; Khanzadeev, A.V.; Khomutnikov, A.; Komkov, B.G.; Kopytine, M.L.; Kotchenda, L.; Kotchetkov, D.; Kozlov, V.S.; Kravtsov, P.A.; Kudin, L.G.; Kuriatkov, V.V.; Lacey, R.; Lauret, J.; Lebedev, A.; Lebedev, V.D.; Li, X.H.; Libby, B.; Liccardi, W.; Machnowski, R.; Mahon, J.; Markushin, D.G.; Matathias, F.; Marx, M.D.; Messer, F.; Miftakhov, N.M.; Milan, J.; Miller, T.E.; Milov, A.; Minuzzo, K.; Mioduszewski, S.; Mitchell, J.T.; Muniruzzamann, M.; Nandi, B.K.; Negrin, J.; Nilsson, P.; Nystrand, J.; O'Brien, E.; O'Connor, P.; Oskarsson, A.; Oesterman, L.; Otterlund, I.; Pancake, C.E.; Pantuev, V.S.; Petersen, R.; Pinkenburg, C.H.; Pisani, R.P.; Purwar, A.K.; Rankowitz, S.; Ravinovich, I.; Riabov, V.G.; Riabov, Yu.G.; Rosati, M.; Rose, A.A.; Roschin, E.V.; Samsonov, V.M.; Sangster, T.C.; Seto, R.; Silvermyr, D.; Sivertz, M.; Smith, M.; Solodov, G.P.; Stenlund, E.; Takagui, E.M.; Tarakanov, V.I.; Tarasenkova, O.P.; Thomas, J.L.; Trofimov, V.A.; Tserruya, I.; Tydesjoe, H.; Velkovska, J.; Velkovsky, M.; Vishnevskii, V.I.; Vorobyov, A.A.; Vznuzdaev, E.A.; Vznuzdaev, M.; Wang, H.Q.; Weimer, T.; Wolniewicz, K.; Wu, J.; Xie, W.; Young, G.R.

2003-01-01

The PHENIX tracking system consists of Drift Chambers (DC), Pad Chambers (PC) and the Time Expansion Chamber (TEC). PC1/DC and PC2/TEC/PC3 form the inner and outer tracking units, respectively. These units link the track segments that transverse the RICH and extend to the EMCal. The DC measures charged particle trajectories in the r-phi direction to determine p T of the particles and the invariant mass of particle pairs. The PCs perform 3D spatial point measurements for pattern recognition and longitudinal momentum reconstruction and provide spatial resolution of a few mm in both r-phi and z. The TEC tracks particles passing through the region between the RICH and the EMCal. The design and operational parameters of the detectors are presented and running experience during the first year of data taking with PHENIX is discussed. The observed spatial and momentum resolution is given which imposes a limitation on the identification and characterization of charged particles in various momentum ranges

Gamma ray beam transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imasaki, K.; Li, D.; Miyamoto, S.; Amano, S.; Motizuki, T.

2007-01-01

We have proposed a new approach to nuclear transmutation by a gamma ray beam of Compton scattered laser photon. We obtained 20 MeV gamma ray in this way to obtain transmutation rates with the giant resonance of 1 97Au and 1 29Iodine. The rate of the transmutation agreed with the theoretical calculation. Experiments on energy spectrum of positron, electron and neutron from targets were performed for the energy balance and design of the system scheme. The reaction rate was about 1.5∼4% for appropriate photon energies and neutron production rate was up to 4% in the measurements. We had stored laser photon more than 5000 times in a small cavity which implied for a significant improvement of system efficiency. Using these technologies, we have designed an actual transmutation system for 1 29Iodine which has a 16 million year's activity. In my presentation, I will address the properties of this scheme, experiments results and transmutation system for iodine transmutation

French fuel cycle strategy and partitioning and transmutation programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pradel, Ph.

2007-01-01

The global energy context pleads in favour of a sustainable development of nuclear energy since the demand for energy will likely increase, whereas resources will tend to get scarcer and the prospect of global warming will drive down the consumption of fossil fuel sources. How we deal with radioactive waste is crucial in this context. The production of nuclear energy in France has been associated, since its inception, with the optimisation of radioactive waste management, including the partitioning and the recycling of recoverable energetic materials. The public's concern regarding long-term waste management led the French government to prepare and pass the Law of December 1991, requesting in particular the study for fifteen years of solutions to minimising even further the quantity and the hazardousness of final waste, via partitioning and transmutation. At the end of these fifteen years of research, it is considered that partitioning techniques which have been validated on real solutions are at disposal. Indeed, aqueous process for separation of minor actinides from the PUREX raffinate has been brought to a point where there is reasonable assurance that industrial deployment can be successful. A key experiment has been the kilogram-scale successful trials in the CEA-Marcoule Atalante facility in 2005 and this result, together with the results obtained in the frame of the successive European projects, constitutes a considerable step forward. For transmutation, CEA has conducted programmes proving the feasibility of the elimination of minor actinides and fission products: fabrication of specific targets and fuels for transmutation tests in the HFR and Phenix reactors, neutronics and technology studies for critical reactors and ADS developments. Scenario studies have also allowed assessing the feasibility, at the level of cycle and fuel facilities, and the efficiency of transmutation in terms of the quantitative reduction of the final waste inventory depending of

Status of the French Research on Partitioning and Transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warin, Dominique

2007-01-01

The global energy context pleads in favor of a sustainable development of nuclear energy since the demand for energy will likely increase, whereas resources will tend to get scarcer and the prospect of global warming will drive down the consumption of fossil fuel sources. How we deal with radioactive waste is crucial in this context. The production of nuclear energy in France has been associated, since its inception, with the optimization of radioactive waste management, including the partitioning and the recycling of recoverable energetic materials. The public's concern regarding the long-term waste management made the French Government prepare and pass the December 1991 Law, requesting in particular, the study for fifteen years of solutions for still minimizing the quantity and the hazardousness of final waste, via partitioning and transmutation. At the end of these fifteen years of research, it is considered that partitioning techniques, which have been validated on real solutions, are at disposal. Indeed, aqueous process for separation of minor actinides from the PUREX raffinate has been brought to a point where there is reasonable assurance that industrial deployment can be successful. A key experiment has been the successful kilogram scale trials in the CEA-Marcoule Atalante facility in 2005 and this result, together with the results obtained in the frame of the successive European projects, constitutes a considerable step forward. For transmutation, CEA has conducted programs proving the feasibility of the elimination of minor actinides and fission products: fabrication of specific targets and fuels for transmutation tests in the HFR and Phenix reactors, neutronics and technology studies for critical reactors and ADS developments. Scenario studies have also allowed assessing the feasibility, at the level of cycle and fuel facilities, and the efficiency of transmutation in terms of the quantitative reduction of the final waste inventory depending of the

The experience of five years operation of Phenix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conte, F.; Lacroix, A.

1980-01-01

Two long periods of exceptional operation have satisfied the hopes of the designers and all parameters, power, efficiency, load factor, fuel behaviour, were better than was expected. The experience resulting from the only major incident provided a series of complementary data. Modern technology has need of sanction by experiment. The Phenix type reactor is a tool which is convenient to operate and to maintain. The two aspects of the demonstration, correct operation and ease of maintenance, take a concrete form in the harmlessness of Phenix on men and on the environment. There is no irradiation and few releases. (orig./DG)

Shielding design method for LMFBR validation on the Phenix factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabrillat, J.C.; Crouzet, J.; Misrakis, J.; Salvatores, M.; Rado, V.; Palmiotti, G.

1983-05-01

Shielding design methods, developed at CEA for shielding calculations find a global validation by the means of Phenix power reactor (250 MWe) measurements. Particularly, the secondary sodium activation of pool type LMFBR such as Super Phenix (1200 MWe) which is subject to strict safety limitation is well calculated by the adapted scheme, i.e. a two dimension transport calculation of shielding coupled to a Monte-Carlo calculation of secondary sodium activation

Transmutation potential of reactor WWER-440

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darilek, P.; Sebian, V.; Necas, V.

2001-01-01

Theoretical evaluation of WWER-440 transmutation potential by HELIOS - code is presented. Transmutation method proposal comprising special transmutation pins, combined FA and simple reprocessing is described. Transmutation efficiency of the method is characterized (Authors)

Waste transmutation and public acceptance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pigford, T.H.

1991-01-01

The concept of transmuting radioactive wastes with reactors or accelerators is appealing. It has the potential of simplifying or eliminating problems of disposing of nuclear waste. The transmutation concept has been renewed vigorously at a time when national projects to dispose of high-level and transuranic waste are seriously delayed. In this period of tightening federal funds and program curtailments, skilled technical staffs are available at US Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories and contractors to work on waste transmutation. If the claims of transmutation can be shown to be realistic, economically feasible, and capable of being implemented within the US institutional infrastructure, public acceptance of nuclear waste disposal may be enhanced. If the claims for transmutation are not substantiated, however, there will result a serious loss of credibility and an unjust exacerbation of public concerns about nuclear waste. The paper discusses the following topics: how public acceptance is achieved; the technical community and waste disposal; transmutation and technical communication; transmutation issues; technical fixes and public perception

sPHENIX: The next generation heavy ion detector at RHIC

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Sarah; sPHENIX Collaboration

2017-04-01

sPHENIX is a new collaboration and future detector project at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). It seeks to answer fundamental questions on the nature of the quark gluon plasma (QGP), including its coupling strength and temperature dependence, by using a suite of precision jet and upsilon measurements that probe different length scales of the QGP. This is possible with a full acceptance, |η| superconducting magnet. With the increased luminosity afforded by accelerator upgrades, sPHENIX is going to perform high statistics measurements extending the kinematic reach at RHIC to overlap the LHC’s. This overlap is going to facilitate a better understanding of the role of temperature, density and parton virtuality in QGP dynamics and, specifically, jet quenching. This paper focuses on key future measurements and the current state of the sPHENIX project.

PHENIX Muon Arms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akikawa, H.; Al-Jamel, A.; Archuleta, J.B.; Archuleta, J.R.; Armendariz, R.; Armijo, V.; Awes, T.C.; Baldisseri, A.; Barker, A.B.; Barnes, P.D.; Bassalleck, B.; Batsouli, S.; Behrendt, J.; Bellaiche, F.G.; Bland, A.W.; Bobrek, M.; Boissevain, J.G.; Borel, H.; Brooks, M.L.; Brown, A.W.; Brown, D.S.; Bruner, N.; Cafferty, M.M.; Carey, T.A.; Chai, J.-S.; Chavez, L.L.; Chollet, S.; Choudhury, R.K.; Chung, M.S.; Cianciolo, V.; Clark, D.J.; Cobigo, Y.; Dabrowski, C.M.; Debraine, A.; DeMoss, J.; Dinesh, B.V.; Drachenberg, J.L.; Drapier, O.; Echave, M.A.; Efremenko, Y.V.; En'yo, H.; Fields, D.E.; Fleuret, F.; Fried, J.; Fujisawa, E.; Funahashi, H.; Gadrat, S.; Gastaldi, F.; Gee, T.F.; Glenn, A.; Gogiberidze, G.; Gonin, M.; Gosset, J.; Goto, Y.; Granier de Cassagnac, R.; Hance, R.H.; Hart, G.W.; Hayashi, N.; Held, S.; Hicks, J.S.; Hill, J.C.; Hoade, R.; Hong, B.; Hoover, A.; Horaguchi, T.; Hunter, C.T.; Hurst, D.E.; Ichihara, T.; Imai, K.; Isenhower, L.D.L. Davis; Isenhower, L.D.L. Donald; Ishihara, M.; Jang, W.Y.; Johnson, J.; Jouan, D.; Kamihara, N.; Kamyshkov, Y.; Kang, J.H.; Kapoor, S.S.; Kim, D.J.; Kim, D.-W.; Kim, G.-B.; Kinnison, W.W.; Klinksiek, S.; Kluberg, L.; Kobayashi, H.; Koehler, D.; Kotchenda, L.; Kuberg, C.H.; Kurita, K.; Kweon, M.J.; Kwon, Y.; Kyle, G.S.; LaBounty, J.J.; Lajoie, J.G.; Lee, D.M.; Lee, S.; Leitch, M.J.; Li, Z.; Liu, M.X.; Liu, X.; Liu, Y.; Lockner, E.; Lopez, J.D.; Mao, Y.; Martinez, X.B.; McCain, M.C.; McGaughey, P.L.; Mioduszewski, S.; Mischke, R.E.; Mohanty, A.K.; Montoya, B.C.; Moss, J.M.; Murata, J.; Murray, M.M.; Nagle, J.L.; Nakada, Y.; Newby, J.; Obenshain, F.; Palounek, A.P.T.; Papavassiliou, V.; Pate, S.F.; Plasil, F.; Pope, K.; Qualls, J.M.; Rao, G.; Read, K.F.; Robinson, S.H.; Roche, G.; Romana, A.; Rosnet, P.; Roth, R.; Saito, N.; Sakuma, T.; Sandhoff, W.F.; Sanfratello, L.; Sato, H.D.; Savino, R.; Sekimoto, M.; Shaw, M.R.; Shibata, T.-A.; Sim, K.S.; Skank, H.D.; Smith, D.E.; Smith, G.D.; Sondheim, W.E.; Sorensen, S.; Staley, F.; Stankus, P.W.; Steffens, S.; Stein, E.M.; Stepanov, M.; Stokes, W.; Sugioka, M.; Sun, Z.; Taketani, A.; Taniguchi, E.; Tepe, J.D.; Thornton, G.W.; Tian, W.; Tojo, J.; Torii, H.; Towell, R.S.; Tradeski, J.; Vassent, M.; Velissaris, C.; Villatte, L.; Wan, Y.; Watanabe, Y.; Watkins, L.C.; Whitus, B.R.; Williams, C.; Willis, P.S.; Wong-Swanson, B.G.; Yang, Y.; Yoneyama, S.; Young, G.R.; Zhou, S.

2003-01-01

The PHENIX Muon Arms detect muons at rapidities of |y|=(1.2-2.4) with full azimuthal acceptance. Each muon arm must track and identify muons and provide good rejection of pions and kaons (∼10 -3 ). In order to accomplish this we employ a radial field magnetic spectrometer with precision tracking (Muon Tracker) followed by a stack of absorber/low resolution tracking layers (Muon Identifier). The design, construction, testing and expected run parameters of both the muon tracker and the muon identifier are described

PHENIX Muon Arms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akikawa, H.; Al-Jamel, A.; Archuleta, J.B.; Archuleta, J.R.; Armendariz, R.; Armijo, V.; Awes, T.C.; Baldisseri, A.; Barker, A.B.; Barnes, P.D.; Bassalleck, B.; Batsouli, S.; Behrendt, J.; Bellaiche, F.G.; Bland, A.W.; Bobrek, M.; Boissevain, J.G.; Borel, H.; Brooks, M.L.; Brown, A.W.; Brown, D.S.; Bruner, N.; Cafferty, M.M.; Carey, T.A.; Chai, J.-S.; Chavez, L.L.; Chollet, S.; Choudhury, R.K.; Chung, M.S.; Cianciolo, V.; Clark, D.J.; Cobigo, Y.; Dabrowski, C.M.; Debraine, A.; DeMoss, J.; Dinesh, B.V.; Drachenberg, J.L.; Drapier, O.; Echave, M.A.; Efremenko, Y.V.; En' yo, H.; Fields, D.E.; Fleuret, F.; Fried, J.; Fujisawa, E.; Funahashi, H.; Gadrat, S.; Gastaldi, F.; Gee, T.F.; Glenn, A.; Gogiberidze, G.; Gonin, M.; Gosset, J.; Goto, Y.; Granier de Cassagnac, R.; Hance, R.H.; Hart, G.W.; Hayashi, N.; Held, S.; Hicks, J.S.; Hill, J.C.; Hoade, R.; Hong, B.; Hoover, A.; Horaguchi, T.; Hunter, C.T.; Hurst, D.E.; Ichihara, T.; Imai, K.; Isenhower, L.D.L. Davis; Isenhower, L.D.L. Donald; Ishihara, M.; Jang, W.Y.; Johnson, J.; Jouan, D.; Kamihara, N.; Kamyshkov, Y.; Kang, J.H.; Kapoor, S.S.; Kim, D.J.; Kim, D.-W.; Kim, G.-B.; Kinnison, W.W.; Klinksiek, S.; Kluberg, L.; Kobayashi, H.; Koehler, D.; Kotchenda, L.; Kuberg, C.H.; Kurita, K.; Kweon, M.J.; Kwon, Y.; Kyle, G.S.; LaBounty, J.J.; Lajoie, J.G.; Lee, D.M.; Lee, S.; Leitch, M.J.; Li, Z.; Liu, M.X.; Liu, X.; Liu, Y.; Lockner, E.; Lopez, J.D.; Mao, Y.; Martinez, X.B.; McCain, M.C.; McGaughey, P.L.; Mioduszewski, S.; Mischke, R.E.; Mohanty, A.K.; Montoya, B.C.; Moss, J.M.; Murata, J.; Murray, M.M.; Nagle, J.L.; Nakada, Y.; Newby, J.; Obenshain, F.; Palounek, A.P.T.; Papavassiliou, V.; Pate, S.F.; Plasil, F.; Pope, K.; Qualls, J.M.; Rao, G.; Read, K.F. E-mail: readkf@ornl.gov; Robinson, S.H.; Roche, G.; Romana, A.; Rosnet, P.; Roth, R.; Saito, N.; Sakuma, T.; Sandhoff, W.F.; Sanfratello, L.; Sato, H.D.; Savino, R.; Sekimoto, M.; Shaw, M.R.; Shibata, T.-A.; Sim, K.S.; Skank, H.D.; Smith, D.E.; Smith, G.D. [and others

2003-03-01

The PHENIX Muon Arms detect muons at rapidities of |y|=(1.2-2.4) with full azimuthal acceptance. Each muon arm must track and identify muons and provide good rejection of pions and kaons ({approx}10{sup -3}). In order to accomplish this we employ a radial field magnetic spectrometer with precision tracking (Muon Tracker) followed by a stack of absorber/low resolution tracking layers (Muon Identifier). The design, construction, testing and expected run parameters of both the muon tracker and the muon identifier are described.

Trigger circuits for the PHENIX electromagnetic calorimeter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frank, S.S.; Britton, C.L. Jr.; Winterberg, A.L.; Young, G.R.

1997-11-01

Monolithic and discrete circuits have been developed to provide trigger signals for the PHENIX electromagnetic calorimeter detector. These trigger circuits are deadtimeless and create overlapping 4 by 4 energy sums, a cosmic muon trigger, and a 144 channel energy sum. The front end electronics of the PHENIX system sample the energy and timing channels at each bunch crossing (BC) but it is not known immediately if this data is of interest. The information from the trigger circuits is used to determine if the data collected is of interest and should be digitized and stored or discarded. This paper presents details of the design, issues affecting circuit performance, characterization of prototypes fabricated in 1.2 microm Orbit CMOS, and integration of the circuits into the EMCal electronics system

Efficiency Of Transuranium Nuclides Transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kazansky, Yu.A.; Klinov, D.A.; Semenov, E.V.

2002-01-01

One of the ways to create a wasteless nuclear power is based on transmutation of spent fuel nuclides. In particular, it is considered that the radioactivity of the nuclear power wastes should be the same (or smaller), than radioactivity of the uranium and the thorium extracted from entrails of the Earth. The problem of fission fragments transmutation efficiency was considered in article, where, in particular, the concepts of transmutation factor and the ''generalised'' index of biological hazard of the radioactive nuclides were entered. The transmutation efficiency has appeared to be a function of time and, naturally, dependent on nuclear power activity scenario, from neutron flux, absorption cross-sections of the nuclides under transmutation and on the rate of their formation in reactors. In the present paper the efficiency of the transmutation of transuranium nuclides is considered

Pre-analysis of Phenix End-of-Life Thermal-hydraulic tests with the MARS-LMR Code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Hae Yong; Ha, Kwi Seok; Kwon, Young Min; Chang, Won Pyo; Suk, Su Dong; Lee, Yong Bum

2009-01-01

A prototype SFR, PHENIX has been operated by the French Commissariat a l'energie atomique (CEA) and the Electricite de France (EdF) since 1973. Through the successful operation for 35 years, PHENIX has achieved its original objective to demonstrate a fast breeder reactor technology and also played an important role as an irradiation facility for innovative fuels and materials. Since its first operation, PHENIX has accumulated about 4,300 equivalent full power days (EFPDs) of operational experience and it reached its final shutdown in 2009. Before the decommissioning of PHENIX, the CEA started a PHENIX end-of-life (EOL) test program and opened it for international collaboration to share the valuable information from the test. The KAERI joined this program to utilize the unique opportunity to validate its SFR system analysis code, MARS-LMR which will be a basic tool in future SFR development

Status of nuclear transmutation study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takizuka, Takakazu

1999-01-01

JAERI is carrying out R and Ds on partitioning and transmutation under the OMEGA Program. The R and Ds include the design study of accelerator-driven transmutation systems and the development of transmutation experimental facilities. Accelerator-driven systems have received much interests due to their potential role as dedicated transmuters in the nuclear fuel cycle for minimizing long-lived waste. Principles of accelerator-driven system, its history, JAERI proposed system concepts, and the experimental program are overviewed. (author)

A study for optimal transmutation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, W.S.; Song, T.Y.; Shin, H.S.; Park, C.K.

1996-01-01

Couple of transmutation systems are being under investigation to design the optimal transmutation device. Several basic studies were performed for that objectives: (1) select the radioactive nuclides to be transmuted: (2) investigate the physical characteristics of each nuclide; (3) study the most favorable neutron energy environment for the transmutation. The existing LWR and LMFBR cores were found to be not a satisfiable ones in terms of transmutation rate itself. (author). 5 refs, 2 figs, 3 tabs

Front-end readout system for PHENIX RICH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanaka, Y.; Hara, H.; Ebisu, K.; Hibino, M.; Kametani, S.; Kikuchi, J.; Wintenberg, A.L.; Walker, J.W.; Franck, S.; Moscone, C.; Jones, J.P.; Young, G.R.; Matsumoto, T.; Sakaguchi, T.; Oyama, K.; Hamagaki, H.

2000-01-01

A front-end readout system with a custom backplane and custom circuit modules has been developed for the RICH subsystem of the PHENIX experiment. The design specifications and test results of the backplane and the modules are presented in this paper. In the module design, flexibility for modification is maximized through the use of Complex Programmable Logic Devices. In the backplane design, a source-synchronous bus architecture is adopted for the data and control bus. The transfer speed of the backplane has reached 640 Mbyte/s with a 128-bit data bus. Total transaction time is estimated to be less than 30 μs per event when this system is used in the experiment. This result indicates that the performance satisfies the data-rate requirement of the PHENIX experiment

Implementation of PHENIX trigger algorithms on massively parallel computers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petridis, A.N.; Wohn, F.K.

1995-01-01

The event selection requirements of contemporary high energy and nuclear physics experiments are met by the introduction of on-line trigger algorithms which identify potentially interesting events and reduce the data acquisition rate to levels that are manageable by the electronics. Such algorithms being parallel in nature can be simulated off-line using massively parallel computers. The PHENIX experiment intends to investigate the possible existence of a new phase of matter called the quark gluon plasma which has been theorized to have existed in very early stages of the evolution of the universe by studying collisions of heavy nuclei at ultra-relativistic energies. Such interactions can also reveal important information regarding the structure of the nucleus and mandate a thorough investigation of the simpler proton-nucleus collisions at the same energies. The complexity of PHENIX events and the need to analyze and also simulate them at rates similar to the data collection ones imposes enormous computation demands. This work is a first effort to implement PHENIX trigger algorithms on parallel computers and to study the feasibility of using such machines to run the complex programs necessary for the simulation of the PHENIX detector response. Fine and coarse grain approaches have been studied and evaluated. Depending on the application the performance of a massively parallel computer can be much better or much worse than that of a serial workstation. A comparison between single instruction and multiple instruction computers is also made and possible applications of the single instruction machines to high energy and nuclear physics experiments are outlined. copyright 1995 American Institute of Physics

Development of long-lived radionuclide transmutation technology -Development of nuclear transmutation technology-

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Myung Chan; Jung, Woo Tae; Koh, Duk Joon; Kim, Jung Doh; Kil, Choong Sub [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1995-07-01

Based on the performance assessment of current reactor nuclear design codes, CASMO-3, LEOPARD, CITATION could be used for the simulation of transmutation, but further improvements are required on the reliability of cross sections of MA or FP and the accuracy of burnup model. Our simulation results based on the calculation by using CASMO-3 and NEM-3D (developed at Seoul National University) showed that transmutation efficiency for Am was high but Np and Cm elements were found to be hard to transmute. In our calculation, micro depletion calculations with burnup variation were done separately. Possibility of MA and FP transmutation with hard and fast neutrons was reported to be greater but detail calculation will be done in next year. 44 figs, 31 tabs, 17 refs. (Author).

Nuclear waste transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salvatores, M.; Girard, C.; Delpech, M.; Slessarev, I.; Tommasi, J.

1994-01-01

Waste management strategies foresee the use of a deep geological repository either for final disposal of irradiated fuel or, after reprocessing and reuse of U and Pu for final disposal of long-lived radio-active materials. In the second case, partitioning and transmutation of these materials can be considered to reduce the impact of radiation on man due to the storage. On the basis of the SPIN programme developed by CEA in this field, the main features of transmutation is presented. The goal to achieve and the criteria to use are quite difficult to establish. The rights para-meters to characterize the risk are the potential radiotoxicity in the the repository and the residual radiotoxicity at the outlet. Transmutation studies in CEA used the potential radiotoxicity which is based on well-known parameters and less precise hazardous factors. The second point to appreciate the trans- mutation interest is to dispose of a criteria for the radio-radiotoxicity reduction. As there is no general agreement, we try to have a toxicity as low as possible within reasonable technical limits. To reduce the long term radio- toxicity, Pu, minor actinides and some long-lived fission products have to be transmuted. To assess the feasibility of such trans-mutation in reactors or advanced systems, one has to consider constraints on neutronic balance, safety, fuel cycle, technology , economy. Taking in account the main conclusions of this analysis, parametric studies of homogeneous and heterogenous transmutation permit a choice of promising solutions. Goals are to use every long-lived element with a minimized production of other long- lived elements in order to obtain an appreciable radiotoxicity reduction. It implies multi recycling of Pu which favours fast neutron reactors and different strategies of multi recycling for Np, Am, Cm. Multi recycling makes the results strongly dependant of losses. Researches to obtain the high partitioning efficiency needed are in progress. Calculations

Progress of the OODB study for PHENIX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye Yanlin; Ying Jun; Xu Chuncheng; Chen Tao

1997-01-01

The background for developing Object-Oriented software technique in high-energy and nuclear physics has been outlined. The need for Object-oriented Database for PHENIX was analyzed. A prototype for PEP production control database is introduced

sPHENIX: The next generation heavy ion detector at RHIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campbell, Sarah

2017-01-01

sPHENIX is a new collaboration and future detector project at Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). It seeks to answer fundamental questions on the nature of the quark gluon plasma (QGP), including its coupling strength and temperature dependence, by using a suite of precision jet and upsilon measurements that probe different length scales of the QGP. This is possible with a full acceptance, | η | < 1 and 0-2 π in φ , electromagentic and hadronic calorimeters and precision tracking enabled by a 1.5 T superconducting magnet. With the increased luminosity afforded by accelerator upgrades, sPHENIX is going to perform high statistics measurements extending the kinematic reach at RHIC to overlap the LHC’s. This overlap is going to facilitate a better understanding of the role of temperature, density and parton virtuality in QGP dynamics and, specifically, jet quenching. This paper focuses on key future measurements and the current state of the sPHENIX project. (paper)

Performance of the steam generators of Phenix in steady-state operation - comparison with predicted values; Performances des generateurs de vapeur de Phenix en regime permanent: Comparison avec les previsions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Robin, M G; Duchatelle, L; De Nucheze, L

1975-07-01

Theoretical and experimental performances in steady state conditions of the prototype modules and the commercial unit of the Phenix Steam Generator were compared. It is shown that, as early as 1969, our computer code allowed us a fair prediction of the required heat transfer area, and of the full load performance of the Phenix Steam Generator. (author)

Highlights from PHENIX transverse spin program at RHIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, M.

2013-01-01

In recent years, there has been exciting development in both experimental and theoretical studies of transverse spin phenomena in high energy polarized p+p and polarized DIS collisions. In the p+p frontier, the polarized p+p collider at RHIC provides a unique opportunity to investigate the novel physics that causes the large spin effects seen in the transversely polarized p+p collisions over the past 30 years, particularly in the forward rapidity. Since the beginning, PHENIX has been conducting a very active transverse spin physics program to study Sivers, Collins and other novel spin effects at RHIC, including measurements of transverse single spin asymmetry (TSSA) in light and heavy quark productions, leading neutron TSSA in the very forward rapidity, and di-hadron (and 'jet') spin correlations in a wide kinematics range, just to name a few. In 2012, PHENIX collected transversely polarized 200 GeV p+p data with a record high luminosity of 9.24 pb −1 , with an average beam polarization of 58%. In this talk, I highlight the recent results from the PHENIX experiment, and also briefly discuss the near-term prospects of new transverse spin measurements only possible with the latest (forward) silicon vertex detectors, (F)VTX, and the upcoming forward MPC-EX upgrade detectors.

Super Phenix. Monitoring of structures subject to irradiation. Neutron dosimetry measurement and calculation program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabrillat, J.C.; Arnaud, G.; Calamand, D.; Manent, G.; Tavassoli, A.A.

1984-09-01

For the Super Phenix reactor, the evolution, versus the irradiation of the mechanical properties of the core diagrid steel is the object of studies and is particularly monitored. The specimens irradiated, now in PHENIX and will be later irradiated in SUPER PHENIX as soon as the first operating cycles. An important dosimetry program coupling calculation and measurement, is parallely carried out. This paper presents the reasons, the definition of the structure, of the development and of materials used in this program of dosimetry, as also the first results of a calculation-measurement comparison [fr

Transmutation of actinides in power reactors.

Science.gov (United States)

Bergelson, B R; Gerasimov, A S; Tikhomirov, G V

2005-01-01

Power reactors can be used for partial short-term transmutation of radwaste. This transmutation is beneficial in terms of subsequent storage conditions for spent fuel in long-term storage facilities. CANDU-type reactors can transmute the main minor actinides from two or three reactors of the VVER-1000 type. A VVER-1000-type reactor can operate in a self-service mode with transmutation of its own actinides.

Super Phenix 1 fuel cycle, technical and economical outlooks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mougniot, J.C.; Baumier, J.; Duchatelle, L.

1982-01-01

An analysis of the costs of the various parts of the Super Phenix 1 fuel cycle is presented. The basis for calculating the mean levelized present unit cost used in French economic analyses is described. A description of the fuel cycle which follows includes the physical characteristics and management of the fuel and the costs of fuel services and raw materials. The results of calculations about Super Phenix mean levelized present fuel cycle unit cost are indicated and a comparison with two, four and six 1500 MWe units and PWR units is made. Finally conclusions are drawn about the economic possibility of FBR deployment. (U.K.)

Smart Trigger Pre-Processor Custom Electronics for the PHENIX Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagle, James L.

2003-01-01

OAK-B135 The document provides a final technical report on activities and accomplishments of the experimental relativistic heavy ion physics group at the University of Colorado at Boulder as supported by the Outstanding Junior Investigator Program, Division of Nuclear Physics at the Department of Energy. All of the goals of the grant proposal were achieved during this last year of the Outstanding Junior Investigator funding period. The development of a Smart Trigger Pre-Processor module for fast trigger primitive calculations in the PHENIX experiment has been completed. We finalized the board design, constructed and tested two prototype modules, and with additional funding from the PHENIX project, we fabricated a full set of 15 modules for the Muon Tracking system. During Run-4 at RHIC:, we have begun the process of integrating these modules into the PHENIX data acquisition system, Additionally, we put a large Effort into developing new trigger and fast-track analysis methods for J j J data filtering and reconstruction. These algorithms make use of the trigger primitivE∼s generated via the new electronics

Transmutation of radioactive wastes: how and why?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patarin, L.

2004-01-01

After having evoked the natural or spontaneous transmutation of natural or artificial radioactive atoms, the author describes how this transmutation is technically obtained, indicates the two main families of atoms present in a used nuclear fuel and for which transmutation is to be investigated (long-lived fission residues or products, and transuranium elements) and of which the behaviour in neutron fluxes must be explored. He discusses the industrial means required for artificial transmutation. He discusses the interest of performing such a transmutation

The reactor Phenix - cartridge rupture detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graftieaux, J.

1967-01-01

This report defines the role of cartridge rupture detection in the reactor Phenix. It gives the possible methods, their probable performances, their advantages and disadvantages. The final form of the installation will be determined mainly by the degree of safety required, by the technical possibilities of the reactor design and by the operational flexibility wanted. (author) [fr

Nuclear transmutation by flux compression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seifritz, W.

2001-01-01

A new idea for the transmutation of minor actinides, long (and even short) lived fission products is presented. It is based an the property of neutron flux compression in nuclear (fast and/or thermal) reactors possessing spatially non-stationary critical masses. An advantage factor for the burn-up fluence of the elements to be transmuted in the order of magnitude of 100 and more is obtainable compared with the classical way of transmutation. Three typical examples of such transmuters (a subcritical ringreactor with a rotating reflector, a sub-critical ring reactor with a rotating spallation source, the socalled ''pulsed energy amplifier'', and a fast burn-wave reactor) are presented and analysed with regard to this purpose. (orig.) [de

Evaluation of alternative partitioning/transmutation scenarios using transmutation in light-water reactors (LWRs)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collins, E.D.; Renier, J.P.; Del Cul, B.; Spencer, B.

2005-01-01

Previous Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) studies were made to assess the effects of the existing accumulation of LWR spent fuel in the United States on the capability to partition/transmute actinides using existing and advanced LWR. The concept of treating the oldest fuel first indicated that significant advantages could be gained in both partitioning, transmutation, and in overall cost reduction. The processing scenarios previously evaluated assumed that (1) 2000 MT/year of spent fuel, irradiated to 45 GWd/MT and decayed for 30 years is processed; (2) recovered plutonium and 90% of the neptunium are transmuted in LWR MOX fuel; and (3) minor actinides, consisting of americium, curium, and 10% of the neptunium are transmuted in burnable poison type targets. Results of the previous study showed that significant benefits could be obtained, including (1) lower costs for partitioning and transmutation and for storage of spent fuel, (2) maintenance of proliferation resistance for the fissile plutonium in spent fuels, and (3) extended lifetime for the repository. The lower costs would be achieved primarily because no capital investment for a special transmuter reactor (fast reactor, accelerator-driven system, etc.) would be required. Instead, only existing and new LWRs would be utilized. Moreover, no new storage capacity could be needed for spent fuels and irradiated targets because the number of spent fuel assemblies would remain the same after the scenario is begun. Even though the total inventory of plutonium would rise during the early cycles, ∼98% of the plutonium would be contained in stored spent fuel and would be protected by high radiation (the Spent Fuel Standard). This is because the spent fuel would be reprocessed and re-irradiated at intervals within which the fission products, 137 Cs and 90 Sr, both with half-lives of ∼ 30 years, exist in significantly high concentrations.The lifetime of the repository would be extended significantly because all of

Waste transmutation: perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leray, S.

1997-01-01

After the introduction on the source and nature of nuclear waste, this lecture analyzes the different methods proposed to transmute long-lived isotopes into stable or short-lived isotopes. It is shown that direct methods (photonuclear reactions, spallation, muon catalyzed fusion) do not lead to a sufficient transmutation rate within a reasonable cost. Only the use of hybrid systems, fusion-fission or spallation-fission, can be foreseen. (author)

Exploring the QCD Vacuum with Phenix

Science.gov (United States)

Barish, Kenneth N.

2001-04-01

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory opens the possibility of exploring the "simple" vacuum of the early universe where quarks are not confined to color neutral bags and chirality is a good symmetry. In this talk1 I discuss PHENIX's capabilities to experimentally probe deconfinement with heavy quark bound state suppression and chirality with light vector mesons.

Iterative model building, structure refinement and density modification with the PHENIX AutoBuild wizard

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terwilliger, Thomas C.; Grosse-Kunstleve, Ralf W.; Afonine, Pavel V.; Moriarty, Nigel W.; Zwart, Peter H.; Hung, Li-Wei; Read, Randy J.; Adams, Paul D.

2008-01-01

The highly automated PHENIX AutoBuild wizard is described. The procedure can be applied equally well to phases derived from isomorphous/anomalous and molecular-replacement methods. The PHENIX AutoBuild wizard is a highly automated tool for iterative model building, structure refinement and density modification using RESOLVE model building, RESOLVE statistical density modification and phenix.refine structure refinement. Recent advances in the AutoBuild wizard and phenix.refine include automated detection and application of NCS from models as they are built, extensive model-completion algorithms and automated solvent-molecule picking. Model-completion algorithms in the AutoBuild wizard include loop building, crossovers between chains in different models of a structure and side-chain optimization. The AutoBuild wizard has been applied to a set of 48 structures at resolutions ranging from 1.1 to 3.2 Å, resulting in a mean R factor of 0.24 and a mean free R factor of 0.29. The R factor of the final model is dependent on the quality of the starting electron density and is relatively independent of resolution

TRANSMUTED EXPONENTIATED EXPONENTIAL DISTRIBUTION

OpenAIRE

MEROVCI, FATON

2013-01-01

In this article, we generalize the exponentiated exponential distribution using the quadratic rank transmutation map studied by Shaw etal. [6] to develop a transmuted exponentiated exponential distribution. Theproperties of this distribution are derived and the estimation of the model parameters is discussed. An application to real data set are finally presented forillustration

Transmutation of fission products through accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, H.; Tani, S.; Takahashi, T.; Yamamura, O.

1995-01-01

The transmutation of fission products through particle accelerators has been studied under the OMEGA program. The photonuclear reaction has also been investigated to be applied to transmuting long-lived fission products, such as Cesium and Strontium, which have difficulties on reaction with neutrons due to its so small cross section. It is applicable for the transmutation if the energy balance can be improved with a monochromatic gamma rays in the range of the Giant Dipole Resonance generated through an excellent high current electron linear accelerator. The feasibility studies are being conducted on the transmutation system using it through an electron accelerator. (authors)

Nuclear waste transmutation and related innovative technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The main topics of the summer school meeting were 1. Motivation and programs for waste transmutation: The scientific perspective roadmaps; 2. The physics and scenarios of transmutation: The physics of transmutation and adapted reactor types. Impact on the fuel cycle and possible scenarios; 3. Accelerator driven systems and components: High intensity accelerators. Spallation targets and experiments. The sub critical core safety and simulation physics experiments; 4. Technologies and materials: Specific issues related to transmutation: Dedicated fuels for transmutation. Fuel processing - the role of pyrochemistry. Materials of irradiation. Lead/lead alloys. 5. Nuclear data: The N-TOF facility. Intermediate energy data and experiments. (orig./GL)

Current Status of the Transmutation Reactor Technology and Preliminary Evaluation of Transmutation Performance of the KALIMER Core

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Ser Gi; Sim, Yoon Sub; Kim, Yeong Il; Kim, Young Gyum; Lee, Byung Woon; Song, Hoon; Lee, Ki Bog; Jang, Jin Wook; Lee, Dong Uk

2005-08-15

Recently the most countries using the nuclear power plants for electricity generation have been faced with the problem of the preparation of the repository for the disposition of the nuclear waste generated from LWR. It was well-known that the issues related with long term risk of the radioactive wastes for the future generations are due only to 1% of the total waste. This small fraction of 1% consists of transuranic (TRU) nuclides such as Pu, Np, Am, Cm and the long lived fission products such as Tc and I. For the transuranic (TRU) nuclides, their half lives range from several years to several hundred thousands years and hence their radioactive toxicity can be lasted over very long time period. This has made the change of the rule of the fast spectrum reactor from the economical use of uranium resource through breeding to the reduction of the nuclear waste through the transmutation. The purpose of this study is to obtain the basic knowledge on the nuclear transmutation technology and to suggest the technical solution ways for the future technology development and enhancement through a survey of the state-of-art of the international research on the nuclear transmutation. The increase of the transmutation rate requires the reduction of the breeding ratio. In fact, the transmutation rate is determined by the breeding ratio. The reduction of the breeding ratio can be achieved by reducing the U-238 content in fuel or increasing the neutron leakage through core boundary or absorbing the neutrons by using some absorbers. However, the reduction of the U-238 content results in the degradation of the fuel Doppler coefficient that is one of the most important safety-related parameters and the reduction of the effective delayed neutron fraction that is related with the controllability of the reactor core. Also, the increase of the transmutation rate can lead to the increase of the coolant void reactivity worth unless some ways to reduce the coolant void reactivity are not

International benchmark on the natural convection test in Phenix reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tenchine, D.; Pialla, D.; Fanning, T.H.; Thomas, J.W.; Chellapandi, P.; Shvetsov, Y.; Maas, L.; Jeong, H.-Y.; Mikityuk, K.; Chenu, A.; Mochizuki, H.; Monti, S.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Phenix main characteristics, instrumentation and natural convection test are described. ► “Blind” calculations and post-test calculations from all the participants to the benchmark are compared to reactor data. ► Lessons learned from the natural convection test and the associated calculations are discussed. -- Abstract: The French Phenix sodium cooled fast reactor (SFR) started operation in 1973 and was stopped in 2009. Before the reactor was definitively shutdown, several final tests were planned and performed, including a natural convection test in the primary circuit. During this natural convection test, the heat rejection provided by the steam generators was disabled, followed several minutes later by reactor scram and coast-down of the primary pumps. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) launched a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) named “control rod withdrawal and sodium natural circulation tests performed during the Phenix end-of-life experiments”. The overall purpose of the CRP was to improve the Member States’ analytical capabilities in the field of SFR safety. An international benchmark on the natural convection test was organized with “blind” calculations in a first step, then “post-test” calculations and sensitivity studies compared with reactor measurements. Eight organizations from seven Member States took part in the benchmark: ANL (USA), CEA (France), IGCAR (India), IPPE (Russian Federation), IRSN (France), KAERI (Korea), PSI (Switzerland) and University of Fukui (Japan). Each organization performed computations and contributed to the analysis and global recommendations. This paper summarizes the findings of the CRP benchmark exercise associated with the Phenix natural convection test, including blind calculations, post-test calculations and comparisons with measured data. General comments and recommendations are pointed out to improve future simulations of natural convection in SFRs

Partitioning and Transmutation - Physics, Technology and Politics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gudowski, W.

2002-01-01

Nuclear reactions can be effectively used to destroy radio toxic isotopes through transmutation processes transforming those isotopes into less radio toxic or stable ones Spent nuclear fuel, a mixture of many isotopes with some of them being highly radio toxic for many hundred thousands of years, may be effectively transmuted through nuclear reactions with neutrons. In a dedicated, well designed transmutation system one can, in principle, reduce the radiotoxicity of the spent nuclear fuel to a level, which will require isolation from the biosphere for the period of time for which engineered barriers can be constructed and licensed (not more than 1-2 thousands of years). En effective transmutation process can not be achieved without a suitable partitioning. Only partitioning of the spent nuclear fuel into predetermined groups of elements makes possible an effective use of neutrons to transmute long-lived radioactive isotopes into short-lived or stable one. However, most of the chemical separation/partitioning processes are element- not isotope-specific, therefore the transmutation of the elements with an existing isotope composition is a typical alternative for transmutation processes. Isotope-specific separation is possible but still very expensive and technologically not matured

J-PARC Transmutation Experimental Facility Programme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasa, T.; Takei, H.; Saito, S.; Obayashi, H.; Nishihara, K.; Sugawara, T.; Iwamoto, H.; Yamaguchi, K.; Tsujimoto, K.; Oigawa, H.

2015-01-01

Since the Fukushima accident, nuclear transmutation is considered as an option for waste management. Japan Atomic Energy Agency proposes the transmutation of minor actinides (MA) in accelerator-driven system (ADS) using lead-bismuth eutectic alloy (LBE) as a spallation target and a coolant of subcritical core. To obtain the data required for ADS design, we plan the building of a transmutation experimental facility (TEF) is planned within the J-PARC project. TEF consists of an ADS target test facility (TEF-T), which will be installed 400 MeV-250 kW LBE spallation target for material irradiations, and a transmutation physics experimental facility (TEF-P), which set up a fast critical/subcritical assembly driven by low power proton beam with MA fuel to study ADS neutronics. At TEF-T, various research plans to use emitted neutrons from LBE target are discussed. The paper summarises a road-map to establish the ADS transmuter and latest design activities for TEF construction. (authors)

Nuclear Waste Separation and Transmutation Research with Special Focus on Russian Transmutation Projects Sponsored by ISTC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conde, Henri; Blomgren, Jan; Olsson, Nils

2003-03-01

High-level nuclear reactor waste is made up of relatively few long-lived radioactive species, among them plutonium, that contribute to difficulties with its storage and disposal. Separation of these species from larger waste volumes mainly constituting of uranium (about 95 %) coupled with nuclear incineration to fission products of plutonium and the so called minor actinides (Neptunium, Americium, and Curium) and transmutation of some of the long lived fission products to short lived or stable isotopes represents a viable nuclear waste management strategy to drastically reduce the time and space requirements for a bed-rock repository of the remaining waste. A remarkable increase in the international research and development on partitioning and transmutation has occurred during the recent years. The road-map report published in April 2001 by The European Technical Working Group on ADS for the development of a European demonstration facility for nuclear waste transmutation has high-lighted the ongoing European research and pointed out the need for further research. The road-map has given the different research activities a position in the ultimate goal of producing an ADS demonstrator and is guiding research planning on the national as well as on the EU level. The Advanced Accelerator Application (3A) program in the US, with the long term goals to enhance long term public safety, provide benefits for the repository, reduce proliferation risks and improve prospects for nuclear power has focused the research on nuclear waste transmutation. The reports on the 3A program indicates a change of the US former abandonment position towards reprocessing and fast reactors due to a strong incentive to eliminate the reactor plutonium and to lower the amount of high level reactor waste for the Yucca Mountain repository. The SKB's proposed research and development program for the next 3 years (FUD01) was presented by SKB in September 2001. It is proposed that the research program

Transmutations for Strings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amin Boumenir

2008-07-01

Full Text Available We investigate the existence and representation of transmutations, also known as transformation operators, for strings. Using measure theory and functional analytic methods we prove their existence and study their representation. We show that in general they are not close to unity since their representation does not involve a Volterra operator but rather the eigenvalue parameter. We also obtain conditions under which the transmutation is either a bounded or a compact operator. Explicit examples show that they cannot be reduced to Volterra type operators.  

The PHENIX experiment at RHIC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tonse, S.R.; Thomas, J.H.

1993-12-15

Later this decade the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) will be built at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Its goal will be to accelerate and collide Au beams at 100 GeV/c in an attempt to create a Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). The PHENIX detector aims to detect the QGP through its leptonic and hadronic signatures. We describe here its physics capabilities and the details of the apparatus designed to pick out rare leptonic signatures from among hadronic multiplicities of up to 1500 particles per unit of rapidity.

High flux transmutation of fission products and actinides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerasimov, A.; Kiselev, G.; Myrtsymova, L.

2001-01-01

Long-lived fission products and minor actinides accumulated in spent nuclear fuel of power reactors comprise the major part of high level radwaste. Their incineration is important from the point of view of radwaste management. Transmutation of these nuclides by means of neutron irradiation can be performed either in conventional nuclear reactors, or in specialized transmutation reactors, or in ADS facilities with subcritical reactor and neutron source with application of proton accelerator. Different types of transmutation nuclear facilities can be used in order to insure optimal incineration conditions for radwaste. The choice of facility type for optimal transmutation should be based on the fundamental data in the physics of nuclide transformations. Transmutation of minor actinides leads to the increase of radiotoxicity during irradiation. It takes significant time compared to the lifetime of reactor facility to achieve equilibrium without effective transmutation. High flux nuclear facilities allow to minimize these draw-backs of conventional facilities with both thermal and fast neutron spectrum. They provide fast approach to equilibrium and low level of equilibrium mass and radiotoxicity of transmuted actinides. High flux facilities are advantageous also for transmutation of long-lived fission products as they provide short incineration time

Latest Results of Open Heavy Flavor and Quarkonia from the PHENIX Experiment at RHIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nouicer, Rachid

2017-01-01

The PHENIX Collaboration carries out a comprehensive physics program which studies heavy flavor production in relativistic heavy ion collisions at RHIC. The discovery at RHIC of large high-p T suppression and flow of electrons from heavy quarks flavors have altered our view of the hot and dense matter formed in central Au+Au collisions at GeV. These results suggest a large energy loss and flow of heavy quarks in the hot, dense matter. In recent years, the PHENIX has installed a silicon vertex tracker both in central rapidity (VTX) and in forward rapidity (FVTX) regions, and has collected large data samples. These two silicon trackers enhance the capability of heavy flavor measurements via precision tracking. This paper summarizes some of the latest PHENIX results concerning open heavy flavor and quarkonia production as a function of rapidity, energy and system size. (paper)

Decay and Transmutation of Nuclides

CERN Document Server

Aarnio, Pertti A

1999-01-01

We present a computer code DeTra which solves analytically the Bateman equations governing the decay, build-up and transmutation of radionuclides. The complexity of the chains and the number of nuclides are not limited. The nuclide production terms considered include transmutation of the nuclides inside the chain, external production, and fission. Time dependent calculations are possible since all the production terms can be re-defined for each irradiation step. The number of irradiation steps and output times is unlimited. DeTra is thus able to solve any decay and transmutation problem as long as the nuclear data i.e. decay data and production rates, or cross sections, are known.

Transmutation of nuclear waste. Status report RAS programme 1994: Recycling and transmutation of actinides and fission products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cordfunke, E H.P.; Gruppelaar, H; Franken, W M.P.

1995-07-01

This report describes the status and progress of the Dutch RAS programme on `Recycling and Transmutation of Actinides and Fission Products` over the year 1994, which is the first year of the second 4-year programme. This programme is outlined and a short progress report is given over 1994, including a listing of 23 reports and publications over the year 1994. Highlights of 1994 were: The completion of long-lived fission-product transmutation studies, the initiation of small-scale demonstration experiments in the HFR on Tc and I, the issue of reports on the potential of the ALMR (Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor) for transmutation adn the participation and international cooperation on irradiation experiments with actinides in inert matrices. The remaining chapters contain more extended contributions on recent developments and selected topics, under the headings: Benefits and risks of partitioning and transmutation, Perspective of chemical partitioning, Inert matrices, Evolutionary options (MOX), Perspective of heavy water reactors, Perspective of fast burners, Perspective of accelerator-based systems, Thorium cycle, Fission-product transmutation, End scenarios, and Executive summary and recommendations. (orig.).

Transmutation of nuclear waste. Status report RAS programme 1994: Recycling and transmutation of actinides and fission products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordfunke, E.H.P.; Gruppelaar, H.; Franken, W.M.P.

1995-07-01

This report describes the status and progress of the Dutch RAS programme on 'Recycling and Transmutation of Actinides and Fission Products' over the year 1994, which is the first year of the second 4-year programme. This programme is outlined and a short progress report is given over 1994, including a listing of 23 reports and publications over the year 1994. Highlights of 1994 were: The completion of long-lived fission-product transmutation studies, the initiation of small-scale demonstration experiments in the HFR on Tc and I, the issue of reports on the potential of the ALMR (Advanced Liquid Metal Reactor) for transmutation adn the participation and international cooperation on irradiation experiments with actinides in inert matrices. The remaining chapters contain more extended contributions on recent developments and selected topics, under the headings: Benefits and risks of partitioning and transmutation, Perspective of chemical partitioning, Inert matrices, Evolutionary options (MOX), Perspective of heavy water reactors, Perspective of fast burners, Perspective of accelerator-based systems, Thorium cycle, Fission-product transmutation, End scenarios, and Executive summary and recommendations. (orig.)

Actinide and fission product partitioning and transmutation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-07-01

The fourth international information exchange meeting on actinide and fission product partitioning and transmutation, took place in Mito City in Japan, on 111-13 September 1996. The proceedings are presented in six sessions: the major programmes and international cooperation, the partitioning and transmutation programs, feasibility studies, particular separation processes, the accelerator driven transmutation, and the chemistry of the fuel cycle. (A.L.B.)

Transmutations of nuclear waste. Progress report RAS programme 1995: Recycling and transmutation of actinides and fission products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gruppelaar, H.; Cordfunke, E.H.P.; Konings, R.J.M.; Bultman, J.H.; Dodd, D.H.; Franken, W.M.P.; Kloosterman, J.L.; Koning, A.J.; Wichers, V.A.

1996-04-01

This report describes the progress of the Dutch RAS programme on 'Recycling and Transmutation of Actinides and Fission Products' over the year 1995, which is the second year of the 4-year programme 1994-1997. An extensive listing of reports and publications from 1991 to 1995 is given. Highlights in 1995 were: -The completion of the European Strategy Study on Nuclear Waste Transmutation as a result of which the understanding of transmutation of plutonium, minor actinides and long-lived fission products in thermal and fast reactors has been increased significantly. Important ECN contributions were given on Am, 99 Tc and 129 I transmutation options. Follow-up contracts have been obtained for the study of 100% MOX cores and accelerator-based transmutation. - Important progress in the evaluation of CANDU reactors for burning very large amounts of transuranium mixtures in inert matrices. - The first RAS irradiation experiment in the HFR, in which the transmutation of technetium and iodine was examined, has been completed and post-irradiation examination has been started. - A joint proposal of the EFTTRA cooperation for the 4 th Framework Programme of the EU, to demonstrate the feasibility of the transmutation of americium in an inert matrix by an irradiation in the HFR, has been granted. - A bilateral contract with CEA has been signed to participate in the CAPRA programme, and the work in this field has been started. - The thesis work on Actinide Transmutation in Nuclear Reactor Systems was succesfully defended. New PhD studies on Pu burning in HTGR, on nuclear data for accelerator-based systems, and on the SLM-technique for separation of actinides were started. - A review study of the use of the thorium cycle as a means for nuclear waste reduction, has been completed. A follow-up of this work is embedded in an international project for the 4th Framework Programme of the EU. (orig./DG)

PHENIX Spinfest School 2009 at BNL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foster,S.P.; Foster,S.; Seidl, R.; Goto, Y.; Okada, K.

2009-08-07

Since 2005, the PHENIX Spin Physics Working Group has set aside several weeks each summer for the purposes of training and integrating recent members of the working group as well as coordinating and making rapid progress on support tasks and data analysis. One week is dedicated to more formal didactic lectures by outside speakers. The location has so far alternated between BNL and the RIKEN campus in Wako, Japan, with support provided by RBRC and LANL.

Design and Beam Test Results for the sPHENIX Electromagnetic and Hadronic Calorimeter Prototypes

OpenAIRE

Aidala, C. A.; Bailey, V.; Beckman, S.; Belmont, R.; Biggs, C.; Blackburn, J.; Boose, S.; Chiu, M.; Connors, M.; Franz, A.; Haggerty, J. S.; He, X.; Higdon, M. M.; Huang, J.; Kauder, K.

2017-01-01

The sPHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) will perform high precision measurements of jets and heavy flavor observables for a wide selection of nuclear collision systems, elucidating the microscopic nature of strongly interacting matter ranging from nucleons to the strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma. A prototype of the sPHENIX calorimeter system was tested at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility as experiment T-1044 in the spring of 2016. The electromagnetic calorimeter...

Impact of Transmutation Scenarios on Fuel Transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saturnin, A.; Duret, B.; Allou, A.; Jasserand, F.; Fillastre, E.; Giffard, F.X.; Chabert, C.; Caron-Charles, M.; Garzenne, C.; Laugier, F.

2015-01-01

Minor actinides transmutation scenarios have been studied in the frame of the French Sustainable Radioactive Waste Management Act of 28 June 2006. Transmutation scenarios supposed the introduction of a sodium-cooled fast reactor fleet using homogeneous or heterogeneous recycling modes for the minor actinides. Americium, neptunium and curium (MA) or americium alone (Am) can be transmuted together in a homogeneous way embedded in FR-MOX fuel or incorporated in MA or Am-Bearing radial Blankets (MABB or AmBB). MA transmutation in Accelerator Driven System has also been studied while plutonium is being recycled in SFR. Assessments and comparisons of these advanced cycles have been performed considering technical and economic criteria. Transportation needs for fresh and used transmutation fuels is one of these criteria. Transmutation fuels have specific characteristics in terms of thermal load and neutron emissions. Thermal, radiation and criticality constraints have been taken into account in this study to suggest cask concepts for routine conditions of transport, to estimate the number of assemblies to be transported in a cask and the number of annual transports. Comparison with the no transmutation option, i.e. management of uranium and plutonium in SFRs, is also presented. Regarding these matters, no high difficulties appear for assemblies with limited content of Am (homogeneous or heterogeneous recycling modes). When fuels contain curium, technical transport uncertainties increase because of the important heat release requiring dividing fresh fuels and technological innovations development (MABB and ADS). (authors)

Transmutation of 129I Using an Accelerator-Driven System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishihara, Kenji; Takano, Hideki

2002-01-01

A conceptual blanket design for 129 I transmutation is proposed for an accelerator-driven system (ADS) that is designed to transmute minor actinides (MAs). In this ADS, 250 kg/yr of MA and 56 kg/yr of iodine are simultaneously transmuted, and they correspond to the quantities generated from ∼10 units of existing light water reactors. Furthermore, an introduction scenario and the benefit of iodine transmutation are studied for future introduction of fast breeder reactors. It is shown that the transmutation of iodine benefits the concept of underground disposal

Separation and transmutation. A picture of the applications in Sweden; Separation och transmutation. Belysning av tillaempning i Sverige

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grundfelt, Bertil; Lindgren, Maria [Kemakta Konsult AB, Stockholm (Sweden)

2006-11-15

This report contains a review of the transmutation technology and an elucidation of the consequences of the use of transmutation in Sweden. Transmutation has often been mentioned in the public debate as a way of rendering harmless the high-level waste from nuclear power such that the final disposal of the waste can be substantially simplified or even completely avoided. However, it can be noted that even with an exploitation of transmutation, significant amounts of radioactive waste requiring qualified final disposal will be generated. The transmutation technology will make it possible to reduce the longevity of the high-level waste by converting primarily the transuranic elements to fission products with shorter half lives. The long-term radiotoxicity of the spent nuclear fuel is dominated by the transuranics. Hence, transmutation will lead to a substantial decrease of the long-term radiotoxicity of the spent fuel. The research on transmutation has been focussed on sub-critical so called ADS-reactors (Accelerator Driven System). In such a system protons are accelerated to very high energy levels (in the order of GeV) in an electromagnetic field. The accelerated protons are impacted on a spallation source consisting of heavy atoms, e.g. lead or a mixture of lead and bismuth. At the impact the heavy nuclei are spalled releasing a number of neutrons that can be used for fissioning the nuclei of the substances to be transmuted, primarily the transuranics. ADS-reactors are still at the research stage. It is a common view that it will take several decades before the technology has reached a maturity that allows the construction of a demonstration facility. Calculations performed at Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm show that using the ADS-technology would allow a reduction of the inventory of transuranics in the spent fuel from Swedish reactors by 50-85% within a 50-100 years period. The goal to transmute 99% of the transuranics inventory has been achieved in

Minor actinide transmutation in accelerator driven systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Friess, Friederike [IANUS, TU Darmstadt (Germany)

2015-07-01

Transmutation of radioactive waste, the legacy of nuclear energy use, gains rising interest. This includes the development of facilities able to transmute minor actinides (MA) into stable or short-lived isotopes before final disposal. The most common proposal is to use a double-strata approach with accelerator-driven-systems (ADS) for the efficient transmutation of MA and power reactors to dispose plutonium. An ADS consists of a sub-critical core that reaches criticality with neutrons supplied by a spallation target. An MCNP model of the ADS system Multi Purpose Research Reactor for Hightech Applications will be presented. Depletion calculations have been performed for both standard MOX fuel and transmutation fuel with an increased content of minor actinides. The resulting transmutation rates for MAs are compared to published values. Special attention is given to selected fission products such as Tc-99 and I-129, which impact the radiation from the spent fuel significantly.

The behaviour of Phenix fuel pin bundle under irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marbach, G.; Millet, P.; Blanchard, P.; Huillery, R.

1979-07-01

An entire Phenix sub-assembly has been mounted and sectioned after irradiation. The examination of cross-sections revealed the effects of mechanical interaction in the bundle (ovalisations and contacts between clads). According to analysis of the sodium channels, cooling of the pin bundle remained uniform. (author)

Minor actinide transmutation on PWR burnable poison rods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Wenchao; Liu, Bin; Ouyang, Xiaoping; Tu, Jing; Liu, Fang; Huang, Liming; Fu, Juan; Meng, Haiyan

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Key issues associated with MA transmutation are the appropriate loading pattern. • Commercial PWRs are the only choice to transmute MAs in large scale currently. • Considerable amount of MA can be loaded to PWR without disturbing k eff markedly. • Loading MA to PWR burnable poison rods for transmutation is an optimal loading pattern. - Abstract: Minor actinides are the primary contributors to long term radiotoxicity in spent fuel. The majority of commercial reactors in operation in the world are PWRs, so to study the minor actinide transmutation characteristics in the PWRs and ultimately realize the successful minor actinide transmutation in PWRs are crucial problem in the area of the nuclear waste disposal. The key issues associated with the minor actinide transmutation are the appropriate loading patterns when introducing minor actinides to the PWR core. We study two different minor actinide transmutation materials loading patterns on the PWR burnable poison rods, one is to coat a thin layer of minor actinide in the water gap between the zircaloy cladding and the stainless steel which is filled with water, another one is that minor actinides substitute for burnable poison directly within burnable poison rods. Simulation calculation indicates that the two loading patterns can load approximately equivalent to 5–6 PWR annual minor actinide yields without disturbing the PWR k eff markedly. The PWR k eff can return criticality again by slightly reducing the boric acid concentration in the coolant of PWR or removing some burnable poison rods without coating the minor actinide transmutation materials from PWR core. In other words, loading minor actinide transmutation material to PWR does not consume extra neutron, minor actinide just consumes the neutrons which absorbed by the removed control poisons. Both minor actinide loading patterns are technically feasible; most importantly do not need to modify the configuration of the PWR core and

A flexible analog memory address list manager for PHENIX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ericson, M.N.; Musrock, M.S.; Britton, C.L. Jr.; Walker, J.W.; Wintenberg, A.L.; Young, G.R.; Allen, M.D.

1996-01-01

A programmable analog memory address list manager has been developed for use with all analog memory-based detector subsystems of PHENIX. The unit provides simultaneous read/write control, cell write-over protection for both a Level-1 trigger decision delay and digitization latency, and re-ordering of AMU addresses following conversion, at a beam crossing rate of 105 ns. Addresses are handled such that up to 5 Level-1 (LVL-1) events can be maintained in the AMU without write-over. Data tagging is implemented for handling overlapping and shared beam-event data packets. Full usage in all PHENIX analog memory-based detector subsystems is accomplished by the use of detector-specific programmable parameters--the number of data samples per valid LVL-1 trigger and the sample spacing. Architectural candidates for the system are discussed with emphasis on implementation implications. Details of the design are presented including application specifics, timing information, and test results from a full implementation using field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)

Iterative model-building, structure refinement, and density modification with the PHENIX AutoBuild Wizard

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Mailstop M888, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, One Cyclotron Road, Building 64R0121, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0XY, England; Terwilliger, Thomas; Terwilliger, T.C.; Grosse-Kunstleve, Ralf Wilhelm; Afonine, P.V.; Moriarty, N.W.; Zwart, P.H.; Hung, L.-W.; Read, R.J.; Adams, P.D.

2007-04-29

The PHENIX AutoBuild Wizard is a highly automated tool for iterative model-building, structure refinement and density modification using RESOLVE or TEXTAL model-building, RESOLVE statistical density modification, and phenix.refine structure refinement. Recent advances in the AutoBuild Wizard and phenix.refine include automated detection and application of NCS from models as they are built, extensive model completion algorithms, and automated solvent molecule picking. Model completion algorithms in the AutoBuild Wizard include loop-building, crossovers between chains in different models of a structure, and side-chain optimization. The AutoBuild Wizard has been applied to a set of 48 structures at resolutions ranging from 1.1 {angstrom} to 3.2 {angstrom}, resulting in a mean R-factor of 0.24 and a mean free R factor of 0.29. The R-factor of the final model is dependent on the quality of the starting electron density, and relatively independent of resolution.

Transmutation of long-lived fission products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abrahams, K.

1994-01-01

The time-accumulated dose related to technetium dominates the leakage doses in most scenarios for imperturbed geological disposal. If human intrusion into geologically stable repositories or other disturbances is taken into account, the actinides determine the maximum value of the expected individual dose rates of shorter storage times. Therefore actinides dominate the discussion on transmutation of nuclear waste. In principle current LWRs could be used for a massive transmutation of Tc and perhaps I. Fast reactors and HWRs have attractive potential with respect to transmutation in moderated assemblies. HWRs like CANDU have easy refuelling possibilities. (orig.)

Transmutation of Tc-99 in fission reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kloosterman, J.L.; Li, J.M.

1994-12-01

Transmutation of Tc-99 in three different types of fission reactors is considered: A heavy water reactor, a fast reactor and a light water reactor. For the first type a CANDU reactor was chosen, for the second one the Superphenix reactor, and for the third one a PWR. The three most promising Tc-99 transmuters are the fast reactor with a moderated subassembly in the inner core, a fast reactor with a non-moderated subassembly in the inner core, and a heavy water reactor with Tc-99 target pins in the moderator between the fuel bundles. Transmutation half lives of 15 to 25 years can be achieved, with yearly transmuted Tc-99 masses of about 100 kg at a thermal reactor power of about 3000 MW. (orig.)

Transmutation of minor actinide using thorium fueled BWR core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Susilo, Jati

2002-01-01

One of the methods to conduct transmutation of minor actinide is the use of BWR with thorium fuel. Thorium fuel has a specific behaviour of producing a little secondary minor actinides. Transmutation of minor actinide is done by loading it in the BWR with thorium fuel through two methods, namely close recycle and accumulation recycle. The calculation of minor actinide composition produced, weigh of minor actinide transmuted, and percentage of reminder transmutation was carried SRAC. The calculations were done to equivalent cell modeling from one fuel rod of BWR. The results show that minor actinide transmutation is more effective using thorium fuel than uranium fuel, through both close recycle and accumulation recycle. Minor actinide transmutation weight show that the same value for those recycle for 5th recycle. And most of all minor actinide produced from 5 unit BWR uranium fuel can transmuted in the 6 t h of close recycle. And, the minimal value of excess reactivity of the core is 12,15 % Δk/k, that is possible value for core operation

Transmuted Generalized Inverse Weibull Distribution

OpenAIRE

Merovci, Faton; Elbatal, Ibrahim; Ahmed, Alaa

2013-01-01

A generalization of the generalized inverse Weibull distribution so-called transmuted generalized inverse Weibull dis- tribution is proposed and studied. We will use the quadratic rank transmutation map (QRTM) in order to generate a flexible family of probability distributions taking generalized inverse Weibull distribution as the base value distribution by introducing a new parameter that would offer more distributional flexibility. Various structural properties including explicit expression...

Transmutation blanket design for a Tokamak system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Velasquez, Carlos E.; Barros, Graiciany de P.; Pereira, Claubia; Veloso, Maria A. Fortini; Costa, Antonella L.

2011-01-01

Sub-critical advanced reactor with a D-T fusion neutron source based on Tokamak technology is an innovative type of nuclear system. Due to the high quantity of neutrons produced by fusion reactions, it could be well spent in the transmutation process of the transuranic elements. Nevertheless, to achieve a successful transmutation, it is necessary to know the neutron fluence along the radial axis and its characteristics. In this work, it evaluated the neutron flux and interaction frequency along the radial axis changing the material of the first wall. W-alloy, beryllium and the combination of both were studied and regions more suitable to transmutation were determined. The results demonstrated that the better zone to place a transmutation blanket is limited by the heat sink and the shield block. Material arrangements W-alloy/W-alloy and W-alloy/Beryllium would be able to hold the requirements of high fluence and hardening spectrum needed to transuranic transmutation. The system was simulated using the MCNP5 code, the ITER Final Design Report, 2001, and the FENDL/MC-2.1 nuclear data library. (author)

Results from the characterisation of the Futurix-FTA metal alloy transmutation fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rory Kennedy, J.; O'Holleran, Th.; Keiser, D.

2007-01-01

Full text of publication follows. Idaho National Laboratory has been developing and irradiation testing a number of fuels and fuel types for actinide transmutation as part of the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI). Fuel types under consideration include both fertile (fast reactor systems) and fertile-free (accelerator-driven systems) metallic alloys. Most recently, fuel fabrication was completed and the fuel pins shipped to the fast flux Phenix reactor in Marcoule, France for irradiation testing as part of the FUTURIX-FTA experiment: an international experiment involving the USA, France, the European Commission and Japan. The metal alloy fuels for this experiment are the low-fertile U-29Pu-4Am-2Np-30Zr and the non-fertile Pu-12Am-40Zr. The fresh fuels have been fully characterised for chemical composition, phase, microstructure, thermal behaviour and fuel-cladding-chemical-interaction (FCCI). Preliminary FCCI results raised some safety concerns with respect to the formation of low melting phases and cladding degradation, which could preclude a fuel from consideration. Results from diffusion couple experiments between the non-fertile fuel Pu-12Am-40Zr and the ferritic HT9 and 422 stainless steels (SS) used in the AFC experiments in the ATR reactor (USA) compared to the austenitic AIM1 SS used in the FUTURIX-FTA experiments in the Phenix reactor (France) indicate significant inter-diffusion with the AIM1 SS. Up to about a 30-fold increase in the diffusion of iron (and accompanying Ni and Cr) into the fuel at 650 C was observed compared to the 422 SS studies. Comparable studies between the low-fertile U-29Pu-4Am-2Np-30Zr fuel alloy and the AIM1 SS show virtually no inter-diffusion. The Fe (along with small amounts of Ni and Cr) appears as small precipitates in the fuel alloy with only minor concentrations identified in the fuel alloy matrix. These results will be discussed in terms of mechanisms of the inter-diffusion and the difference in behaviour between the

Study on multi-recycle transmutation of LLFP in light water reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Setiawan, M.B.; Kitamoto, A.

2001-01-01

The effectiveness of transmutation for long-lived fission products (LLFP) in light water reactors (LWR), i.e. both BWR and PWR, considering the large capture cross-section of FPs in thermal region was evaluated. Calculation results of iodine and technetium transmutation in BWR and PWR suggested an effective use of BWR as compared to PWR. To obtain transmutation fraction [TF] of 30 to 40%, the irradiation period needed for 99 Tc transmutation was estimated as 10 to 15 years, and the period for 129 I transmutation was estimated as 30 to 40 years, respectively. The evaluations bring a new concept of multi-recycle LLFP transmutation using LWR TR (LWR for transmutation)

Radiotoxicity of Actinides During Transmutation in Final Stage of Atomic Power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerasimov, Aleksander S.; Bergelson, Boris R.; Myrtsymova, Lidia A.; Tikhomirov, Georgy V.

2002-01-01

Characteristics of a transmutation mode in final stage of atomic power are analyzed. In this stage, transmutation of actinides accumulated in transmutation reactors is performed without feed by actinides from other reactors. The radiotoxicity during first 20 years of transmutation is caused mainly by 244 Cm. During following period of time, 252 Cf is main nuclide. Contribution of 246 Cm and 250 Cf is 5-7 times less than that of 252 Cf. During 50 years of a transmutation, the total radiotoxicity falls by 50 times. Long-lived radiotoxicity decreases slowly. During the period between T=50 years and T=100 years, long-lived radiotoxicity falls by 3.7 times. For each following 50 years after this period, long-lived radiotoxicity falls by 3.2 times. These results corresponding to neutron flux density 10 14 neutr/(cm 2 s) in transmutation reactor demonstrate that the final stage of a transmutation should be performed with use of high flux transmutation facilities which provide shorter time of transmutation. (authors)

Actinide and Fission Product Partitioning and Transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-06-01

The benefits of partitioning and transmutation (P and T) have now been established worldwide and, as a result, many countries are pursuing R and D programmes to advance the technologies associated with P and T. In this context, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has organised a series of biennial information exchange meetings to provide experts with a forum to present and discuss state-of-the-art developments in the field of partitioning and transmutation since 1990. The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Information Exchange Meeting on Actinides and Fission Products Partitioning and Transmutation is a forum for experts to present and discuss the state-of-the-art development in the field of P and T. Thirteen meetings have been organised so far and held in Japan, the United States, France, Belgium, Spain, the Republic of Korea and the Czech Republic. This 13. meeting was hosted by Seoul National University (Seoul, Republic of Korea) and was organised in co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Community (EC). The meeting covered strategic and scientific developments in the field of P and T such as: fuel cycle strategies and transition scenarios, the role of P and T in the potential evolution of nuclear energy as part of the future energy mix; radioactive waste management strategies; transmutation fuels and targets; advances in pyro and aqueous separation processes; P and T specific technology requirements (materials, spallation targets, coolants, etc.); transmutation systems: design, performance and safety; impact of P and T on the fuel cycle; fabrication, handling and transportation of transmutation fuels. A total of 103 presentations (39 oral and 64 posters) were discussed among the 110 participants from 19 countries and 2 international organisations. The meeting consisted of one plenary session where national and international programmes were presented followed by 5 technical sessions: - Fuel Cycle Strategies and Transition

Development of nuclear transmutation technology for transuranic elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukaiyama, Takehiko

1996-01-01

Partitioning and Transmutation (P-T) of long-lived radioactive nuclides is conceived as the technology to improve the high-level radioactive waste management. This report discusses the incentives of P-T, generation of long-lived nuclides in fission reactors, nuclear transmutation technologies, R and D activities of the partitioning and transmutation technology development programs at JAERI and in the world. (author)

Partitioning and transmutation. Annual Report 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Enarsson, Aa; Landgren, A; Liljenzin, J O; Skaalberg, M; Spjuth, L [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Nuclear Chemistry

1997-12-01

The current research project on partitioning and transmutation at the Dept. of Nuclear Chemistry, CTH, has the primary objective to investigate separation processes useful in connection with transmutation of long-lived radionuclides in high level nuclear waste. Partitioning is necessary in order to recover and purify the elements before and after each irradiation in a P and T treatment. In order to achieve a high transmutation efficiency the chemical separation process used must have small losses to various waste streams. At present, only aqueous based separation processes are known to be able to achieve the high recovery and separation efficiencies necessary for a useful P and T process. Refs, figs, tabs.

Transmutation doping of silicon solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, R. F.; Westbrook, R. D.; Young, R. T.; Cleland, J. W.

1977-01-01

Normal isotopic silicon contains 3.05% of Si-30 which transmutes to P-31 after thermal neutron absorption, with a half-life of 2.6 hours. This reaction is used to introduce extremely uniform concentrations of phosphorus into silicon, thus eliminating the areal and spatial inhomogeneities characteristic of chemical doping. Annealing of the lattice damage in the irradiated silicon does not alter the uniformity of dopant distribution. Transmutation doping also makes it possible to introduce phosphorus into polycrystalline silicon without segregation of the dopant at the grain boundaries. The use of neutron transmutation doped (NTD) silicon in solar cell research and development is discussed.

Super Phenix 1: in Service inspection of main and safety tanks weldments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asty, Michel; Vertut, Jean; Argous, J.P.

1980-05-01

In service inspection of the main tank of the Super Phenix 1 reactor is a new demand as compared to Phenix: the authorities have asked that surface and internal defects could be detected and their evolution monitored in the future. The presence of thermal baffles inside the main tank precludes the access on that side: the distance between the main and safety tanks takes into account the room needed for an In Service Inspection module. An inspection vehicle is presently under development, which includes ultrasonic examination (focussed probes) and visual examination (TV cameras) capabilities. We briefly describe the techniques that have been selected for ultrasonic testing and also for the vehicle and its guidance between the tanks

Super Phenix 1: In-service inspection of main and safety tanks weldments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Asty, M [DTech/STA, Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires de Saclay (France); Vertut, J [DPR/STEP, Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires de Saclay (France); Argous, J P [DRNR/STRS, Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires de Cadarache (France)

1980-11-01

In Service Inspection of the main tank of the Super Phenix 1 reactor is a new demand compared to Phenix: the authorities have asked that surface and internal defects be detected and their evolution monitored in the future. The presence of thermal baffles inside the main tank precludes the access on that side: the distance between the main and safety tanks takes into account the room needed for an In Service Inspection module. An inspection vehicle is presently under development, which includes ultrasonic examination (focussed probes) and visual examination (TV cameras) capabilities. We briefly describe the techniques that have been selected for ultrasonic testing and also for the vehicle and its guidance between the tanks. (author)

Super Phenix 1: In-service inspection of main and safety tanks weldments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asty, M.; Vertut, J.; Argous, J.P.

1980-01-01

In Service Inspection of the main tank of the Super Phenix 1 reactor is a new demand compared to Phenix: the authorities have asked that surface and internal defects be detected and their evolution monitored in the future. The presence of thermal baffles inside the main tank precludes the access on that side: the distance between the main and safety tanks takes into account the room needed for an In Service Inspection module. An inspection vehicle is presently under development, which includes ultrasonic examination (focussed probes) and visual examination (TV cameras) capabilities. We briefly describe the techniques that have been selected for ultrasonic testing and also for the vehicle and its guidance between the tanks. (author)

Fast reactors. Thermal calculations of annulus application to Phenix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kung, J.P.; Gama, J.M.

1975-01-01

The gas convection phenomena involved in the annuli of the penetrations of the heat exchanger of the Phenix reactor are analyzed and the calculations performed using the BINIX program developed by GAAA to study the same phenomena are presented. The theory/experience comparison led to a better understanding of thermo-siphon phenomena [fr

Actinide and fission product separation and transmutation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1993-07-01

The second international information exchange meeting on actinide and fission product separation and transmutation, took place in Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois United States, on 11-13 November 1992. The proceedings are presented in four sessions: Current strategic system of actinide and fission product separation and transmutation, progress in R and D on partitioning processes wet and dry, progress in R and D on transmutation and refinements of neutronic and other data, development of the fuel cycle processes fuel types and targets. (A.L.B.)

TECHNICAL DESIGN REPORT FOR A NOSECONE CALORIMETER (NCC) FOR THE PHENIX EXPERIMENT.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

PHENIX EXPERIMENT; OBRIEN,E.; BOOSE, S.; CHIU, M.; JOHNSON, B.M.; KISTENEV, E.P.; LYNCH, D.; NOUICER, R.; PAK, R.; PISANI, R.; STOLL, S.P.; SUKHANOV, A.; WOODY, C.L.; LI, Z.; RADEKA, V.; RESCIA, S.; (PHENIX EXPERIMENT COLLABORATORS)

2007-08-01

A remarkable result has emerged from the first several years of data taking at RHIC--the high temperature and density phase of QCD matter created in heavy ion collisions at RHIC is best described as a near perfect fluid--the strongly interacting Quark-Gluon-Plasma (sQGP). This state is characterized by a small viscosity to entropy ratio, and a high density of color charges which induces huge energy losses of partons transversing the medium. The task for the future is to understand the characteristics of the sQGP, and perhaps more importantly--to gain some insight into how and why such a medium is created. The PHENIX detector has been one of the primary experimental tools at RHIC; in particular the electromagnetic calorimeter has been a critical component of many of the measurements leading to this discovery. The coverage of the present PHENIX electromagnetic calorimeter is rather limited, covering half the azimuth and -0.35< {eta} <0.35 Further progress requires larger coverage of electromagnetic calorimetry, both to increase the rate for low cross section phenomena, and to cover a broader range of pseudorapidity to study the rapidity dependence of the medium. A pair of Nosecone Calorimeters (NCC) has been designed covering both positive and negative rapidity regions 1< |{eta}| <3 of the PHENIX detector. The NCC will make it possible to perform tomographic studies of the jet energy dependence of energy loss and medium response, by using direct photons as trigger particles over a large rapidity range. The technique of correlating trigger hadrons with low momentum hadrons has been powerfully exploited at RHIC to study the evolution of back to back jets [1, 2] and hence the response of the medium. The NCC will make it possible to do such studies using direct photons as the trigger particles. The direct photon in such ''photon-jet'' events tags the transverse momentum of outgoing parton which then fragments into lower energy particles. Together with

Minor actinides transmutation performance in a fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeda, Toshikazu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A method for calculating MA transmutation for individual nuclides has been proposed by introducing two formulas of the MA transmutation. One corresponds to the difference of MA amounts, and the other corresponds to the sum of the fission amounts and the plutonium production amounts. • Using the method the MA transmutation was calculated for Np-237 and Am-241 in a fast reactor. The burnup period was changed from 1 year to 12 year. • For the 1 year burnup a large amount of Am-242m, Cm-242 are produced from Am-241. The total MA transmutation amount increases with burnup time, but its gradient with respect to burnup time decreases after 9 years, and the transmutation amount by overall fission increases almost linearly with burnup time. • However, after the 6 year burnup the fission contribution became large because of the large production of Pu isotopes from the original Am-241. • In addition to the homogeneous loading of the MA nuclides into the cores, a heterogeneous loading of Am-241 to the blanket region was considered. - Abstract: Results obtained in the project named “Study on Minor Actinides Transmutation using Monju Data”, which has been sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan (MEXT) are described. In order to physically understand transmutation of individual MA nuclides in fast reactors, a new method was developed in which the MAs transmutation is interpreted by two formulas. One corresponds to the difference of individual MA nuclides amounts before and after a burnup period, and the other is the sum of amount of fission of a relevant MA nuclide and the net plutonium production from the MA nuclide during a burnup period. The method has been applied to two fast reactors with MA fuels loaded in cores homogeneously and in a blanket region heterogeneously. Numerical results of MA transmutation for the two reactors are shown.

Neutronic assessment of strontium-90 transmutation in fusion reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parish, T.A.

1979-01-01

Transmutation of 90 Sr using fusion neutrons has been suggested as a possible technique for disposing of this waste nuclide. For transmutation to be attractive, high transmutation rates relative to natural decay are required. Effective half-lives for 90 Sr were computed for fusion reactor blankets constructed of various materials. To obtain satisfactory transmutation rates, fusion reactors with high first wall neutron currents and with highly moderating blankets were found to be necessary. An effective half-life for 90 Sr of 90 Sr inventory and the number of burners required for various fission usage scenarios. Efficient and fast chemical separations were needed to reap the benefits of a short effective half-life. For the fusion burners considered, it was found that the 90 Sr inventory could not be reduced to less than one-fourth of the inventory without transmutation if fission usage continued at a constant rate. Such a reduction is not sufficient to justify the transmutation disposal of 90 Sr

PHENIX Conceptual Design Report. An experiment to be performed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nagamiya, Shoji; Aronson, Samuel H.; Young, Glenn R.; Paffrath, Leo

1993-01-29

The PHENIX Conceptual Design Report (CDR) describes the detector design of the PHENIX experiment for Day-1 operation at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The CDR presents the physics capabilities, technical details, cost estimate, construction schedule, funding profile, management structure, and possible upgrade paths of the PHENIX experiment. The primary goals of the PHENIX experiment are to detect the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) and to measure its properties. Many of the potential signatures for the QGP are measured as a function of a well-defined common variable to see if any or all of these signatures show a simultaneous anomaly due to the formation of the QGP. In addition, basic quantum chromodynamics phenomena, collision dynamics, and thermodynamic features of the initial states of the collision are studied. To achieve these goals, the PHENIX experiment measures lepton pairs (dielectrons and dimuons) to study various properties of vector mesons, such as the mass, the width, and the degree of yield suppression due to the formation of the QGP. The effect of thermal radiation on the continuum is studied in different regions of rapidity and mass. The e{mu} coincidence is measured to study charm production, and aids in understanding the shape of the continuum dilepton spectrum. Photons are measured to study direct emission of single photons and to study {pi}{sup 0} and {eta} production. Charged hadrons are identified to study the spectrum shape, production of antinuclei, the {phi} meson (via K{sup +}K{sup {minus}} decay), jets, and two-boson correlations. The measurements are made down to small cross sections to allow the study of high p{sub T} spectra, and J/{psi} and {Upsilon} production. The PHENIX collaboration consists of over 300 scientists, engineers, and graduate students from 43 institutions in 10 countries. This large international collaboration is supported by US resources and significant foreign resources.

Transmutation Theory in the Greek Alchemical Corpus.

Science.gov (United States)

Dufault, Olivier

2015-08-01

This paper studies transmutation theory as found in the texts attributed to Zosimus of Panopolis, "the philosopher Synesius," and "the philosopher Olympiodorus of Alexandria." It shows that transmutation theory (i.e. a theory explaining the complete transformation of substances) is mostly absent from the work attributed to these three authors. The text attributed to Synesius describes a gilding process, which is similar to those described by Pliny and Vitruvius. The commentary attributed to Olympiodorus is the only text studied here that describes something similar to a transmutation theory. It is unclear, however, if this was a theory of transmutation or if the writer meant something more like the literal meaning of the word "ekstrophē," a term used to describe the transformation of metals, as the "turning inside-out" of what is hidden in a substance. A similar conception of ekstrophē can be found in the works of Zosimus, who discussed transmutation to make an analogy with self-purification processes, which, from the perspective of his own anthropogony, consisted in the "turning inside-out" of the "inner human" (esō anthrōpos).

Partitioning and transmutation (P and T) 1997. Status report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enarsson, Aasa; Landgren, A.; Liljenzin, J.O.; Skaalberg, M.; Spjuth, L.; Gudowski, W.; Wallenius, J.

1998-05-01

Research on and the evaluation of partitioning and transmutation are currently in progress in many industrial countries due to its potential as a long-term, sustainable energy source with low environmental impact and due to its ability to destroy many long-lived nuclides. The cost of the research and development work on partitioning and transmutation is considered to be so great that international co-operation is required. With respect to Sweden, we recommend a balanced research work on both partitioning and transmutation technology. Within the area of partitioning, it is above all a question of locating new reagents which can be used to simplify the necessary partitioning processes and minimize the losses. The requirements with respect to high selectivity and minor losses will be significantly higher in a recirculating system based on transmutation than in the reprocessing facilities of today where only uranium and plutonium are recovered. If the utilized reagents can be easily destroyed, by dry or wet incineration and conversion into non-complex gaseous chemical compounds, this will open up good opportunities for the recovery of the radionuclides. From a purely technical standpoint, it would seem that a combination of different types of reactor systems would give the best possible transmutation efficiency. While existing light water reactors can be utilized for increased plutonium incineration, there is currently consensus about the view that reactors with high-energy neutrons are necessary to achieve a sufficiently high transmutation efficiency for neptunium, americium, curium and certain fission products. By allowing an accelerator-based neutron source to drive a subcritical heavy metal-cooled reactor, the potential for transmutation of fission products is increased, at the same time that satisfactory safety margins are achieved for certain fuel types with a low share of delayed neutrons and a high heat conductivity. Regardless of what types of systems are

Partitioning and transmutation (P and T) 1997. Status report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Enarsson, Aasa; Landgren, A.; Liljenzin, J.O.; Skaalberg, M.; Spjuth, L. [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Nuclear Chemistry; Gudowski, W.; Wallenius, J. [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Nuclear and Reactor Physics

1998-05-01

Research on and the evaluation of partitioning and transmutation are currently in progress in many industrial countries due to its potential as a long-term, sustainable energy source with low environmental impact and due to its ability to destroy many long-lived nuclides. The cost of the research and development work on partitioning and transmutation is considered to be so great that international co-operation is required. With respect to Sweden, we recommend a balanced research work on both partitioning and transmutation technology. Within the area of partitioning, it is above all a question of locating new reagents which can be used to simplify the necessary partitioning processes and minimize the losses. The requirements with respect to high selectivity and minor losses will be significantly higher in a recirculating system based on transmutation than in the reprocessing facilities of today where only uranium and plutonium are recovered. If the utilized reagents can be easily destroyed, by dry or wet incineration and conversion into non-complex gaseous chemical compounds, this will open up good opportunities for the recovery of the radionuclides. From a purely technical standpoint, it would seem that a combination of different types of reactor systems would give the best possible transmutation efficiency. While existing light water reactors can be utilized for increased plutonium incineration, there is currently consensus about the view that reactors with high-energy neutrons are necessary to achieve a sufficiently high transmutation efficiency for neptunium, americium, curium and certain fission products. By allowing an accelerator-based neutron source to drive a subcritical heavy metal-cooled reactor, the potential for transmutation of fission products is increased, at the same time that satisfactory safety margins are achieved for certain fuel types with a low share of delayed neutrons and a high heat conductivity. Regardless of what types of systems are

Design and Beam Test Results for the sPHENIX Electromagnetic and Hadronic Calorimeter Prototypes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aidala, C.A.; et al.

2017-04-05

The sPHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) will perform high precision measurements of jets and heavy flavor observables for a wide selection of nuclear collision systems, elucidating the microscopic nature of strongly interacting matter ranging from nucleons to the strongly coupled quark-gluon plasma. A prototype of the sPHENIX calorimeter system was tested at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility as experiment T-1044 in the spring of 2016. The electromagnetic calorimeter (EMCal) prototype is composed of scintillating fibers embedded in a mixture of tungsten powder and epoxy. The hadronic calorimeter (HCal) prototype is composed of tilted steel plates alternating with plastic scintillator. Results of the test beam reveal the energy resolution for electrons in the EMCal is $2.8\\%\\oplus~15.5\\%/\\sqrt{E}$ and the energy resolution for hadrons in the combined EMCal plus HCal system is $13.5\\%\\oplus 64.9\\%/\\sqrt{E}$. These results demonstrate that the performance of the proposed calorimeter system is consistent with \\geant simulations and satisfies the sPHENIX specifications.

Development and application of new parameters for TRU transmutation effectiveness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Chi Young

2005-02-01

Four new parameters (incineration branching ratio, incineration rate, incineration time, and incineration buckling) have been developed to evaluate quantitatively the TRU transmutation effectiveness and applied to transmutation of uranium and TRU. From the incineration branching ratio, it is possible to analyze the main contributors to fission reaction for transmutation of a target nuclide. From the incineration rate, it is available to evaluate the transmutation effectiveness in the viewpoint of a relative incineration rate to incineration potential of a target nuclide and its family. This parameter is also used to calculate the incineration time and incineration buckling together with the incineration branching ratio. The incineration time makes it possible to discuss more practically the transmutation speed instead of the existing other parameters. The incineration buckling can be used to evaluate the time behavior of the incineration rate and also employed to support the results from the incineration time. Taking into account the transmutation effectiveness and potential of uranium and TRU derived by using the parameters and an existing neutron economy parameter, it was noted that the thermal neutron energy is very preferable from the transmutation effectiveness point of view, on the other hand the fast neutron energy is effective from the transmutation potential. Applying them to the typical critical and subcritical TRU burners, it is indicated that the critical reactor containing fertile uranium undergoes effectively the selective TRU transmutation on the present fast spectrum. It was also noted that the uranium-free subcritical reactor could be operated effectively on a little softer spectrum due to the larger neutron excess in the present spectrum. It is expected that the new parameters developed in this study and the results are directly applicable to practical transmutation reactor design, in particular accelerator-driven transmutation reactor

Copper Doping of Zinc Oxide by Nuclear Transmutation

Science.gov (United States)

2014-03-27

Copper Doping of Zinc Oxide by Nuclear Transmutation THESIS Matthew C. Recker, Captain, USAF AFIT-ENP-14-M-30 DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR...NUCLEAR TRANSMUTATION THESIS Presented to the Faculty Department of Engineering Physics Graduate School of Engineering and Management Air Force...COPPER DOPING OF ZINC OXIDE BY NUCLEAR TRANSMUTATION Matthew C. Recker, BS Captain, USAF Approved: //signed// 27 February 2014 John W. McClory, PhD

Transmutation in ASTRID

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grouiller, Jean-Paul; Buiron, Laurent; Mignot, Gérard; Palhier, Raphael

2013-01-01

Summary and future prospects for incorporating Am in ASTRID: → Potential to demonstrate the minor actinide transmutation on an industrial scale in the CFV V1 core of ASTRID: • Homogeneous concept: 2% of Am in a standard fuel; • Heterogeneous concept: 10% on UO 2 in the radial blanket. • The objective of ensuring a balance in the Am (and total minor actinides) flow in the ASTRID fuel cycle may be obtained without any impact on the design of the core and handling systems for the management of the new and spent fuel subassemblies. • Several experimental phases in ASTRID to implement different transmutation scenarios using homogeneous and heterogeneous concepts. ⇒ the availability of facilities involved in the ASTRID material cycles

Tritium and hydrogen behaviour at Phenix power plant. Application to development and validation of KUMAR type models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tibi, A.; Misraki, J.; Feron, D.

1984-04-01

Experimentations at Phenix reactor confirmed the fitness of the KUMAR model for predicting the behaviour of hydrogen and tritium, and thus, prevision of the tritium distribution at Super Phenix reactor: calculation of the tritium content of a regenerated secondary cold trap, behaviour of hydrogen during power operation, the primary cold trap being deliberately outage, and estimation of the tritium and hydrogen sources and permeation transfer ratios [fr

Investigation of the feasibility of a small scale transmutation device

Science.gov (United States)

Sit, Roger Carson

This dissertation presents the design and feasibility of a small-scale, fusion-based transmutation device incorporating a commercially available neutron generator. It also presents the design features necessary to optimize the device and render it practical for the transmutation of selected long-lived fission products and actinides. Four conceptual designs of a transmutation device were used to study the transformation of seven radionuclides: long-lived fission products (Tc-99 and I-129), short-lived fission products (Cs-137 and Sr-90), and selective actinides (Am-241, Pu-238, and Pu-239). These radionuclides were chosen because they are major components of spent nuclear fuel and also because they exist as legacy sources that are being stored pending a decision regarding their ultimate disposition. The four designs include the use of two different devices; a Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) neutron generator (for one design) and a Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) neutron generator (for three designs) in configurations which provide different neutron energy spectra for targeting the radionuclide for transmutation. Key parameters analyzed include total fluence and flux requirements; transmutation effectiveness measured as irradiation effective half-life; and activation products generated along with their characteristics: activity, dose rate, decay, and ingestion and inhalation radiotoxicity. From this investigation, conclusions were drawn about the feasibility of the device, the design and technology enhancements that would be required to make transmutation practical, the most beneficial design for each radionuclide, the consequence of the transmutation, and radiation protection issues that are important for the conceptual design of the transmutation device. Key conclusions from this investigation include: (1) the transmutation of long-lived fission products and select actinides can be practical using a small-scale, fusion driven transmutation device; (2) the transmutation of long

PROPOSAL FOR A SILICON VERTEX TRACKER (VTX) FOR THE PHENIX EXPERIMENT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

AKIBA,Y.

2004-10-01

We propose the construction of a Silicon Vertex Tracker (VTX) for the PHENIX experiment at RHIC. The VTX will substantially enhance the physics capabilities of the PHENIX central arm spectrometers. Our prime motivation is to provide precision measurements of heavy-quark production (charm and beauty) in A+A, p(d)+A, and polarized p+p collisions. These are key measurements for the future RHIC program, both for the heavy ion program as it moves from the discovery phase towards detailed investigation of the properties of the dense nuclear medium created in heavy ion collisions, and for the exploration of the nucleon spin-structure functions. In addition, the VTX will also considerably improve other measurements with PHENIX. The main physics topics addressed by the VTX are: (1) Hot and dense strongly interacting matter--(a) Potential enhancement of charm production, (b) Open beauty production, (c) Flavor dependence of jet quenching and QCD energy loss, (d) Accurate charm reference for quarkonium, (e) Thermal dilepton radiation, (f) High p{sub T} phenomena with light flavors above 10-15 GeV/c in p{sub T}, and (g) Upsilon spectroscopy in the e{sup +}e{sup -} decay channel. (2) Gluon spin structure of the nucleon--(a) {Delta}G/G with charm, (b) {Delta}G/G with beauty, and (c) x dependence of {Delta}G/G with {gamma}-jet correlations. (3) Nucleon structure in nuclei--Gluon shadowing over broad x-range.

A flexible analog memory address list manager/controller for PHENIX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ericson, M.N.; Walker, J.W.; Britton, C.L.; Wintenberg, A.L.; Young, G.R.

1995-01-01

A programmable analog memory address list manager/controller has been developed for use with all analog memory-based detector subsystems of PHENIX. The unit provides simultaneous read/write control, cell write-over protection for both a Level-1 trigger decision delay and digitization latency, and re-ordering of AMU addresses following conversion, at a beam crossing rate of 112 ns. Addresses are handled such that up to 5 Level-1 events can be maintained in the AMU without write-over. Data tagging is implemented for handling overlapping and shared beam event data packets. Full usage in all PHENIX analog memory-based detector sub-systems is accomplished by the use of detector-specific programmable parameters -- the number of data samples per Level-1 trigger valid and the swnple spacing. Architectural candidates for the system are discussed with emphasis on implementation implications. Details of the design are presented including design simulations, timing information, and test results from a full implementation using programmable logic devices

Transmuted Complementary Weibull Geometric Distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Z. A…fify

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper provides a new generalization of the complementary Weibull geometric distribution that introduced by Tojeiro et al. (2014, using the quadratic rank transmutation map studied by Shaw and Buckley (2007. The new distribution is referred to as transmuted complementary Weibull geometric distribution (TCWGD. The TCWG distribution includes as special cases the complementary Weibull geometric distribution (CWGD, complementary exponential geometric distribution(CEGD,Weibull distribution (WD and exponential distribution (ED. Various structural properties of the new distribution including moments, quantiles, moment generating function and RØnyi entropy of the subject distribution are derived. We proposed the method of maximum likelihood for estimating the model parameters and obtain the observed information matrix. A real data set are used to compare the ‡exibility of the transmuted version versus the complementary Weibull geometric distribution.

A study on transmutation of LLFPs using various types of HTGRs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kora, Kazuki, E-mail: kora_k@nucl.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Department of Applied Quantum Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka-ken (Japan); Nakaya, Hiroyuki; Matsuura, Hideaki [Department of Applied Quantum Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka-ken (Japan); Goto, Minoru; Nakagawa, Shigeaki; Shimakawa, Satoshi [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 4002 Narita-cho, Oarai-machi, Higashiibaraki-gun, Ibaraki, Ibaraki-ken (Japan)

2016-04-15

Highlights: • We propose utilization of a variety of HTGRs for LLFP transmutation and storage. • The transmutation performance of four types of HTGRs was examined and compared. • Some types of HTGRs show preferable characteristics for LLFP transmutation. - Abstract: In order to investigate the potential of high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) for transmutation of long-lived fission products (LLFPs), numerical simulation of four types of HTGRs were carried out. In addition to the gas-turbine high temperature reactor system “GTHTR300”, which is the subject of our previous research, a small modular HTGR plant “HTR50S” and two types of plutonium burner HTGRs “Clean Burn with MA” and “Clean Burn without MA” were considered. The simulation results show that an early realization of LLFP transmutation using a compact HTGR may be possible since the HTR50S can transmute fair amount of LLFPs for its thermal output. The Clean Burn with MA can transmute a limited amount of LLFPs. However, an efficient LLFP transmutation using the Clean Burn without MA seems to be convincing as it is able to achieve very high burn-ups and produce LLFP transmutation more than GTHTR300. Based on these results, we propose utilization of variety of HTGRs for LLFP transmutation and storage.

Silicon vertex tracker for RHIC PHENIX experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taketani, A [RIKEN, Nishina Ctr Accelerator Based Sci, Wako, Saitama, Japan; Cianciolo, Vince [ORNL; Enokizono, Akitomo [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); PHENIX, Collaboration [The

2010-01-01

The PHENIX experiment at Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider will be equipped with Silicon Vertex tracker to enhance its physics capability. There are four layers of silicon sensor to reconstruct charged tracks with 50 {micro}m resolution of decay length measurement. The VTX surrounds the collision point. The inner two layers and the outer two layers are composed of 30 pixel ladders and 44 stripixel ladders, respectively. We have been developing these detectors and done a performance test with 120 GeV proton beam.

The Transmuted Generalized Inverse Weibull Distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faton Merovci

2014-05-01

Full Text Available A generalization of the generalized inverse Weibull distribution the so-called transmuted generalized inverse Weibull distribution is proposed and studied. We will use the quadratic rank transmutation map (QRTM in order to generate a flexible family of probability distributions taking the generalized inverseWeibull distribution as the base value distribution by introducing a new parameter that would offer more distributional flexibility. Various structural properties including explicit expressions for the moments, quantiles, and moment generating function of the new distribution are derived. We propose the method of maximum likelihood for estimating the model parameters and obtain the observed information matrix. A real data set are used to compare the flexibility of the transmuted version versus the generalized inverse Weibull distribution.

Transmutation of nuclear waste in nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abrahams, K.; Kloosterman, J.L.; Pilate, S.; Wehmann, U.K.

1996-03-01

The objective of this joint study of ECN, Belgonucleaire, and Siemens is to investigate possibilities for transmutation of nuclear waste in regular nuclear reactors or in special transmutation devices. Studies of possibilities included the limits and technological development steps which would be needed. Burning plutonium in fast reactors, gas-cooled high-temperature reactors and light water reactors (LWR) have been considered. For minor actinides the transmutation rate mainly depends on the content of the minor actinides in the reactor and to a much less degree on the fact whether one uses a homogeneous system (with the actinides mixed into the fuel) or a heterogeneous system. If one wishes to stabilise the amount of actinides from the present LWRs, about 20% of all nuclear power would have to be generated in special burner reactors. It turned out that reactor transmutation of fission products would require considerable recycling efforts and that the time needed for a substantial transmutation would be rather long for the presently available levels of the neutron flux. If one would like to design burner systems which can serve more light water reactors, a large effort would be needed and other burners (possibly driven by accelerators) should be considered. (orig.)

Safety characteristics of potential waste transmutation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Tuyle, G.J.

1993-01-01

For nuclear waste transmutation to alter significantly the need for geologic disposal of spent fuel from US Light-water reactors (LWRs), about 1.4% of the spent fuel (by mass) must be separated and transmuted. This includes the plutonium, the minor actinides, and four fission products: iodine. technetium, cesium and strontium. Regarding the actinides, fissioning of the plutonium, neptunium, americium, and curium generates a great deal of heat, so much so that most of the plutonium should be used to produce power. However, these actinides have some undesirable neutronic characteristics, and their utilization in reactors or subcritical (proton-accelerator) targets requires either a fast neutronic spectrum or a very high thermal-neutron flux. Transmutation of the fission products is generally by neutron capture, although this is difficult in the case of cesium and strontium. In this paper, various proposed means of transmuting the actinides and fission products are discussed, with the main focus being on the safety characteristics of each approach

Separation of actinides and their transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bouchard, M.; Bathelier, M.; Cousin, M.

1978-08-01

Neutron irradiation of long-half-life actinides for transmutation into elements with shorter half-life is investigated as a means to reduce the long-term hazards of these actinides. The effectiveness of the method is analysed by applying it to fission product solutions from the first extraction cycle of fuel reprocessing plants. Basic principles, separation techniques and transmutation efficiencies are studied and discussed in detail

Performance of a transmutation advanced device for sustainable energy application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, C.; Rosales, J.; Garcia, L.; Perez-Navarro, A.; Escriva, A.; Abanades, A.

2009-01-01

Preliminary studies have been performed to design a device for nuclear waste transmutation and hydrogen generation based on a gas cooled pebble bed accelerator driven system, TADSEA (transmutation advanced device for sustainable energy application). In previous studies we have addressed the viability of an ADS Transmutation device that uses as fuel wastes from the existing LWR power plants, encapsulated in graphite in the form of pebble beds, being cooled by helium which enables high temperatures, in the order of 1200 K, to facilitate hydrogen generation from water either by high temperature electrolysis or by thermo chemical cycles. To design this device several configurations were studied, including several reactors thickness, to achieve the desired parameters, the transmutation of nuclear waste and the production of 100 MW. of thermal power. In this paper we are presenting new studies performed on deep burn in-core fuel management strategy for LWR waste. We analyze the fuel cycle on TADSEA device based on driver and transmutation fuel that were proposed for the General Atomic design of a gas turbine-modular helium reactor. We compare the transmutation results of the three fuel management strategies, using driven and transmutation, and standard LWR spend fuel, and present several parameters that describe the neutron performance of TADSEA nuclear core as the fuel and moderator temperature reactivity coefficients and transmutation chain. (author)

Performance of a transmutation advanced device for sustainable energy application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcia, C.; Rosales, J.; Garcia, L. [Instituto Superior de Tecnologias y Ciencias Aplicadas (INSTEC), La Habana (Cuba); Perez-Navarro, A.; Escriva, A. [Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia (Spain). Inst. de Ingenieria Energetica; Abanades, A. [Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (Spain). Grupo de Modelizacion de Sistemas Termoenergeticos

2009-07-01

Preliminary studies have been performed to design a device for nuclear waste transmutation and hydrogen generation based on a gas cooled pebble bed accelerator driven system, TADSEA (transmutation advanced device for sustainable energy application). In previous studies we have addressed the viability of an ADS Transmutation device that uses as fuel wastes from the existing LWR power plants, encapsulated in graphite in the form of pebble beds, being cooled by helium which enables high temperatures, in the order of 1200 K, to facilitate hydrogen generation from water either by high temperature electrolysis or by thermo chemical cycles. To design this device several configurations were studied, including several reactors thickness, to achieve the desired parameters, the transmutation of nuclear waste and the production of 100 MW. of thermal power. In this paper we are presenting new studies performed on deep burn in-core fuel management strategy for LWR waste. We analyze the fuel cycle on TADSEA device based on driver and transmutation fuel that were proposed for the General Atomic design of a gas turbine-modular helium reactor. We compare the transmutation results of the three fuel management strategies, using driven and transmutation, and standard LWR spend fuel, and present several parameters that describe the neutron performance of TADSEA nuclear core as the fuel and moderator temperature reactivity coefficients and transmutation chain. (author)

Critique of rationale for transmutation of nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, C.F.; Cohen, J.J.

1980-07-01

It has been suggested that nuclear transmutation could be used in the elimination or reduction of hazards from radioactive wastes. The rationale for this suggestion is the subject of this paper. The objectives of partitioning-transmutation are described. The benefits are evaluated. The author concludes that transmutation would appear at best to offer the opportunity of reducing an already low risk. This would not seem to be justifiable considering the cost. If non-radiological risks are considered, there is a negative total benefit

Comparative analysis of sub-critical transmutation reactor concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, S. H.

1997-01-01

The long-lived nuclear wastes have been substantially generated from the light water reactor for a few decades. The toxicity of these spent fuels will be higher than that of the uranium ore, even if those will be stored in the repository more than ten thousands. Hence the means of transmuting the key long-lived nuclear wastes, primarily the minor actinides, using a hybrid proton accelerator and subcritical transmutation reactor, are proposed. Until now, the representative concepts for a subcritical transmutation reactor are the Energy Amplifier, the OMEGA project, the ATW and the MSBR. The detailed concepts and the specifications are illustrated in Table 1. The design requirements for the subcritical transmutation reactor are the high transmutation rate of long-lived nuclear wastes, safety and economics. And to propose the subcritical transmutation reactor concepts, the coolant, the target material and fuel type are carefully considered. In these aspects, the representative concepts for a subcritical transmutation reactor in Table 1 have been surveyed. The requirements for a target and a coolant are the reliable, low maintenance operation and safe operation to minimize the wastes. The reliable, low maintenance operation and safe operation to minimize the wastes. The reliable coolant must have the low melting point, high heat capacity and excellent physical properties. And the target material must have high neutron yield for a given proton condition and easy heat removal capability. Therefore in respect with the above requirements, Pb-Bi is proposed as the coolant and the target material for the subcritical reactor. Because the neutron yield for a given proton energy increases linearly with mass number up to bismuth but in heavier elements spallation events sharply increase both the neutron and heat outputs, Pb-Bi meets not only such the requirements as the above for the coolant but also those for the coolant and target, the simplification of system can be achieved

The Physics of transmutation systems : system capabilities and performances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finck, P. J.

2002-01-01

This document is complementary to a document produced by Prof. Salvatores on ''The Physics of Transmutation in Critical or Subcritical Reactors and the Impact on the Fuel Cycle''. In that document, Salvatores describes the fundamental of transmutation, through basic physics properties and general parametric studies. In the present document we try to go one step further towards practical implementation (while recognizing that the practical issues such as technology development and demonstration, and economics, can only be mentioned in a very superficial manner). Section 1 briefly overviews the possible objectives of transmutation systems, and links these different objectives to possible technological paths. It also describes the overall constraints which have to be considered when developing and implementing transmutation systems. In section 2 we briefly overview the technological constraints which need to be accounted for when designing transmutation systems. In section 3 we attempt to provide a simplified classification of transmutation systems in order to clarify later comparisons. It compares heterogeneous and homogeneous recycle strategies, and single and multi-tier systems. Section 4 presents case analyses for assessing the transmutation performance of various individual systems, starting with LWR's ((1) generic results; (2) multirecycle of plutonium; (3) an alternative: transmutation based on a Thorium fuel cycle), followed by Gas-Cooled Reactors (with an emphasis on the ''deep burn'' approach), and followed by Fast Reactors and Accelerator Driven systems ((1) generic results; (2) homogeneous recycle of transuranics; (3) practical limit between Fast Reactors and Accelerator Driven Systems) Section 5 summarizes recent results on integrated system performances. It focuses first on interface effects between the two elements of a dual tier system, and then summarizes the major lessons learned from recent global physics studies

HLW disposal by fission reactors; calculation of trans-mutation rate and recycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulyanto

1997-01-01

Transmutation of MA (Minor actinide) and LLFPS (long-lived fission products) into stable nuclide or short-lived isotopes by fission reactors seem to become an alternative technology for HLW disposal. in this study, transmutation rate and recycle calculation were developed in order to evaluate transmutation characteristics of MA and LLFPs in the fission reactors. inventory of MA and LLFPs in the transmutation reactors were determined by solving of criticality equation with 1-D cylindrical geometry of multigroup diffusion equations at the beginning of cycle (BOC). transmutation rate and burn-up was determined by solving of depletion equation. inventory of MA and LLFPs was calculated for 40 years recycle. From this study, it was concluded that characteristics of MA and LLFPs in the transmutation reactors can be evaluated by recycle calculation. by calculation of transmutation rate, performance of fission reactor for transmutation of MA or LLFPs can be discussed

Development of transmutation technologies of radioactive waste by actinoid hydride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konashi, Kenji; Matsui, Hideki; Yamawaki, Michio

2001-01-01

Two waste treatment methods, geological disposal and transmutation, have been studied. The transmutation method changes long-lived radioactive nuclides to short-lived one or stabilizes them by nuclear transformation. The transmutation by actinoid hydride is exactly alike that transformation method from actinoid disposal waste to Pu fuel. For this object, OMEGA project is processing now. The transmutation is difficult by two causes such as large amount of long-lived radioactive nuclides and not enough development of control technologies of nuclear reaction except atomic reactor. The transmutation using actinoid hydride has merits that the amount of actinoid charged in the target increases and the effect of thermal neutrons on fuel decreases depending on homogeneous transmutation velocity in the target. Development of stable actinoid hydride under the conditions of reactor temperature and irradiation environment is important. The experimental results of U-ZrH 1.6 are shown in this paper. The irradiation experiment using Th hydride has been proceeding. (S.Y.)

Study on neutron spectrum for effective transmutation of minor actinides in thermal reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeda, Toshikazu; Yokoyama, Kenji

1997-01-01

The transmutation of minor actinides (MAs) has been investigated in thermal reactor cells using mixed oxide fuel with MAs. The effect of neutron spectra on transmutation is studied by changing the neutron spectra. Five transmutation rates are compared: direct fission incineration rate, capture transmutation rate, consumption rate, overall fission incineration rate and inventory difference transmutation rate. The relations between these transmutation rates and their dependence on the neutron spectrum were investigated. To effectively incinerate MAs it is necessary to maximize the overall fission incineration rate and the inventory difference transmutation rate. These transmutation rates become maximum when the fraction of neutrons below 1 eV is about 8% for the case where the MA addition is 1-3%. When the MA addition is over 5%, the transmutation rates become maximum for very hard neutron spectrum. (Author)

Heavy ion collisions at collider energies – Insights from PHENIX

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

44KFKI Research Institute for Particle and Nuclear Physics (RMKI), Budapest, Hungary†. 1. Introduction. PHENIX is one of the five experiments at the recently commissioned RHIC collider at. Brookhaven National Laboratory. During the year 2000 first data with gold beams were taken at a center-of-mass energy of 130 GeV.

Transmutation of fission products with the use of an accelarator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kase, T.; Harada, H.; Takahashi, T.

1995-01-01

The three transmutation methods with the use of an accelerator, the proton method, the spallation neutron method and the μCF method, are employed for the transmutation of long-lived nuclides in high level radioactive wastes. The transmutation energies and the effective half-lives of 99 Tc and 137 Cs for these transmutation methods are calculated by the Monte Carlo simulation codes for particle transport. The transmutation energies of the proton method are larger than those of the spallation neutron method and the μCF method under the condition of the same effective half life. The proton method is difficult to meet energy balance criterion. On the other hand, the spallation neutron method and the μCF method have possibility to meet the energy balance criterion. (author)

Enhancing TRU burning and Am transmutation in Advanced Recycling Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikeda, Kazumi; Kochendarfer, Richard A.; Moriwaki, Hiroyuki; Kunishima, Shigeru

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → This ARR is an oxide fueled sodium cooled reactor based on innovative technologies to destruct TRU. → TRU burning core is designed to burn TRU at 28 kg/TW th h, adding moderator pins of B 4 C (Enriched B-11). → Am transmutation core can transmute Am at 34 kg/TW th h, adding uranium free AmN blanket to TRU burning core. → The TRU burning core improves TRU burning by 40-50% than the previous core. → The Am transmutation core can transmute Am effectively, keeping the void reactivity acceptable. - Abstract: This paper presents about conceptual designs of Advanced Recycling Reactor (ARR) focusing on enhancement in transuranics (TRU) burning and americium (Am) transmutation. The design has been conducted in the context of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) seeking to close nuclear fuel cycle in ways that reduce proliferation risks, reduce the nuclear waste in the US and further improve global energy security. This study strives to enhance the TRU burning and the Am transmutation, assuming the development of related technologies in this study, while the ARR based on mature technologies was designed in the previous study. It has followed that the provided TRU burning core is designed to burn TRU at 28 kg/TW th h, by adding moderator pins of B 4 C (Enriched B-11) and the Am transmutation core will be able to transmute Am at 34 kg/TW th h, by locating Am blanket of AmN around the TRU burning core. It indicates that these concepts improve TRU burning by 40-50% than the previous core and can transmute Am effectively, keeping the void reactivity acceptable.

The Beta Transmuted Weibull Distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manisha Pal

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The paper introduces a beta transmuted Weibull distribution, which contains a number ofdistributions as special cases. The properties of the distribution are discussed and explicit expressions are derived for the mean deviations, Bonferroni and Lorenz curves, and reliability. The distribution and moments of order statistics are also studied. Estimation of the model parameters by the method of maximum likelihood is discussed. The log beta transmuted Weibull model is introduced to analyze censored data. Finally, the usefulness of the new distribution in analyzing positive data is illustrated.

Dual neutral particle induced transmutation in CINDER2008

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martin, W.J., E-mail: wjmarti@sandia.gov [Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185 (United States); University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 (United States); Oliveira, C.R.E. de; Hecht, A.A. [University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131 (United States)

2014-12-11

Although nuclear transmutation methods for fission have existed for decades, the focus has been on neutron-induced reactions. Recent novel concepts have sought to use both neutrons and photons for purposes such as active interrogation of cargo to detect the smuggling of highly enriched uranium, a concept that would require modeling the transmutation caused by both incident particles. As photonuclear transmutation has yet to be modeled alongside neutron-induced transmutation in a production code, new methods need to be developed. The CINDER2008 nuclear transmutation code from Los Alamos National Laboratory is extended from neutron applications to dual neutral particle applications, allowing both neutron- and photon-induced reactions for this modeling with a focus on fission. Following standard reaction modeling, the induced fission reaction is understood as a two-part reaction, with an entrance channel to the excited compound nucleus, and an exit channel from the excited compound nucleus to the fission fragmentation. Because photofission yield data—the exit channel from the compound nucleus—are sparse, neutron fission yield data are used in this work. With a different compound nucleus and excitation, the translation to the excited compound state is modified, as appropriate. A verification and validation of these methods and data has been performed. This has shown that the translation of neutron-induced fission product yield sets, and their use in photonuclear applications, is appropriate, and that the code has been extended correctly. - Highlights: • The CINDER2008 transmutation code was modified to include photon-induced transmutation tracking. • A photonuclear interaction library was created to allow CINDER2008 to track photonuclear interactions. • Photofission product yield data sets were created using fission physics similarities with neutron-induced fission.

Actinide Partitioning and Transmutation Program. Progress report, April 1--June 30, 1977

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tedder, D. W.; Blomeke, J. O. [comps.

1977-10-01

Experimental work on the 16 tasks comprising the Actinide Partitioning and Transmutation Program was continued. Summaries of work are given on Purex Process modifications, actinide recovery, Am-Cm recovery, radiation effects on ion exchangers, LMFBR transmutation studies, thermal reactor transmutation studies, fuel cycle studies, and partitioning-transmutation evaluation. (JRD)

Fast reactor core concepts to improve transmutation efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujimura, Koji; Kawashima, Katsuyuki; Itooka, Satoshi

2015-01-01

Fast Reactor (FR) core concepts to improve transmutation efficiency were conducted. A heterogeneous MA loaded core was designed based on the 1000MWe-ABR breakeven core. The heterogeneous MA loaded core with Zr-H loaded moderated targets had a better transmutation performance than the MA homogeneous loaded core. The annular pellet rod design was proposed as one of the possible design options for the MA target. It was shown that using annular pellet MA rods mitigates the self-shielding effect in the moderated target so as to enhance the transmutation rate

Accelerator-driven transmutation of spent fuel elements

Science.gov (United States)

Venneri, Francesco; Williamson, Mark A.; Li, Ning

2002-01-01

An apparatus and method is described for transmuting higher actinides, plutonium and selected fission products in a liquid-fuel subcritical assembly. Uranium may also be enriched, thereby providing new fuel for use in conventional nuclear power plants. An accelerator provides the additional neutrons required to perform the processes. The size of the accelerator needed to complete fuel cycle closure depends on the neutron efficiency of the supported reactors and on the neutron spectrum of the actinide transmutation apparatus. Treatment of spent fuel from light water reactors (LWRs) using uranium-based fuel will require the largest accelerator power, whereas neutron-efficient high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs) or CANDU reactors will require the smallest accelerator power, especially if thorium is introduced into the newly generated fuel according to the teachings of the present invention. Fast spectrum actinide transmutation apparatus (based on liquid-metal fuel) will take full advantage of the accelerator-produced source neutrons and provide maximum utilization of the actinide-generated fission neutrons. However, near-thermal transmutation apparatus will require lower standing

MA-burners efficiency parameters allowing for the duration of transmutation process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gulevich, A.; Zemskov, E.; Kalugin, A.; Ponomarev, L.; Seliverstov, V.; Seregin, M.

2010-01-01

Transmutation of minor actinides (MA) means their transforming into the fission products. Usually, MA-burner's transmutation efficiency is characterized by the static parameters only, such as the number of neutrons absorbed and the rate of MA feeding. However, the proper characterization of MA-burner's efficiency additionally requires the consideration of parameters allowing for the duration of the MA transmutation process. Two parameters of that kind are proposed: a) transmutation time τ - mean time period from the moment a mass of MA is loaded into the burner's fuel cycle to be transmuted to the moment this mass is completely transmuted; b) number of reprocessing cycles n rep - effective number of reprocessing cycles a mass of loaded MA has to undergo before being completely transmuted. Some of MA-burners' types have been analyzed from the point of view of these parameters. It turned out that all of them have the value of parameters too high from the practical point of view. It appears that some new approaches to MA-burner's design have to be used to significantly reduce the value of these parameters in order to make the large-scale MA transmutation process practically reasonable. Some of such approaches are proposed and their potential efficiency is discussed. (authors)

PHENIX CDR update: An experiment to be performed at the Brookhaven National Laboratory relativistic heavy ion collider. Revision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-11-01

The PHENIX Conceptual Design Report Update (CDR Update) is intended for use together with the Conceptual Design Report (CDR). The CDR Update is a companion document to the CDR, and it describes the collaboration's progress since the CDR was submitted in January 1993. Therefore, this document concentrates on changes, refinements, and decisions that have been made over the past year. These documents together define the baseline PHENIX detector that the collaboration intends to build for operation at RHIC startup. In this chapter the current status of the detector and its motivation are briefly described. In Chapters 2 and 3 the detector and the physics performance are more fully developed. In Chapters 4 through 13 the details of the present design status, the technology choices, and the construction costs and schedules are presented. The physics goals of PHENIX collaboration have remained exactly as they were described in the CDR. Primary among these is the detection of a new phase of matter, the quark-gluon plasma (QGP), and the measurement of its properties. The PHENIX experiment will measure many of the best potential QGP signatures to see if any or all of these physics variables show anomalies simultaneously due to the formation of the QGP

Acoustic sodium-water reaction detection of the Phenix steam generators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carminati, M.; Martin, L.; Sauzaret, A.

1990-01-01

The systems for acoustic sodium-water reaction detection and hydrogen detection of the Phenix steam generators as well as systems for monitoring signals analysis and processing are described. It is reported that the results obtained during operation and calibration phases are very encouraging and that industrial equipment showing the same performance are being examined. 6 figs

Development of nuclear transmutation technology - A study on accelerator-driven transmutation of long-lived radionuclide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Chang Hyun; Chung, Kie Hyung; Hong, Sang Hee; Hwang, Il Soon; Park, Byung Gi; Yang, Hyung Lyeol; Kim, Duk Kyu; Huh, Chang Wook [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1996-07-01

The objective of this study is to help establish the long-range nuclear waste disposal strategy through the investigations and comparisons of various= concepts of the accelerator-driven nuclear waste transmutation reactors, which have been suggested to replace the geological waste disposal due to the technical uncertainties in the long-time scale. Nuclear data, categorized in high -and low-energy neutron cross-sections, were investigated and the structures, principles, and recent progresses of proton linac were reviews, Also the accelerator power for transmutation and the economics were referred, The comparison of the transmutation concepts concentrated on two: Japanese OMEGA program of alloy fuelled system, Minor actinide molten salt system, and Eutectic alloy system and American ATW program of aqueous system and molten salt system. From the comparative study, a state-of-art of the technology has been identified as a concept employing proton-accelerate of 800 {approx} 1600 MeV with 100 mA capacity combined with liquid lead target, molten salt blanket and on-line chemical separation using centrifuge and electrowinning technology. 34 refs., 25 tabs., 64 figs. (author)

Neutronics analysis of minor actinides transmutation in a fusion-driven subcritical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Chao; Cao, Liangzhi; Wu, Hongchun; Zheng, Youqi; Zu, Tiejun

2013-01-01

Highlights: • A fusion fission hybrid system for MA transmutation is proposed. • The analysis of neutronics effects on the transmutation is performed. • The transmutation rate of MA reaches 86.5% by 25 times of recycling. -- Abstract: The minor actinides (MAs) transmutation in a fusion-driven subcritical system is analyzed in this paper. The subcritical reactor is driven by a tokamak D-T fusion device with relatively easily achieved plasma parameters and tokamak technologies. The MAs discharged from the light water reactor (LWR) are loaded in transmutation zone. Sodium is used as the coolant. The mass percentage of the reprocessed plutonium (Pu) in the fuel is raised from 0 to 48% and stepped by 12% to determine its effect on the MAs transmutation. The lesser the Pu is loaded, the larger the MAs transmutation rate is, but the smaller the energy multiplication factor is. The neutronics analysis of two loading patterns is performed and compared. The loading pattern where the mass percentage of Pu in two regions is 15% and 32.9% respectively is conducive to the improvement of the transmutation fraction within the limits of burn-up. The final transmutation fraction of MAs can reach 17.8% after five years of irradiation. The multiple recycling is investigated. The transmutation fraction of MAs can reach about 61.8% after six times of recycling, and goes up to about 86.5% after 25

A Study on the Kinetic Characteristics of Transmutation Process Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Chang Hyun; You, Young Woo; Cho, Jae seon; Huh, Chang Wook; Kim, Doh Hyung [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1997-07-01

The purpose of this study is to examine the transient heat transfer characteristics of liquid mental as the coolant used in accelerator-driven transmutation process reactor which is related the disposal of high-level radioactive nuclide. At current stage, the accelerator-driven transmutation process is investigated as the most appropriate method among many transmutation process methods. In this study, previous research works are investigated especially about the thermal hydraulics and kinetic behavior of coolant material including heat transfer of coolant in transmutation process reactor. A study on the heat transfer characteristics of liquid metal is performed based on the thermal hydraulic kinetic characteristics of liquid metal reactor which uses liquid metal coolant. Based on this study, the most appropriate material for the coolant of transmutation reactor will be recommended. 53 refs., 15 tabs., 33 figs. (author)

Accurate macromolecular crystallographic refinement: incorporation of the linear scaling, semiempirical quantum-mechanics program DivCon into the PHENIX refinement package

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Borbulevych, Oleg Y.; Plumley, Joshua A.; Martin, Roger I. [QuantumBio Inc., 2790 West College Avenue, State College, PA 16801 (United States); Merz, Kenneth M. Jr [University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (United States); Westerhoff, Lance M., E-mail: lance@quantumbioinc.com [QuantumBio Inc., 2790 West College Avenue, State College, PA 16801 (United States)

2014-05-01

Semiempirical quantum-chemical X-ray macromolecular refinement using the program DivCon integrated with PHENIX is described. Macromolecular crystallographic refinement relies on sometimes dubious stereochemical restraints and rudimentary energy functionals to ensure the correct geometry of the model of the macromolecule and any covalently bound ligand(s). The ligand stereochemical restraint file (CIF) requires a priori understanding of the ligand geometry within the active site, and creation of the CIF is often an error-prone process owing to the great variety of potential ligand chemistry and structure. Stereochemical restraints have been replaced with more robust functionals through the integration of the linear-scaling, semiempirical quantum-mechanics (SE-QM) program DivCon with the PHENIX X-ray refinement engine. The PHENIX/DivCon package has been thoroughly validated on a population of 50 protein–ligand Protein Data Bank (PDB) structures with a range of resolutions and chemistry. The PDB structures used for the validation were originally refined utilizing various refinement packages and were published within the past five years. PHENIX/DivCon does not utilize CIF(s), link restraints and other parameters for refinement and hence it does not make as many a priori assumptions about the model. Across the entire population, the method results in reasonable ligand geometries and low ligand strains, even when the original refinement exhibited difficulties, indicating that PHENIX/DivCon is applicable to both single-structure and high-throughput crystallography.

Tokamak transmutation of (nuclear) waste (TTW): Parametric studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, E.T.; Krakowski, R.A.; Peng, Y.K.M.

1994-01-01

Radioactive waste generated as part of the commercial-power and defense nuclear programs can be either stored or transmuted. The latter treatment requires a capital-intensive neutron source and is reserved for particularly hazardous and long-lived actinide and fission-product waste. A comparative description of fusion-based transmutation is made on the basis of rudimentary estimates of ergonic performance and transmutation capacities versus inventories for both ultra-low-aspect-ratio (spherical torus, ST) and conversional (aspect-ratio) tokamak fusion-power-core drivers. The parametric systems studies reported herein provides a preamble to more-detailed, cost-based systems analyses

Specific contributions of the Dutch progamme ''RAS'' towards accelerator-based transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abrahams, K.; Franken, W.M.P.; Bultman, J.H.; Heil, J.A.; Koning, A.J.

1994-09-01

Accelerator-based transmutation is being studied by ECN within its general nuclear waste transmutation programme RAS. In this paper the following contributions are presented: (1) Evaluation of cross sections at intermediate energies, within an international frame given by NEA, (2) Cell calculations on the equilibration of transuranium actinides in thermal molten-salt transmuters, (3) Irradiation facilities at the European research reactor HFR in Petten, which have been constructed with the purpose to demonstrate and investigate the transmutation of waste in a high neutron flux, (4) Studies of accelerator-based neutron generating systems to transmute neptunium and technetium, (5) Comparison of several systems on the basis of criteria for successful nuclear waste-management. (orig.)

Lethal Effect on Bacterium of Decay of Incorporated Radioactive Atoms ({sup 3}H, {sup 14}C, {sup 32}P); Effet Letal de la Desintegration d'Atomes Radioactifs ({sup 3}H, {sup 14}C, {sup 32}P) Incorpores dans une Bacterie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Apelgot, Sonia [Laboratoire Curie, Institut du Radium, Paris (France)

1968-06-15

The biological effect of decay of {sup 3}H, {sup 14}C and {sup 32}P incorporated into a bacterium depends on the nature of the organic molecule labelled, on the position of the isotope within it and on the isotope itself. In sum, results obtained to date show that: The decay of {sup 3}H atoms incorporated into certain macromolecules of a bacterium causes sterilization through ionization by the ss{sup -} particle emitted; transmutation is of negligible importance. This self-irradiation is comparable in effect with X-rays and is affected in a similar manner by the same factors: temperature, presence of a radioprotector, radiosensitivity of the strain. Decay of {sup 14}C or {sup 32}P atoms incorporated into bacterial DNA is lethal because of the transmutation effect; ionizations produced by emitted ss{sup -} particles may be disregarded. Survival curves for {sup 32}P transmutations depend on the experimental conditions. Some of the results obtained with {sup 32}P are similar to those obtained with X-rays, e.g. effects of temperature, radical capture and oxygen, while others are similar to those of u.v. light, e.g., effect of growth conditions. Comparative tests made with {sup 32}P indicate that the recoil energy of transmutation is not the phenomenon responsible for the lethal effect observed. Comparison of the results obtained after X-irradiation or decay of {sup 3}H or {sup 32}P incorporated into the DNA of bacteria of the same strain of E. coli shows that the efficiency of a {sup 32}P transmutation is about four times greater than that of an ionization produced at random within the same DNA. (author) [French] L'effet biologique de la desintegration de {sup 3}H, {sup 14}C et {sup 32}P incorpores dans une bacterie depend de la nature de la molecule organique marquee, de l'emplacement de l'isotope sur celle-ci et de la nature de l'isotope lui-meme. L'ensemble des resultats obtenus a ce jour montre que la desintegration des atomes de {sup 3}H incorpores dans certaines

MA-burners efficiency parameters allowing for the duration of transmutation process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gulevich, A.; Zemskov, E. [Institute of Physics and Power Engineering, Bondarenko Square 1, Obninsk, Kaluga Region 249020 (Russian Federation); Kalugin, A.; Ponomarev, L. [Russian Research Center ' ' Kurchatov Institute' ' Kurchatov Square 1, Moscow 123182 (Russian Federation); Seliverstov, V. [Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics ul.B. Cheremushkinskaya 25, Moscow 117259 (Russian Federation); Seregin, M. [Russian Research Institute of Chemical Technology Kashirskoe Shosse 33, Moscow 115230 (Russian Federation)

2010-07-01

Transmutation of minor actinides (MA) means their transforming into the fission products. Usually, MA-burner's transmutation efficiency is characterized by the static parameters only, such as the number of neutrons absorbed and the rate of MA feeding. However, the proper characterization of MA-burner's efficiency additionally requires the consideration of parameters allowing for the duration of the MA transmutation process. Two parameters of that kind are proposed: a) transmutation time {tau} - mean time period from the moment a mass of MA is loaded into the burner's fuel cycle to be transmuted to the moment this mass is completely transmuted; b) number of reprocessing cycles n{sub rep} - effective number of reprocessing cycles a mass of loaded MA has to undergo before being completely transmuted. Some of MA-burners' types have been analyzed from the point of view of these parameters. It turned out that all of them have the value of parameters too high from the practical point of view. It appears that some new approaches to MA-burner's design have to be used to significantly reduce the value of these parameters in order to make the large-scale MA transmutation process practically reasonable. Some of such approaches are proposed and their potential efficiency is discussed. (authors)

Study of the production of J/{psi} in Au-Au collisions at 200 GeV per nucleon pair in the PHENIX experiment; Etude de la production du J/{psi} dans les collisions or-or a 200 GeV par paire de nucleons dans l'experience PHENIX

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tram, V.N

2006-01-15

One of the most promising signature of Quark Gluon Plasma formation is the heavy quarkonium suppression due to color screening effect. First experiments at the SPS (CERN) have measured an 'anomalous suppression' of the J/{psi} yields (cc-bar state) in central Pb+Pb collisions. However, measurements at different collision energies and with different ions are mandatory to conclude about the discovery of a new state of nuclear matter. This thesis describes the J/{psi} production measured in the dimuon decay channel by the PHENIX experiment (RHIC) studying Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV in the center of mass. The J/{psi} yield measured in the most central collisions is suppressed by a factor of 3 as compared to the yield expected assuming binary scaling. Within the error bars, the suppression does not affect the J/{psi}'s rapidity distribution. However, a broadening of the transverse momentum distribution is observed as compared to the distribution measured in p+p collisions. In order to understand this suppression, 'cold nuclear effects', namely nuclear absorption and shadowing, are to be taken into account. These effects can describe neither the suppression amplitude nor the suppression pattern, suggesting that other mechanisms are involved. Predictions from different models which reproduce the suppression observed by NA50, can hardly describe the PHENIX measurements and over-estimate the suppression at RHIC. Comparisons with predictions from models including recombination of charm quarks give a reasonable description of the suppression amplitude as a function of centrality. However, these predictions are not in good agreement with the observed rapidity and transverse momentum distributions. Finally, one possible scenario is that the temperature at RHIC is not high enough to reach direct J/{psi} melting and that the measured suppression is due to the sequential disappearance from higher mass resonances ({chi}{sub c} and {psi}'). In this

General solution of Bateman equations for nuclear transmutations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cetnar, Jerzy

2006-01-01

The paper concerns the linear chain method of solving Bateman equations for nuclear transmutation in derivation of the general solution for linear chain with repeated transitions and thus elimination of existing numerical problems. In addition, applications of derived equations for transmutation trajectory analysis method is presented

Transmutation Scenarios Impacts on Advanced Nuclear Cycles. Fabrication, Reprocessing and Transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saturnin, A.; Sarrat, P.; Hancok, H.; Milot, J.-F.; Duret, B.; Jasserand, F.; Fillastre, E.; Giffard, F.-X.; Chabert, C.; Van Den Durpel, L.; Caron-Charles, M.; Lefevre, J.C.; Carlier, B.; Arslan, M.; Favet, D.; Garzenne, C.; Barbrault, P.

2013-01-01

Conclusions: First detailed assessment of plants and transportation in various transmutation scenarios. In case of curium transmutation: large difficulties and uncertainties requiring whole new technology development (more pronounced for ADS option). For Am transmutation: more feasible, still to be demonstrated on specific points for industrial extrapolation

Transmutation of transuranium elements in a gas-cooled accelerator-driven system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biss, Klaus Hendrik

2014-01-01

The peaceful usage of nuclear energy by light and boiling water reactors is connected with a buildup of long-lived high-level radioactive waste. Compared to the direct disposal, partitioning and transmutation (P and T) is considered as an effective way to reduce this waste in its quantity by converting it into short-lived radio nuclides. By that the long term radiotoxicity is reduced compared to direct disposal. Subcritical systems, which are powered by spallation processes for free neutron production to maintain the nuclear chain reaction, allow a target-oriented transmutation. As a subcritical system a gas-cooled accelerator driven system (ADS) for transmutation of transuranic elements has been modeled in this thesis to evaluate the reduction of the radio toxicity by P and T. The simulation of neutron-physical processes is based on the Monte Carlo computer program MCNPX. The development of an equilibrium core made it possible to study the transmutation and operating behavior for several fuel variations in a magnesium oxide matrix and develop a simplified burnup method. Americium as part of the fuel has a stabilizing effect on the neutron multiplication due to its conversion into plutonium during the operation. Thorium was investigated as an alternative matrix for the fuel in order to replicate the stabilizing effect of americium by the conversion of thorium in 233 U. By that a consistent operating cycle in the later P and T-process is ensured. Calculation of the nuclide composition at the end of a P and T-process leads to an expansion of the mathematical description of the mass reduction (transmutation efficiency) by the material located in the reactor. The achieved transmutation efficiency with the investigated ADS is 98.8 %. The transmutation time was examined with different operating strategies regarding the number, size and thermal power of use of transmutation facilities to determine the effort for the P and T-process depending on efficiency. It turns out

World-wide trend of long-lived radionuclides transmutation studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Young Hwan; Lee, Il Hee; Yoo, Jae Hyung

1997-01-01

The objective of this study is to review the concepts of partitioning and transmutation studies which are being conducted in several countries. This review was focused on the analysis of such areas as radiotoxicities of radwaste containing long-lived radionuclides, transmutation by reactors or accelerators, and separation of minor actinides. The world-wide trend of partitioning and transmutation studies was also investigated on the basis of each country's R and D activities in this area. (author). 5 refs., 4 tabs., 3 figs

Separations technology development to support accelerator-driven transmutation concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venneri, F.; Arthur, E.; Bowman, C.

1996-01-01

This is the final report of a one-year Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This project investigated separations technology development needed for accelerator-driven transmutation technology (ADTT) concepts, particularly those associated with plutonium disposition (accelerator-based conversion, ABC) and high-level radioactive waste transmutation (accelerator transmutation of waste, ATW). Specific focus areas included separations needed for preparation of feeds to ABC and ATW systems, for example from spent reactor fuel sources, those required within an ABC/ATW system for material recycle and recovery of key long-lived radionuclides for further transmutation, and those required for reuse and cleanup of molten fluoride salts. The project also featured beginning experimental development in areas associated with a small molten-salt test loop and exploratory centrifugal separations systems

Partitioning and transmutation. Annual Report 1999

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ekberg, C.; Enarsson, Aa.; Gustavsson, C.; Landgren, A.; Liljenzin, J.O.; Spjuth, L. [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Nuclear Chemistry

2000-05-01

The current research project on partitioning and transmutation at the Dept. of Nuclear Chemistry, CTH, has the primary objective to investigate separation processes useful in connection with transmutation of long-lived radionuclides in high level nuclear waste. Partitioning is necessary in order to recover and purify the elements before and after each irradiation in a P and T treatment. In order to achieve a high transmutation efficiency the chemical separation process used must have small losses to various waste streams. At present, only aqueous based separation processes are known to be able to achieve the high recovery and separation efficiencies necessary for a useful P and T process. During 1999 two of the three PhD students in this project have finalised their dissertations. Lena Spjuth has been working with oligo pyridines, triazines and malonamides; Anders Landgren has studied Aliquat-336 and redox kinetics. Two papers, included as appendices in the report, have been separately indexed.

Partitioning and transmutation. Annual Report 1999

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ekberg, C.; Enarsson, Aa.; Gustavsson, C.; Landgren, A.; Liljenzin, J.O.; Spjuth, L.

2000-05-01

The current research project on partitioning and transmutation at the Dept. of Nuclear Chemistry, CTH, has the primary objective to investigate separation processes useful in connection with transmutation of long-lived radionuclides in high level nuclear waste. Partitioning is necessary in order to recover and purify the elements before and after each irradiation in a P and T treatment. In order to achieve a high transmutation efficiency the chemical separation process used must have small losses to various waste streams. At present, only aqueous based separation processes are known to be able to achieve the high recovery and separation efficiencies necessary for a useful P and T process. During 1999 two of the three PhD students in this project have finalised their dissertations. Lena Spjuth has been working with oligo pyridines, triazines and malonamides; Anders Landgren has studied Aliquat-336 and redox kinetics. Two papers, included as appendices in the report, have been separately indexed

Fabrication and characterisation of composite targets for the transmutation of actinides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naestren, C.; Haas, D.; Fernandez, A.; Somers, J.

2006-01-01

Transmutation of transuranic elements separated from spent fuel is a way to reduce the toxicity of long-lived nuclides in the waste before disposal. Plutonium and the minor actinides (MA) are reintroduced into the fuel cycle for further irradiation and incineration. Currently CERMET fuel forms, in which a ceramic actinide is dispersed in a matrix, are considered for MA transmutation. In a first step, PuO 2 beads are produced by a sol gel method in which a Pu nitrate solution is converted to solid, dust-free, particles. These porous beads are then infiltrated with an americium nitrate solution to the incipient wetness point and calcined to give the (PuAm)O 2 beads, which are blended with a metal matrix and compacted and sintered to form the final fuel pellet. The matrix used is molybdenum due to its high thermal conductivity and low neutron capture cross section, if it is enriched in 92 Mo. In this work, optimization of the bead porosity is investigated to achieve a higher Am content by infiltration. Addition of carbon to the mother solution in the sol gel step increases the bead porosity but it also changes both bead and final fuel pellet microstructure. A surrogate fuel, with cerium simulating the actinides has been fabricated and its mechanical stability and bead characteristics investigated as a function of carbon content and thermal treatment. The characterization of the surrogate fuel by ceramography, density, porosity, bead-quality, etc., is a necessary step in the process optimization, to be transferred to the production of the actinide samples. This process is now at an advanced stage and is being used for the production of fuels for irradiation tests in the Phenix (Futurix) and HFR-Petten (HELIOS) reactors. In parallel, studies on the dissolution of the fuel pellets, with the aim of dissolving the Mo-matrix while keeping the CeO 2 beads intact, have been initiated. Thus, Mo can be recycled for further fuel fabrication either from production scraps or from

Safety of confinement of Super Phenix: MARS test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Falgayrettes, M.F.G.; Hamon, P.; Fiche, C.

1984-08-01

The protection of people and property must be assured by every situation around an industrial power plant. That is why the French Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique has defined the size of the confinement of Super Phenix to withstand the worst highly hypothetical accident. This report presents the study of the strength of the confinement carried out on a reactor mock-up. The latter is presented in film. The solution which have been adopted for the problem encountered are emphasized. Finally consequences are examined [fr

Transmutation of long-lived fission product (137Cs, 90Sr) by a reactor-accelerator system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toyama, Shin-ichi; Takashita, Hirofumi; Konashi, Kenji; Sasao, Nobuyuki; Sato, Isamu.

1990-01-01

The report discusses the transmutation of long-lived fission products by a reactor and accelerator. It is important to take some criteria into consideration in transmutation disposal. To satisfy the criteria, a combined system of a reactor and an accelerator is proposed for the transmutation. An outline of the transmutation reactor and the accelerator is presented. The transmutation reactor has the ability to transmute a large quantity of fission products. However, it is desirable to have a high transmutation rate as well as a large disposal ability. Besides the transmutation property, it is necessary to investigate the physics of the transmutation reactor such as nuclear characteristics and burnup properties in order to obtain the most suitable, high performance core concept. A study on those properties is also presented. A high power accelerator is required for the transmutation. So a test linac is developed to accelerate high intensity beams. (N.K.)

Transmutation of radioactive nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toor, A; Buck, R

2000-01-01

Lack of a safe disposal method for radioactive nuclear waste (RNW) is a problem of staggering proportion and impact. A typical LWR fission reactor will produce the following RNW in one year: minor actinides (i.e. 237 Np, 242-243 Am, 243-245 Cm) ∼40 kg, long-lived fission products (i.e, 99 Tc, 93 Zr, 129 I, 135 Cs) ∼80 kg, short lived fission products (e.g. 137 Cs, 90 Sr) ∼50kg and plutonium ∼280 kg. The total RNW produced by France and Canada amounts to hundreds of metric tonnes per year. Obtaining a uniform policy dealing with RNW has been blocked by the desire on one hand to harvest the energy stored in plutonium to benefit society and on the other hand the need to assure that the stockpile of plutonium will not be channeled into future nuclear weapons. In the meantime, the quantity and handling of these materials represents a potential health hazard to the world's population and particularly to people in the vicinity of temporary storage facilities. In the U.S., societal awareness of the hazards associated with RNW has effectively delayed development of U.S. nuclear fission reactors during the past decade. As a result the U.S. does not benefit from the large investment of resources in this industry. Reluctance to employ nuclear energy has compelled our society to rely increasingly on non-reusable alternative energy sources; coal, oil, and natural gas. That decision has compounded other unresolved global problems such as air pollution, acid rain, and global warming. Relying on these energy sources to meet our increasing energy demands has led the U.S. to increase its reliance on foreign oil; a policy that is disadvantageous to our economy and our national security. RNW can be simplistically thought of as being composed of two principal components: (1) actinides with half lives up to 10 6 years and (2) the broad class of fission fragments with typical half lives of a few hundred years. One approach to the RNW storage problem has been to transmute the

Transmuted Lindley-Geometric Distribution and its applications

OpenAIRE

Merovci, Faton; Elbatal, Ibrahim

2013-01-01

A functional composition of the cumulative distribution function of one probability distribution with the inverse cumulative distribution function of another is called the transmutation map. In this article, we will use the quadratic rank transmutation map (QRTM) in order to generate a flexible family of probability distributions taking Lindley geometric distribution as the base value distribution by introducing a new parameter that would offer more distributional flexibility. It will be show...

Scenarios for minor actinides transmutation in the framework of the French Act on Waste Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coquelet-Pascal, C.; Meyer, M.; Tiphine, M.; Girieud, R.; Eschbach, R.; Chabert, C.; Garzenne, C.; Barbrault, P.; Van Den Durpel, L.; Caron-Charles, M.; Favet, D.; Arslan, M.; Caron-Charles, M.; Carlier, B.; Lefevre, J.C.

2013-01-01

In the framework of the French Act on Waste Management, options of minor actinides (MA) transmutation are studied, based on several scenarios of sodium fast reactor deployment. Basically, one of these scenarios considers the deployment of a 60 GWe SFR fleet in two steps (20 GWe from 2040 to 2050 and 40 GWe, as well as, from 2080 to 2100). For this scenario, the advantages and drawbacks of different transmutation options are evaluated: - transmutation of all minor actinides or only of americium; - transmutation in homogeneous mode (MA bearing fuel in all the core or just in the outer core) or in heterogeneous mode (MA bearing radial blankets). Scenarios have been optimised to limit the impacts of MA transmutation on the cycle: - reduction of the initial MA content in the core in the case of transmutation in homogeneous mode to reduce the impact on reactivity coefficients; - reduction of the number of rows of blankets and fuel decay heat in the case of transmutation in heterogeneous mode. The sensitivity of transmutation options to cycle parameters such as the fuel cooling time before transportation is also assessed. Thus, the transmutation of only americium in one row of radial blankets containing initially 10 pc % Am and irradiated during the same duration as the standard fuel assemblies appears to be a suitable solution to limit the transmutation impacts on fuel cycle and facilities. A comparison of results obtained with MA transmutation in dedicated systems is also presented with a symbiotic scenario considering ADS (accelerator-driven system) deployment to transmute MA together with a SFR fleet to produce energy. The MA inventory within the cycle is higher in the case of transmutation in ADS than in the case of transmutation in SFR. Considering the industrial feasibility of MA transmutation, it appears important to study 'independently' SFR deployment and MA transmutation. Consequently, scenarios of progressive introduction of MA options are assessed

Transmuted New Generalized Inverse Weibull Distribution

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Shuaib Khan

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces the transmuted new generalized inverse Weibull distribution by using the quadratic rank transmutation map (QRTM scheme studied by Shaw et al. (2007. The proposed model contains the twenty three lifetime distributions as special sub-models. Some mathematical properties of the new distribution are formulated, such as quantile function, Rényi entropy, mean deviations, moments, moment generating function and order statistics. The method of maximum likelihood is used for estimating the model parameters. We illustrate the flexibility and potential usefulness of the new distribution by using reliability data.

Transmutation of Tc-99 and I-129 in fission reactors. A calculational study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kloosterman, J.L.; Li, J.M.

1995-03-01

The HWR is a better candidate for large-scale transmutation of long-lived fission products. When target pins containing either Tc-99 or I-129 are positioned in the centre of each fuel bundle of a 935 MW e CANDU reactor, the transmutation half lives are 44 and 20 years, respectively, and the gross transmutation rates 60 and 48 kg/a. The positive coolant void coefficient is reduced in both cases with about 30%. When Tc-99 target pins are positioned in the moderator between the fuel bundles, the transmutation half life becomes 25 years and the gross transmutation rate 106 kg/a. This means that one HWR can serve four PWRs with equal power. The fast reactor seems most promising. When Tc-99 target pins are irradiated in moderated subassemblies in the inner core of Superphenix (∼1240 MW e ), a transmutation half life of 15 years is obtained with a gross transmutation rate of 122 kg/a. These values become 18 years and 101 kg/a when non-moderated subassemblies are used for the irradiation. This implies that one fast reactor can serve four to five PWRs with equal power. The PWR seems not very effective for transmutation of Tc-99. Large inventories are needed to obtain a Tc-99 transmutation rate equal to the production rate (18 kg/a for a 900 MW e PWR). When all guide tubes of an UO 2 fuelled PWR are filled with Tc-99 with density of 5 g cm -3 , the transmutation half life is 39 years and the gross transmutation rate 64 kg/a. (orig./GL)

Comparative study for minor actinide transmutation in various fast reactor core concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohki, S.

2001-01-01

A comparative evaluation of minor actinide (MA) transmutation property was performed for various fast reactor core concepts. The differences of MA transmutation property were classified by the variations of fuel type (oxide, nitride, metal), coolant type (sodium, lead, carbon dioxide) and design philosophy. Both nitride and metal fuels bring about 10% larger MA transmutation amount compared with oxide fuel. The MA transmutation amount is almost unchanged by the difference between sodium and lead coolants, while carbon dioxide causes a reduction by about 10% compared with those. The changes of MA transmutation property by fuel and coolant types are comparatively small. The effects caused by the difference of core design are rather significant. (author)

Transmutation of technetium into stable ruthenium in high flux conceptual research reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amrani, N.; Boucenna, A.

2007-01-01

The effectiveness of transmutation for the long lived fission product technetium-99 in high flux research reactor, considering its large capture cross section in thermal and epithermal region is evaluated. The calculation of Ruthenium concentration evolution under irradiation was performed using Chain Solver 2.20 code. The approximation used for the transmutation calculation is the assumption that the influence of change in irradiated materials structures on the reactor operator mode characteristics is insignificant. The results on Technetium transmutation in high flux research reactor suggested an effective use of this kind of research reactors. The evaluation brings a new concept of multi-recycle Technetium transmutation using HFR T RAN (High Flux Research Reactor for Transmutation)

A new concept for accelerator driven transmutation of nuclear wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arthur, E.D.

1991-01-01

A new concept for an accelerator-driven transmutation system is described. The central feature of the concept is generation of intense fluxes of thermal neutrons. In the system all long-lived radionuclides comprising high-level nuclear waste can be transmuted efficiently. Transmutation takes place in a unique, low material inventory environment. Presently two principal areas are being investigated for application of the concept. The first is associated with cleanup of defense high-level waste at DOE sites such as Hanford. The second, longer term area involves production of electric power using a coupled accelerator-multiplying blanket system. This system would utilize natural thorium or uranium and would transmute long-lived components of high-level waste concurrently during operation. 5 refs., 5 figs

Containment Safety Of Super Phenix : Essai Mars

Science.gov (United States)

Falgayrettes, M. F.; Fiche, C.; Hamon, P.

1985-02-01

The protection of people and property must be assured by every situation around an industrial power plant. That is why the FRENCH Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique has defined the size of the confinement of Super Phenix to withstand the worst highly hypothetical accident. The study of the strength of the confinement has been carried out by two complementary means : - Calculation (Display poster # 491 188), - Experiment : reactor mock-up. The latter is presented in the film. The solution which have been adopted for the problems encountered are emphasied ; the work with high speed camera is presented. The film is illustrated with some fast movie sequences.

Transmutation of minor actinides in a spherical torus tokamak fusion reactor, FDTR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, K.M.; Zhang, G.S.; Deng, M.G.

2003-01-01

In this paper, a concept for the transmutation of minor actinide (MA) nuclear wastes based on a spherical torus (ST) tokamak reactor, FDTR, is put forward. A set of plasma parameters suitable for the transmutation blanket was chosen. The 2-D neutron transport code TWODANT, the 3-D Monte Carlo code MCNP/4B, the 1-D neutron transport and burn-up calculation code BISON3.0 and their associated data libraries were used to calculate the transmutation rate, the energy multiplication factor and the tritium breeding ratio of the transmutation blanket. The calculation results for the system parameters and the actinide series isotopes for different operation times are presented. The engineering feasibility of the center-post (CP) of FDTR has been investigated and the results are also given. A preliminary neutronics calculation based on an ST transmutation blanket shows that the proposed system has a high transmutation capability for MA wastes. (author)

Sensitivity analysis of minor actinides transmutation to physical and technological parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kooyman, T.; Buiron, L.

2015-01-01

Minor actinides transmutation is one of the 3 main axis defined by the 2006 French law for management of nuclear waste, along with long-term storage and use of a deep geological repository. Transmutation options for critical systems can be divided in two different approaches: (a) homogeneous transmutation, in which minor actinides are mixed with the fuel. This exhibits the drawback of 'polluting' the entire fuel cycle with minor actinides and also has an important impact on core reactivity coefficients such as Doppler Effect or sodium void worth for fast reactors when the minor actinides fraction increases above 3 to 5% depending on the core; (b) heterogeneous transmutation, in which minor actinides are inserted into transmutation targets which can be located in the center or in the periphery of the core. This presents the advantage of decoupling the management of the minor actinides from the conventional fuel and not impacting the core reactivity coefficients. In both cases, the design and analyses of potential transmutation systems have been carried out in the frame of Gen IV fast reactor using a 'perturbation' approach in which nominal power reactor parameters are modified to accommodate the loading of minor actinides. However, when designing such a transmutation strategy, parameters from all steps of the fuel cycle must be taken into account, such as spent fuel heat load, gamma or neutron sources or fabrication feasibility. Considering a multi-recycling strategy of minor actinides, an analysis of relevant estimators necessary to fully analyze a transmutation strategy has been performed in this work and a sensitivity analysis of these estimators to a broad choice of reactors and fuel cycle parameters has been carried out. No threshold or percolation effects were observed. Saturation of transmutation rate with regards to several parameters has been observed, namely the minor actinides volume fraction and the irradiation time. Estimators of interest that have been

Analysis of minor actinides transmutation for a Molten Salt Fast Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu, Chenggang; Li, Xiaoxiao; Cai, Xiangzhou; Zou, Chunyan; Ma, Yuwen; Han, Jianlong; Chen, Jingen

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The transmutation of MA in a 500 MWth MSFR is analyzed. • A larger MA loading can enhance the MA transmutation and deepen the burnup. • The MA transmutation efficiency can reach 95%. • The FTC can satisfy the safe operating requirement during the entire operating. - Abstract: As one of the six candidate reactors chosen by the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), Molten Salt Fast Reactor (MSFR) has many outstanding advantages and features for advanced nuclear fuel utilization. Effective transmutation of minor actinides (MA) could be attained in this kind of fast reactor, which is of importance in the future closed nuclear fuel cycle scenario. In this work, we attempt to study the MA transmutation capability in a MSFR with power of 500 MWth by analyzing the neutronics characteristics for different MA loadings. The calculated results show that MA loading plays an important role in the reactivity evolution of the MSFR. A larger MA loading is favorable to improving the MA transmutation performance and simultaneously to reducing the fissile consumption. When MA = 18.17 mol%, the transmutation fraction can achieve to about 95% on iso-breeding. We also find that although the fuel temperature coefficient (FTC) decreases with the increasing MA loading, it is still negative enough to keep the safety of the MSFR during the whole operation time. The MA contribution to the effective delayed neutron fraction (EDNF) and the intensity of spontaneous fission neutron (ISFN) are also analyzed. Also MA loading can affect the EDNF during the operation and the ISFN of the MSFR is dominated by 244 Cm. Finally, we analyze the effect of the core power on MA transmutation capability. The result shows that for all the operating powers the depletion ratio of MA to HN increases with time and reaches a maximum value. And additional MA should be fed into the fuel salt before the MA depletion ratio reaches the peak value to improve its transmutation capability. The net

Study on the LLFPs transmutation in a super-critical water-cooled fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Haoliang; Ishiwatari, Yuki; Oka, Yoshiaki

2011-01-01

Research highlights: → Transmutation of LLFPs with a super-criticial water cooled fast reactor. → Transmutation of iodine and cesium without the isotopic separation. → The transmuted isotope was mixed with UO 2 to reduce the effect of self-shielding. → A weak neutron moderator Al 2 O 3 was used to suppress the creation of 135 Cs from 133 Cs. - Abstract: The performance of the super-critical water-cooled fast reactor (Super FR) for the transmutation treatment of long-lived fission products (LLFPs) was evaluated. Two regions with the soft neutron spectrum, which is of great benefit to the LLFPs transmutation, can be utilized in the Super FR. First region is in the blanket assembly due to the ZrH 1.7 layer which was utilized to slow down the fast neutrons to achieve a negative void reactivity. Second region is in the reflector region of core like other metal-cooled fast reactors. The LLFPs selected in the transmutation analysis include 99 Tc, 129 I and 135 Cs discharged from LWR or fast reactor. Their isotopes, such as 127 I, 133 Cs, 134 Cs and 137 Cs were also considered to avoid the separation. By loading the isotopes ( 99 Tc or 127 I and 129 I) in the blanket assembly and the reflector region simultaneously, the transmutation rates of 5.36%/GWe year and 2.79%/GWe year can be obtained for 99 Tc and 129 I, respectively. The transmuted amounts of 99 Tc and 129 I are equal to the yields from 11.8 and 6.2 1000 MWe-class PWRs. Because of the very low capture cross section of 135 Cs and the effect of other cesium isotopes, 135 Cs was loaded with three rings of assemblies in the reflector region to make the transmuted amount be larger than the yields of two 1000 MWe-class PWRs. Based on these results, 99 Tc and 129 I can be transmuted conveniently and higher transmutation performance can be obtained in the Super FR. However, the transmutation of 135 Cs is very difficult and the transmuted amount is less than that produced by the Super FR. It turns out that the

Preliminary analyses of neutronics schemes for three kinds waste transmutation blankets of fusion-fission hybrid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Mingchun; Feng Kaiming; Li Zaixin; Zhao Fengchao

2012-01-01

The neutronics schemes of the helium-cooled waste transmutation blanket, sodium-cooled waste transmutation blanket and FLiBe-cooled waste transmutation blanket were preliminarily calculated and analysed by using the spheroidal tokamak (ST) plasma configuration. The neutronics properties of these blankets' were compared and analyzed. The results show that for the transmutation of "2"3"7Np, FLiBe-cooled waste transmutation blanket has the most superior transmutation performance. The calculation results of the helium-cooled waste transmutation blanket show that this transmutation blanket can run on a steady effective multiplication factor (k_e_f_f), steady power (P), and steady tritium production rate (TBR) state for a long operating time (9.62 years) by change "2"3"7Np's initial loading rate of the minor actinides (MA). (authors)

Actinide and fission product separation and transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The first international information exchange meeting on actinide and fission product separation and transmutation, took place in Mito in Japan, on 6-8 November 1990. It starts with a number of general overview papers to give us some broad perspectives. Following that it takes a look at some basic facts about physics and about the quantities of materials it is talking about. Then it proceeds to some specific aspects of partitioning, starting with evolution from today commercially applied processes and going on to other possibilities. At the end of the third session it takes a look at the significance of partitioning and transmutation of actinides before it embarks on two sessions on transmutation, first in reactors and second in accelerators. The last session is designed to throw back into the discussion the main points which need to be looked at when considering future work in this area. (A.L.B.)

Actinide and fission product separation and transmutation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1991-07-01

The first international information exchange meeting on actinide and fission product separation and transmutation, took place in Mito in Japan, on 6-8 November 1990. It starts with a number of general overview papers to give us some broad perspectives. Following that it takes a look at some basic facts about physics and about the quantities of materials it is talking about. Then it proceeds to some specific aspects of partitioning, starting with evolution from today commercially applied processes and going on to other possibilities. At the end of the third session it takes a look at the significance of partitioning and transmutation of actinides before it embarks on two sessions on transmutation, first in reactors and second in accelerators. The last session is designed to throw back into the discussion the main points which need to be looked at when considering future work in this area. (A.L.B.)

Transmutation of high-level radioactive waste - Perspectives

CERN Document Server

Junghans, Arnd; Grosse, Eckart; Hannaske, Roland; Kögler, Toni; Massarczyk, Ralf; Schwengner, Ronald; Wagner, Andreas

2014-01-01

In a fast neutron spectrum essentially all long-lived actinides (e.g. Plutonium) undergo fission and thus can be transmuted into generally short lived fission products. Innovative nuclear reactor concepts e.g. accelerator driven systems (ADS) are currently in development that foresee a closed fuel cycle. The majority of the fissile nuclides (uranium, plutonium) shall be used for power generation and only fission products will be put into final disposal that needs to last for a historical time scale of only 1000 years. For the transmutation of high-level radioactive waste a lot of research and development is still required. One aspect is the precise knowledge of nuclear data for reactions with fast neutrons. Nuclear reactions relevant for transmutation are being investigated in the framework of the european project ERINDA. First results from the new neutron time-of-flight facility nELBE at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf will be presented.

Code development and analyses within the area of transmutation and safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maschek, W.

2002-01-01

A strong code development is going on to meet various demands resulting from the development of dedicated reactors for transmutation and incineration. Code development is concerned with safety codes and general codes needed for assessing scenarios and transmutation strategies. Analyses concentrate on various ADS systems with solid and liquid molten salt fuels. Analyses deal with ADS Demo Plant (5th FP EU) and transmuters with advanced fuels

Research on transmutation and accelerator-driven systems at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knebel, J.U.; Heusener, G.

2000-01-01

Transmutation is considered a promising technology worldwide for significantly reducing the amount and, thereby, the long-term radiotoxicity of high active waste (HAW) produced by the operation of nuclear power plants such as light water reactors (LWR). The maximum reduction of radiotoxicity could be by a factor of about 100. Transmutation is thus an alternative to the direct deposition of large volumes of highly radioactive waste. Transmutation presents the possibility of closing the fuel cycle including the minor actinides. Plutonium, minor actinides and long-lived fission products can be transmuted in a so called Accelerator Driven Sub-critical System (ADS), which consists of an accelerator, a target module and a subcritical blanket. This paper describes the work performed at Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe which is critically evaluating an ADS mainly with respect to its potential for transmuting minor actinides, to its feasibility and to safety aspects. The work is being done in the area of core design, neutronics, safety, system analyses, materials and corrosion. (orig.) [de

First measurement of J/ψ azimuthal anisotropy in PHENIX at forward rapidity in Au+Au collisions at √(sNN) = 200 GeV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silvestre, Catherine

2009-01-01

The PHENIX experiment has shown that J/ψ s are suppressed in central Au+Au collisions at a center of mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision √(s NN ) = 200 GeV, and that the suppression is larger at forward than at mid-rapidity. Part of this difference may be explained by cold nuclear matter effects but the most central collisions suggest that regeneration mechanisms could be at play. In 2007, PHENIX collected almost four times more Au+Au collisions at this energy than used for previous published results. Moreover, the addition of a new reaction plane detector allows a much better analysis of the J/ψ behavior in the azimuthal plane. Since a large elliptic flow has been measured for open charm, measuring J/ψ azimuthal anisotropies may give a hint if J/ψ are recombined in the expanding matter. First PHENIX results of J/ψ elliptic flow as a function of transverse momentum at forward rapidity are presented in this article. The analysis is detailed and results are compared to mid-rapidity PHENIX preliminary results as well as to predictions. (orig.)

Proposed partitioning and transmutation of long-lived nuclear wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Tuyle, G.J.; Rawlins, J.A.

1991-01-01

A means of transmuting key long-lived nuclear wastes, primarily the minor actinides (Np, Am, Cm) and iodine, using a hybrid proton accelerator and sub-critical lattice, is proposed. By partitioning light water reactor (LWR) spent fuel and by transmuting key elements, such as the plutonium, the minor actinides, and a few of the long-lived fission products, some of the most significant challenges in building a waste repository can be substantially reduced. The proposed machine would transmute the minor actinides and the iodine produced by 75 LWRs, and would generate usable electricity (beyond that required to run the large accelerator) of 850 MW e . 14 refs., 10 figs

Status report on actinide and fission product transmutation studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-06-01

The management of radioactive waste is one of the key issues in today's political and public discussions on nuclear energy. One of the fields that looks into the future possibilities of nuclear technology is the neutronic transmutation of actinides and of some most important fission products. Studies on transmutation of actinides are carried out in various countries and at an international level. This status report which gives an up-to-date general overview of current and planned research on transmutation of actinides and fission products in non-OECD countries, has been prepared by a Technical Committee meeting organized by the IAEA in September 1995. 168 refs, 16 figs, 34 tabs

Data processing and data collection in Super-Phenix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Josue, M.; Thegner, G.

1978-01-01

The data processing systems for the Super-Phenix power station have been developed from Phenix systems, the various tasks being specified on the basis of the origin of information (specific to the boiler or common to the whole power station) and of its nature, i.e. depending on whether it is used for protection or for operational purposes or whether it provides personnel with a better understanding of phenomena related to the reactor. The data processing systems specific to the boiler are as follows: (a) the core temperature processing system (TRTC) with which fuel assembly temperatures can be monitored and any abnormally high value discovered, in which case it can cause a trip to shut down the reactor. To this extent it can be seen as part of the station safety equipment. In the interest of channel separation and satisfactory availability, the system is made up of two identical units based on the use of mini-computers, some of which (for analog acquisition) are decentralized and placed near the measuring points in the dome; and (b) the core fault detection and diagnosis system (DDDC), which is a necessary complement to the TRTC in that it fulfils certain boiler operation tasks and supplies information if incidents occur. It is made up of three subsystems (acquisition and retrieval, reactivity comparison, noise analysis). Among the systems applicable to the overall operation of the station, there is: (c) the complementary information processing system (TCI) which provides overall control and is based on a large quantity of information connected with the facility as a whole. (author)

Transmutation of radioactive waste: Effect on the nuclear fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasmussen, N.C.; Pigford, T.H.

1997-01-01

A committee of the National Research Council reviewed three concepts for transmuting radionuclides recovered from the chemical reprocessing of commercial light-water-reactor (LWR) fuel: LWR transmutation reactors fueled with recycled actinides, advanced liquid-metal reactors (ALMRs), and accelerator-driven subcritical reactors for transmutation of waste (ATW). The concepts were evaluated in terms of: (1) the extent to which waste disposal would benefit from transmutation, (2) time required to reduce the total inventory of radionuclides in the waste and fuel cycle, (3) the complexity of the overall transmutation system, (4) the extent of new development required, and (5) institutional and economic problems of operating such systems. Transmutation could affect geologic disposal of waste by reducing the inventory of transuranics (TRUs), fission products, and other radionuclides in the waste. Reducing the inventory of transuranics does not necessarily affect radiation doses to people who use contaminated ground water if the dissolution rate of transuranics in waste is controlled by elemental solubilities. However, reducing inventories of Am and Pu would decrease potential hazards from human intrusion. The likelihood for underground nuclear criticality would also be reduced. The long-lived fission products Tc-99, I-129, Cs-135 and others typically contribute most to the long-term radiation doses to future populations who use contaminated water from the repository. Their transmutation requires thermal or epithermal neutrons, readily available in LWR and ATW transmutors. ALMR and LWR transmutors would require several hundred years to reduce the total transuranic inventory by even a factor of 10 at constant electric power, and thousands of years for a hundred-fold reduction. For the same electrical power, the ATW could reduce total transuranic inventory about tenfold more rapidly, because of its very high thermal-neutron flux. However, extremely low process losses would be

A proposal for a Los Alamos international facility for transmutations (LIFT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venneri, F.; Williamson, M.A.; Li, Ning; Doolen, G.

1996-01-01

The major groups engaged in transmutation research are converging towards a common objective and similar technology. It is now possible to envision an international program of research aimed at the destruction of reactor-generated (and other) nuclear waste using a series of multipurpose experimental facilities in the near future. Los Alamos National Laboratory, as the home of the highest power LINAC and a very active transmutation technology project, is the ideal host for the first of such facilities. The next step in the international program (a facility 10 times more powerful, for engineering-scale demonstrations) could be built in Europe, where there is substantial interest in the construction of such a device in the framework of international cooperation. A series of experiments at Las Alamos could explore the key transmutation technologies. Liquid lead loops, a liquid lead spallation target, and a large size liquid lead facility with provision for irradiation, cooling and diagnostics of several types of 'transmutation assemblies', where different transmutation concepts will be tested in different media and environments, from transmutation of fission products to destruction by fission of higher actinides, to other waste management applications. The engineering-scale facility, which will follow the initial testing phase, will extend the best concepts to full scale implementation

PHENIX On-Line Distributed Computing System Architecture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desmond, Edmond; Haggerty, John; Kehayias, Hyon Joo; Purschke, Martin L.; Witzig, Chris; Kozlowski, Thomas

1997-01-01

PHENIX is one of the two large experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) currently under construction at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The detector consists of 11 sub-detectors, that are further subdivided into 29 units (''granules'') that can be operated independently, which includes simultaneous data taking with independent data streams and independent triggers. The detector has 250,000 channels and is read out by front end modules, where the data is buffered in a pipeline while awaiting the level trigger decision. Zero suppression and calibration is done after the level accept in custom built data collection modules (DCMs) with DSPs before the data is sent to an event builder (design throughput of 2 Gb/sec) and higher level triggers. The On-line Computing Systems Group (ONCS) has two responsibilities. Firstly it is responsible for receiving the data from the event builder, routing it through a network of workstations to consumer processes and archiving it at a data rate of 20 MB/sec. Secondly it is also responsible for the overall configuration, control and operation of the detector and data acquisition chain, which comprises the software integration for several thousand custom built hardware modules. The software must furthermore support the independent operation of the above mentioned granules, which includes the coordination of processes that run in 60-100 VME processors and workstations. ONOS has adapted the Shlaer- Mellor Object Oriented Methodology for the design of the top layer software. CORBA is used as communication layer between the distributed objects, which are implemented as asynchronous finite state machines. We will give an overview of the PHENIX online system with the main focus on the system architecture, software components and integration tasks of the On-line Computing group ONCS and report on the status of the current prototypes

Multi-dimensional approach of MARS-LMR for the analysis of Phenix End-of-Life natural circulation test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Hae Yong; Ha, Kwi Seok; Chang, Won Pyo; Lee, Kwi Lim

2012-01-01

Phenix is one of the important prototype sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFR) in nuclear reactor development history. It had been operated successfully for 35 years by the French Commissariat a l'energie atomique (CEA) and the Electricite de France (EdF) achieving its original objectives of demonstrating a fast breeder reactor technology and of playing the role of irradiation facility for innovative fuels and materials. After its final shutdown in 2009, CEA launched the Phenix End-of-life (EOL) test program. It provided a unique opportunity to generate reliable test data which is inevitable in the validation and verification of a SFR system analysis code. KAERI joined this international collaboration program of IAEA CRP and has performed the pretest analysis and post-test analysis utilizing the one-dimensional modeling of the MARS-LMR code, which had been developed by KAERI for the transient analysis of SFR systems. Through the previous studies, it has been identified that there are some limitations in the modeling of complicated thermal-hydraulic behaviors in the large pool volumes with the one-dimensional modeling. Recently, KAERI performed the analysis of Phenix EOL natural circulation test with multi-dimensional pool modeling, which is detailed below

Multi-dimensional approach of MARS-LMR for the analysis of Phenix End-of-Life natural circulation test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeong, Hae Yong; Ha, Kwi Seok; Chang, Won Pyo; Lee, Kwi Lim [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-05-15

Phenix is one of the important prototype sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFR) in nuclear reactor development history. It had been operated successfully for 35 years by the French Commissariat a l'energie atomique (CEA) and the Electricite de France (EdF) achieving its original objectives of demonstrating a fast breeder reactor technology and of playing the role of irradiation facility for innovative fuels and materials. After its final shutdown in 2009, CEA launched the Phenix End-of-life (EOL) test program. It provided a unique opportunity to generate reliable test data which is inevitable in the validation and verification of a SFR system analysis code. KAERI joined this international collaboration program of IAEA CRP and has performed the pretest analysis and post-test analysis utilizing the one-dimensional modeling of the MARS-LMR code, which had been developed by KAERI for the transient analysis of SFR systems. Through the previous studies, it has been identified that there are some limitations in the modeling of complicated thermal-hydraulic behaviors in the large pool volumes with the one-dimensional modeling. Recently, KAERI performed the analysis of Phenix EOL natural circulation test with multi-dimensional pool modeling, which is detailed below

Feasibility of waste transmutation using accelerator-driven IRIS subcritical system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petroviae, B.; Carelli, M.; Paramonov, D.

2001-01-01

Waste transmutation is considered for reducing radio-toxicity of nuclear waste generated in power reactors. Accelerator driven subcritical systems (ADS) offer certain advantages over the use of nuclear reactors. Transmutation of fission products (e.g. 99 Tc) generally requires thermal neutron spectrum, while for actinides fast spectrum provides better performance. Proposed solutions to this problem include a multi-strata approach as well as a multi-zone (thermal/fast-spectrum) single systems. In this paper we examine the feasibility of employing a dual-spectrum two-zone accelerator-driven IRIS subcritical for waste transmutation. (author)

Direct Photons and Dileptons in PHENIX at RHIC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David, G.

2009-01-01

Direct photons and dileptons are penetrating probes of relativistic heavy ion collisions. Generated throughout the entire history of the collision and then emerging without further interaction they give insight into basic processes that are otherwise not directly accessible experimentally. One of the main objectives and strengths of the PHENIX experiment at RHIC is the measurement of both types of electromagnetic probes in the same apparatus and in the widest p T range in nucleon-nucleon and heavy ion collisions. The experimental results and recent developments of theory started to change our perception of high transverse momentum photons from A+A collisions.

Multi-faceted evaluation for nuclear fuel cycles with transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishihara, Kenji

2015-03-01

Environment impact, economy and proliferation resistance were estimated for nuclear fuel cycles involving transmutation by fast reactor and accelerator-driven system in equilibrium state. As a result, the transmutation scenario using only fast reactor was superior to the scenarios combined with accelerator-driven system in all estimation, but the differences were insignificant. (author)

Advanced In-Service Inspection Approaches Applied to the Phenix Fast Breeder Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guidez, J.; Martin, L.; Dupraz, R.

2006-01-01

The safety upgrading of the Phenix plant undertaken between 1994 and 1997 involved a vast inspection programme of the reactor, the external storage drum and the secondary sodium circuits in order to meet the requirements of the defence-in-depth safety approach. The three lines of defence were analysed for every safety related component: demonstration of the quality of design and construction, appropriate in-service inspection and controlling the consequences of an accident. The in-service reactor block inspection programme consisted in controlling the core support structures and the high-temperature elements. Despite the fact that limited consideration had been given to inspection constraints during the design stage of the reactor in the 1960's, as compared to more recent reactor projects such as the European Fast Reactor (EFR), all the core support line elements were able to be inspected. The three following main operations are described: Ultrasonic inspection of the upper hangers of the main vessel, using small transducers able to withstand temperatures of 130 deg. C, Inspection of the conical shell supporting the core dia-grid. A specific ultrasonic method and a special implementation technique were used to control the under sodium structure welds, located up to several meters away from the scan surface. Remote inspection of the hot pool structures, particularly the core cover plug after partial sodium drainage of the reactor vessel. Other inspections are also summarized: control of secondary sodium circuit piping, intermediate heat exchangers, primary sodium pumps, steam generator units and external storage drum. The pool type reactor concept, developed in France since the 1960's, presents several favourable safety and operational features. The feedback from the Phenix plant also shows real potential for in-service inspection. The design of future generation IV sodium fast reactors will benefit from the experience acquired from the Phenix plant. (authors)

Manufacture of the first fuel charge for the SUPER-PHENIX 1 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pajot, J.; Beche, M.; Heyraud, J.

1988-01-01

After summarizing same general points on the Super Phenix core, the performances of fuel essemblies, the remainder of this discussion will deal with the manufacture by the CFCa of the first charge of fuel assemblies. The following aspects are considered in sequence - contract - production facilities - manufacturing procedures finally a few assessments will be presented

Operating experience of RAPSODIE and PHENIX relating to sodium aerosols and vapours

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Delisle, J P; Reboul, M; Elie, X [DRNR/STRS - Centre de Cadarache, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France)

1977-01-01

The main difficulties resulting from sodium aerosols and vapours in the cover gas which have been encountered for 10 years in RAPSODIE and for 3 years in PHENIX are reviewed: condensation of sodium in annular spaces; plugging in primary gas pipes; plugging of filters and vapour traps. All those problems were easily overcome. (author)

ϕ Meson Production at Forward Rapidity with the PHENIX Detector at RHIC

Science.gov (United States)

Sarsour, Murad

2017-12-01

The ϕ meson production in p+p collisions is an important tool to study QCD, providing data to tune phenomenological QCD models, while in high-energy heavy-ion collisions it provides key information on the hot and dense state of the strongly interacting matter produced in such collisions. It is sensitive to the medium-induced effects such as strangeness enhancement, a phenomenon associated with soft particles in bulk matter. Measurements in the dilepton channels are especially interesting since leptons interact only electromagnetically, thus carrying the information from their production phase directly to the detector. Measurements in different nucleus-nucleus collisions allow us to perform a systematic study of the nuclear medium effects on ϕ meson production. The PHENIX detector provides the capabilities to measure the ϕ meson production in a wide range of transverse momentum and rapidity to study various cold nuclear effects such as soft multiple parton rescattering and modification of the parton distribution functions in nuclei. In this proceeding, we report the most recent PHENIX results on ϕ meson production in p+p, d+Au and Cu+Au collisions.

Phenix: a story of core and energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sauvage, J.F.

2005-01-01

Phenix is the name of a legendary bird which could have several successive lives thanks to a rebirth from its ashes. It is by analogy the name given to an original sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor capable to generate new quantities of energy using the by products of its core burnup. This book tells the story of this reactor: construction (1968-1974), first years of operation (1974-1980), success era (1980-1986), first problems (1986-1992), safety re-evaluation (1992-1998), renovation of the core (1998-2003), re-start up of operation (2003-2009). A description of the power plant is given in appendix: core, reactor vessel, circuits, handling, instrumentation and control, safety, buildings, operation. (J.S.)

Transmutation of Minor Actinide in well thermalized neutron field and application of advanced neutron source (ANS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwasaki, Tomohiko; Hirakawa, Naohiro

1995-01-01

Transmutation of Minor Actinide (MA) in a well thermalized neutron field was studied. Since MA nuclides have large effective cross sections in the well thermalized neutron field, the transmutation in the well thermalized neutron field has an advantage of high transmutation rate. However, the transmutation rate largely decreases by accumulation of 246 Cm when MA is transmuted only in the well thermalized neutron field for a long period. An acceleration method of burn-up of 246 Cm was studied. High transmutation rate can be obtained by providing a neutron field with high flux in the energy region between 1 and 100 eV. Two stage transmutation using the well thermalized neutron field and this field can transmute MA rapidly. The applicability of the Advanced Neutron Source (ANS) to the transmutation of MA was examined for a typical MA with the composition in the high-level waste generated in the conventional PWR. If the ANS is applied without changing the fuel inventory, the amount of MA which corresponds to that produced by a conventional 1,175 MWe PWR in one year can be transmuted by the ANS in one year. Furthermore, the amount of the residual can be reduced to about 1g (10 -5 of the initial MA weight) by continuing the transmutation for 5 years owing to the two stage transmutation. (author)

Accurate macromolecular crystallographic refinement: incorporation of the linear scaling, semiempirical quantum-mechanics program DivCon into the PHENIX refinement package.

Science.gov (United States)

Borbulevych, Oleg Y; Plumley, Joshua A; Martin, Roger I; Merz, Kenneth M; Westerhoff, Lance M

2014-05-01

Macromolecular crystallographic refinement relies on sometimes dubious stereochemical restraints and rudimentary energy functionals to ensure the correct geometry of the model of the macromolecule and any covalently bound ligand(s). The ligand stereochemical restraint file (CIF) requires a priori understanding of the ligand geometry within the active site, and creation of the CIF is often an error-prone process owing to the great variety of potential ligand chemistry and structure. Stereochemical restraints have been replaced with more robust functionals through the integration of the linear-scaling, semiempirical quantum-mechanics (SE-QM) program DivCon with the PHENIX X-ray refinement engine. The PHENIX/DivCon package has been thoroughly validated on a population of 50 protein-ligand Protein Data Bank (PDB) structures with a range of resolutions and chemistry. The PDB structures used for the validation were originally refined utilizing various refinement packages and were published within the past five years. PHENIX/DivCon does not utilize CIF(s), link restraints and other parameters for refinement and hence it does not make as many a priori assumptions about the model. Across the entire population, the method results in reasonable ligand geometries and low ligand strains, even when the original refinement exhibited difficulties, indicating that PHENIX/DivCon is applicable to both single-structure and high-throughput crystallography.

A study of γ-ray source for the transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomura, Masahiro; Takahashi, Hiroshi.

1996-07-01

PNC is developing high power CW electron linac for various applications, those are the transmutation of the fission products, Free Electron Laser (FEL), the positron source and so on. Especially, the transmutation by the electron linac has been studied for several years. As the results, high flux and high energy γ-ray (∼15 MeV) is required, one of the big problems is that plenty of transmutation energy is needed and the narrow γ-ray energy spectrum can reduce the transmutation energy. The γ-rays can be produced by synchrotron radiation, FEL and laser compton scattering. Those methods were described briefly and compared. As a result, the laser compton scattering is one of the good methods to produce high energy γ-ray. However the cross section between electron and photon is small and the scattered photon energy spectrum is not so narrow that the transmutation energy is reduced drastically. To enhance the interaction between electron and photon, the super cavity is proposed. And some experiments are in progress. To reduce the transmutation energy, scattered electron must be reused by the storage ring. If the scattered electrons are not used for producing γ-ray, the efficiency is less than 1%. In our system, the efficiency can be increased to 20% by reusing scattered electrons. But this efficiency is still low. To increase the efficiency, the RF bucket must be enlarged. If the momentans compaction factor α can be reduced, the RF bucket can be enlarged. And the storage ring must be designed to have small value of the α. The electron energy dependency of efficiency is investigated, too. In short word, it is difficult to increase the efficiency drastically by changing electron energy. This work was conducted as a part of the collaboration work between PNC and BNL. (author)

Vortex transmutation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrando, Albert; Zacarés, Mario; García-March, Miguel-Angel; Monsoriu, Juan A; de Córdoba, Pedro Fernández

2005-09-16

Using group theory arguments and numerical simulations, we demonstrate the possibility of changing the vorticity or topological charge of an individual vortex by means of the action of a system possessing a discrete rotational symmetry of finite order. We establish on theoretical grounds a "transmutation pass" determining the conditions for this phenomenon to occur and numerically analyze it in the context of two-dimensional optical lattices. An analogous approach is applicable to the problems of Bose-Einstein condensates in periodic potentials.

Vortex Transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferrando, Albert; Garcia-March, Miguel-Angel; Zacares, Mario; Monsoriu, Juan A.; Cordoba, Pedro Fernandez de

2005-01-01

Using group theory arguments and numerical simulations, we demonstrate the possibility of changing the vorticity or topological charge of an individual vortex by means of the action of a system possessing a discrete rotational symmetry of finite order. We establish on theoretical grounds a 'transmutation pass rule' determining the conditions for this phenomenon to occur and numerically analyze it in the context of two-dimensional optical lattices. An analogous approach is applicable to the problems of Bose-Einstein condensates in periodic potentials

Transmutations across hierarchical levels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Neill, R.V.

1977-01-01

The development of large-scale ecological models depends implicitly on a concept known as hierarchy theory which views biological systems in a series of hierarchical levels (i.e., organism, population, trophic level, ecosystem). The theory states that an explanation of a biological phenomenon is provided when it is shown to be the consequence of the activities of the system's components, which are themselves systems in the next lower level of the hierarchy. Thus, the behavior of a population is explained by the behavior of the organisms in the population. The initial step in any modeling project is, therefore, to identify the system components and the interactions between them. A series of examples of transmutations in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are presented to show how and why changes occur. The types of changes are summarized and possible implications of transmutation for hierarchy theory, for the modeler, and for the ecological theoretician are discussed

Evaluation of transmutation performance of long-lived fission products with a super fast reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Haoliang; Han, Chiyoung; Oka, Yoshiaki; Ikejiri, Satoshi; Ishiwatari, Yuki

2009-01-01

The performance of the Super Fast Reactor for transmutation treatment of long-lived fission products (LLFPs) was evaluated. Two regions with soft neutron spectrum, which is of great benefit to the LLFPs transmutation, can be utilized in the Super Fast Reactor. First is in the blanket assembly due to the ZrH 1.7 layer which can slow down the fast neutrons. Second is in the reflector region of core like other metal-cooled fast reactors. The LLFPs selected of transmutation analysis include 99 Tc, 129 I and 135 Cs discharged from LWR. Their isotopes, such as 127 I, 133 Cs, 134 Cs and 137 Cs were also considered. By loading the isotopes ( 99 Tc or 127 I and 129 I) in the blanket assembly and the reflector region simultaneously, the transmutation rates of 5.36%/GWe·y and 2.79%/GWe.y can be obtained for 99 Tc and 129 I, respectively. The transmuted amounts of 99 Tc and 129 I are equal to the outputs from 11.8 and 6.2 1000MWe-class PWRs. Because of the very low capture cross section of 135 Cs and the effect of other cesium isotopes, 135 Cs was loaded with three rings of assemblies in the reflector region to make the transmuted amount be larger than the yields of two 1000MWe-class PWRs. Based on these results, 99 Tc and 129 I can be transmuted conveniently and higher transmutation performance can be obtained by the Super Fast Reactor. However, the transmutation of 135 Cs is very difficult and the transmuted amount is less than that produced by the Super Fast Reactor. It turns out that the 135 Cs transmutation is a challenge not only for the Super Fast Reactor but also for other commercial fast reactors. (author)

Partitioning and transmutation: Radioactive waste management option

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stanculescu, A.

2005-01-01

Growing world population with increasing energy needs, especially in the developing countries, Threat of global warming due to CO 2 emissions demands non-fossil electricity production. Nuclear will have to be part of a sustainable mix of energy production options Figures show that 350 GWe worldwide capacity is 'nuclear'. Present worldwide spent fuel (containing high Pu inventory) and HLW would need large repositories. In view of the previous facts this lecture deals Partitioning and transmutation as radioactive waste management option. Partitioning and transmutation (P and T) is a complex technology i.e. advanced reprocessing, and demand transuranics fuel fabrication plants, as well as innovative and/or dedicated transmutation reactors. In addition to U, Pu, and 129 I, 'partitioning' extracts from the liquid high level waste the minor actinides (MA) and the long-lived fission products (LLFP) 99-Tc, 93-Zr, 135-Cs, 107-Pd, and 79-Se). 'Transmutation' requires fully new fuel fabrication plants and reactor technologies to be developed and implemented on industrial scale. Present LWRs are not suited for MA and LLFP transmutation (safety consideration, plant operation, poor incineration capability). Only specially licensed LWRs can cope with MOX fuel; for increased Pu loadings (up to 100%), special reactor designs (e.g., ABB80+) are required; a combination of these reactor types could allow Pu inventory stabilization. Long-term waste radiotoxicity can be effectively reduced only if transuranics are 'incinerated' through fission with very hard neutron spectra. New reactor concepts (dedicated fast reactors, Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS), fusion/fission hybrid reactors) have been proposed as transmuters/incinerators. Significant Pu+MAs incineration rates can be achieved in symbiotic scenarios: LWR-MOX and dedicated fast reactors; fast neutron spectrum ADS mainly for MA incineration; very high thermal flux ADS concepts could also provide a significant transuranics

A Study on thermal-hydraulic characteristics of the coolant materials for the transmutation reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chung, Chang Hyun; You, Young Woo; Cho, Jae Seon; Kim, Ju Youl; Kim, Do Hyoung; Kim, Yoon Ik; Yang, Hui Chang [Seoul National University, Taejon (Korea)

1998-03-01

The objective of this study is to provide the direction of transmutation reactor design in terms of thermal hydraulics especially through the analysis of thermal hydraulic characteristics of various candidate materials for the transmutation reactor coolant. In this study, the characteristics of coolant materials used in current nuclear power plants and candidate materials for transmutation reactor are analyzed and compared. To evaluate the thermal hydraulic characteristics, the preliminary thermal-hydraulic calculation is performed for the candidate coolant materials of transmutation reactor. An analysis of thermal-hydraulic characteristics of transmutation reactor. An analysis of thermal-hydraulic characteristics of Sodium, Lead, Lead-Bismuth, and Lead-Lithium among the liquid metals considered as the coolant of transmutation reactor is performed by using computational fluid dynamics code FLUENT, and SIMPLER algorithm. (author). 50 refs., 40 figs., 30 tabs.

Resolving and quantifying overlapped chromatographic bands by transmutation

Science.gov (United States)

Malinowski

2000-09-15

A new chemometric technique called "transmutation" is developed for the purpose of sharpening overlapped chromatographic bands in order to quantify the components. The "transmutation function" is created from the chromatogram of the pure component of interest, obtained from the same instrument, operating under the same experimental conditions used to record the unresolved chromatogram of the sample mixture. The method is used to quantify mixtures containing toluene, ethylbenzene, m-xylene, naphthalene, and biphenyl from unresolved chromatograms previously reported. The results are compared to those obtained using window factor analysis, rank annihilation factor analysis, and matrix regression analysis. Unlike the latter methods, the transmutation method is not restricted to two-dimensional arrays of data, such as those obtained from HPLC/DAD, but is also applicable to chromatograms obtained from single detector experiments. Limitations of the method are discussed.

On fusion driven systems (FDS) for transmutation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aagren, O (Uppsala Univ., Aangstroem laboratory, div. of electricity, Uppsala (Sweden)); Moiseenko, V.E. (Inst. of Plasma Physics, National Science Center, Kharkov Inst. of Physics and Technology, Kharkov (Ukraine)); Noack, K. (Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Germany))

2008-10-15

This report gives a brief description of ongoing activities on fusion driven systems (FDS) for transmutation of the long-lived radioactive isotopes in the spent nuclear waste from fission reactors. Driven subcritical systems appears to be the only option for efficient minor actinide burning. Driven systems offer a possibility to increase reactor safety margins. A comparatively simple fusion device could be sufficient for a fusion-fission machine, and transmutation may become the first industrial application of fusion. Some alternative schemes to create strong fusion neutron fluxes are presented

On fusion driven systems (FDS) for transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aagren, O; Moiseenko, V.E.; Noack, K.

2008-10-01

This report gives a brief description of ongoing activities on fusion driven systems (FDS) for transmutation of the long-lived radioactive isotopes in the spent nuclear waste from fission reactors. Driven subcritical systems appears to be the only option for efficient minor actinide burning. Driven systems offer a possibility to increase reactor safety margins. A comparatively simple fusion device could be sufficient for a fusion-fission machine, and transmutation may become the first industrial application of fusion. Some alternative schemes to create strong fusion neutron fluxes are presented

Evaluation on transmutation performance of minor actinides with high-flux BWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Setiawan, M.B.; Kitamoto, A.; Taniguchi, A.

2001-01-01

The performance of high-flux BWR (HFBWR) for burning and/or transmutation (B/T) treatment of minor actinides (MA) and long-lived fission products (LLFP) was discussed herein for estimating an advanced waste disposal with partitioning and transmutation (P and T). The concept of high-flux B/T reactor was based on a current 33 GWt-BWR, to transmute the mass of long-lived transuranium (TRU) to short-lived fission products (SLFP). The nuclide selected for B/T treatment was MA (Np-237, Am-241, and Am-243) included in the discharged fuel of LWR. The performance of B/T treatment of MA was evaluated by a new function, i.e. [F/T ratio], defined by the ratio of the fission rate to the transmutation rate in the core, at an arbitrary burn-up, due to all MA nuclides. According to the results, HFBWR could burn and/or transmute MA nuclides with higher fission rate than BWR, but the fission rate did not increase proportionally to the flux increment, due to the higher rate of neutron adsorption. The higher B/T fraction of MA would result in the higher B/T capacity, and will reduce the units of HFBWR needed for the treatment of a constant mass of MA. In addition, HFBWR had a merit of higher mass transmutation compared to the reference BWR, under the same mass loading of MA

Transmutation of 126Sn in spallation targets of accelerator-driven systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Chi Young; Saito, Masaki; Sagara, Hiroshi

2009-01-01

The practical feasibility of 126 Sn transmutation in spallation targets of accelerator-driven systems was evaluated from the viewpoints of accumulation of radioactive spallation products and neutron production as well as transmutation amount of 126 Sn. A cylindrical liquid 126 Sn target whose length depends on proton beam energy was described, based on a Pb-Bi target design of accelerator-driven system being developed in JAEA. A proton beam of 1.5 GeV-20 mA was estimated to give the transmutation rate of 126 Sn 6.4 kg/yr, which corresponds to the amount of 126 Sn annually discharged in 27 LWRs of 1 GWt and 33 GWd/THM. The equilibrium radioactivity of spallation products would reach 9% of that of 126 Sn transmuted in the spallation target, and the equilibrium toxicity would be just 3%. Some parametric analyses showed that the effective half-life of 126 Sn could be reduced through a proper reduction of the target size. The 126 Sn target was calculated to produce 40 neutrons per proton of 1.5 GeV and give a neutron spectrum very similar to that of the reference Pb-Bi target. As a result, the transmutation of 126 Sn in the spallation target has a high feasibility in terms of better transmutation performance and comparable target performance. (author)

The Molten Salt Fast Reactor as Highly Efficient Transmutation System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merk, B.; Rohde, U.; Scholl, S.

2013-01-01

Conclusion and future steps: • MSFR offers very attractive features for efficient transmutation; • significant advantages due to liquid fuel and online refuelling and reprocessing; • significant developments are required on the way to application; • system is very promising for transmutation; • development of a safety approach for liquid fuel reactors (RSWG); • investigation of possibilities to solve the “last transmuter” problem (ICAPP2013) – as future for countries envisaging nuclear phase out or no transition to fast reactor fleet for energy production; • establishing of a strong group “MSFR for transmutation”; • development of a transmutation optimized design

Transmutation of fission products in reactors and accelerator-driven systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janssen, A.J.

1994-01-01

Energy flows and mass flows in several scenarios are considered. Economical and safety aspects of the transmutation scenarios are compared. It is difficult to find a sound motivation for the transmutation of fission products with accelerator-driven systems. If there would be any hesitation in transmuting fission products in nuclear reactors, there would be an even stronger hesitation to use accelerator-driven systems, mainly because of their lower energy efficiency and their poor cost effectiveness. The use of accelerator-driven systems could become a 'meaningful' option only if nuclear energy would be banished completely. (orig./HP)

Role of accelerators in the Czech national transmuter project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bem, P.; Kugler, A.

1999-01-01

The problem of spent nuclear fuel from the so far operated PWRs has become a crucial issue in the Czech Republic. The first attempts to solve this problem by a final deposit of spent fuel into a suitable geological formation have been shown not to be fully acceptable. Therefore, the revival of nuclear transmutation technology application for nuclear incineration of nuclear waste and spent fuel in particular was welcomed. A realistic national project started to be developed in 1996. The four major nuclear research institutions of the country formed a consortium focused on an adoption of the world-wide experience and a development of a national project of a transmutation technology (experimental transmuter LA-0) or an efficient participation in the international effort in that field. Because the LA-0 transmuter concept of subcritical reactor with liquid fuel based on molten fluorides driven by an external neutron source has been adopted, the R and D effort has been focused on three regions. The first is devoted to the problem of a suitable neutron source, the second to a pre-conceptual design of a blanket for burning of actinides contained in spent fuel from PWRs. The third region is devoted to the utilisation of the experience from a specific field of dry (fluorine) reprocessing of spent fuel and a preparation of liquid fuel in the form of molten fluorides for the transmuter LA-0. (R.P.)

R and D activities for partitioning and transmutation in Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jae-Hyung, Yoo; Won-Seok, Park

2003-01-01

According to the long-term plan of nuclear technology development, KAERI is conducting a research and development project of transmutation with the objective of key technology development in the areas of partitioning and transmutation system. The research and development activities for partitioning and transmutation of long-lived radionuclides are introduced in this work. The studies of partitioning are focused on the electrorefining and electrowinning, which are aimed at investigating the thermodynamic properties of electrodeposition behaviours as well as the separation efficiency. As for the transmutation system, the HYPER (HYbrid Power Extraction Reactor) combined by a proton accelerator and a sub-critical reactor is being studied in KAERI as a prominent candidate facility in the future. Some conceptual studies are being conducted to develop key elemental systems of the sub-critical reactor such as the core, TRU fuel, proton target, and the cooling system. The conceptual design of the HYPER system will be completed by 2006. (author)

Characteristics and behaviour of the PHENIX fuel element

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delpeyroux, P.; Balloffet, Y.; Blanchard, P.; Courcon, P.; Jallade, M.; Millet, P.; Rousseau, J.; Carteret, Y.; Coulon, P.

1977-01-01

The Phenix reactor has been in regular industrial operation for two years and has functioned very satisfactorily thanks in particular to the very good behaviour of the fuel element. A brief description is given of the fuel element and the operating conditions which were set for the fuel at the time of start-up (50000 MWd/t). The surveillance scheme is then described with the examinations in the hot laboratory on the basis of which it was possible to achieve the nominal specific burn-up and then to clear the Phenix fuel for a specific burn-up of 60000 MWd/t or 7 at.%. The behaviour of the mixed oxide (U, Pu)O 2 is quite normal and conforms to predictions as regards the heat conditions, swelling and fission gas release. The corrosion reaction between the oxide and the clad is progressing slowly and affects only small thicknesses of cladding. The mechanical integrity of the clad under thermal stresses and the stresses produced by swelling and fission gas pressure do not pose any special problem. The present limitation of the irradiation level is essentially based on the permissible deformations due to swelling and irradiation creep in the fuel pin cladding and in the hexagonal tube. This corresponds to damage to the steel of the order of 80 dpa. The mechanical behaviour of the bundle of pins, its interaction with the hexagonal tube and the thermohydraulic consequences of the deformations are all satisfactory to date. The absence of fuel failures is also worth noting; the only burst can detected to date did not affect either the operation of the fuel assembly or the performance of the reactor [fr

The dynamic behavior of the SUPER-PHENIX reactor under unprotected transient

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gouriou, A.; Francillon, E.; Kayser, G.; Malenfer, G.; Languille, A.

1982-01-01

Due to design changes and progress on the knowledge of feed-back effects, a reactualization of the dynamic behavior of SUPER-PHENIX under unprotected transients was undertaken. We present the main data on feed-back characteristics and the results of dynamic calculations. With the present state of knowledge, the former conclusion is confirmed: the dynamic evolution is very slow and no irreversible phenomena happen in the short term

Phenix: A Reprocessing and Multiple Recycling Experiment Unique in the World

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guidez, J.

2013-01-01

Fast reactor fuel cycle principle: The Phenix fresh fuel is MOX with about 20% of Plutonium, and 80% of uranium. It can be natural or even depleted uranium. After reprocessing of this burned fuel, you obtain more plutonium(surgenerator). If you use this plutonium with depleted uranium, you can produce new MOX for the reactor. And again… at the end you operate the plant, burning only natural and depleted uranium

Some aspects of sodium technology issued from the operating experience of RAPSODIE and PHENIX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kremser, J.; Lacroix, A.

1976-01-01

This paper deals with the experience on sodium technology gained from RAPSODIE and PHENIX operation. Problems encountered with sodium circuits, main components, handling equipment and instrumentation are discussed. Some information related to the contamination by radioactive products of sodium and sodium circuits is given

System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems. Annual report 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallenius, J.; Carlsson, Johan; Gudowski, W.

1997-12-01

In November 1996, SKB started financing of the project ''System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems and development of a spallation target''. The aim of the project was stated as: 1) Development of a complete code for simulation of transmutation processes in an accelerator driven system. Application of the code for analysis of neutron flux, transmutation rates, reactivity changes, toxicity and radiation damages in the transmutation core. 2) Build up of competence regarding issues related to spallation targets development of research activities regarding relevant material issues. Performing of basic experiments in order to investigate the adequacy of using the spallation target as a neutron source for a transmutation system, and participation in the planning and implementation of an international demonstration-experiment. In the present report, activities within the framework of the project performed at the department of Nuclear and Reactor Physics at the Royal Institute of Technology during 1997, are accounted for

System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems. Annual report 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wallenius, J.; Carlsson, Johan; Gudowski, W. [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Nuclear and Reactor Physics

1997-12-01

In November 1996, SKB started financing of the project ``System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems and development of a spallation target``. The aim of the project was stated as: 1) Development of a complete code for simulation of transmutation processes in an accelerator driven system. Application of the code for analysis of neutron flux, transmutation rates, reactivity changes, toxicity and radiation damages in the transmutation core. 2) Build up of competence regarding issues related to spallation targets development of research activities regarding relevant material issues. Performing of basic experiments in order to investigate the adequacy of using the spallation target as a neutron source for a transmutation system, and participation in the planning and implementation of an international demonstration-experiment. In the present report, activities within the framework of the project performed at the department of Nuclear and Reactor Physics at the Royal Institute of Technology during 1997, are accounted for. 13 refs, 6 figs.

System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems. Annual report 1999

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gudowski, Waclaw; Wallenius, Jan; Eriksson, Marcus; Carlsson, Johan; Seltborg, Per; Tucek, Kamil

2000-05-01

In 1996, SKB commenced funding of the project 'System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems and development of a spallation target'. The aim of the project was stated as: Development of a complete code for simulation of transmutation processes in an accelerator driven system. Application of the code for analysis of neutron flux, transmutation rates, reactivity changes, toxicity and radiation damages in the transmutation core. Build up of competence regarding issues related to spallation targets, development of research activities regarding relevant material issues. Performing of basic experiments in order to investigate the adequacy of using the spallation. target as a neutron source for a transmutation system, and participation in the planning and implementation of an international demonstration experiment. In the present report, activities within and related to the framework of the project, performed at the department of Nuclear and Reactor Physics at the Royal Institute of Technology during 1999, are accounted for

System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems. Annual report 1999

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gudowski, Waclaw; Wallenius, Jan; Eriksson, Marcus; Carlsson, Johan; Seltborg, Per; Tucek, Kamil [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Nuclear and Reactor Physics

2000-05-01

In 1996, SKB commenced funding of the project 'System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems and development of a spallation target'. The aim of the project was stated as: Development of a complete code for simulation of transmutation processes in an accelerator driven system. Application of the code for analysis of neutron flux, transmutation rates, reactivity changes, toxicity and radiation damages in the transmutation core. Build up of competence regarding issues related to spallation targets, development of research activities regarding relevant material issues. Performing of basic experiments in order to investigate the adequacy of using the spallation. target as a neutron source for a transmutation system, and participation in the planning and implementation of an international demonstration experiment. In the present report, activities within and related to the framework of the project, performed at the department of Nuclear and Reactor Physics at the Royal Institute of Technology during 1999, are accounted for.

Chemico-technological support of transmutation objectives: Solid, molten salt and liquid blanket

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Volk, V.I.; Zakharkin, B.S.; Vakhrushin, A.Y. [VNIINM, Moscow (Russian Federation)

1995-10-01

Chemical and technological provision for the transmutation process, independantly on the scheme of its conduction, includes: fuel composition separation for fractions of components, subjected to annihilation; their transition into chemical form, in which they are present in the reactor; discharge and return into the form, convenient for chemical reprocessing, providing for the transmutation products separation from the components being transmutated and transferring of short-lived isotopes into the form of their temporary storage. The authors discuss different chemical processes which can be used in these steps to either improve efficiency or minimize additional waste generation and expense associated with decontamination. They consider processes involving molten salts for circulation of wastes thru transmutation steps, and possible advantages in extraction processes.

PHENIX results on open heavy flavor production

Science.gov (United States)

Hachiya, Takashi

2018-02-01

PHENIX measures the open heavy flavor productions in p + p, Cu+Au, and Au+Au collisions at = 200 and 510 GeV using the silicon tracking detectors for mid- and forward rapidities. In Au+Au collisions, the nuclear modification of single electrons from bottom and charm hadron decays are measured for minimum bias and most central collisions. It is found that bottoms are less suppressed than charms in pT=3-5 GeV/c and charms in most central collisions are more suppressed than that in minimum bias collisions. In p + p and Cu+Au collisions, J/ψ from B meson decays are measured at forward and backward rapidities. The nuclear modification of B mesons in Cu+Au collisions is consistent with unity.

Transmutation Fuel Campaign Description and Status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jon Carmack; Kemal O. Pasamehmetoglu

2008-01-01

This report contains a technical summary package in response to a Level 2 milestone in the transmutation fuel campaign (TFC) management work-package calling for input to the Secretarial decision. At present, the form of the Secretarial decision package is not fully defined, and it is not clear exactly what will be required from the TFC as a final input. However, it is anticipated that a series of technical and programmatic documents will need to be provided in support of a wider encompassing document on GNEP technology development activities. The TFC technical leadership team provides this report as initial input to the secretarial decision package which is being developed by the Technical Integration Office (TIO) in support of Secretarial decision. This report contains a summary of the TFC execution plan with a work breakdown structure, high level schedule, major milestones, and summary description of critical activities in support of campaign objectives. Supporting documents referenced in this report but provided under separate cover include: (1) An updated review of the state-of-the art for transmutation fuel development activities considering national as well as international fuel research and development testing activities. (2) A definition of the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) used to systematically define and execute the transmutation fuel development activities

Accelerator for nuclear transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schapira, J.P.

1984-01-01

A review on nuclear transmutation of radioactive wastes using particle accelerators is given. Technical feasibility, nuclear data, costs of various projects are discussed. It appears that one high energy accelerator (1500 MeV, 300 mA proton) could probably handle the amount of actinides generated by the actual French nuclear program [fr

Proceedings of the specialists' meeting on accelerator-based transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wenger, H.U.

1992-09-01

The meeting was organised under the auspices of OECD Nuclear Agency's International Information Exchange Programme on Actinide and Fission Product Partitioning and Transmutation. In the original announcement for the meeting the following sessions were proposed: 1) Concepts of accelerator-based transmutation systems, 2) Nuclear design problems of accelerator-based transmutation systems with emphasis on target facilities and their interfaces with accelerators, 3) Data and methods for nuclear design of accelerator-based transmutation systems, 4) Related cross-section measurements and integral experiments, 5) Identification of discrepancies and gaps and discussion of desirable R+D and benchmark activities. Due to the large number of papers submitted it was necessary to split session 2 into two parts and to reassign some papers in order to balance the sessions more evenly. No papers were submitted for session 5 and this was replaced by a summary and general discussion session. These proceedings contain all 30 papers in the order they were presented at the meeting. They are copies of the duplication-ready versions given to us during or shortly after the meeting. In the Table of Contents, the papers are listed together with the name of the presenter. (author) figs., tabs., refs

Analysis of the Gas Core Actinide Transmutation Reactor (GCATR)

Science.gov (United States)

Clement, J. D.; Rust, J. H.

1977-01-01

Design power plant studies were carried out for two applications of the plasma core reactor: (1) As a breeder reactor, (2) As a reactor able to transmute actinides effectively. In addition to the above applications the reactor produced electrical power with a high efficiency. A reactor subsystem was designed for each of the two applications. For the breeder reactor, neutronics calculations were carried out for a U-233 plasma core with a molten salt breeding blanket. A reactor was designed with a low critical mass (less than a few hundred kilograms U-233) and a breeding ratio of 1.01. The plasma core actinide transmutation reactor was designed to transmute the nuclear waste from conventional LWR's. The spent fuel is reprocessed during which 100% of Np, Am, Cm, and higher actinides are separated from the other components. These actinides are then manufactured as oxides into zirconium clad fuel rods and charged as fuel assemblies in the reflector region of the plasma core actinide transmutation reactor. In the equilibrium cycle, about 7% of the actinides are directly fissioned away, while about 31% are removed by reprocessing.

Spallation neutron source target design for radioactive waste transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beard, C.A.

1992-01-01

The disposal of high-level radioactive waste has long been one of the most serious problems facing the nuclear industry. Transmutation of this waste through particle bombardment has been suggested numerous times as a possible method of enhancing the waste management process. Due to advances in accelerator technology, the feasibility of an accelerator based transmutation system has increased enough to allow serious investigation of this process. Therefore, in pursuit of this goal, an accelerator target was designed for use in an accelerator based transmutation system. The target design consists of an array of tantalum rods, cooled by liquid sodium, which are arranged in a cylindrical configuration 40 cm in diameter and 125 cm in height. Tantalum was chosen as the target material over tungsten, lead, bismuth, and a lead-bismuth alloy (55 w/o bismuth) due to a large neutron yield, low activation, low chemical toxicity, and the fact that it does not produce significant amounts of long-lived isotopes through spallation or activation. The target yields a neutron source of 29.7 neutrons/proton when exposed to a 1600 MeV proton beam, and is suitable for use with both thermal or fast spectrum transmutation systems

Embrittlement of a 17Cr ferritic steel irradiated in Phenix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allegraud, G.; Boutard, J.L.; Boyer, J.M.

1987-01-01

Charpy V and tensile tests have been performed with samples made of 17Cr ferritic steel irradiated in Phenix at temperatures between 390 and 540C up to a maximum dose of 83.3 dpaF. All over the temperature and dose ranges, irradiation leads to an increase of the ductile brittle transition temperature (DBTT). The DBTT and hardening are decreasing functions of the irradiation temperature. Fast neutron flux at 390C hardens the material more than a sole thermal ageing does

Fuels and targets for the transmutation of high activity long lived radioactive wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pillon, S.; Warin, D.

2010-01-01

The authors present and comment the different strategies which can be adopted to transmute minor actinides (concerned reactors, in fast breeder reactors, in accelerator driven systems or ADS), and the chemical composition of transmutation fuels (actinide compounds, inert matrices, fuels and targets). They describe the behaviour of refractory ceramic fuels during their service life under irradiation with their different damage origins (neutrons, fission by-products, alpha particles), the fabrication of transmutation fuels and targets through different processes (metallurgical, co-precipitate, sol-gel, wax, infiltration of radioactive materials, VIPAC/SPHEREPAC) and the reprocessing or recycling of these transmutation fuels and targets

Utilisation and performance of sodium instrumentation during start-up and initial operation of Phenix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lions, N.; Buis, H.; Baron, J.; Fournier, C.; Gourdon, J.

1976-01-01

The main process-instruments on the Phenix reactor are presented with the exception of the FFDL System and of the hydrogen-detector which are described in other papers. The results obtained during reactor start-up and during initial operation of the nuclear power-station are given [fr

Transmutation of actinide 237Np with a fusion reactor and a hybrid reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, K.M.; Huang, J.H.

1994-01-01

The use of fusion reactors to transmute fission reactor wastes to stable species is an attractive concept. In this paper, the feasibility of transmutation of the long-lived actinide radioactive waste Np-237 with a fusion reactor and a hybrid reactor has been investigated. A new waste management concept of burning HLW (High Level Waste), utilizing released energy and converting Np-237 into fissile fuel Pu-239 through transmutation has been adopted. The detailed neutronics and depletion calculation of waste inventories was carried out with a modified version of one-dimensional neutron transport and burnup calculation code system BISON1.5 in this study. The transmutation rate of Np with relationship to neutron wall loading, Pu and Np with relationship to neutron wall load, Pu and Np concentration in the transmutation zone have been explored as well as relevant results are also given

Role of (n,2n) reactions in transmutation of long-lived fission products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Apse, V. A.; Kulikov, G. G., E-mail: ggkulikov@mephi.ru; Kulikov, E. G. [National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) (Russian Federation)

2016-12-15

The conditions under which (n,γ) and (n,2n) reactions can help or hinder each other in neutron transmutation of long-lived fission products (LLFPs) are considered. Isotopic and elemental transmutation for the main long-lived fission products, {sup 79}Se, {sup 93}Zr, {sup 99}Tc, {sup 107}Pd, {sup 126}Sn, {sup 129}I, and {sup 135}Cs, are considered. The effect of (n,2n) reactions on the equilibrium amount of nuclei of the transmuted isotope and the neutron consumption required for the isotope processing is estimated. The aim of the study is to estimate the influence of (n,2n) reactions on efficiency of neutron LLFP transmutation. The code TIME26 and the libraries of evaluated nuclear data ABBN-93, JEF-PC, and JANIS system are applied. The following results are obtained: (1) The effect of (n,2n) reactions on the minimum number of neutrons required for transmutation and the equilibrium amount of LLFP nuclei is estimated. (2) It is demonstrated that, for three LLFP isotopes ({sup 126}Sn, {sup 129}I, and {sup 135}Cs), (n,γ) and (n,2n) reactions are partners facilitating neutron transmutation. The strongest effect of (n,2n) reaction is found for {sup 126}Sn transmutation (reduction of the neutron consumption by 49% and the equilibrium amount of nuclei by 19%).

Transmutation research and fuel cycle (report on discussion at Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamana, Hajimu

1999-01-01

A symposium was held on a topic of 'Transmutation Research' on Dec. 21 and 22, 1999 at Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University. This meeting was held as a joint-meeting of KUR's specialist meeting and Tokyo University's activity supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research of Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture of Japan. This paper describes the overview of the discussions of this joint-meeting, and interprets their significance. Major themes discussed are, needed discussions on the transmutation research, policy and concepts of the organizations doing transmutation researches, a view from university side, transmutation researches in the oversea countries, opinions from various standpoints of the nuclear fuel cycle, conclusive discussions. 'the meanings of the transmutation research should be discussed together with the geological disposal and fast reactor system', 'transmutation may be a cooperative option for the disposal, thus, they should not be in a independent relation', and Balance evaluation will be needed' are the examples of the conclusive remarks of this meeting. (author)

Calculations of different transmutation concepts. An international benchmark exercise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

In April 1996, the NEA Nuclear Science Committee (NSC) Expert Group on Physics Aspects of Different Transmutation Concepts launched a benchmark exercise to compare different transmutation concepts based on pressurised water reactors (PWRs), fast reactors, and an accelerator-driven system. The aim was to investigate the physics of complex fuel cycles involving reprocessing of spent PWR reactor fuel and its subsequent reuse in different reactor types. The objective was also to compare the calculated activities for individual isotopes as a function of time for different plutonium and minor actinide transmutation scenarios in different reactor systems. This report gives the analysis of results of the 15 solutions provided by the participants: six for the PWRs, six for the fast reactor and three for the accelerator case. Various computer codes and nuclear data libraries were applied. (author)

Some basic advantages of accelerator-driven transmutation of minor actinides and iodine-129

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shmelev, A.N.; Apse, V.A.; Kulikov, G.G. [Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (Russian Federation)

1995-10-01

The blanket of accelerator-driven facility designed for I-129 transmutation doesn`t contain fissile and fertile materials. So the overheating of iodine compounds transmuted is practically excluded. The efficacy of I-129 transmutation is estimated. Curium being accumulated in nuclear reactors can be incinerated in blanket of accelerator-driven facility. The deep depletion of curium diluted with inert material can be achieved.

First measurement of J/{psi} azimuthal anisotropy in PHENIX at forward rapidity in Au+Au collisions at {radical}(s{sub NN}) = 200 GeV

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silvestre, Catherine [CEA-Saclay, IRFU, Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

2009-06-15

The PHENIX experiment has shown that J/{psi} s are suppressed in central Au+Au collisions at a center of mass energy per nucleon-nucleon collision {radical}(s{sub NN}) = 200 GeV, and that the suppression is larger at forward than at mid-rapidity. Part of this difference may be explained by cold nuclear matter effects but the most central collisions suggest that regeneration mechanisms could be at play. In 2007, PHENIX collected almost four times more Au+Au collisions at this energy than used for previous published results. Moreover, the addition of a new reaction plane detector allows a much better analysis of the J/{psi} behavior in the azimuthal plane. Since a large elliptic flow has been measured for open charm, measuring J/{psi} azimuthal anisotropies may give a hint if J/{psi} are recombined in the expanding matter. First PHENIX results of J/{psi} elliptic flow as a function of transverse momentum at forward rapidity are presented in this article. The analysis is detailed and results are compared to mid-rapidity PHENIX preliminary results as well as to predictions. (orig.)

Multiple tier fuel cycle studies for waste transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, R.N.; Taiwo, T.A.; Stillman, J.A.; Graziano, D.J.; Bennett, D.R.; Trellue, H.; Todosow, M.; Halsey, W.G.; Baxter, A.

2002-01-01

As part of the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Accelerator Applications Program, a systems study was conducted to evaluate the transmutation performance of advanced fuel cycle strategies. Three primary fuel cycle strategies were evaluated: dual-tier systems with plutonium separation, dual-tier systems without plutonium separation, and single-tier systems without plutonium separation. For each case, the system mass flow and TRU consumption were evaluated in detail. Furthermore, the loss of materials in fuel processing was tracked including the generation of new waste streams. Based on these results, the system performance was evaluated with respect to several key transmutation parameters including TRU inventory reduction, radiotoxicity, and support ratio. The importance of clean fuel processing (∼0.1% losses) and inclusion of a final tier fast spectrum system are demonstrated. With these two features, all scenarios capably reduce the TRU and plutonium waste content, significantly reducing the radiotoxicity; however, a significant infrastructure (at least 1/10 the total nuclear capacity) is required for the dedicated transmutation system

Transmutation Studies of Radioactive Nuclides

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Adam, Jindřich

2007-01-01

Roč. 34, č. 1 (2007), s. 125-150 ISSN 1310-0157 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1P04LA213 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10480505 Keywords : transmutation Subject RIV: BG - Nuclear, Atomic and Molecular Physics , Colliders

Neutron transmutation doping of polycrystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cleland, J.W.; Westbrook, R.D.; Wood, R.F.; Young, R.T.

1976-04-01

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of doped silane has been used by others to deposit a polycrytalline silicon film (polysil) on metal or graphite substrates, but dopant migration to grain boundaries during deposition apparently prohibits attaining a uniform or desired dopant concentration. In contrast, we have used neutron transmutation doping to introduce a uniform phosphorus dopant concentration in commercially available undoped CVD polysil at doping concentrations greater than or equal to 2 x 10 15 cm -3 . Radiation damage annealing to 800 0 C did not indicate dopant migration. Carrier mobility increased with doping concentration and the minority carrier lifetime (MCL) appears to be comparable to that of neutron transmutation doped (NTD) single crystal Si. Application of this technique to photovoltaic solar cell fabrication is discussed

Application of gaseous core reactors for transmutation of nuclear waste

Science.gov (United States)

Schnitzler, B. G.; Paternoster, R. R.; Schneider, R. T.

1976-01-01

An acceptable management scheme for high-level radioactive waste is vital to the nuclear industry. The hazard potential of the trans-uranic actinides and of key fission products is high due to their nuclear activity and/or chemical toxicity. Of particular concern are the very long-lived nuclides whose hazard potential remains high for hundreds of thousands of years. Neutron induced transmutation offers a promising technique for the treatment of problem wastes. Transmutation is unique as a waste management scheme in that it offers the potential for "destruction" of the hazardous nuclides by conversion to non-hazardous or more manageable nuclides. The transmutation potential of a thermal spectrum uranium hexafluoride fueled cavity reactor was examined. Initial studies focused on a heavy water moderated cavity reactor fueled with 5% enriched U-235-F6 and operating with an average thermal flux of 6 times 10 to the 14th power neutrons/sq cm-sec. The isotopes considered for transmutation were I-129, Am-241, Am-242m, Am-243, Cm-243, Cm-244, Cm-245, and Cm-246.

Transmutation: a decade of revival issues, relevant experiments and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salvatores, M.

2001-01-01

For more than a decade, transmutation studies have been again a topic of wide interest and have triggered numerous international activities, like bilateral/multilateral collaborations, information exchanges, state-of-the-art reports, conferences, but also some co-ordinated programmes and experiments. It is legitimate to ask at this point, whether transmutation studies are still 'fashionable' and why; what is known, what has been done and what should be done. Since the motivations of national programmes are often different, due to a different context, we will take for granted that transmutation is generally seen as an option for the back-end of the fuel cycle in order to reduce the burden of potential geological storages of radioactive wastes (whatever their nature). Finally, we also acknowledge the fact that some highly respected scientists have at several occasions during this decade expressed their doubts about the value of the transmutation option. A typical example is the position expressed by Pigford and Rasmussen, reporting the results of a study for the US National Research Council. (author)

JAERI R & D on accelerator-based transmutation under OMEGA program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takizuka, T.; Nishida, T.; Mizumoto, M. [Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Ibaraki-ken (Japan)] [and others

1995-10-01

The overview of the Japanese long-term research and development program on nuclide partitioning and transmutation, called {open_quotes}OMEGA,{close_quotes} is presented. Under this national program, major R&D activities are being carried out at JAERI, PNC, and CRIEPI. Accelerator-based transmutation study at JAERI is focused on a dedicated transmutor with a subcritical actinide-fueled subcritical core coupled with a spallation target driven by a high intensity proton accelerator. Two types of system concept, solid system and molten-salt system, are discussed. The solid system consists of sodium-cooled tungsten target and metallic actinide fuel. The molten-salt system is fueled with molten actinide chloride that acts also as a target material. The proposed plant transmutes about 250 kg of minor actinide per year, and generates enough electricity to power its own accelerator. JAERI is proposing the development of an intense proton linear accelerator ETA with 1.5 GeV-10 mA beam for engineering tests of accelerator-based transmutation. Recent achievements in the accelerator development are described.

Requirements for an evaluated nuclear data file for accelerator-based transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koning, A.J.

1993-06-01

The importance of intermediate-energy nuclear data files as part of a global calculation scheme for accelerator-based transmutation of radioactive waste systems (for instance with an accelerator-driven subcritical reactor) is discussed. A proposal for three intermediate-energy data libraries for incident neutrons and protons is presented: - a data library from 0 to about 100 MeV (first priority), - a reference data library from 20 to 1500 MeV, - an activation/transmutation library from 0 to about 100 MeV. Furthermore, the proposed ENDF-6 structure of each library is given. The data needs for accelerator-based transmutation are translated in terms of the aforementioned intermediate-energy data libraries. This could be a starting point for an ''International Evaluated Nuclear Data File for Transmutation''. This library could also be of interest for other applications in science and technology. Finally, some conclusions and recommendations concerning future evaluation work are given. (orig.)

Comparative Study of the Reactor Burner Efficiency for Transmutation of Minor Actinides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gulevich, A.; Zemskov, E. [Institute of Physics and Power Engineering, Bondarenko sq. 1, Obninsk, Kaluga region, 249020 (Russian Federation); Degtyarev, A.; Kalugin, A.; Ponomarev, L. [Russian Research Center ' Kurchatov Institute' , Kurchatov sq. 1, Moscow, 123182 (Russian Federation); Konev, V.; Seliverstov, V. [Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, ul. B. Cheremushinskaya 25, Moscow, 117259 (Russian Federation)

2009-06-15

Transmutation of minor actinides (MA) in the closed nuclear fuel cycle (NFC) is a one of the most important problem for future nuclear energetic. There are several approaches for MA transmutation but there are no common criteria for the comparison of their efficiency. In paper [1] we turned out the attention to the importance of taking into account the duration of the closed NFC in addition to a usual criterion of the neutron economy. In accordance with these criteria the transmutation efficiency are compared of two fast reactors (sodium and lead cooled) and three types of ADS-burners: LBE-cooled reactors (fast neutron spectrum), molten-salt reactor (intermediate spectrum) and heavy water reactor (thermal spectrum). It is shown that the time of transmutation of loaded MA in the closed nuclear fuel cycle is more than 50 years. References: A. Gulevich, A. Kalugin, L. Ponomarev, V. Seliverstov, M. Seregin, 'Comparative Study of ADS for Minor Actinides Transmutation', Progress in Nuclear Energy, 50, March-August, p. 358, 2008. (authors)

Common lessons drawn from different laboratories analyses of super-phenix start-up experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabrillat, J.C.; Salvatores, M.; Carta, M.; D'Angelo, A.; Giese, H.; De Wouters, R.; Newton, T.; Harrison, P.; Sztark, H.; Wehmann, U.

1990-01-01

Measurements issued from the SUPER-PHENIX start-up experiments have been analysed by the different partners within the European Community with their own data and methods. Common lessons can be drawn from the different analyses and recommendations made on the definition of the characteristics of a common European formulaire and in the actions in support of its qualification

Researches on the management of high activity and long-lived radioactive wastes. Axis 1 - separation-transmutation; Recherches sur la gestion des dechets radioactifs a haute activite et a vie longue. Axe 1 - separation-transmutation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2005-11-15

This document gathers the transparencies of seven presentations given at a technical workshop of the French nuclear energy society (SFEN) about the researches on separation-transmutation of high activity and long-lived radioactive wastes. The presentations deal with: inventory and radiotoxicity of the rad-wastes in concern; industrial experience; experience on chemical separation: molecules and processes; reactors physics and transmutation - reactors for transmutation; fuels and targets; scenarios that include transmutation; environmental impacts of these different scenarios. (J.S.)

Effects of actinide compositional variability in the US spent fuel inventory on partitioning-transmutation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ludwig, S.B.; Michaels, G.E.; Hanson, B.D.

1992-01-01

Partitioning and transmutation (P-T) is an advanced waste management concept by which certain undesirable nuclides in spent fuel are first isolated (partitioned) and later destroyed (transmuted) in a nuclear reactor or other transmutation device. There are wide variabilities in the nuclide composition of spent fuel. This implies that there will also be wide variabilities in the transmutation device feed. As a waste management system, P-T must be able to accept (all) spent fuel. Variability of nuclide composition (i.e., the feed material for transmutation devices) may be important because virtually all transmutation systems propose to configure transuranic (TRU) nuclides recovered from discharged lightwater reactor (LWR) spent fuel in critical or near-critical cores. To date, all transmutation system core analyses assume invariant nuclide concentrations for startup and recycle cores. Using the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Characteristics Data Base (CDB) and the ORIGEN2 computer code, the current and projected spent fuel discharges until the year 2016 have been categorized according to combinations of fuel burnup, initial enrichment, fuel age (cooling time) and reactor type (boiling-water or pressurized-water reactors). The variability of the infinite multiplication factor (k ∞ ) is calculated for both fast (ALMR) and thermal (accelerator-based) transmuter systems

Minor actinide transmutation - a waste management option

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koch, L.

1986-01-01

The incentive to recycle minor actinides results from the reduction of the long-term α-radiological risk rather than from a better utilization of the uranium resources. Nevertheless, the gain in generated electricity by minor actinide transmutation in a fast breeder reactor can compensate for the costs of their recovery and make-up into fuel elements. Different recycling options of minor actinides are discussed: transmutation in liquid metal fast breeder reactors (LMFBRs) is possible as long as plutonium is not recycled in light water reactors (LWRs). In this case a minor actinide burner with fuel of different composition has to be introduced. The development of appropriate minor actinide fuels and their properties are described. The irradiation experiments underway or planned are summarized. A review of minor actinide partitioning from the PUREX waste stream is given. From the present constraints of LMFBR technology a reduction of the long-term α-radiological risk by a factor of 200 is deduced relative to that from the direct storage of spent LWR fuel. Though the present accumulation of minor actinides is low, nuclear transmutation may be needed when nuclear energy production has grown. (orig.)

Reconstructed Jet Results in p + p, d + Au and Cu + Cu collisions at 200 GeV from PHENIX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perepelitsa, D.V.

2013-01-01

Jet reconstruction in heavy ion collisions at RHIC and the LHC is becoming a popular tool to explore medium effects including the energy loss and modified fragmentation of hard-scattered partons. In p + A and d + A collisions, reconstructed jets are important for evaluating cold nuclear matter effects such as the impact parameter dependence of nuclear parton distribution functions and initial state energy loss. We present current PHENIX results from p + p, d + Au, and Cu + Cu collisions at 200 GeV using the Gaussian filter and anti-k T algorithms. The systematic study of direct jet reconstruction across a variety of collisions systems at PHENIX will help to tell a coherent story of jet physics at RHIC

The possible transmutation of radioactive waste from nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harries, J.R.

1974-01-01

A nuclear reactor power program produces high level and long lived radioactive wastes. The high level activity is associated with fission products, but beyond 400 years the principal waste hazard is from transuranic elements produced in the reactor. Several schemes have been proposed for the transmutation of the problem isotopes into more easily handled isotopes. The neutron flux in a thermal reactor is not high enough to significantly reduce the longer lived fission product isotopes 90 Sr and 132 Gs, but the transuranic elements can be reduced by recycling through power reactors. The limitation on recycling of the transuranic elements is the separation process to remove trace quantities from the waste stream. In fast reactors the transuranic elements are the principal fuel and fast reactor waste contains only half as much 90 Sr as thermal reactors. However, the overall waste hazard is similar to thermal reactors. A sufficiently intense neutron flux for fission product transmutation could perhaps be produced by a spallation reactor driven by a proton linear accelerator or a controlled thermonuclear reactor. However, both concepts are still some years in the future. Transmutation by accelerator sources of protons, electrons of gammas tend to require more energy than neutron transmutation. (author)

Study of minor actinides transmutation in heavy water cooled tight-pitch lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Xiaoqin; Shiroya, S.

2002-01-01

Minor actinides inhere long half-life and high toxicity. It is an alternative technical pathway and helpful for reducing environmental impact to incinerate minor actinides in spent fuel of nuclear power plants. Because of its high neutron, γ and β emitting rates and heat generation rate, it is necessary to imply more severe control and shielding techniques in the chemical treatment and fabrication. From economic view-point, it is suitable to transmute minor actinides in concentrated way. A technique for MA transmutation by heavy water cooled tight-pitch lattice system is proposed, and calculated with SRAC95 code system. It is shown that tight-pitch heavy water lattice can transmute MA effectively. The accelerator-driven subcritical system is practical for MA transmutation because of its low fraction of effective delay neutrons

Transmutation of planar media singularities in a conformal cloak.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yichao; Mukhtar, Musawwadah; Ma, Yungui; Ong, C K

2013-11-01

Invisibility cloaking based on optical transformation involves materials singularity at the branch cut points. Many interesting optical devices, such as the Eaton lens, also require planar media index singularities in their implementation. We show a method to transmute two singularities simultaneously into harmless topological defects formed by anisotropic permittivity and permeability tensors. Numerical simulation is performed to verify the functionality of the transmuted conformal cloak consisting of two kissing Maxwell fish eyes.

Impact of Blanket Configuration on the Design of a Fusion-Driven Transmutation Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bong Guen Hong

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A configuration of a fusion-driven transmutation reactor with a low aspect ratio tokamak-type neutron source was determined in a self-consistent manner by using coupled analysis of tokamak systems and neutron transport. We investigated the impact of blanket configuration on the characteristics of a fusion-driven transmutation reactor. It was shown that by merging the TRU burning blanket and tritium breeding blanket, which uses PbLi as the tritium breeding material and as coolant, effective transmutation is possible. The TRU transmutation capability can be improved with a reduced blanket thickness, and fast fluence at the first wall can be reduced.  Article History: Received: July 10th 2017; Received: Dec 17th 2017; Accepted: February 2nd 2018; Available online How to Cite This Article: Hong, B.G. (2018 Impact of Blanket Configuration on the Design of a Fusion-Driven Transmutation Reactor. International Journal of Renewable Energy Development, 7(1, 65-70. https://doi.org/10.14710/ijred.7.1.65-70

Synthesis method validation for Super-Phenix 1 start-up core studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pipaud, J.Y.; Gastaldo, G.; Giacometti, C.

1980-09-01

This paper aims at presenting the systematic studies performed in order to check and to improve the synthesis method wich is used to optimize the configuration of the SUPER-PHENIX 1 start-up core versus the diluent subassembly location and the control rod ring insertion. A special attention is paid to the choice of the trial functions when the two rod rings have different insertion depths. Present limits of the synthesis method are given and further improvements are indicated

Transmutations: Rejuvenation, Longevity, and Immortality Practices in South and Inner Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dagmar Wujastyk

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Wild and diverse outcomes are associated with transmutational practices: the prolongation of life, the recovery of youth, the cure of diseases, invincibility, immortality, enlightenment, liberation from the cycle of rebirths, and unending bliss. This range of outcomes is linked to specific practices taught in separate traditions and lineages in medical, alchemical, yogic and tantric milieus across South and Inner Asia. These practices can be individual or collective, esoteric or secular, and occur in different places from hospital to village to monastery; they involve transmutations of substances as well as transmutations of the body. Every expression by a particular lineage has a distinguishing articulation. Yet there are also very clear commonalities and interconnections between the traditions’ aims, methods and expected results. In this special issue of HSSA, we examine transmutational practices and their underlying concepts in this wider context of South and Inner Asian culture. How do these practices and ideas connect and cross-fertilise? And conversely, how are they delineated and distinct?

Transmutation of high-level radioactive waste by a charged particle accelerator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Hiroshi.

1993-01-01

Transmutation of minor actinides and fission products using proton accelerators has many advantages over a transmutor operated in a critical condition. The energy required for this transmutation can be reduced by multiplying the spallation neutrons in a subcritical assembly surrounding the spallation target. The authors have studied the relation between the energy requirements and the multiplication factor, k, of the subcritical assembly, while varying the range of several parameters in the spallation target. A slightly subcritical reactor is superior to a reactor with large subcriticality in the context of the energy requirement of a small proton accelerator, the extent of radiation damage, and other safety problems. To transmute the fission products, the transmutor reactor must have a good neutron economy, which can be provided by a transmutor operated by a proton accelerator. The paper discusses the use of minor actinides to improve neutronics characteristics, such as a long fuel burn-up rather than simply transmuting this valuable material

The French partitioning-transmutation programme, assets and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viala, M.; Salvatores, M.; Mouney, H.

1997-01-01

Partitioning-transmutation studies are covered by the 1991 French law concerning radioactive waste management. The programme is progressing with a dual approach: - What can be done in partitioning-transmutation? At what cost? In what timescale? - How can long-term gains and short-term disadvantages be qualified and quantified? The first approach concerns technical know-how. The studies based on today's technologies are continuing (reactors, fuels and targets, separation of radionuclides by solvents). The second approach involves an assessment activity, based firstly on studies of scenarios. Pertinent assessment criteria must be brought out. (authors)

Evaluation of systems incorporating transmutation for the reduction of the long term toxicity of high-level waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidson, J.W.

1979-01-01

One of the alternative high-level nuclear waste (HLW) management/disposal concepts proposed involves the separation from HLW of the elements with isotopes which dominate the radiotoxicity and the transmutation of these nuclides to shortlived or stable products. The waste management system required for transmutation employs chemical processing of HLW to recover waste nuclides for irradiation with neutrons in a transmutation device. The transmuter periodically requires replenishment of the target nuclides and chemical processing to remove the transmutation products. The waste streams from HLW processing and product recovery together comprise the discharge from the system. An imploding liner fusion reactor (ILFR) is assumed for the transmuter with the waste nuclides dissolved in a molten lead-lithium alloy blanket. The potential transmutation candidates are defined as the elements with toxicities per unit volume (toxicity indexes) in solidified HLW at 1000 years which are greater than that for 0.2% uranium ore (carnotite). The candidates which require separation for transmutation are the actinides; Np, Pu, Am, and Cu and the fission products; I and Tc. Certain assumptions were made for the parameters for the ILFR and its operating conditions, and a system evaluation was done. System evaluations indicate that blanket waste loadings on the order of several percent of the total concentration result in attractive performance in terms of high transmutation capacities and low blanket processing requirments. It appears that transmutation system goals in terms of toxicity reduction are achievable with a modest number of transmuters. In addition, requirements for transmuter performance, chemical processing capacity and chemical separation efficiency appear to be within projected values for this technology

Specific contributions of the Dutch programme {open_quotes}RAS{close_quotes} towards accelerator-based transmutation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abrahams, K.; Franken, W.M.P.; Bultman, J.H. [Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN), Petten (Netherlands)] [and others

1995-10-01

Accelerator-based transmutation is being studied by ECN within its general nuclear waste transmutation programme RAS. In this paper the following contributions are presented: (1) Evaluation of cross sections at intermediate energies, within an international frame given by NEA, (2) Cell calculations on the equilibration of transuranium actinides in thermal molten-salt transmuters, (3) Irradiation facilities at the European research reactor HFR in Petten, which have been constructed with the purpose to demonstrate and investigate the transmutation of waste in a high neutron flux, (4) Studies of accelerator-based neutron generating systems to transmute neptunium and technetium, (5) Comparison of several systems on the basis of criteria for successful nuclear waste-management.

Enhancing MA transmutation by irradiation of (MA, Zr)Hx in FBR blanket region - 5383

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konashi, K.; Ikeda, K.; Itoh, K.; Hirai, M.; Koyama, T.; Kurosaki, K.

2015-01-01

Minor actinide (MA) hydride is proposed as transmutation target in sodium-cooled mixed oxide fuelled fast reactor. Preliminarily calculations have been done to check the transmutation efficiency of MA hydride targets. Three different types of MA target, MA-Zr alloy, (MA, Zr)O 2 and (MA, Zr)H x , have been compared on MA transmutation rate. The targets are assumed to be loaded around an active core in a 280 MWe sodium-cooled reactor; 54 MA target assemblies are respectively arranged in a row in the radial blanket zone. They are supposed to be irradiated for one year and then be cooled for 60 days. The transmuted mass has been evaluated by three-dimensional diffusion calculation to be 25, 15, 61 kg/EFPY for the alloy, the oxide and the hydride respectively, where production of MA in the active core is taken into account. The transmutation mass by (MA, Zr)H x is much larger than those by the other types of targets, while the core characteristics remain sound by locating MA targets outside of the active core. On top of that, two kinds of (MA, Zr)O 2 targets which are combined with ZrH x (x=1.7) pins have been calculated. Major Research/Development items are selected to establish the MA hydride transmutation method by reviewing technologies applicable to the transmutation system. The practical use of the MA hydride transmutation method is not far ahead technically, since this method can be developed by the extension of existing technologies. (authors)

Research on accelerator-driven transmutation and studies of experimental facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takizuka, Takakazu [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

1997-11-01

JAERI is carrying out R and Ds on accelerator-driven transmutation systems under the national OMEGA Program that aims at development of the technology to improve efficiency and safety in the final disposal of radioactive waste. Research facilities for accelerator-driven transmutation experiments are proposed to construct within the framework of the planned JAERI Neutron Science Project. This paper describes the features of the proposed accelerator-driven transmutation systems and their technical issues to be solved. A research facility plan under examination is presented. The plan is divided in two phases. In the second phase, technical feasibility of accelerator-driven systems will be demonstrated with a 30-60 MW experimental integrated system and with a 7 MW high-power target facility. (author)

Scenarios for Minor Actinides Transmutation in the Frame of the French Act for Waste Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, M.; Coquelet-Pascal, C.; Girieud, R.; Tiphine, M.; Eschbach, R.; Chabert, C.; Garzenne, C.; Barbrault, P.; Gannaz, B.; Van Den Durpel, L.; Favet, D.; Arslan, M.; Carlier, B.; Caron-Charles, M.; Lefèvre, J.C.

2013-01-01

Conclusion: • Different transmutation scenarios have been evaluated: homogeneous transmutation, AmBB, MABB. • Homogeneous transmutation: – The MA content peak at the beginning of the transmutation can be reduced from 3,9% to 2,5% thanks to a reprocessing optimization. – Delaying the SFR deployment to 2080 increases this peak from 3,9% to 4,7%. Due to the constraints on reprocessing, the optimization may be less efficient in this case. • Heterogeneous transmutation: – Shorting the AmBB irradiation time from 10 cycles to 5 cycles and reducing their Am content from 20% to 10%: - reduces AmBB decay heat (-45% at the cooling beginning); - leads to an increase in the Am mass in cycle (+20% in 2150). • Impact of the CFV core: – In heterogeneous mode, the CFV transmutation rate being better than the SFRV2B one, the MA inventory is reduced by 22% in 2150. – In homogeneous mode, the reduction of the fissile mass in core leads to an increase of the MA peak at the beginning of the transmutation (3,9% → 5,6%). There’s no impact on the MA inventory

Target fuels for plutonium and minor actinide transmutation in pressurized water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Washington, J.; King, J.; Shayer, Z.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • We evaluate transmutation fuels for plutonium and minor actinide destruction in LWRs. • We model a modified AP1000 fuel assembly in SCALE6.1. • We evaluate spectral shift absorber coatings to improve transmutation performance. - Abstract: The average nuclear power plant produces twenty metric tons of used nuclear fuel per year, containing approximately 95 wt% uranium, 1 wt% plutonium, and 4 wt% fission products and transuranic elements. Fast reactors are a preferred option for the transmutation of plutonium and minor actinides; however, an optimistic deployment time of at least 20 years indicates a need for a nearer-term solution. This study considers a method for plutonium and minor actinide transmutation in existing light water reactors and evaluates a variety of transmutation fuels to provide a common basis for comparison and to determine if any single target fuel provides superior transmutation properties. A model developed using the NEWT module in the SCALE 6.1 code package provided performance data for the burnup of the target fuel rods in the present study. The target fuels (MOX, PuO_2, Pu_3Si_2, PuN, PuUZrH, PuZrH, PuZrHTh, and PuZrO_2) are evaluated over a 1400 Effective Full Power Days (EFPD) interval to ensure each assembly remained critical over the entire burnup period. The MOX (5 wt% PuO_2), Pu_0_._3_1ZrH_1_._6Th_1_._0_8, and PuZrO_2MgO (8 wt% Pu) fuels result in the highest rate of plutonium transmutation with the lowest rate of curium-244 production. This study selected eleven different burnable absorbers (B_4C, CdO, Dy_2O_3, Er_2O_3, Eu_2O_3, Gd_2O_3, HfO_2, In_2O_3, Lu_2O_3, Sm_2O_3, and TaC) for evaluation as spectral shift absorber coatings on the outside of the fuel pellets to determine if an absorber coating can improve the transmutation properties of the target fuels. The PuZrO_2MgO (8 wt% Pu) target fuel with a coating of Lu_2O_3 resulted in the highest rate of plutonium transmutation with the greatest reduction in curium

Target fuels for plutonium and minor actinide transmutation in pressurized water reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Washington, J., E-mail: jwashing@gmail.com [Nuclear Science and Engineering Program, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St., Golden, CO 80401 (United States); King, J., E-mail: kingjc@mines.edu [Nuclear Science and Engineering Program, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St., Golden, CO 80401 (United States); Shayer, Z., E-mail: zshayer@mines.edu [Department of Physics, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St., Golden, CO 80401 (United States)

2017-03-15

Highlights: • We evaluate transmutation fuels for plutonium and minor actinide destruction in LWRs. • We model a modified AP1000 fuel assembly in SCALE6.1. • We evaluate spectral shift absorber coatings to improve transmutation performance. - Abstract: The average nuclear power plant produces twenty metric tons of used nuclear fuel per year, containing approximately 95 wt% uranium, 1 wt% plutonium, and 4 wt% fission products and transuranic elements. Fast reactors are a preferred option for the transmutation of plutonium and minor actinides; however, an optimistic deployment time of at least 20 years indicates a need for a nearer-term solution. This study considers a method for plutonium and minor actinide transmutation in existing light water reactors and evaluates a variety of transmutation fuels to provide a common basis for comparison and to determine if any single target fuel provides superior transmutation properties. A model developed using the NEWT module in the SCALE 6.1 code package provided performance data for the burnup of the target fuel rods in the present study. The target fuels (MOX, PuO{sub 2}, Pu{sub 3}Si{sub 2}, PuN, PuUZrH, PuZrH, PuZrHTh, and PuZrO{sub 2}) are evaluated over a 1400 Effective Full Power Days (EFPD) interval to ensure each assembly remained critical over the entire burnup period. The MOX (5 wt% PuO{sub 2}), Pu{sub 0.31}ZrH{sub 1.6}Th{sub 1.08}, and PuZrO{sub 2}MgO (8 wt% Pu) fuels result in the highest rate of plutonium transmutation with the lowest rate of curium-244 production. This study selected eleven different burnable absorbers (B{sub 4}C, CdO, Dy{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Er{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Eu{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3}, HfO{sub 2}, In{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Lu{sub 2}O{sub 3}, Sm{sub 2}O{sub 3}, and TaC) for evaluation as spectral shift absorber coatings on the outside of the fuel pellets to determine if an absorber coating can improve the transmutation properties of the target fuels. The PuZrO{sub 2}MgO (8 wt% Pu) target

Neutronic study using oxide and nitride fuels for the Super Phenix 2 reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batista, J.L.; Renke, C.A.C.

1991-11-01

This report presents a neutronic analysis and a description of the Super Phenix 2 reactor, taken as reference. We present the methodology and results for cell and global reactor calculations for oxide (U O 2 - Pu O 2 ) and nitride (U N - Pu N) fuels. To conclude we compare the performance of oxide and nitride fuels for the reference reactor. (author)

Partitioning and Transmutation: IAEA Activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basak, U.; Monti, S.; )

2015-01-01

Full text of publication follows: The importance of partitioning and transmutation (P and T) processes for sustaining nuclear energy growth in the world has been realised in several countries across the world. P and T processes aim at separation and recycling of actinides including minor actinides (MAs) from the spent fuel or high-level liquid waste. The objective of these processes include reuse of separated fissile materials from spent nuclear fuels to obtain energy, enhance resource utilisation, reduce the disposal of toxic radio-nuclides and improve long-term performance of geological repositories. R and D programmes have been launched in many of the Member States to develop advanced partitioning process based on either aqueous or pyro to recover MAs along with other actinides as well as automated and remote techniques for manufacturing fuels containing MAs for the purpose of transmuting them either in fast reactors or accelerator driven hybrids. A number of Member States have been also developing such transmutation systems with the aim to construct and operate demo plants and prototypes in the next decade. The International Atomic Energy Agency has a high priority for the activities on partitioning and transmutation and regularly organises conferences, workshops, seminars and technical meetings in the areas of P and T as a part of information exchange and knowledge sharing at the international level. In the recent past, the Agency organised two technical meetings on advanced partitioning processes and actinide recycle technologies with the objective of providing a common platform for the scientists and engineers working in the areas of separation of actinides along with MAs from spent nuclear fuels and manufacturing of advanced fuels containing MAs in order to bridge the technological gap between them. In 2010, the Agency concluded a Coordinated Research Project (CRP) related to Assessment of Partitioning Processes. The Agency also conducted a first CRP on

Special scientific programme on use of high energy accelerators for transmutation of actinides and power production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-09-01

Various techniques for the transmutation of radioactive waste through the use of high energy accelerators are reviewed and discussed. In particular, the present publication contains presentations on (i) requirements and the technical possibilities for the transmutation of long-lived radionuclides (background paper); (ii) high energy particle accelerators for bulk transformation of elements and energy generation; (iii) the resolution of nuclear energy issues using accelerator-driven technology; (iv) the use of proton accelerators for the transmutation of actinides and power production; (v) the coupling of an accelerator to a subcritical fission reactor (with a view on its potential impact on waste transmutation); (vi) research and development of accelerator-based transmutation technology at JAERI (Japan); and (vii) questions and problems with regard to accelerator-driven nuclear power and transmutation facilities. Refs, figs and tabs

Accelerator-driven transmutation: a high-tech solution to some nuclear waste problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hechanova, A.E.

2000-01-01

This paper discusses current technical and political issues regarding the innovative concept of using accelerator-driven transmutation processes for nuclear waste management. Two complex and related issues are addressed. First, the evolution and improvements of the design technologies are identified to indicate that there has been sufficient technological advancement with regard to a 1991 scientific peer review to warrant the advent of a large-scale national research and development program. Second, the economics and politics of the transmutation system are examined to identify non-technical barriers to the implementation of the program. Transmutation of waste has been historically viewed by nuclear engineers as one of those technologies that is too good to be true and probably too expensive to be feasible. The concept discussed in the present paper uses neutrons ( which result from protons accelerated into spallation targets)to transmute the major very long-lived hazardous materials such as the radioactive isotopes of technetium, iodine, neptunium, plutonium, americium, and curium. Although not a new concept, accelerator-driven transmutation technology (ADTT) lead by a team at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has made some significant advances which are discussed in the present paper. (authors)

Revival.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leclere, J.; Matin, Ph.; Toly, J.A.; Pepe, D.

1997-01-01

Because of the promised shutdown and decommissioning of the French Superphenix fast breeder reactor, the French research programs on transmutation will be reoriented towards the smaller Phenix reactor. This issue of 'DRN Actualites' brochure reports on the works carried out by the operator with the help of the Direction of Nuclear Reactors (DRN) of the CEA and Novatome company to satisfy the nuclear safety authorities requirements for the start-up of the Phenix reactor. Three aspects are developed: the 'Service life' project which concerns the non-destructive control of the reactor core and primary circuit, the seismic behaviour of the installation (diagnostic and reinforcement), and the renewal of the secondary circuit and steam generators. (J.S.)

Nuclear Wastes: Technologies for Separations and Transmutation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

.... The committee examines the currently used "once-through" fuel cycle versus different alternatives of separations and transmutation technology systems, by which hazardous radionuclides are converted...

Development of a fast reactor for minor actinides transmutation - (1) Overview and method development - 5092

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeda, T.; Usami, S.; Fujimura, K.; Takakuwa, M.

2015-01-01

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan has launched a national project entitled 'technology development for the environmental burden reduction' in 2013. The present study is one of the studies adopted as the national project. The objective of the study is the efficient and safe transmutation and volume reduction of minor actinides (MA) with long-lived radioactivity and high decay heat contained in high level radioactive wastes by using sodium cooled fast reactors. We are developing MA transmutation core concepts which harmonize efficient MA transmutation with core safety. To accurately design the core concepts we have improved calculation methods for estimating the transmutation rate of individual MA nuclides, and estimating and reducing uncertainty of MA transmutation. The overview of the present project is first described. Then the method improvement is presented with numerical results for a minor-actinide transmutation fast reactor. The analysis is based on Monju reactor data. (authors)

Experimental demonstration of free-space optical vortex transmutation with polygonal lenses.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Nan; Xie, Changqing

2012-08-01

Vortex transmutation was predicted to take place when vortices interact with systems possessing discrete rotational symmetries of finite order [Phys. Rev. Lett.95, 123901 (2005)]. Here we report what is believed to be the first experimental demonstration of vortex transmutation. We show that in free space, by simply inserting polygonal lenses into the optical path, the central vorticity of a coaxially incident optical vortex can be changed following the modular transmutation rule. We generate the wavefront at the exit face of the lenses with computer generated holograms and measure the output vorticity using the interference patterns at the focal plane. The results agree well with theoretical predictions.

Analysis on Radioactive Waste Transmutation in Light Water cooled Hyb-WT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Seonghee; Kim, Myung Hyun

2014-01-01

A feasibility of realization is much higher in FFHR compared with pure fusion. A combination of plasma fusion source for neutrons with a subcritical reactor at the blanket side has much higher capability in transmutation of waste as well as reactor safety compared with fission reactor options. Fusion-Fission Hybrid Reactor (FFHR) uses various coolants depending on the purpose. It is important that coolant being used should be suitable to reactor purpose, because reactor performance and the design constraints may change depending on the coolant. There are basically two major groups of coolants for FFHR. One group of coolant does not contain Li. They are Na, Pb-Bi, H 2 O and D 2 O. The other group contains Li for tritium breeding. They are Li, LiPb, LiSN, FLIBE and FLiNaBe. Currently, the issue in FFHR is its implication for radioactive waste transmutation (FFHR for WT). Because radioactive wastes of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) are transmuted using fusion neutron source. Therefore a suitable coolant should be used for effective waste transmutation. . In FFHR for WT, LiPb coolant is being used mainly because of tritium production in Li and high neutron economic through reaction in Pb. However different coolants use such as Na, Pb-Bi are used in fast reactors and accelerator driven systems (ADS) having same purpose. In this study, radioactive waste transmutation performance of various coolants mentioned above will be compared and analyzed. Through this study, the coolants are judged primarily for their support to waste transmutation disregarding their limitation to reactor design and tritium breeding capability. First, performance of the light water coolant regarding radioactive waste transmutation was analyzed among various coolants mentioned above. In this paper, performance of radioactive waste transmutation can be known depending on different volume fractions (54.53, 60.27, 97.94vol.%) of the light water. Light water dose required fusion power lower than LiPb due to

Transmutation of stable isotopes and deactivation of radioactive waste in growing biological systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vysotskii, Vladimir I.; Kornilova, Alla A.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► The phenomena of isotope transmutation in growing microbiological cultures were investigated. ► Transmutation in microbiological associations is 20 times more effective than in pure cultures. ► Transmutation of radioactive nuclei to stable isotopes in such associations was investigated. ► The most accelerated rate of Cs 137 to stable Ba 138 isotope transmutation was 310 days. ► “Microbiological deactivation” may be used for deactivation of Chernobyl and Fukushima areas. - Abstract: The report presents the results of qualifying examinations of stable and radioactive isotopes transmutation processes in growing microbiological cultures. It is shown that transmutation of stable isotopes during the process of growth of microbiological cultures, at optimal conditions in microbiological associations, is 20 times more effective than the same transmutation process in the form of “one-line” (pure) microbiological cultures. In the work, the process of direct, controlled decontamination of highly active intermediate lifetime and long-lived reactor isotopes (reactor waste) through the process of growing microbiological associations has been studied. In the control experiment (flask with active water but without microbiological associations), the “usual” law of nuclear decay applies, and the life-time of Cs 137 isotope was about 30 years. The most rapidly increasing decay rate, which occurred with a lifetime τ * ≈ 310 days (involving an increase in rate, and decrease in lifetime by a factor of 35 times) was observed in the presence of Ca salt in closed flask with active water contained Cs 137 solution and optimal microbiological association

Nuclei transmutation by collisions with fast hadrons and nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strugalski, Z.; Strugalska-Gola, E.; Drzymala, A.

1998-01-01

Atomic nuclei change their mass- and charge-numbers if bombarded by fast hadrons and nuclei; the transmutation appears as a complicated process. It proceeds in a definite way - through a few stages or phases. Adequate identification of the nucleons and light nuclear fragments emitted and evaporated in a hadron-nucleus or nucleus-nucleus collisions and in the collision-induced intranuclear reactions allows one to estimate quantitatively the nuclei transmutations in the various stages (phases) of the process

Experience gained during 10 years transmutation experiments in Dubna

Science.gov (United States)

Zamani, M.; Fragopoulou, M.; Manolopoulou, M.; Stoulos, S.; Brandt, R.; Westmeier, W.; Krivopustov, M.; Sosnin, A.; Golovatyuk, S.

2006-05-01

Transmutation, the procedure of transforming long-lived radioactive isotopes into stable or short-lived, was proposed for reducing the amount of radioactive waste resulting from technological applications of nuclear fission. The Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS) provide the possibility to generate intense neutron spectrum yielding in an effective transmutation of unwanted isotopes. Such experiments are being carried out for the last 10 years in Synchrophasotron / Nuclotron accelerators at the Veksler-Baldin Laboratory of High Energies of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia. Thick Pb and Pb-U targets, surrounded by moderators, have been irradiated by protons in the energy range of 0.5-7.4 GeV. Neutron fluence measurements have been performed by different techniques of passive detectors (neutron activation detectors, solid state nuclear track detectors). Transmutation of 129I, 237Np, 239Pu was studied. The results of these experiments are presented and discussed.

Electronic Transmutation (ET): Chemically Turning One Element into Another.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xinxing; Lundell, Katie A; Olson, Jared K; Bowen, Kit H; Boldyrev, Alexander I

2018-03-08

The concept of electronic transmutation (ET) depicts the processes that by acquiring an extra electron, an element with the atomic number Z begins to have properties that were known to only belong to its neighboring element with the atomic number Z+1. Based on ET, signature compounds and chemical bonds that are composed of certain elements can now be designed and formed by other electronically transmutated elements. This Minireview summarizes the recent developments and applications of ET on both the theoretical and experimental fronts. Examples on the ET of Group 13 elements into Group 14 elements, Group 14 elements into Group 15 elements, and Group 15 elements into Group 16 elements are discussed. Compounds and chemical bonding composed of carbon, silicon, germanium, phosphorous, oxygen and sulfur now have analogues using transmutated boron, aluminum, gallium, silicon, nitrogen, and phosphorous. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Graphical representation of transmutation and decay chain data, transmutation cross section and delayed gamma ray emission data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seki, Yasushi; Iida, Hiromasa; Kawasaki, Hiromitsu.

1982-09-01

In a D-T burning fusion reactor, the neutron induced activity severely limits personnel access to the reactor. Accurate evaluation of the induced activity and dose rate is necessary to conduct effective biological shield design. In order to evaluate the dose rate accurately, considerable amount of activation data is required. This report gives graphical representation of transmutation and decay chain data, transmutation cross section data and delayed gamma ray emission data for 116 nuclides of interest in terms of fusion reactor design. This graphical representation was made with hope of producing a reference for examining activation problems. It has already been shown to be effective in correcting inappropriate data. A computer code AMOEBA developed for the checking and plotting of the activation data is also described in this report. (author)

Optimization of accelerator-driven technology for LWR waste transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bowman, C.D.

1996-01-01

The role of accelerator-driven transmutation technology is examined in the context of the destruction of actinide waste from commercial light water reactors. It is pointed out that the commercial plutonium is much easier to use for entry-level nuclear weapons than weapons plutonium. Since commercial plutonium is easier to use, since there is very much more of it already, and since it is growing rapidly, the permanent disposition of commercial plutonium is an issue of greater importance than weapons plutonium. The minor actinides inventory, which may be influenced by transmutation, is compared in terms of nuclear properties with commercial and weapons plutonium and for possible utility as weapons material. Fast and thermal spectrum systems are compared as means for destruction of plutonium and the minor actinides. it is shown that the equilibrium fast spectrum actinide inventory is about 100 times larger than for thermal spectrum systems, and that there is about 100 times more weapons-usable material in the fast spectrum system inventory compared to the thermal spectrum system. Finally it is shown that the accelerator size for transmutation can be substantially reduced by design which uses the accelerator-produced neutrons only to initiate the unsustained fission chains characteristic of the subcritical system. The analysis argues for devoting primary attention to the development of thermal spectrum transmutation technology. A thermal spectrum transmuter operating at a fission power of 750-MWth fission power, which is sufficient to destroy the actinide waste from one 3,000-MWth light water reactor, may be driven by a proton beam of 1 GeV energy and a current of 7 mA. This accelerator is within the range of realizable cyclotron technology and is also near the size contemplated for the next generation spallation neutron source under consideration by the US, Europe, and Japan

Multiple Tier Fuel Cycle Studies for Waste Transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, R.N.; Taiwo, T.A.; Stillman, J.A.; Graziano, D.J.; Bennett, D.R.; Trellue, H.; Todosow, M.; Halsey, W.G.; Baxter, A.

2002-01-01

As part of the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Accelerator Applications Program, a systems study was conducted to evaluate the transmutation performance of advanced fuel cycle strategies. Three primary fuel cycle strategies were evaluated: dual-tier systems with plutonium separation, dual-tier systems without plutonium separation, and single-tier systems without plutonium separation. For each case, the system mass flow and TRU consumption were evaluated in detail. Furthermore, the loss of materials in fuel processing was tracked including the generation of new waste streams. Based on these results, the system performance was evaluated with respect to several key transmutation parameters including TRU inventory reduction, radiotoxicity, and support ratio. The importance of clean fuel processing (∼0.1% losses) and inclusion of a final tier fast spectrum system are demonstrated. With these two features, all scenarios capably reduce the TRU and plutonium waste content, significantly reducing the radiotoxicity; however, a significant infrastructure (at least 1/10 the total nuclear capacity) is required for the dedicated transmutation system. (authors)

Transmutation of Americium in Fast Neutron Facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Youpeng

2011-01-01

In this thesis, the feasibility to use a medium sized sodium cooled fast reactor fully loaded with MOX fuel for efficient transmutation of americium is investigated by simulating the safety performance of a BN600-type fast reactor loaded with different fractions of americium in the fuel, using the safety parameters obtained with the SERPENT Monte Carlo code. The focus is on americium mainly due to its long-term contribution to the radiotoxicity of spent nuclear fuel and its deterioration on core's safety parameters. Applying the SAS4A/SASSYS transient analysis code, it is demonstrated that the power rating needs to be reduced by 6% for each percent additional americium introduction into the reference MOX fuel, maintaining 100 K margin to fuel melting, which is the most limiting failure mechanism. Safety analysis of a new Accelerator Driven System design with a smaller pin pitch-to-diameter ratio comparing to the reference EFIT-400 design, aiming at improving neutron source efficiency, was also performed by simulating performance for unprotected loss of flow, unprotected transient overpower, and protected loss-of-heat-sink transients, using neutronic parameters obtained from MCNP calculations. Thanks to the introduction of the austenitic 15/15Ti stainless steel with enhanced creep rupture resistance and acceptable irradiation swelling rate, the suggested ADS design loaded with nitride fuel and cooled by lead-bismuth eutectic could survive the full set of transients, preserving a margin of 130 K to cladding rupture during the most limiting transient. The thesis concludes that efficient transmutation of americium in a medium sized sodium cooled fast reactor loaded with MOX fuel is possible but leads to a severe power penalty. Instead, preserving transmutation rates of minor actinides up to 42 kg/TWh th , the suggested ADS design with enhanced proton source efficiency appears like a better option for americium transmutation

Transmutation: The Roots of the Dream.

Science.gov (United States)

Karpenko, Vladimir

1995-01-01

Examines the history of alchemical attempts at transmutation and classifies them by differing approaches and techniques. Traces the development of alchemy in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, and compares alchemy with craftsmanship. (18 references) (DDR)

Measurement of Double Longitudinal Spin Asymmetry, ALL, for Inclusive 0̂ Production at Forward Rapidity in PHENIX for √s=200 and 500 GeV

Science.gov (United States)

Wolin, Scott

2010-11-01

The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) is the world's only source of polarized proton-proton collisions which provides access at leading order to δ G(x), the gluon contribution to the proton spin. Previously, PHENIX has only been sensitive to truncated moments of δ G over the limited Bjorken-x range of 0.05 Piston Calorimeter (MPC) at forward rapidity, di-hadron measurements with hadrons at both forward and central rapidities are now possible in PHENIX. Two forward hadrons extend the kinematic coverage for gluons down to x˜10-3. Such an asymmetry measurement for di-hadrons and single hadrons at forward rapidity can be used to improve the constraints on δ G(x) at small x. Here, we discuss the status of these measurements at forward rapidity in PHENIX using the MPC.

Partitioning and transmutation of transuranium elements under nuclear phase-out conditions. Technically reliable?; Transmutation von Transuranen unter den Randbedingungen des Kernenergieausstiegs. Technisch machbar?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merk, Bruno; Rohde, Ulrich [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden (Germany)

2016-04-15

The German government has decided for the nuclear phase out, but a decision on a strategy for the management of the highly radioactive waste is not defined yet. Partitioning and Transmutation (P and T) could be considered as a technological option in the process of management of highly radioactive waste management, therefore a wide study has been conducted. In this group objectives for P and T and the boundary conditions of the phase out have been discussed. The fulfillment of the given objectives is analyzed using simulations of molten salt reactors with fast neutron spectrum. It is shown that the efficient transmutation of all existing transuranium isotopes would be possible in 3 to 4 reactors in a time frame of 45 to 60 years. Further on a detailed balance of different isotopic inventories is given to allow a deeper understanding of the processes during transmutation.

Performance of Front-End Readout System for PHENIX RICH

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oyama, K.; Hamagaki, H.; Nishimura, S.; Shigaki, K.; Hayano, R.S.; Hibino, M.; Kametani, S.; Kikuchi, J.; Matsumoto, T.; Sakaguchi, T.; Ebisu, K.; Hara, H.; Tanaka, Y.; Ushiroda, T.; Moscone, C.G.; Wintenberg, A.L.; Young, G.R.

1999-01-01

A front-end electronics system has been developed for the Ring Imaging Cerenkov (RICH) detector of the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). A high speed custom back-plane with source synchronous bus architecture, a full custom analog ASIC, and board modules with FPGA's and CPLD's were developed for high performance real time data acquisition. The transfer rate of the back-lane has reached 640 MB/s with 128 bits data bus. Total transaction time is estimated to be less than 30 micros per event. The design specifications and test results of the system are presented in this paper

Actinide partitioning and transmutation program progress report, October 1, 1976--March 31, 1977

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blomeke, J.O.; Tedder, D.W.

1977-01-01

Experimental work on the 16 tasks comprising the Actinide Partitioning and Transmutation Program was initiated at the various sites. This work included the development of conceptual material balance flowsheets which define integrated waste systems supporting an LWR fuel reprocessing plant and a mixed (U-Pu) oxide fuel refabrication plant. In addition, waste subsystems were defined for experimental evaluation. Computer analysis of partitioning-transmutation, utilizing an LMFBR for transmutation, was completed for both constant and variable waste actinide generation rates

U.S. advanced accelerator applications program: plans to develop and test waste transmutation technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Tuyle, G.; Bennett, D.; Arthur, E.; Cappiello, M.; Finck, P.; Hill, D.; Herczeg, J.; Goldner, F.

2001-01-01

The primary mission of the U.S. Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) Program is to establish a national nuclear technology research capability that can demonstrate accelerator-based transmutation of waste and conduct transmutation research while at the same time providing a capability for the production of tritium if required. The AAA Program was created during fiscal year 2001 from the Accelerator Transmutation of Waste (ATW) Program and the Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) Project. This paper describes the new AAA Program, as well as its two major components: development and testing of waste transmutation technologies and construction of an integrated accelerator-driven test facility (ADTF). (author)

Partitioning and Transmutation of minor actinides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koch, L.; Wellum, R.

1991-01-01

The partitioning of minor actinides from spent fuels and their transmutation into short-lived fission products has been the topic of two dedicated meetings organized jointly by the European Commission and the OECD. The conclusion of the last meeting in 1980, in short, was that partitioning and transmutation of minor actinides, especially in fast reactors, seemed possible. However, the incentive, which would be a reduction of the radiological hazard to the public, was too small if long-lived fission products were not included. Furthermore this meeting showed that minor actinide targets or possible nuclear fuels containing minor actinides for transmutation had not yet been developed. The European Institute for Transuranium Elements took up this task and has carried it out as a small activity for several years. Interests expressed recently by an expert meeting of the OECD/NEA (Paris, 25 April 1989), which was initiated by the proposed Japanese project Omega, led us to the conclusion that the present state of knowledge should be looked at in a workshop environment. Since the Japanese proposal within the project Omega is based on a broader approach we needed this evaluation to assess the relevance of our present activity and wanted to identifiy additional studies which might be needed to cover possible future demands from the public. This workshop was therefore organized, and participants active in the field from EC countries, the USA and Japan were invited

Transmutation of technetium: results of the EFTTRA-T1 experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konings, R.J.M.; Stalios, A.D.; Walker, C.T.; Cocuaud, N.

1998-01-01

The transmutation of the fission product 99 Tc was studied by neutron irradiation in the High Flux Reactor at Petten. Six metallic rods of pure Tc, distributed over three capsules, were irradiated during eight reactor cycles to a total neutron fluence of about 2 x 10 26 m -2 . Metallographic examinations showed that no changes in the microstructure were visible after the irradiation. Electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) of the radial distribution of Ru, the product of the transmutation process, showed an increase from about 6% in the centre to 12-18% near the rim of the pellets. This effect is due to resonance-shielding of epithermal neutrons in the rim region. Mass spectrometric analysis of the pellet-average Ru concentration showed that the extent of transmutation is about 6-7%. (orig.)

Transmutation studies of minor actinides in high intensity neutron fluxes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fioni, G.; Bolognese, T.; Cribier, M.; Marie, F.; Roettger, S.; Faust, H.; Leconte, Ph.

1999-01-01

Integral measurements of nuclear data and of the transmutation potential in specific neutron fluxes, constitute the fastest and essential way to overcome to the large uncertainties present in the nuclear data libraries. In the frame of the activities of the Directorate for Science of Matter (DSM) of the French Atomic Energy Authority (CEA), a new project is proposed so as to carry out integral measurements relevant for nuclear waste transmutation systems. A new beam tube will be installed to irradiate actinides and fission fragment samples at different distances from the fuel element of the ILL reactor. Variable neutron energy spectra could then be obtained by choosing the distance between the sample and the fuel element, opening the way to the determination of the ideal physical conditions to incinerate nuclear waste in hybrid transmutation systems. (author)

Five years of operating experience with Phenix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conte, F.

1980-01-01

The construction of Phenix began at the end of 1968; the unit first went critical on August 31 st, 1973, and it was first connected to the grid of Electricite de France on 31st December 1973. It started operating industrially on July 14th, 1974. The balance sheet after five years of operations is as follows: Gross thermal capacity: 590 MW; Grosss electric capacity: 264 MW; Gross capacity factor of the power station: 45%; Gross electrical power produced by 30th september 1979: more than six billion kWh. In 1976 and 1977 the operation of the plant was affected by modifications made to the intermediate heat exchangers following leaks discovered in October 1976. Since 1976 the plants has been working at full capacity and the availability rate during the period July 1978 - July 1979 was more than 80% [fr

Transmutation performance analysis on coolant options in a hybrid reactor system design for high level waste incineration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Seong-Hee; Siddique, Muhammad Tariq; Kim, Myung Hyun, E-mail: mhkim@khu.ac.kr

2015-11-15

Highlights: • Waste transmutation performance was compared and analyzed for seven different coolant options. • Reactions of fission and capture showed big differences depending on coolant options. • Moderation effect significantly affects on energy multiplication, tritium breeding and waste transmutation. • Reduction of radio-toxicities of TRUs showed different trend to coolant choice from performance of waste transmutation. - Abstract: A fusion–fission hybrid reactor (FFHR) is one of the most attractive candidates for high level waste transmutation. The selection of coolant affects the transmutation performance of a FFHR. LiPb coolant, as a conventional coolant for a FFHR, has problems such as reduction in neutron economic and magneto-hydro dynamics (MHD) pressure drop. Therefore, in this work, transmutation performance is evaluated and compared for various coolant options such as LiPb, H{sub 2}O, D{sub 2}O, Na, PbBi, LiF-BeF{sub 2} and NaF-BeF{sub 2} applicable to a hybrid reactor for waste transmutation (Hyb-WT). Design parameters measuring performance of a hybrid reactor were evaluated by MCNPX. They are k{sub eff}, energy multiplication factor, neutron absorption ratio, tritium breeding ratio, waste transmutation ratio, support ratio and radiotoxicity reduction. Compared to LiPb, H{sub 2}O and D{sub 2}O are not suitable for waste transmutation because of neutron moderation effect. Waste transmutation performances with Na and PbBi are similar to each other and not different much from LiPb. Even though molten salt such as LiF-BeF{sub 2} and NaF-BeF{sub 2} is good for avoiding MHD pressure drop problem, waste transmutation performance is dropped compared with LiPb.

Electron trap annealing in neutron transmutation doped silicon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guldberg, J.

1977-01-01

Silicon doped by neutron transmutation to 1.2×1014 phosphorus atoms/cm3 was investigated with deep level transient spectroscopy using evaporated Au/n-Si diodes. Seven bulk electron traps were identified which appear after 30 min N2 anneal at temperatures between 425 and 725 °C. Five of these anne......Silicon doped by neutron transmutation to 1.2×1014 phosphorus atoms/cm3 was investigated with deep level transient spectroscopy using evaporated Au/n-Si diodes. Seven bulk electron traps were identified which appear after 30 min N2 anneal at temperatures between 425 and 725 °C. Five...

PROPOSAL FOR A SILICON VERTEX TRACKER (VTX) FOR THE PHENIX EXPERIMENT.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

AKIBA,Y.

2004-03-30

We propose the construction of a Silicon Vertex Tracker (VTX) for the PHENIX experiment at RHIC. The VTX will substantially enhance the physics capabilities of the PHENIX central arm spectrometers. Our prime motivation is to provide precision measurements of heavy-quark production (charm and beauty) in A+A, p(d)+A, and polarized p+p collisions. These are key measurements for the future RHIC program, both for the heavy ion program as it moves from the discovery phase towards detailed investigation of the properties of the dense nuclear medium created in heavy ion collisions, and for the exploration of the nucleon spin-structure functions. In addition, the VTX will also considerably improve other measurements with PHENIX. The main physics topics addressed by the VTX are: (1) Hot and dense strongly interacting matter--Potential enhancement of charm production; Open beauty production; Flavor dependence of jet quenching and QCD energy loss; Accurate charm reference for quarkonium; Thermal dilepton radiation; High p{sub T} phenomena with light flavors above 10-15 GeV/c in p{sub T}; and Upsilon spectroscopy in the e{sup +}e{sup -} decay channel. (2) Gluon spin structure of the nucleon--{Delta}G/G with charm; {Delta}G/G with beauty; and x dependence of {Delta}G/G with {gamma}-jet correlations. (3) Nucleon structure in nuclei--Gluon shadowing over broad x-range. With the present PHENIX detector, heavy-quark production has been measured indirectly through the observation of single electrons. These measurements are inherently limited in accuracy by systematic uncertainties resulting from the large electron background from Dalitz decays and photon conversions. In particular, the statistical nature of the analysis does not allow for a model-independent separation of the charm and beauty contributions. The VTX detector will provide vertex tracking with a resolution of <50 {micro}m over a large coverage both in rapidity (|{eta}| < 1.2) and in azimuthal angle ({Delta}{phi} {approx

Inter-vessels in-service inspection of Super-Phenix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asty, M.; Saglio, R.; Viard, J.; Lerat, B.

1984-01-01

The vessels design of fast breeder reactor Super-Phenix enables inspection during operating time. A self-moving machine -MIR- has been built up especially for that purpose. It is able to carry out visual and ultrasonorous inspection. MIR structure is that of a tetrahedron, all tops of which are fitted with two wheels, as for traction and direction. The wheels are leaning on booth the two vessels. Thanks to a computer-assisted control system, MIR is able to move along in every part of the inter-vessels space. Studies have been carried on at the French Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, by two Sections of the advanced technologies Service. After outlining MIR working conditions, its main characteristics are described [fr

Transmutation of fission products and actinide waste at Hanford

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daemen, L.L.; Pitcher, E.J.; Russell, G.J. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States)

1995-10-01

The authors studied the neutronics of an ATW system for the transmutation of the fission products ({sup 99}Tc in particular) and the type of actinide waste stored in several tanks at Hanford. The heart of the system is a highly-efficient neutron production target. It is surrounded by a blanket containing a moderator/reflector material, as well as the products to be transmuted. The fission products are injected into the blanket in the form of an aqueous solution in heavy water, whereas an aqueous actinides slurry is circulated in the outer part of the blanket. For the sake of definiteness, the authors focussed on {sup 99}Tc (the most difficult fission product to transmute), and {sup 239}Pu, {sup 237}Np, and {sup 241}Am. Because of the low thermal neutron absorption cross-section of {sup 99}Tc, considerable care and effort must be devoted to the design of a very efficient neutron source.

HYPERFUSE: a hypervelocity inertial confinement system for fusion energy production and fission waste transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makowitz, H.; Powell, J.R.; Wiswall, R.

1980-01-01

Parametric system studies of an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) reactor system to transmute fission products from a LWR economy have been carried out. The ICF reactors would produce net power in addition to transmuting fission products. The particular ICF concept examined is an impact fusion approach termed HYPERFUSE, in which hypervelocity pellets, traveling on the order of 100 to 300 km/sec, collide with each other or a target block in a reactor chamber and initiate a thermonuclear reaction. The DT fusion fuel is contained in a shell of the material to be transmuted, e.g., 137 Cs, 90 Sr, 129 I, 99 Tc, etc. The 14-MeV fusion neutrons released during the pellet burn cause transmutation reactions (e.g., (n,2n), (n,α), (n,γ), etc.) that convert the long-lived fission products (FP's) either to stable products or to species that decay with a short half-life to a stable product. The transmutation parametric studies conclude that the design of the hypervelocity projectiles should emphasize the achievement of high densities in the transmutation regions (greater than the DT fusion fuel density), as well as the DT ignition and burn criterion (rho R = 1.0 to 3.0) requirements. These studies also indicate that masses on the order of 1.0 g at densities of rho greater than or equal to 500.0 g/cm 3 are required for a practical fusion-based fission product transmutation system

Accelerator-driven sub-critical target concept for transmutation of nuclear wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Tuyle, G.J.; Todosow, M.; Aronson, A.L.; Takahashi, H.; Geiger, M.J.

1991-01-01

A means of transmuting key long-lived nuclear wastes, primarily the minor actinides (Np, Am, Cm) and iodine, using a hybrid proton accelerator and sub-critical lattice, is proposed. By partitioning the components of the light water reactor (LWR) spent fuel and by transmuting key elements, such as the plutonium, the minor actinides, and a few of the long-lived fission products, some of the most significant challenges in building a waste repository can be substantially reduced. The proposed machine, based on the described PHOENIX Concept, would transmute the minor actinides and the iodine produced by 75 LWRs, and would generate usable electricity (beyond that required to run the large accelerator) of 850 MW e . 19 refs., 20 figs

Analysis of advanced european nuclear fuel cycle scenarios including transmutation and economical estimates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merino Rodriguez, I.; Alvarez-Velarde, F.; Martin-Fuertes, F.

2013-01-01

In this work the transition from the existing Light Water Reactors (LWR) to the advanced reactors is analyzed, including Generation III+ reactors in a European framework. Four European fuel cycle scenarios involving transmutation options have been addressed. The first scenario (i.e., reference) is the current fleet using LWR technology and open fuel cycle. The second scenario assumes a full replacement of the initial fleet with Fast Reactors (FR) burning U-Pu MOX fuel. The third scenario is a modification of the second one introducing Minor Actinide (MA) transmutation in a fraction of the FR fleet. Finally, in the fourth scenario, the LWR fleet is replaced using FR with MOX fuel as well as Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS) for MA transmutation. All scenarios consider an intermediate period of GEN-III+ LWR deployment and they extend for a period of 200 years looking for equilibrium mass flows. The simulations were made using the TR-EVOL code, a tool for fuel cycle studies developed by CIEMAT. The results reveal that all scenarios are feasible according to nuclear resources demand (U and Pu). Concerning to no transmutation cases, the second scenario reduces considerably the Pu inventory in repositories compared to the reference scenario, although the MA inventory increases. The transmutation scenarios show that elimination of the LWR MA legacy requires on one hand a maximum of 33% fraction (i.e., a peak value of 26 FR units) of the FR fleet dedicated to transmutation (MA in MOX fuel, homogeneous transmutation). On the other hand a maximum number of ADS plants accounting for 5% of electricity generation are predicted in the fourth scenario (i.e., 35 ADS units). Regarding the economic analysis, the estimations show an increase of LCOE (Levelized cost of electricity) - averaged over the whole period - with respect to the reference scenario of 21% and 29% for FR and FR with transmutation scenarios respectively, and 34% for the fourth scenario. (authors)

Researches on the management of high activity and long-lived radioactive wastes. Axis 1 - separation-transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-11-01

This document gathers the transparencies of seven presentations given at a technical workshop of the French nuclear energy society (SFEN) about the researches on separation-transmutation of high activity and long-lived radioactive wastes. The presentations deal with: inventory and radiotoxicity of the rad-wastes in concern; industrial experience; experience on chemical separation: molecules and processes; reactors physics and transmutation - reactors for transmutation; fuels and targets; scenarios that include transmutation; environmental impacts of these different scenarios. (J.S.)

Neutron transmutation doped Ge bolometers

Science.gov (United States)

Haller, E. E.; Kreysa, E.; Palaio, N. P.; Richards, P. L.; Rodder, M.

1983-01-01

Some conclusions reached are as follow. Neutron Transmutation Doping (NTD) of high quality Ge single crystals provides perfect control of doping concentration and uniformity. The resistivity can be tailored to any given bolometer operating temperature down to 0.1 K and probably lower. The excellent uniformity is advantaged for detector array development.

Present status of research activities on transmutation of actinides in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amano, Hiroshi

1978-01-01

In Japan, the idea to make use of transmutation for the final disposal method of HLW was first examined by Ichimiya, Amano, Hamada et al., when the Japan Atomic Industry forum had organized a study committee for HLW treatment in 1973. This article has the scope to outline the present research activities on transmutation of actinides in Japan

Impact of partitioning and transmutation on the high level waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez-Romero, Enrique-Miguel

2010-01-01

The contribution is structured as follows: (i) Background on partitioning and transmutation; (ii) FP6 projects: RED-IMPACT; (iii) Advanced fuel cycle scenarios; (iv) Partitioning and transmutation expected performance; (v) Impact on the HLW thermal load; (vi) Impact on the deep geological disposal; and (vii) Impact on the performance assessment of deep geological disposal. (P.A.)

Extraction of the high transverse momentum photons in proton + proton collisions at 200 GeV in the PHENIX experiment at RHIC; Isolation des photons de grande impulsion transverse dans les collisions proton+proton a 200 GeV dans l'experience PHENIX au RHIC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hadl Henni, Ahmed [Ecole doctorale STIM, Sciences et Technologies de l' Information et des Materiaux, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, Universite de Nantes, Ecole des Mines de Nantes, 1 rue de la Noe, BP 92101, 44321 Nantes Cedex 3 (France)

2007-02-15

Ultra-relativistic heavy ions collisions allow to reach a hot and dense matter. This new state, called Quarks and Gluons Plasma (QGP), would exist at the first moment of our universe according to the Big Bang theory. The PHENIX experiment, one of the interaction point of the RHIC collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA), aims to study the QGP's signatures. Photons don't interact strongly with the matter and so are an accurate tool to explore the phase of QGP. Moreover photons are emitted during all the phases of the nuclear collision: from the initial state to the final hadronization. We will present a direct photon, produced by hard scattering process in the beginning of the collision, identification method (SICA, Spectroscopic Isolation Cut Analysis) applied on p + p collisions at 200 GeV. This method allows for a better discrimination between direct photons and the other contribution (mainly the electromagnetic decay of the neutral pion). One could find in this thesis the direct photon rate production obtained by SICA and compared to other analysis. With the p + p collisions we have an important reference for the more heavier collisions (Au + Au) where we assume the QGP formation. (author)

Present status and issues for accelerator driven transmutation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mizumoto, Motoharu

2003-01-01

Proper treatment of high-level nuclear wastes (HLW) that are produced in operation of nuclear power plants is one of the most important problems for further utilization of nuclear energy. The purpose of the accelerator driven nuclear waste transmutation system (ADS) is to transmute these nuclei to stable or short-lived nuclei by various radiation-induced nuclear reactions. When ADS for HLW can be realized, burden to deep geological disposal can be considerably reduced. In the paper, present status and issues for ADS will be discussed. (author)

Transmutation of radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants. A contribution to the reduction of the final repository problem; Transmutation radioaktiver Reststoffe aus Kernkraftwerken. Ein Beitrag zur Verringerung der Endlagerproblematik

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mach, Manfred [Technische Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Technologie und Management

2015-07-01

The brochure on transmutation of radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants - a contribution to the reduction of the final repository problem covers the following issues: What is transmutation? Nuclear power in Germany; energy density of fuels; time span of energy resources; CO{sub 2} emissions from different energy sources; types of nuclear power plants in Germany; cost of German electricity generation plants; nuclear power plants worldwide; wastes from nuclear electricity production; radiation from fission products; radiation effects on humans, the nuclear fuel cycle, direct final disposal of radioactive wastes; risk assessment of the direct final disposal; partitioning of actinides; transmutation of actinides.

Recent Analyses of Phenix End of Life Tests and Perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fontaine, B.; Martin, L.; Prulhière, G.; Eschbach, R.; Portier, J.-L.; Masoni, P.; Tauveron, N.; Bavière, R.; Verwaerde, D.; Hamy, J.-M.

2013-01-01

Conclusion: • End of Life tests performed at PHENIX in 2009 gathered a lot of information concerning thermalhydraulics, core physics and fuel behavior in SFR cores. • The analysis of these tests is still undergoing for some of them, involving international collaborations. • To better understand the measurements, complex models are developed thanks to recent computer science progress: • thermalhydraulics: coupling CFD and system codes neutronics: - perturbation theory applied to Bateman equations - model of distorted core; • mechanics: fluid-structure interaction. The test results allow to validate these developments, which could be applied in the future for new SFR design

Analysis of the transmutational characteristics of a novel molten salt reactor concept

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csom, Gy.; Feher, S.; Szieberth, M.

2001-01-01

One of the arguments most frequently brought up by the opponents of the utilization of nuclear energy is the requirement that the radioactive waste and the long-lived radioisotopes accumulated in the spent fuel should be isolated for a very long time from the biosphere. The solution is the elimination of long-lived actinides (plutonium isotopes and minor actinides) and long-lived fission products by transforming (transmuting) them into short-lived or stable nuclei. The high neutron flux required for transmutation can be realized in nuclear installations. these may be conventional therma; and fast reactors, furthermore dedicated devices, namely thermal and fast reactors and accelerator driven subcritical systems (ADSs), which are specifically designed for this purpose. Some of the most promising systems are the molten salt reactors and subcritical systems, in which the fuel and material to be transmuted circulate dissolved in some molten salt. In the present paper this transmutational device, as well as recommendations for the improvement are discussed in detail (Authors)

Statistical transmutation in doped quantum dimer models.

Science.gov (United States)

Lamas, C A; Ralko, A; Cabra, D C; Poilblanc, D; Pujol, P

2012-07-06

We prove a "statistical transmutation" symmetry of doped quantum dimer models on the square, triangular, and kagome lattices: the energy spectrum is invariant under a simultaneous change of statistics (i.e., bosonic into fermionic or vice versa) of the holes and of the signs of all the dimer resonance loops. This exact transformation enables us to define the duality equivalence between doped quantum dimer Hamiltonians and provides the analytic framework to analyze dynamical statistical transmutations. We investigate numerically the doping of the triangular quantum dimer model with special focus on the topological Z(2) dimer liquid. Doping leads to four (instead of two for the square lattice) inequivalent families of Hamiltonians. Competition between phase separation, superfluidity, supersolidity, and fermionic phases is investigated in the four families.

HYPERFUSE: a hypervelocity inertial confinement system for fusion energy production and fission waste transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makowitz, H.; Powell, J.R.; Wiswall, R.

1980-01-01

Parametric system studies of an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) reactor system to transmute fission products from an LWR economy have been carried out. The ICF reactors would produce net power in addition to transmuting fission products. The particular ICF concept examined is an impact fusion approach termed HYPERFUSE, in which hypervelocity pellets, traveling on the order of 100 to 300 km/sec, collide with each other or a target block in a reactor chamber and initiate a thermonuclear reaction. The DT fusion fuel is contained in a shell of the material to be transmuted, e.g., 137 Cs, 90 Sr, 129 I, 99 Tc, etc. The 14-MeV fusion neutrons released during the pellet burn cause transmutation reactions (e.g., (n,2n), (n,α), (n,γ), etc.) that convert the long-lived fission products (FP's) either to stable products or to species that decay with a short half-life to a stable product. The transmutation parametric studies conclude that the design of the hypervelocity projectiles should emphasize the achievement of high densities in the transmutation regions (greater than the DT fusion fuel density), as well as the DT ignition and burn criterion (rho R=1.0 to 3.0) requirements

Capabilities of a DT tokamak fusion neutron source for driving a spent nuclear fuel transmutation reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stacey, W.M.

2001-01-01

The capabilities of a DT fusion neutron source for driving a spent nuclear fuel transmutation reactor are characterized by identifying limits on transmutation rates that would be imposed by tokamak physics and engineering limitations on fusion neutron source performance. The need for spent nuclear fuel transmutation and the need for a neutron source to drive subcritical fission transmutation reactors are reviewed. The likely parameter ranges for tokamak neutron sources that could produce an interesting transmutation rate of 100s to 1000s of kg/FPY (where FPY stands for full power year) are identified (P fus ∼ 10-100 MW, β N ∼ 2-3, Q p ∼ 2-5, R ∼ 3-5 m, I ∼ 6-10 MA). The electrical and thermal power characteristics of transmutation reactors driven by fusion and accelerator spallation neutron sources are compared. The status of fusion development vis-a-vis a neutron source is reviewed. (author)

An optimization methodology for heterogeneous minor actinides transmutation

Science.gov (United States)

Kooyman, Timothée; Buiron, Laurent; Rimpault, Gérald

2018-04-01

In the case of a closed fuel cycle, minor actinides transmutation can lead to a strong reduction in spent fuel radiotoxicity and decay heat. In the heterogeneous approach, minor actinides are loaded in dedicated targets located at the core periphery so that long-lived minor actinides undergo fission and are turned in shorter-lived fission products. However, such targets require a specific design process due to high helium production in the fuel, high flux gradient at the core periphery and low power production. Additionally, the targets are generally manufactured with a high content in minor actinides in order to compensate for the low flux level at the core periphery. This leads to negative impacts on the fuel cycle in terms of neutron source and decay heat of the irradiated targets, which penalize their handling and reprocessing. In this paper, a simplified methodology for the design of targets is coupled with a method for the optimization of transmutation which takes into account both transmutation performances and fuel cycle impacts. The uncertainties and performances of this methodology are evaluated and shown to be sufficient to carry out scoping studies. An illustration is then made by considering the use of moderating material in the targets, which has a positive impact on the minor actinides consumption but a negative impact both on fuel cycle constraints (higher decay heat and neutron) and on assembly design (higher helium production and lower fuel volume fraction). It is shown that the use of moderating material is an optimal solution of the transmutation problem with regards to consumption and fuel cycle impacts, even when taking geometrical design considerations into account.

Cleaning and decontamination: Experimental feedback from PHENIX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masse, F.; Rodriguez, G.

1997-01-01

After the first few years of operation of PHENIX, it proved necessary to clean, then decontaminate sodium-polluted components, particularly large components such as the intermediate heat exchangers (IHX) and the primary pumps (PP). Ibis document presents the evolution of the cleaning and decontamination processes used, and specifies the reasons for this evolution. As regards the cleaning, experimental feedback and a greater rigour with respect to the hydrogen hazard have resulted in a modification of the process. The new cleaning process used at present (since 1994) is described in greater detail in this document. The main steps are: cold CO 2 bubbling in water, followed by hot CO 2 bubbling, spraying phase, then drying for inspection before immersion. In order to optimize and validate the process, the cleaning and decontamination plant has been highly instrumented, which, in particular, has allowed confirmation of the contention that the major part of the sodium is eliminated during the bubbling phases. With respect to decontamination, the objective is to perfect an efficient process that allows both human intervention with no particular biological shield for repair or maintenance of the components, and requalification of the materials after the decontamination operation. Owing to the high operating temperature of Fast Breeder Reactor components (400 to 550 deg. C), the activated corrosion products deposited on the components melt into the metal. The decontamination process therefore consists in either dissolving the deposits on the surface, or dissolving a thickness of about less than ten micrometers of the base metal. The reference process for austenitic-type steels is the SPm process, which consists in immersing the component in a sulphuric-phosphoric bath (sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid) at a temperature of 60 deg. C for 6 hours. The problem linked to this process is the treatment of the effluents that are produced, particularly phosphate releases. A

Evaluation of the possibility of plutonium and minor actinides transmutation in HWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghitescu, P.; Ghizdeanu, N. B.

2008-01-01

Partitioning and Transmutation (P and T) techniques could contribute to reduce the radioactive inventory and its associated radio-toxicity. Until now, for this purpose were studied ADS and/or FBR, but not HWR. There are several developed computer codes that analyze the inventory of the radio-nuclides in spent fuel before and after transmutation. WIMSD code is a deterministic lattice spectrum code, which can analyze the reactor neutronic behaviour It also has the capacity to generate burn up and can calculate the inventory of the radio-nuclides of the spent fuel. The advantage of WIMSD code is the variety of the created geometries, together with the big amount of calculated information (K-infinite, macroscopic cross-sections, burnable material radioactive inventory etc). Starting from WIMSD code, the paper presents a model, which simulates the possibility of fuel transmutation in PHWRs. First step was to propose a model, which simulates a CANDU reactor lattice and calculate the radionuclides inventory in an irradiated CANDU fuel bundle. The results were compared with the existing experimental data from CANDU reactors and the calculated parameters were found to be in good agreement with them. After the validation, several simulations were made for PHWRs in order to establish the optimal parameters, related to the efficiency of the transmutation process. Therefore, the code was used for a new type of fuel, containing Plutonium and minor actinides that could be transmuted. The new radioactive inventories were calculated. The simulations showed that Pu content decreases up to 8% in a CANDU reactor and 25% in an ACR. Thus, ACR can reduce the Plutonium inventory from MOX fuel and could be a transmutation solution. (authors)

Minor actinide transmutation using minor actinide burner reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukaiyama, T.; Yoshida, H.; Gunji, Y.

1991-01-01

The concept of minor actinide burner reactor is proposed as an efficient way to transmute long-lived minor actinides in order to ease the burden of high-level radioactive waste disposal problem. Conceptual design study of minor actinide burner reactors was performed to obtain a reactor model with very hard neutron spectrum and very high neutron flux in which minor actinides can be fissioned efficiently. Two models of burner reactors were obtained, one with metal fuel core and the other with particle fuel core. Minor actinide transmutation by the actinide burner reactors is compared with that by power reactors from both the reactor physics and fuel cycle facilities view point. (author)

Fission neutron irradiation of copper containing implanted and transmutation produced helium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singh, B.N.; Horsewell, A.; Eldrup, Morten Mostgaard

1992-01-01

High purity copper containing approximately 100 appm helium was produced in two ways. In the first, helium was implanted by cyclotron at Harwell at 323 K. In the second method, helium was produced as a transmutation product in 800 MeV proton irradiation at Los Alamos, also at 323 K. The distribut......High purity copper containing approximately 100 appm helium was produced in two ways. In the first, helium was implanted by cyclotron at Harwell at 323 K. In the second method, helium was produced as a transmutation product in 800 MeV proton irradiation at Los Alamos, also at 323 K...... as well as the effect of the presence of other transmutation produced impurity atoms in the 800 MeV proton irradiated copper will be discussed....

Energy Production and Transmutation of Nuclear Waste by Accelerator Driven Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Zhivkov, P. K.

2018-05-01

There is a significant amount of highly radiotoxic long-life nuclear waste (NW) produced by NPP (Nuclear Power Plants). Transmutation is a process which transforms NW into less radiotoxic nuclides with a shorter period of half-life by spallation neutrons or radiative capture of neutrons produced by ADS (Accelerator Driven System). In the processes of transmutation new radioactive nuclides are produced. ADS is big energy consumer equipment. It is a method for production of a high-flux and high-energy neutron field. All these processes occur in ADS simultaneously. ADS is able to transmute actinides and produce energy simultaneously. The article considers the energy production problems in ADS. Several ideas are developed regarding the solution of the global energy supply.

Transmutation of long-lived nuclides in the fuel cycle of Brest-type reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopatkin, A.V.; Orlov, V.V.; Filin, A.I.

2001-01-01

Transmutation of long-lived nuclides produced as a result of nuclear generation, should be set up proceeding from the principle of reasonable sufficiency, expressed as radiation equivalence between the radwaste sent to disposal and source natural uranium. In this case, introduction of fast reactors of new generation (such as BREST or other reactors based on similar philosophy) will resolve transmutation problems even with the thermal-to-fast reactor capacity ratio of 2:1. The authors of the 'Strategy of nuclear power development in Russia' foresee, and substantiate their prediction, that fast reactors of the new generation will account for no less than 2/3 of nuclear capacity in future large-scale nuclear power sector. Fast reactors will be the basis of a transmutation fuel cycle, which will remove the need of creating additional transmutation facilities. (author)

Progress in transmutation targets from Efttra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haas, D.; Fernandez, A.; Warin, D.; Bonnerot, J.M.; Garzenne, C.; Scaffidi-Argentina, F.; Maschek, W.; Schram, R.; Klaassen, F.

2007-01-01

Since 15 years, the EFTTRA partners have organised programmes to demonstrate the feasibility of the transmutation of americium in uranium-free targets. In the related transmutation scenario, the targets are introduced in a thermal neutron zone of a fast reactor, to maximize the efficiency of transmutation. Amongst these programmes, those carried out in the HFR reactor in Petten have led to important conclusions and are still at the core of the research in that field. The analysis of the EFTTRA T4 and T4bis irradiation experiments, carried out with targets of MgAl 2 O 4 +11 wt% 241 Am, showed that the release/trapping of helium is the key issue for target design, and also demonstrated a lack of technical benefits of this material, due to a unsatisfactory in-pile behaviour in terms of irradiation damage and chemical stability. A new irradiation experiment called HELIOS is currently under fabrication and will be carried out in HFR. The in-pile behaviour of U-free fuels and targets such as (Am,Zr)O 2 , (Pu,Am,Zr)O 2 , CERCER (MgO) or CERMET (Mo) will be examined. The irradiation temperature will be high enough in some of the pins to be able to tune the release of a significant fraction of helium produced so that the material swelling can be minimized as much as reasonably possible. The HELIOS irradiation experiment is planned to be carried out in the HFR core and shall last 300 full power days starting in 2007. (authors)

Identification of Super Phenix steam generator by a simple polynomial model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rousseau, I.

1981-01-01

This note suggests a method of identification for the steam generator of the Super-Phenix fast neutron power plant for simple polynomial models. This approach is justified in the selection of the adaptive control. The identification algorithms presented will be applied to multivariable input-output behaviours. The results obtained with the representation in self-regressive form and by simple polynomial models will be compared and the effect of perturbations on the output signal will be tested, in order to select a good identification algorithm for multivariable adaptive regulation [fr

The internal core catcher in Super Phenix 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Rigoleur, C.; Kayser, G.; Maurin, G.; Magnon, B.

1982-07-01

The internal core catcher in SUPER PHENIX 1 is described here in some detail. The fuel retention capabilities are presented for situations of increasing severity. The first situation corresponds to the core catcher design. It relates to a hypothetical subassembly accident that would cause a limited quantity of fuel, corresponding to the mass of seven subassemblies, to be deposited on the core catcher. For this situation and at all levels of the analysis, the most conservative assumptions are made in order to prove the integrity of the core catcher. The second situation corresponds to a hypothetical larger core melt accident. In this case, for some of the parameters, assumptions are made that correspond to the most likely situations based on engineering considerations. Then the maximum retention capabilities are presented

Production and performance of the silicon sensor and readout electronics for the PHENIX FVTX tracker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kapustinsky, Jon Steven

2009-01-01

The Forward Silicon Vertex Tracker (FVTX) upgrade for the PHENIX detector at RHIC will extend the vertex capability of the central PHENIX Silicon Vertex Tracker (VTX). The FVTX is designed with adequate spatial resolution to separate decay muons coming from the relatively long-lived heavy quark mesons (Charm and Beauty), from prompt particles and the longer-lived pion and kaon decays that originate at the primary collision vertex. These heavy quarks can be used to probe the high density medium that is formed in Au+Au collisions at RHIC. The FVTX is designed as two endcaps. Each endcap is comprised of four silicon disks covering opening angles from 10 to 35 degrees to match the existing muon arm acceptance. Each disk consists of p-on-n, silicon wedges, with ac-coupled mini-strips on 75 (micro)m radial pitch and proj ective length in the phi direction that increases with radius. A custom front-end chip, the FPHX, has been designed for the FVTX. The chip combines fast trigger capability with data push architecture in a low power design.

Simulation of Phenix EOL Asymmetric Test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ha, Kwi Seok; Lee, Kwi Lim; Choi, Chi Woong; Kang, Seok Hun; Chang, Won Pyo; Jeong, Hae Yong [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2012-05-15

The asymmetric test of End-Of-Life (EOL) tests on the Phenix plant was used for the evaluation of the MARS-LMR in the Generation IV frame as a part of the code validation. The purpose of the test is to evaluate the ability of the system code to describe asymmetric situations and to identify important phenomena during asymmetrical transient such as a three dimensional effect, buoyancy influence, and thermal stratification in the hot and cold pools. 3-dimensional sodium coolant mixing in the pools has different characteristics from the one dimensional full instantaneous mixing. The velocities and temperatures at the core outlet level differ at each sub-assembly and the temperature in the center of the hot pool may be high because the driver fuels are located at the center region. The temperatures in the hot pool are not the same in the radial and axial locations due to the buoyancy effect. The temperatures in the cold pool also differ along with the elevations and azimuthal directions due to the outlet location of IHX and the thermal stratification

Advances in neutronics calculation of fast neutron reactors - Demonstration on Super-Phenix reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Czernecki, Sebastien

1998-01-01

The fast reactor european neutronics calculations system, ERANOS, has integrated recent improvements both in nuclear data, with the use of the adjusted nuclear library ERALIB 1 from the JEF2.2 library, and calculation methods, with the use of the new european cell code, ECCO, and the deterministic code, TGV/VARIANT. This code performs full 3-D reactor calculation in the transport theory with variational method. The aim of this work is to create and validate a new calculational scheme for fast spectrum systems offering good compromise between accuracy and running time. The new scheme is based on these improvements plus a special procedure accounting for control rod heterogeneity, which uses a reactivity equivalence homogenization. The new scheme has been validated by means of experiment/calculation comparisons, using the extensive start-up program measurements performed in Super-Phenix reactor. The validation uses also recent measurements performed in the Phenix reactor. The results are very satisfactory and show a significant improvement for almost all core parameters, especially for critical mass, control rod worth and radial subassembly power distribution. A detailed analysis of the discrepancies between the old scheme and the new one for this parameter allows to understand the separate effects of methods and nuclear data on the radial power distribution shape. (author) [fr

The control system adopted for Super-Phenix. Reasons for choice and evaluation of performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Decuyper, J.; Skull, G.; Hery, M.; Hennebicq, J.P.

1978-01-01

The paper reviews all the research done in working out the control system for the fast-neutron Super-Phenix power station, which is now under construction at Creys-Malville, France. The purpose of the system is to provide a balance between the power produced by the reactor and that taken by the electricity-generating plant. After an introductory section on the structure of the power station and the operating conditions imposed, the following main stages in design work are described: development of the system simulation model and corrobaration on the basis of test results; specification of possible control system layouts (i.e. the various possible connections between regulating variables and regulated variables), optimization of control coefficients of each layout, comparison of performance and choice of layout; detailed study of the layout chosen. Special reference is made to the following typical aspects of Super-Phenix operating technology: response of the power station to primary frequency control; stability of steam generators operating in parallel; establishment of the sodium temperature value. The final part is a summary of the research carried out and a description of the performance of the computer codes. (author)

Spatial heterogeneity of tungsten transmutation in a fusion device

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, M. R.; Sublet, J.-Ch.; Dudarev, S. L.

2017-04-01

Accurately quantifying the transmutation rate of tungsten (W) under neutron irradiation is a necessary requirement in the assessment of its performance as an armour material in a fusion power plant. The usual approach of calculating average responses, assuming large, homogenised material volumes, is insufficient to capture the full complexity of the transmutation picture in the context of a realistic fusion power plant design, particularly for rhenium (Re) production from W. Combined neutron transport and inventory simulations for representative spatially heterogeneous high-resolution models of a fusion power plant show that the production rate of Re is strongly influenced by the surrounding local spatial environment. Localised variation in neutron moderation (slowing down) due to structural steel and coolant, particularly water, can dramatically increase Re production because of the huge cross sections of giant resolved resonances in the neutron-capture reaction of 186W at low neutron energies. Calculations using cross section data corrected for temperature (Doppler) effects suggest that temperature may have a relatively lesser influence on transmutation rates.

Actinides transmutation - a comparison of results for PWR benchmark

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Claro, Luiz H.

2009-01-01

The physical aspects involved in the Partitioning and Transmutation (P and T) of minor actinides (MA) and fission products (FP) generated by reactors PWR are of great interest in the nuclear industry. Besides these the reduction in the storage of radioactive wastes are related with the acceptability of the nuclear electric power. From the several concepts for partitioning and transmutation suggested in literature, one of them involves PWR reactors to burn the fuel containing plutonium and minor actinides reprocessed of UO 2 used in previous stages. In this work are presented the results of the calculations of a benchmark in P and T carried with WIMSD5B program using its new cross sections library generated from the ENDF-B-VII and the comparison with the results published in literature by other calculations. For comparison, was used the benchmark transmutation concept based in a typical PWR cell and the analyzed results were the k∞ and the atomic density of the isotopes Np-239, Pu-241, Pu-242 and Am-242m, as function of burnup considering discharge of 50 GWd/tHM. (author)

Deep burn transmutation of nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez, C.; Baxter, A.; McEachern, D.; Venneri, F.; Williams, D.

2002-01-01

Helium-cooled, graphite-moderated reactors with ceramic-coated fuel particles offer unique advantages for the destruction of transuranic materials discharged in Light Water Reactor spent fuel. This is accomplished by fission, and capture-followed-by-fission processes. Three major features make it practical: (1) ceramic-coated particles accommodate high levels of burnup in one pass, thus reducing the need for repeated reprocessing; (2) graphite moderation produces valuable opportunities for thermal and epithermal neutrons to interact with fissionable and non-fissionable materials respectively; and (3) ceramic-coated particle kernel sizes can be adjusted to control the rate of such interactions. In the transmutation scheme proposed here, virtually complete destruction of weapons-usable materials, and 95% destruction of all transuranic waste is achieved. Higher levels of destruction are possible by repeated reprocessing and recycling, but there is little incentive to do so since each reprocessing step generates new secondary waste. After transmutation, the impervious ceramic-coated fuel particles provide an ideal residual waste form. (author)

4th Neutron Transmutation Doping Conference

CERN Document Server

1984-01-01

viii The growing use of NTD silicon outside the U. S. A. motivated an interest in having the next NTD conference in Europe. Therefore, the Third International Conference on Neutron Transmutation-Doped Silicon was organized by Jens Guldberg and held in Copenhagen, Denmark on August 27-29, 1980. The papers presented at this conference reviewed the developments which occurred during the t'A'O years since the previous conference and included papers on irradiation technology, radiation-induced defects, characteriza­ tion of NTD silicon, and the use of NTD silicon for device appli­ cations. The proceedings of this conference were edited by Jens Guldberg and published by Plenum Press in 1981. Interest in, and commercial use of, NTD silicon continued to grow after the Third NTD Conference, and research into neutron trans­ mutation doping of nonsilicon semiconductors had begun to accel­ erate. The Fourth International Transmutation Doping Conference reported in this volume includes invited papers summarizing the p...

Application of variance reduction technique to nuclear transmutation system driven by accelerator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sasa, Toshinobu [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

1998-03-01

In Japan, it is the basic policy to dispose the high level radioactive waste arising from spent nuclear fuel in stable deep strata after glass solidification. If the useful elements in the waste can be separated and utilized, resources are effectively used, and it can be expected to guarantee high economical efficiency and safety in the disposal in strata. Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute proposed the hybrid type transmutation system, in which high intensity proton accelerator and subcritical fast core are combined, or the nuclear reactor which is optimized for the exclusive use for transmutation. The tungsten target, minor actinide nitride fuel transmutation system and the melted minor actinide chloride salt target fuel transmutation system are outlined. The conceptual figures of both systems are shown. As the method of analysis, Version 2.70 of Lahet Code System which was developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory in USA was adopted. In case of carrying out the analysis of accelerator-driven subcritical core in the energy range below 20 MeV, variance reduction technique must be applied. (K.I.)

Actinide partitioning-transmutation program final report. I. Overall assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Croff, A.G.; Blomeke, J.O.; Finney, B.C.

1980-06-01

This report is concerned with an overall assessment of the feasibility of and incentives for partitioning (recovering) long-lived nuclides from fuel reprocessing and fuel refabrication plant radioactive wastes and transmuting them to shorter-lived or stable nuclides by neutron irradiation. The principal class of nuclides considered is the actinides, although a brief analysis is given of the partitioning and transmutation (P-T) of 99 Tc and 129 I. The results obtained in this program permit us to make a comparison of the impacts of waste management with and without actinide recovery and transmutation. Three major conclusions concerning technical feasibility can be drawn from the assessment: (1) actinide P-T is feasible, subject to the acceptability of fuels containing recycle actinides; (2) technetium P-T is feasible if satisfactory partitioning processes can be developed and satisfactory fuels identified (no studies have been made in this area); and (3) iodine P-T is marginally feasible at best because of the low transmutation rates, the high volatility, and the corrosiveness of iodine and iodine compounds. It was concluded on the basis of a very conservative repository risk analysis that there are no safety or cost incentives for actinide P-T. In fact, if nonradiological risks are included, the short-term risks of P-T exceed the long-term benefits integrated over a period of 1 million years. Incentives for technetium and iodine P-T exist only if extremely conservative long-term risk analyses are used. Further RD and D in support of P-T is not warranted

Geology and mineral resources of the Johnson City, Phenix City, and Rome 10 x 20 NTMS quadrangles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karfunkel, B.S.

1981-11-01

This document provides geologic and mineral resources data for the Savannah River Laboratory-National Uranium Resource Evaluation hydrogeochemical and stream-sediment reports for the Johnson City, Phenix City, and Rome 1 0 x 2 0 National Topographic Map Series quadrangles in the southeastern United States

Development of neutron-transmutation-doped germanium bolometer material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palaio, N.P.

1983-08-01

The behavior of lattice defects generated as a result of the neutron-transmutation-doping of germanium was studied as a function of annealing conditions using deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and mobility measurements. DLTS and variable temperature Hall effect were also used to measure the activation of dopant impurities formed during the transmutation process. In additioon, a semi-automated method of attaching wires on to small chips of germanium ( 3 ) for the fabrication of infrared detecting bolometers was developed. Finally, several different types of junction field effect transistors were tested for noise at room and low temperature (approx. 80 K) in order to find the optimum device available for first stage electronics in the bolometer signal amplification circuit

Transmutation of LWR waste actinides in thermal reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorrell, T.C.

1979-01-01

Recycle of actinides to a reactor for transmutation to fission products is being considered as a possible means of waste disposal. Actinide transmutation calculations were made for two irradiation options in a thermal (LWR) reactor. The cases considered were: all actinides recycled in regular uranium fuel assemblies, and transuranic actinides recycled in separate mixed oxide (MOX) assemblies. When all actinides were recycled in a uranium lattice, a reduction of 62% in the transuranic inventory was achieved after 10 recycles, compared to the inventory accumulated without recycle. When the transuranics from 2 regular uranium assemblies were combined with those recycled from a MOX assembly, the transuranic inventory was reduced 50% after 5 recycles

Nickel Foil as Transmutation Detector for Neutron Fluence Measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klupák Vít

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Activation detectors are very often used for determination of the neutron fluence in reactor dosimetry. However, there are few disadvantages concerning these detectors; it is the demand of the knowledge of the irradiation history and a loss of information due to a radioactive decay in time. Transmutation detectors TMD could be a solution in this case. The transmutation detectors are materials in which stable or long-lived nuclides are produced by nuclear reactions with neutrons. From a measurement of concentration of these nuclides, neutron fluence can be evaluated regardless of the cooling time.

Transmutation potential of current and innovative nuclear power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slessarev, I.; Salvatores, M.; Uematsu, M.

1993-01-01

In the present paper we have investigated the transmutation potential of different nuclear systems from a physical point of view. Transuranium (TRU) elements have been considered, but also long lived fission products (LLFP). The potential for transmutation has to take into account not only the consumption of a specific nucleus (or of a specific 'family' of nuclei), but also the reproduction of other nuclei of higher masses. The present study allows an intercomparison taking into account both aspects. Technological, safety and design constraints were not considered at this stage. However strategic indications for future studies have been obtained. 3 refs., 3 tabs

Subcritical molten salt reactor with fast/intermediate spectrum for minor actinides transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Degtyarev, Alexey M.; Feinberg, Olga S.; Kolyaskin, Oleg E.; Myasnikov, Andrey A.; Karmanov, Fedor I.; Kuznetsov, Andrey Yu.; Ponomarev, Leonid I.; Seregin, Mikhail B.; Sidorkin, Stanislav F.

2011-01-01

The subcritical molten-salt reactor for transmutation of Am and Cm with the fast-intermediate neutron spectrum is suggested. It is shown that ∼10 such reactor-burners is enough to support the future nuclear power based on the fast reactors as well as for the transmutation of Am and Cm accumulated in the spent fuel storages. (author)

The status of nuclear data for transmutation calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, W.B.; England, T.R.; MacFarlane, R.E.; Muir, D.W.; Young, P.G.

1995-01-01

At this point, the accurate description of transmutation products in a radiation environment is more a nuclear data problem than a code development effort. We have used versions of the CINDER code for over three decades to describe the transmutation of nuclear reactor fuels in radiation environments. The need for the accurate description of reactor neutron-absorption, decay-power, and decay-spectra properties have driven many AEC, ERDA, and DOE supported nuclear data development efforts in this period. The level of cross-section, decay, and fission-yield data has evolved from rudimentary to a comprehensive ENDF/B-VI library permitting great precision in reactor calculations. The precision of the data supporting reactor simulations provides a sturdy foundation for the data base required for the wide range of transmutation problems currently studied. However, such reactor problems are typically limited to neutron energies below 10 MeV or so; reaction and decay data are required for actinides of, say, 90 ≤ Z ≤ 96 neutron-rich fission products of 22 ≤ Z ≤ 72. The expansion into reactor structural materials and fusion systems extends these ranges in energy and Z somewhat. The library of nuclear data, constantly growing in breadth and quality with international cooperation, is now described in the following table

PKA distributions: Contributions from transmutation products and from radioactive decay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.R. Gilbert

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The neutrons generated in fusion plasmas interact with materials via nuclear reactions. The resulting transmutations and atomic displacements have life-limiting consequences for fusion reactor components. A detailed understanding of the production, evolution and material consequences of the damage created by cascades of atomic displacements requires, as a vital primary input, a complete description of the energy-spectrum of initial (prompt atomic displacement events (the primary knock on atoms or PKAs produced by direct neutron nuclear interactions. There is also the possibility that the radionuclides produced under transmutation will create further PKAs as they decay, and so the rate of these must also be quantified. This paper presents the latest results from the analysis of PKA spectra under neutron irradiation, focussing particularly on the variation in PKA distributions due to changes in composition under transmutation, but also on the PKA contributions from radioactive decay of materials that become activated under irradiation.

Partitioning and transmutation (P and D) 1995. A review of the current state of the art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skaalberg, M.; Landgren, A.; Spjuth, L.; Liljenzin, J.O.; Gudowski, W.

1995-12-01

The recent development in the field of partitioning and transmutation (P/T) is reviewed and evaluated. Current national and international R and D efforts are summarized. Nuclear transmutation with energy production is feasible in nuclear reactors where fast and thermal breeders are the most efficient for transmutation purposes. The operation of subcritical nuclear reactors by high current proton accelerators that generate neutrons in a spallation target is also an interesting option for transmutation and energy production, that has to be more carefully evaluated. These accelerator-driven systems are probably the only solution for the transmutation of long-lived fission products with small neutron capture cross sections and actinide isotopes with small fission cross sections. The requirements on the separation chemistry in the partitioning process depends on the transmutation strategy chosen. Recent developments in aqueous based separation chemistry opens some interesting possibilities to meet some of the requirements, such as separation of different actinides and some fission products and reduction of secondary waste streams. In the advanced accelerator-driven transmutation systems proposed, liquid fuels such as molten salts are considered. The partitioning processes that can be used for these types of fuel will, however, require a long term research program. The possibility to use centrifuge separation is an interesting partitioning option that recently has been proposed. 51 refs, 7 figs, 3 tabs

Nuclear waste transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leray, S.

1995-01-01

Accelerators can play a role in the disposal of long-lived radioactive waste: an alternative to the storage in deep underground repositories might transmuting long-lived elements into stable or short-lived ones in subcritical systems driven by spallation neutrons. These neutrons would be produced by a high intensity, intermediate energy proton accelerator irradiating a heavy target. Similar systems have also been proposed to produce energy with a minimized waste inventory. Since a good knowledge of the spallation process is essential for designing and optimizing the target-blanket assembly, new programmes aimed at studying spallation reactions are in progress. (author). 6 figs

Evaluation of nuclides with closely spaced values of depletion constants in transmutation chains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vukadin, Z.S.

1977-01-01

New method of calculating nuclide concentrations in a transmutation chain is developed in this thesis. Method is based on originally derived recurrence formulas for expansion series of depletion functions and on originally obtained, nonsingular, Bateman coefficients. Explicit expression for the nuclide concentrations in a transmutation chain is obtained. This expression can be used as it stands for arbitrary values of nuclides depletion constants. By computing hypothetical transmutation chains and neptunium series, method is compared with the Bateman analytical solution, with the approximate solutions and with the matrix exponential method. It comes out that the method presented in this thesis is suitable for calculating very long depletion chains even in the case of some closely spaced and/or equal values of nuclide depletion constants. Though, presented method is of great practical applicability in a number of nuclear physics problems that are dealing with the nuclide transmutations: starting from the studies of the stellar evolution up to the design of nuclear reactors (author) [sr

Incentives and recent proposals for partitioning and transmutation in the United States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donovan, T.J.

1995-05-01

Partitioning and transmutation (P-T) is perhaps the most elegant means of high level waste disposal. Currently, the cost of fuel obtained from reprocessing spent fuel exceeds the cost of fuel obtained by mining. This has resulted in the once through fuel cycle dominating the US nuclear industry. Despite this fact P-T continues to be examined and debated by the US as well as abroad. The US first seriously considered P-T between approximately 1976 and 1982 but rejected the concept in favor of reprocessing. More recently, since about 1989, as a result of the once through fuel cycle and the growing problems of waste disposal, studies concerning P-T have resumed. This essay will seek to outline the incentives and goals of partitioning and transmutation as it would apply to the disposal of spent fuel in the US. Recent proposals by various US national laboratories for implementing partitioning and transmutation as a high level waste management and disposal device will also be discussed. The review will seek to examine the technical concepts utilized in each of the proposals and their feasibility. The major focus of this essay will be the transmutation methods themselves, while the partitioning methods will be discussed only briefly. This is because of the fact that partitioning methods fall under reprocessing as an already fairly well established and accepted technology while feasible methods for transmutation are still being advanced

Comparative study of accelerator driven system (ADS) of different transmutation scenarios for actinides in advanced nuclear fuel cycles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Embid-Segura, M.; Gonzalez Romero, M.E.; Perez Parra, A.

2001-01-01

The full text follows. In recent years transmutation has raised as a complementary option to solve the problem of the long-lived radioactive waste produced in nuclear power plants. The main advantages expected from transmutation are the reduction in volume of the high level waste and a significant decrease in the long-term radiotoxicity inventory, with a probable impact in the final costs and potential risks of the geological repository. This paper will describe the evaluation of different systems proposed for actinide transmutation, their integration in the waste management process, their viability, performances and limitations. Particular attention is taking of comparing transmutation scenarios where the actinides are transmuted inside fertile (U, Th) or inert matrix. This study has been supported by ENRESA inside the CIEMAT-ENRESA collaboration for the study of long-lived isotope transmutation. (authors)

Use of fast reactors for actinide transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-03-01

The management of radioactive waste is one of the key issues in today's discussions on nuclear energy, especially the long term disposal of high level radioactive wastes. The recycling of plutonium in liquid metal fast breeder reactors (LMFBRs) would allow 'burning' of the associated extremely long life transuranic waste, particularly actinides, thus reducing the required isolation time for high level waste from tens of thousands of years to hundreds of years for fission products only. The International Working Group on Fast Reactors (IWGFR) decided to include the topic of actinide transmutation in liquid metal fast breeder reactors in its programme. The IAEA organized the Specialists Meeting on Use of Fast Breeder Reactors for Actinide Transmutation in Obninsk, Russian Federation, from 22 to 24 September 1992. The specialists agree that future progress in solving transmutation problems could be achieved by improvements in: Radiochemical partitioning and extraction of the actinides from the spent fuel (at least 98% for Np and Cm and 99.9% for Pu and Am isotopes); technological research and development on the design, fabrication and irradiation of the minor actinides (MAs) containing fuels; nuclear constants measurement and evaluation (selective cross-sections, fission fragments yields, delayed neutron parameters) especially for MA burners; demonstration of the feasibility of the safe and economic MA burner cores; knowledge of the impact of maximum tolerable amount of rare earths in americium containing fuels. Refs, figs and tabs

Method to Reduce Long-lived Fission Products by Nuclear Transmutations with Fast Spectrum Reactors.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiba, Satoshi; Wakabayashi, Toshio; Tachi, Yoshiaki; Takaki, Naoyuki; Terashima, Atsunori; Okumura, Shin; Yoshida, Tadashi

2017-10-24

Transmutation of long-lived fission products (LLFPs: 79 Se, 93 Zr, 99 Tc, 107 Pd, 129 I, and 135 Cs) into short-lived or non-radioactive nuclides by fast neutron spectrum reactors without isotope separation has been proposed as a solution to the problem of radioactive wastes disposal. Despite investigation of many methods, such transmutation remains technologically difficult. To establish an effective and efficient transmutation system, we propose a novel neutron moderator material, yttrium deuteride (YD 2 ), to soften the neutron spectrum leaking from the reactor core. Neutron energy spectra and effective half-lives of LLFPs, transmutation rates, and support ratios were evaluated with the continuous-energy Monte Carlo code MVP-II/MVP-BURN and the JENDL-4.0 cross section library. With the YD 2 moderator in the radial blanket and shield regions, effective half-lives drastically decreased from 106 to 102 years and the support ratios reached 1.0 for all six LLFPs. This successful development and implementation of a transmutation system for LLFPs without isotope separation contributes to a the ability of fast spectrum reactors to reduce radioactive waste by consuming their own LLFPs.

An improved transmutation method for quantitative determination of the components in multicomponent overlapping chromatograms.

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Xueguang; Yu, Zhengliang; Ma, Chaoxiong

2004-06-01

An improved method is proposed for the quantitative determination of multicomponent overlapping chromatograms based on a known transmutation method. To overcome the main limitation of the transmutation method caused by the oscillation generated in the transmutation process, two techniques--wavelet transform smoothing and the cubic spline interpolation for reducing data points--were adopted, and a new criterion was also developed. By using the proposed algorithm, the oscillation can be suppressed effectively, and quantitative determination of the components in both the simulated and experimental overlapping chromatograms is successfully obtained.

Study of an optimal configuration of a transmutation reactor based on a low-aspect-ratio tokamak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Bong Guen, E-mail: bghong@jbnu.ac.kr [Department of Quantum System Engineering, Chonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 54896 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hoseok [Department of Applied Plasma Engineering, Chonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 54896 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-11-15

Highlights: • Optimum configuration of a transmutation reactor based on a low aspect ratio tokamak was found. • Inboard and outboard radial build are determined by plasma physics, engineering and neutronics constraints. • Radial build and equilibrium fuel cycle play a major role in determining the transmutation characteristics. - Abstract: We determine the optimal configuration of a transmutation reactor based on a low-aspect-ratio tokamak. For self-consistent determination of the radial build of the reactor components, we couple a tokamak systems analysis with a radiation transport calculation. The inboard radial build of the reactor components is obtained from plasma physics and engineering constraints, while outboard radial builds are mainly determined by constraints on neutron multiplication, the tritium-breeding ratio, and the power density. We show that the breeding blanket model has an effect on the radial build of a transmutation blanket. A burn cycle has to be determined to keep the fast neutron fluence plasma-facing material below its radiation damage limit. We show that the radial build of the transmutation reactor components and the equilibrium fuel cycle play a major role in determining the transmutation characteristics.

Ma and LLFP transmutation in MTPs and ADSs: the typical SCK.CEN case of transmutations in BR2 and Myrrha. Position with respect to the global needs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raedt, Ch. de; Verboomen, B.; Aoust, Th.; Malambu, E.; Beeckmans de West-Meerbeeck, A.; Kupschus, P.; Benoit, Ph.; Ait Abderrahim, H.; Baetsle, L.H.

2001-01-01

The proposed paper indicates the performances, in the domain of the transmutation of MAs and LLFPs, of the high flux materials testing reactor BR2 located at SCK-CEN, and compares them with those of the multipurpose ADS MYRRHA, the pre-design of which is at the present time being finalized at SCK-CEN. With thermal neutron fluxes reaching 9.10 14 n/cm 2 s in thermal positions and 4.10 14 n/cm 2 s in the reactor core and, in the latter position, a fast flux (E>0.1 MeV) of 7.10 14 n/cm 2 s, BR2 has a transmutation throughput of the order of 1.5 kg Np+Am per 200 EFPD. This capacity can be used for investigating at the technological scale the transmutation of MAs and LLFPs in a thermal neutron spectrum with a high contribution of epithermal and fast neutrons. The metallurgical behaviour of the targets can hence be studied. In MYRRHA, higher fast fluxes are expected to be attained in irradiation positions near the spallation source, viz fast fluxes (E>0.75 MeV) up to 10. 15 n/cm 2 s. One of the purposes of MYRRHA is therefore its utilisation for the investigation of actinide transmutation feasibility with ADSs. (author)

Neutronics-processing interface analyses for the Accelerator Transmutation of Waste (ATW) aqueous-based blanket system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidson, J.W.; Battat, M.E.

1993-01-01

Neutronics-processing interface parameters have large impacts on the neutron economy and transmutation performance of an aqueous-based Accelerator Transmutation of Waste (ATW) system. A detailed assessment of the interdependence of these blanket neutronic and chemical processing parameters has been performed. Neutronic performance analyses require that neutron transport calculations for the ATW blanket systems be fully coupled with the blanket processing and include all neutron absorptions in candidate waste nuclides as well as in fission and transmutation products. The effects of processing rates, flux levels, flux spectra, and external-to-blanket inventories on blanket neutronic performance were determined. In addition, the inventories and isotopics in the various subsystems were also calculated for various actinide and long-lived fission product transmutation strategies

Conceptual study on high performance blanket in a spherical tokamak fusion-driven transmuter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yixue; Wu Yican

2000-01-01

A preliminary conceptual design on high performance dual-cooled blanket of fusion-driven transmuter is presented based on neutronic calculation. The dual-cooled system has some attractive advantages when utilized in transmutation of HLW (High Level Wastes). The calculation results show that this kind of blanket could safely transmute about 6 ton minor actinides (produced by 170 GW(e) Year PWRs approximately) and 0.4 ton fission products per year, and output 12 GW thermal power. In addition, the variation of power and critical factor of this blanket is relatively little during its 1-year operation period. This blanket is also tritium self-sustainable

Fuel design for the U.S. accelerator driven transmutation system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, M. K.; Hayes, S. L.; Crawford, D. C.; Pahl, R. G.; Tsai, H.

2002-01-01

The U.S. concept for actinide transmutation is currently envisioned as a system to destroy plutonium as well as minor actinides in a single or two tier system. In order to maximize the actinide destruction rate, an inert matrix fuel is used. The effectiveness of transmutation in reducing the actinide inventory is linked to the development of a robust fuel system, capable of achieving very high burnup. Very little fuel performance data has been generated to date on inert matrix systems, and there are several issues specific to the behavior of higher actinides that do not allow extension of the existing uranium-plutonium fuel database to these new fuels. These issues include helium production, fuel-cladding-chemical-interaction, and americium migration. In the early 1990's, two U-Pu-Zr metal alloy fuel elements containing 1.2 wt.% Am and 1.3 wt.% Np were fabricated and irradiated to approximately 6 at.% burnup in the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II. Postirradiation examination results were not published; however the recent interest in fuel for actinide transmutation has prompted a reexamination of this data. The results of the postirradiation examination of this experiment, including gas sampling, metallography, and gamma scanning are discussed. Available data on inert matrix fuels and other fuels incorporating actinides are used to assess the implications of minor-actinide specific issues on transmuter fuel. Considerations for the design of nitride and oxide fuels, metallic fuels, and metal-matrix dispersion fuels are discussed

Promises and Challenges of Thorium Implementation for Transuranic Transmutation - 13550

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Franceschini, F.; Lahoda, E.; Wenner, M. [Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, Cranberry Township, PA (United States); Lindley, B. [University of Cambridge (United Kingdom); Fiorina, C. [Polytechnic of Milan (Italy); Phillips, C. [Energy Solutions, Richland, WA (United States)

2013-07-01

This paper focuses on the challenges of implementing a thorium fuel cycle for recycle and transmutation of long-lived actinide components from used nuclear fuel. A multi-stage reactor system is proposed; the first stage consists of current UO{sub 2} once-through LWRs supplying transuranic isotopes that are continuously recycled and burned in second stage reactors in either a uranium (U) or thorium (Th) carrier. The second stage reactors considered for the analysis are Reduced Moderation Pressurized Water Reactors (RMPWRs), reconfigured from current PWR core designs, and Fast Reactors (FRs) with a burner core design. While both RMPWRs and FRs can in principle be employed, each reactor and associated technology has pros and cons. FRs have unmatched flexibility and transmutation efficiency. RMPWRs have higher fuel manufacturing and reprocessing requirements, but may represent a cheaper solution and the opportunity for a shorter time to licensing and deployment. All options require substantial developments in manufacturing, due to the high radiation field, and reprocessing, due to the very high actinide recovery ratio to elicit the claimed radiotoxicity reduction. Th reduces the number of transmutation reactors, and is required to enable a viable RMPWR design, but presents additional challenges on manufacturing and reprocessing. The tradeoff between the various options does not make the choice obvious. Moreover, without an overarching supporting policy in place, the costly and challenging technologies required inherently discourage industrialization of any transmutation scheme, regardless of the adoption of U or Th. (authors)

Fuel Design for the U.S. Accelerator Driven Transmutation System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, M.K.; Hayes, S.L.; Crawford, D.C.; Pahl, R.G.; Tsai, H.

2002-01-01

The U.S. concept for actinide transmutation is currently envisioned as a system to destroy plutonium as well as minor actinides in a single or two tier system. In order to maximize the actinide destruction rate, an inert matrix fuel is used. The effectiveness of transmutation in reducing the actinide inventory is linked to the development of a robust fuel system, capable of achieving very high burnup. Very little fuel performance data has been generated to date on inert matrix systems, and there are several issues specific to the behavior of higher actinides that do not allow extension of the existing uranium-plutonium fuel database to these new fuels. These issues include helium production, fuel-cladding-chemical-interaction, and americium migration. In the early 1990's, two U-Pu-Zr metal alloy fuel elements containing 1.2 wt.% Am and 1.3 wt.% Np were fabricated and irradiated to approximately 6 at.% burnup in the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II. Postirradiation examination results were not published; however the recent interest in fuel for actinide transmutation has prompted a reexamination of this data. The results of the postirradiation examination of this experiment, including gas sampling, metallography, and gamma scanning are discussed. Available data on inert matrix fuels and other fuels incorporating actinides are used to assess the implications of minor-actinide specific issues on transmuter fuel. Considerations for the design of nitride and oxide fuels, metallic fuels, and metal-matrix dispersion fuels are discussed. (authors)

Evidence for the occurrence of LENR-type processes in alchemic transmutations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perez-Pariente, Joaquin [Instituto de Catalisis y Petroleoquimica, CSIC, Marie Curie 2, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid (Spain)

2006-07-01

The relevance of experimental aspects of alchemy have been neglected for too long in the academic milieu, but in recent years more thoughtful studies of texts from the middle ages and early modern European alchemy evidence the presence of coherent and relevant laboratory practices. However, the central core of western alchemy, the quest for the Philosophers' Stone, the substance claimed to transmute base metals into gold, remains, needless to say, elusive. While no book will ever tell us how to prepare such substance, it is nevertheless also true that detailed reports on alchemic transmutations, often authored by witnesses of such events, can be found profusely in alchemic literature. These reports usually contain valuable information regarding quantitative aspects of the transmutation processes. Taking into account numerical parameters of alchemic transmutations such as the weights of starting base metal, gold and Philosophers' Stone, and the duration of the transmutation experiences, it has been found that the transmutation processes follow a specific pattern similar to that generally observed in conventional catalytic reactions. In the present work, several examples of alchemic practices and objects are reported that, taken as a whole, challenge our actual view on the constitution of matter. First, new data are presented which support the catalytic-like performance of the Philosophers' Stone. Indeed, such behaviour is consistent with the alchemic view on the evolution of metals, which conceives the transmutation as an acceleration of the ripening of base metals towards the more perfect gold which takes place in Nature by means of a slow maturation process inside the Earth's womb. Second, differences between the weight of the starting base metal and the weight of the gold (or silver) obtained at the end of the transmutation process are often noticed in the texts, but no satisfactory explanation for such observation has been given so far

Evidence for the occurrence of LENR-type processes in alchemic transmutations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez-Pariente, Joaquin

2006-01-01

The relevance of experimental aspects of alchemy have been neglected for too long in the academic milieu, but in recent years more thoughtful studies of texts from the middle ages and early modern European alchemy evidence the presence of coherent and relevant laboratory practices. However, the central core of western alchemy, the quest for the Philosophers' Stone, the substance claimed to transmute base metals into gold, remains, needless to say, elusive. While no book will ever tell us how to prepare such substance, it is nevertheless also true that detailed reports on alchemic transmutations, often authored by witnesses of such events, can be found profusely in alchemic literature. These reports usually contain valuable information regarding quantitative aspects of the transmutation processes. Taking into account numerical parameters of alchemic transmutations such as the weights of starting base metal, gold and Philosophers' Stone, and the duration of the transmutation experiences, it has been found that the transmutation processes follow a specific pattern similar to that generally observed in conventional catalytic reactions. In the present work, several examples of alchemic practices and objects are reported that, taken as a whole, challenge our actual view on the constitution of matter. First, new data are presented which support the catalytic-like performance of the Philosophers' Stone. Indeed, such behaviour is consistent with the alchemic view on the evolution of metals, which conceives the transmutation as an acceleration of the ripening of base metals towards the more perfect gold which takes place in Nature by means of a slow maturation process inside the Earth's womb. Second, differences between the weight of the starting base metal and the weight of the gold (or silver) obtained at the end of the transmutation process are often noticed in the texts, but no satisfactory explanation for such observation has been given so far. Weight decreases are

Transmutation of minor actinide using BWR fueled mixed oxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Susilo, Jati

2000-01-01

Nuclear spent fuel recycle has a strategic importance in the aspect of nuclear fuel economy and prevention of its spread-out. One among other application of recycle is to produce mixed oxide fuel (Mo) namely mixed Plutonium and uranium oxide. As for decreasing the burden of nuclear high level waste (HLW) treatment, transmutation of minor actinide (MA) that has very long half life will be carried out by conversion technique in nuclear reactor. The purpose of this study was to know influence of transition fuel cell regarding the percent weight of transmutation MA in the BWR fueled MOX. Calculation of cell BWR was used SRAC computer code, with assume that the reactor in equilibrium. The percent weight of transmutation MA to be optimum by increasing the discharge burn-up of nuclear fuel, raising ratio of moderator to fuel volume (Vm/Vf), and loading MA with percent weight about 3%-6% and also reducing amount of percent weight Pu in MOX fuel. For mixed fuel standard reactor, reactivity value were obtained between about -50pcm ∼ -230pcm for void coefficient and -1.8pcm ∼ -2.6pcm for fuel temperature coefficient

Accelerator driven nuclear energy and transmutation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boldeman, J.W.

1999-01-01

Nuclear power generation has been a mature industry for many years. However, despite the overall safety record and the great attractions of nuclear power, especially in times of concern about green house gases emissions, there continues to be some lack of public acceptance of this technology. This sensitivity to nuclear power has several elements in addition to the concern of a potential nuclear accident. These include the possible diversion of plutonium into nuclear weapon production and the concern about the long term storage of plutonium and other transuranic elements. A concept which seeks to allay these fears but still takes advantage of the nuclear fuel cycle and utilises decades of research and development in this technology, is the idea of using modern accelerators to transmute the long lived radio nuclides and simultaneously generate power. A review of the novel concepts for energy production and transmutation of isotopes will be presented. Of the various proposals, the most developed is the Energy Amplifier Concept promoted by Rubbia. The possibility of using high-energy, high-current accelerators to produce large fluxes of neutrons has been known since the earliest days of accelerator technology. E.O. Lawrence, for example, promoted the concept of producing nuclear material with such an accelerator. The Canadians in the early 50s considered using accelerators to produce fuel for their heavy water reactors and there were well advanced designs for a device called the Intense Neutron Generator. The speculative idea of using accelerator produced neutrons for the transmutation of transuranic elements (i.e. elements such as neptunium plutonium and other elements with higher Z atomic number) has also been studied extensively, notably at a number of laboratories in the US, Europe and Japan. However at this time, all facilities that have actually been constructed have been designed primarily for condensed matter studies i.e. studies of the structural properties

Production and performance of the silicon sensor and custom readout electronics for the PHENIX FVTX tracker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kapustinsky, Jon S.

2010-01-01

The Forward Silicon Vertex Tracker (FVTX) upgrade for the PHENIX detector at RHIC will extend the vertex capability of the central PHENIX Silicon Vertex Tracker (VTX). The FVTX is designed with adequate spatial resolution to separate decay muons coming from the relatively long-lived heavy quark mesons (Charm and Beauty), from prompt particles and the longer-lived pion and kaon decays that originate at the primary collision vertex. These heavy quarks can be used to probe the high-density medium that is formed in Au+Au collisions at RHIC. The FVTX is designed as two endcaps. Each endcap comprises four silicon disks covering opening angles from 10 o to 35 o to match the existing muon arm acceptance. Each disk consists of p-on-n, silicon wedges, with ac-coupled mini-strips on 75 μm radial pitch and projective length in the phi direction that increases with radius. A custom front-end chip, the FPHX, has been designed for the FVTX. The chip combines fast trigger capability with data push architecture in a low-power design.

Production and performance of the silicon sensor and custom readout electronics for the PHENIX FVTX tracker

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kapustinsky, Jon S., E-mail: jonk@lanl.go [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Mailstop H846, PO Box 1663, Los Alamos, 87545 New Mexico (United States)

2010-05-21

The Forward Silicon Vertex Tracker (FVTX) upgrade for the PHENIX detector at RHIC will extend the vertex capability of the central PHENIX Silicon Vertex Tracker (VTX). The FVTX is designed with adequate spatial resolution to separate decay muons coming from the relatively long-lived heavy quark mesons (Charm and Beauty), from prompt particles and the longer-lived pion and kaon decays that originate at the primary collision vertex. These heavy quarks can be used to probe the high-density medium that is formed in Au+Au collisions at RHIC. The FVTX is designed as two endcaps. Each endcap comprises four silicon disks covering opening angles from 10{sup o} to 35{sup o} to match the existing muon arm acceptance. Each disk consists of p-on-n, silicon wedges, with ac-coupled mini-strips on 75 {mu}m radial pitch and projective length in the phi direction that increases with radius. A custom front-end chip, the FPHX, has been designed for the FVTX. The chip combines fast trigger capability with data push architecture in a low-power design.

Waste partitioning and transmutation as a means towards long-term risk reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merz, E.R.

1993-09-01

It has been an idea for some time to reduce the long-term potential hazard of the waste by chemical removal of the actinides as well as some long-lived fission products and their subsequent transmutation in an intense neutron flux. Transmutation would thus shorten the required containment period of radioactive material in a repository. It is estimated, that development of such technology would take at least 40 years because facilities would be required to perform a clean actinide and fission product isolation and to fabricate the fuel elements that contained the separated nuclides. This latter requirements would involve a major expansion of new chemical process steps which are not available as yet. Development of new equipment to maintain occupational exposures as low as reasonably achievable and to minimize releases of radioactivity to the environment would also be necessary. Partitioning and transmutation should be introduced, if at all, as a long-term decision about new nuclear power technology as a future energy source. With regard to this, R and D work dealing with basic questions seems to be worthwhile, However, the introduction of partitioning and transmutation will not eliminate the need for radioactive waste disposal. (orig./HP) [de

System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems. Annual report 1998

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallenius, J.; Gudowski, W.; Carlsson, Johan; Eriksson, Marcus; Tucek, K.

1998-12-01

This annual report describes the accelerator-driven transmutation project conducted at the Department of Nuclear and Reactor Physics at the Royal Institute of Technology. The main results are: development of the simulation tools for accelerator-driven transmutation calculations including an integrated Monte-Carlo burnup module and improvements of neutron energy fission yield simulations, processing of the evacuated nuclear data files including preparation of the temperature dependent neutron cross-sections, development of nuclear data for a medium energy range for some isotopes, development of the models and codes for radiation damage simulations, system studies for the spent fuel transmuter, based on heavy metal coolant and advanced nuclear fuel, contribution to the spallation target design being manufactured in IPPE, Obninsk, and accelerator reliability studies. Moreover a lot of efforts were put to further develop existing international collaboration with the most active research groups in the world together with educational activities in Sweden including a number of meetings and workshops and a graduate course in transmutation. This project has been conducted in close collaboration with the EU-project 'Impact of the accelerator based technologies on nuclear fission safety' - IABAT and in bilateral cooperation with different foreign research groups

System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems. Annual report 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wallenius, J.; Gudowski, W.; Carlsson, Johan; Eriksson, Marcus; Tucek, K. [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Nuclear and Reactor Physics

1998-12-01

This annual report describes the accelerator-driven transmutation project conducted at the Department of Nuclear and Reactor Physics at the Royal Institute of Technology. The main results are: development of the simulation tools for accelerator-driven transmutation calculations including an integrated Monte-Carlo burnup module and improvements of neutron energy fission yield simulations, processing of the evacuated nuclear data files including preparation of the temperature dependent neutron cross-sections, development of nuclear data for a medium energy range for some isotopes, development of the models and codes for radiation damage simulations, system studies for the spent fuel transmuter, based on heavy metal coolant and advanced nuclear fuel, contribution to the spallation target design being manufactured in IPPE, Obninsk, and accelerator reliability studies. Moreover a lot of efforts were put to further develop existing international collaboration with the most active research groups in the world together with educational activities in Sweden including a number of meetings and workshops and a graduate course in transmutation. This project has been conducted in close collaboration with the EU-project `Impact of the accelerator based technologies on nuclear fission safety` - IABAT and in bilateral cooperation with different foreign research groups 31 refs, 23 figs

Neutronics design for a spherical tokamak fusion-transmutation reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng Meigen; Feng Kaiming; Yang Bangchao

2002-01-01

Based on studies of the spherical tokamak fusion reactors, a concept of fusion-transmutation reactor is put forward. By using the one-dimension transport and burn-up code BISON3.0 to process optimized design, a set of plasma parameters and blanket configuration suitable for the transmutation of MA (Minor Actinides) nuclear waste is selected. Based on the one-dimension calculation, two-dimension calculation has been carried out by using two-dimension neutronics code TWODANT. Combined with the neutron flux given by TWODANT calculation, burn-up calculation has been processed by using the one-dimension radioactivity calculation code FDKR and some useful and reasonable results are obtained

Spent Nuclear Fuel Option Study on Hybrid Reactor for Waste Transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Seong Hee; Kim, Myung Hyun

2016-01-01

DUPIC nuclear fuel can be used in hybrid reactor by compensation of subcritical level through (U-10Zr) fuel. Energy production performance of Hyb-WT with DUPIC is grateful because it has high EM factor and performs waste transmutation at the same time. However, waste transmutation performance should be improved by different fissile fuel instead of (U-10Zr) fuel. SNF (Spent Nuclear Fuel) disposal is one of the problems in the nuclear industry. FFHR (Fusion-Fission Hybrid Reactor) is one of the most attractive option on reuse of SNF as a waste transmutation system. Because subcritical system like FFHR has some advantages compared to critical system. Subcritical systems have higher safety potential than critical system. Also, there is suppressed excess reactivity at BOC (Beginning of Cycle) in critical system, on the other hand there is no suppressed reactivity in subcritical system. Our research team could have designed FFHR for waste transmutation; Hyb-WT. Various researches have been conducted on fuel and coolant option for optimization of transmutation performance. However, Hyb-WT has technical disadvantage. It is required fusion power (Pfus) which is the key design parameter in FFHR is increased for compensation of decreasing subcritical level. As a result, structure material integrity is damaged under high irradiation condition by increasing Pfus. Also, deep burn of reprocessed SNF is limited by weakened integrity of structure material. Therefore, in this research, SNF option study will be conducted on DUPIC (Direct Use of Spent PWR Fuel in CANDU Reactor) fuel, TRU fuel and DUPIC + TRU mixed fuel for optimization of Hyb-WT performance. Goal of this research is design check for low required fusion power and high waste transmutation. In this paper, neutronic analysis is conducted on Hyb-WT with DUPIC nuclear fuel. When DUPIC nuclear fuel is loaded in fast neutron system, supplement fissile materials need to be loaded together for compensation of low criticality

Spent Nuclear Fuel Option Study on Hybrid Reactor for Waste Transmutation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Seong Hee; Kim, Myung Hyun [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

DUPIC nuclear fuel can be used in hybrid reactor by compensation of subcritical level through (U-10Zr) fuel. Energy production performance of Hyb-WT with DUPIC is grateful because it has high EM factor and performs waste transmutation at the same time. However, waste transmutation performance should be improved by different fissile fuel instead of (U-10Zr) fuel. SNF (Spent Nuclear Fuel) disposal is one of the problems in the nuclear industry. FFHR (Fusion-Fission Hybrid Reactor) is one of the most attractive option on reuse of SNF as a waste transmutation system. Because subcritical system like FFHR has some advantages compared to critical system. Subcritical systems have higher safety potential than critical system. Also, there is suppressed excess reactivity at BOC (Beginning of Cycle) in critical system, on the other hand there is no suppressed reactivity in subcritical system. Our research team could have designed FFHR for waste transmutation; Hyb-WT. Various researches have been conducted on fuel and coolant option for optimization of transmutation performance. However, Hyb-WT has technical disadvantage. It is required fusion power (Pfus) which is the key design parameter in FFHR is increased for compensation of decreasing subcritical level. As a result, structure material integrity is damaged under high irradiation condition by increasing Pfus. Also, deep burn of reprocessed SNF is limited by weakened integrity of structure material. Therefore, in this research, SNF option study will be conducted on DUPIC (Direct Use of Spent PWR Fuel in CANDU Reactor) fuel, TRU fuel and DUPIC + TRU mixed fuel for optimization of Hyb-WT performance. Goal of this research is design check for low required fusion power and high waste transmutation. In this paper, neutronic analysis is conducted on Hyb-WT with DUPIC nuclear fuel. When DUPIC nuclear fuel is loaded in fast neutron system, supplement fissile materials need to be loaded together for compensation of low criticality

Transmutation of sup 2 sup 0 sup 4 Pb in an intensive gamma-ray flux

CERN Document Server

Ishkhanov, B S

2001-01-01

Transmutation chain formation during irradiation with various intensities of bremsstrahlung photon beam is analysed. The main features of transmutation chain formation by photons with energies corresponding to the giant dipole resonance are discussed.

On the use of spinel-based nuclear fuels for the transmutation of actinides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konings, R.J.M.; Bakker, K.; Boshoven, J.G.; Hein, H.; Huntelaar, M.E.; Zhang, H.; Meeldijk, J.D.; Woensdregt, C.F.

1997-01-01

The properties of spinel-based nuclear fuels for the transmutation of actinides are investigated. The results of laboratory experiments, thermodynamic calculations and irradiations in the High Flux Reactor (HFR) at Petten are presented, and allow us to evaluate the potential of spinel as an inert matrix for fuels and targets for transmutation. (author)

Signatures of color glass condensate: Forward azimuthal angle di-hadron correlations in PHENIX

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meredith, Beau, E-mail: bmeredi2@uiuc.ed [University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 1110 W Green St, Urbana, IL, 61801 (United States)

2011-03-15

Measurements using the PHENIX forward detectors in high energy deuteron-gold collisions make it possible to study cold nuclear matter effects in nucleon structure at low x. The high gluon densities in Lorentz-contracted gold nuclei make it possible to probe for gluon saturation or Color Glass Condensate effects. Past RHIC experiments have shown a suppression in nuclear modification factors (R{sub dA}, R{sub cp}) for {radical}(s{sub NN})=200 GeVd+Au collisions in the forward (deuteron) direction. Multiple theories can explain the observed suppression (including saturation), but a conclusive measurement discriminating between the models has yet to be carried out. Two new forward electromagnetic calorimeters (Muon Piston Calorimeters, -3.7<{eta}<-3.1, 3.1<{eta}<3.9) allow the PHENIX experiment to further study forward di-hadron correlations, which have been predicted to show dramatic effects due to gluon saturation. In particular, azimuthal correlations of di-hadron pairs at different pseudorapidities will be shown; the forward pseudorapidity correlations are especially interesting because it is expected that they provide a test of gluon saturation down to x{approx}10{sup -3} in the Au nucleus. The analysis presented is based on the high integrated luminosity data sample of d+Au collisions at {radical}(s{sub NN})=200 GeV taken at RHIC in 2008.

Partitioning and Transmutation. Annual Report 2006

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dubois, Isabelle; Englund, Sofie; Fermvik, Anna; Liljenzin, Jan-Olov; Neumayer, Denis; Retegan, Teodora; Skarnemark, Gunnar [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering

2007-01-15

The long-lived elements in the spent nuclear fuels are mostly actinides, some fission products ({sup 79}Se, {sup 87}Rb, {sup 99}Tc, {sup 107}Pd, {sup 126}Sn, {sup 129}I, {sup 135}Cs) and activation products ({sup 14}C, {sup 36}Cl, {sup 59}Ni, {sup 93} Zr, {sup 94} To be able to destroy the long-lived elements in a transmutation process they must be separated from the rest of the spent nuclear fuel. The most difficult separations to make are those between trivalent actinides and lanthanides, due to their relatively similar chemical properties, and those between different actinides themselves. These separations are necessary to obtain the desired efficiency of the transmutation process and in order not to create any unnecessary waste thus rendering the process useless. Solvent extraction is an efficient and well-known method that makes it possible to have separation factors that fulfil the highly set demands on purity of the separated phases and on small losses. Chalmers University of Technology is involved in research regarding the separation of actinides and lanthanides and between the actinides themselves as a partner in the EUROPART project within the European Union sixth framework program. This is a continuation of the projects we participated in within the fourth and fifth framework programmes, NEWPART and PARTNEW, respectively. The aims of the projects have now shifted from basic understanding to more applied research with focus on process development. However, since the basic understanding is still needed we have our main focus on the chemical processes and understanding of how they work. Work is progressing in relation to a proposal for the 7th framework programme. This proposal will be aiming at a pilot plant for separation for transmutation purposes.

Some safety related characteristics of Phenix, a 250 MWe fast reactor -1989 and 1990 negative reactivity trip investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaumont, J.M.; Goux, D.; Martin, L.

1993-01-01

The main characteristics of the Phenix core control are summarized. The current state of the investigations related to the 1989 and 1990 negative reactivity transients are presented with emphasis on the results of the very low power tests recently performed. (authors). 5 figs., 2 refs

Modeling of Phenix End-of-Life control rod withdrawal benchmark with DYN3D SFR version

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nikitin, Evgeny; Fridman, Emil [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V., Dresden (Germany). Reactor Safety

2017-06-01

The reactor dynamics code DYN3D is currently under extension for Sodium cooled Fast Reactor applications. The control rod withdrawal benchmark from the Phenix End-of-Life experiments was selected for verification and validation purposes. This report presents some selected results to demonstrate the feasibility of using DYN3D for steady-state Sodium cooled Fast Reactor analyses.

Transmutation of long-lived nuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang Tongxiang; Tang Chunhe

2003-01-01

Partitioning and transmutation of long-lived nuclides have profound benefits for economic development, global political stability and the environment. This technology would reduce nuclear waste disposal requirements, prevent proliferation and eliminate a major hurdle to the development of nuclear power. This paper reviews the advanced fuel cycle process and development of ATW in the world, and some suggestions about the R and D of nuclear power in China are proposed

Studying Cold Nuclear Matter with the MPC-EX of PHENIX

Science.gov (United States)

Grau, Nathan; Phenix Collaboration

2017-09-01

Highly asymmetric collision systems, such as d+Au, provide a unique environment to study cold nuclear matter. Potential measurements range from pinning down the modification of the nuclear wave function, i.e. saturation, to studying final state interactions, i.e. energy loss. The PHENIX experiment has enhanced the muon piston calorimeter (MPC) with a silicon-tungsten preshower, the MPC-EX. With its fine segmentation the MPC-EX extends the photon detection capability at 3 < | η | < 3.8. In this talk we review the current status of the detector, its calibration, and its identification capabilities using the 2016 d+Au dataset. We also discuss the specific physics observables the MPC-EX can measure.

Evaluation of the transmutation of transuranic using neutrons spectrum from the spallation reaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilberti, Mauricio; Pereira, Claubia, E-mail: mgilber@eletronuclear.gov.br [Eletrobras Termonuclear S.A. (ELETRONUCLEAR), Angra dos Reis, RJ (Brazil); Veloso, Maria A. Fortini, E-mail: claubia@nuclear.ufmg.br [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizante, MG (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Nuclear

2013-07-01

The transmutation of transuranic was analyzed by simulating the neutron flux from different spallation sources across arrays of fissile material with isotopic composition PWR reprocessing. A simplified model of Accelerator-Driven Systems (ADS) containing target, moderator graphite, lead-bismuth coolant or sodium coolant, is used. The simulation was made using the particles transport code MCNPX 2.6.0 which allowed to evaluate the rate of transmutation of actinides (Np, Pu, Am, and Cm) at different locations in the system. The objective of the study is to evaluate which the behavior and influences the spectrum of the spallation in the transmutation without the contribution or interference of multiplier, medium subcritical, which would add the contribution of fission neutrons generated, thus interfering in the analysis. The arrangement enable to infer the influence of hardened neutron flux from the spallation reaction in the transmutation, the results show that this is independent of the target material chosen, and the spectrum of spallation has a negligible importance compared to the influence of moderation and scattering generated by the coolant or moderator used. (author)

Evaluation of the transmutation of transuranic using neutrons spectrum from the spallation reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilberti, Mauricio; Pereira, Claubia; Veloso, Maria A. Fortini

2013-01-01

The transmutation of transuranic was analyzed by simulating the neutron flux from different spallation sources across arrays of fissile material with isotopic composition PWR reprocessing. A simplified model of Accelerator-Driven Systems (ADS) containing target, moderator graphite, lead-bismuth coolant or sodium coolant, is used. The simulation was made using the particles transport code MCNPX 2.6.0 which allowed to evaluate the rate of transmutation of actinides (Np, Pu, Am, and Cm) at different locations in the system. The objective of the study is to evaluate which the behavior and influences the spectrum of the spallation in the transmutation without the contribution or interference of multiplier, medium subcritical, which would add the contribution of fission neutrons generated, thus interfering in the analysis. The arrangement enable to infer the influence of hardened neutron flux from the spallation reaction in the transmutation, the results show that this is independent of the target material chosen, and the spectrum of spallation has a negligible importance compared to the influence of moderation and scattering generated by the coolant or moderator used. (author)

Study of the open charm and Drell-Yan production in p + p collisions at 200 GeV with the Phenix detector at RHIC; Etude de la production de charme ouvert et de Drell-Yan dans les collisions p + p a 200 GeV avec le detecteur Phenix a RHIC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gadrat, S

2005-09-15

Ultra-relativistic heavy ions collisions allow the study of nuclear matter under extreme conditions of temperature and pressure and, more specifically, of a new phase of nuclear matter: the quarks and gluons plasma (QGP). The RHIC collider, located at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (Usa), produces such collisions. PHENIX, one of the four operational detectors at the collider, is the only one capable of measuring muons. In this dissertation, we present a dimuon data analysis, which data have been collected by PHENIX in p + p collisions during two data taking runs (3 and 4). p + p collisions provide a requisite reference for the understanding of heavy ions collisions. The aim of the analysis discussed in this dissertation is to extract the cross sections of the main physical components of the dimuon spectrum observed at RHIC for p + p collisions: J/{psi}, open charm and Drell-Yan. This analysis is based on a global line shape fit of the dimuon mass spectrum. This fit has been possible thanks to prior simulation study of the mass distribution shapes of these different components. Production yields were obtained from the fit. Lastly, the response function study for each components and the use of various efficiencies led to the estimate of the different production cross sections. The results have been compared to other existing measurements and show an overall good agreement. The work presented in this dissertation offers a first estimate of the open charm production cross section in the dimuon channel, as well as a first estimate of the Drell-Yan production cross section at RHIC for p + p collisions: {sigma}(J/{psi} {yields} {mu}{mu}) = (2.9 {+-} 0.1) {mu}b; {sigma}(cc-bar {yields} {mu}{mu}) = (0.96 {+-} 0.18) mb; {sigma}(Drell-Yan {yields} {mu}{mu}) = (0.20 {+-} 0.04) {mu}b.

Optimisation of composite metallic fuel for minor actinide transmutation in an accelerator-driven system

Science.gov (United States)

Uyttenhove, W.; Sobolev, V.; Maschek, W.

2011-09-01

A potential option for neutralization of minor actinides (MA) accumulated in spent nuclear fuel of light water reactors (LWRs) is their transmutation in dedicated accelerator-driven systems (ADS). A promising fuel candidate dedicated to MA transmutation is a CERMET composite with Mo metal matrix and (Pu, Np, Am, Cm)O 2-x fuel particles. Results of optimisation studies of the CERMET fuel targeting to increasing the MA transmutation efficiency of the EFIT (European Facility for Industrial Transmutation) core are presented. In the adopted strategy of MA burning the plutonium (Pu) balance of the core is minimized, allowing a reduction in the reactivity swing and the peak power form-factor deviation and an extension of the cycle duration. The MA/Pu ratio is used as a variable for the fuel optimisation studies. The efficiency of MA transmutation is close to the foreseen theoretical value of 42 kg TW -1 h -1 when level of Pu in the actinide mixture is about 40 wt.%. The obtained results are compared with the reference case of the EFIT core loaded with the composite CERCER fuel, where fuel particles are incorporated in a ceramic magnesia matrix. The results of this study offer additional information for the EFIT fuel selection.

Optimisation of composite metallic fuel for minor actinide transmutation in an accelerator-driven system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uyttenhove, W.; Sobolev, V.; Maschek, W.

2011-01-01

A potential option for neutralization of minor actinides (MA) accumulated in spent nuclear fuel of light water reactors (LWRs) is their transmutation in dedicated accelerator-driven systems (ADS). A promising fuel candidate dedicated to MA transmutation is a CERMET composite with Mo metal matrix and (Pu, Np, Am, Cm)O 2-x fuel particles. Results of optimisation studies of the CERMET fuel targeting to increasing the MA transmutation efficiency of the EFIT (European Facility for Industrial Transmutation) core are presented. In the adopted strategy of MA burning the plutonium (Pu) balance of the core is minimized, allowing a reduction in the reactivity swing and the peak power form-factor deviation and an extension of the cycle duration. The MA/Pu ratio is used as a variable for the fuel optimisation studies. The efficiency of MA transmutation is close to the foreseen theoretical value of 42 kg TW -1 h -1 when level of Pu in the actinide mixture is about 40 wt.%. The obtained results are compared with the reference case of the EFIT core loaded with the composite CERCER fuel, where fuel particles are incorporated in a ceramic magnesia matrix. The results of this study offer additional information for the EFIT fuel selection.

System study on partitioning and transmutation of long-lived isotopes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szieberth, M.

2001-01-01

The management of long-lived isotopes - transuranium elements and fission products - produced in nuclear reactors is a problem that substantially affects the public acceptance of nuclear energy, and may influence the long-term hazard caused by energy production. Partitioning and transmutation of spent fuel materials offer a suitable solution to this problem. After the nuclear community had realised this fact, the number of publications on this topic significantly increased but there is still a lack of studies that include the analysis of not only one instrument but also the whole nuclear energy system. However, from the viewpoint of Partitioning and transmutation's implementation a substantial question is the cooperation of plants optimised for energy generation and others for partitioning or transmutation. In order to analyse this problem, the schemes of different systems are framed and their mathematical models are worked out. The systems are evaluated through the long-term risks caused by the waste deposited in final disposal, and the risks are described by a newly defined quantity, the residual hazard index. (author)

An assessment of partition and transmutation against UK requirements for radioactive waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cummings, R.; Bush, R.P.; Crookshanks, C.E.

1996-06-01

A review of partition and transmutation is made with the objective of assessing the prospects for real financial of safety gains being made from the future use of partition and transmutation within the UK. The assessment covers all the civil high-level waste (HLW) from reprocessing spent fuel, civil spent fuels where there are currently no plans or contracts for reprocessing, and intermediate-level waste (ILW). Both existing stocks and future arisings are included. The impact is also analysed of considering all the non-military uranium and plutonium extant in the UK as candidates for transmutation. The assessment takes full account of advances in technology since the earlier UK studies and changes in the UK situation. (Author)

Transmutation of nuclear waste. Status report RAS programme 1993: Recycling and transmutation of actinides and fission products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abrahams, K; Bultman, J H; Cordfunke, E H.P.; Gruppelaar, H; Janssen, A J; Franken, W M.P.; Klippel, K T; Kloosterman, J L; Konings, R J.M.; Smit, J

1994-11-01

The term ``nuclear transmutation`` means a conversion of long-lived radioactive nuclides into short-lived or stable nuclides and ``recycling`` means re-use of fissile material to generate energy in power reactors. With these two processes a reduction of the radiotoxicity and of its duration may be achieved, thus reducing the potential hazard to future generations. Firstly, the report gives a survey of the present situation regarding nuclear waste: its components, how the waste is produced in current LWR and possible options for interim and final storage. Then the objective of the RAS programme, the working methods and the state of the art of the research are considered. Two chapters deal with preliminary results of national and international research. A rather tentative prediction for the future is formulated. Some conclusions are drawn: It seems to be in the best interests of the Netherlands to continue the established line of reprocessing nuclear waste, should new reactors be introduced. It may be advisable to make international agreements so that in the future fission products will contain as few traces of transuranic actinides and long-lived components as possible. Consequently, nuclear waste would become cleaner in terms of long-lived components. For the transmutation of products separated in foreign countries, the Netherlands could pursue an active policy, perform research and also consider the use of MOX fuel in future Dutch reactors. Further contributions towards the solution of these problems can only be made by the Netherlands on an international level. As such, the research and study performed within the framework of the RAS-programme represents a useful international contribution. Finally, the choice of a new generation of nuclear reactors should be made not based only on the safety aspects, but also on the extent of waste production and on the transmutation possibilities (application of MOX, etc.). (orig./HP).

Advanced separation and transmutation, long dated behavior of vitrified wastes: 15 years of scientific researches; Separation poussee et transmutation, comportement a long terme des dechets vitrifies: 15 ans d'avancees scientifiques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-02-15

This report presents the results after 15 years of researches at the Cea, concerning the separation and transmutation of radioactive wastes and the conditioning and the long time storage of wastes at the surface. These researches were asked in the framework of the Bataille law. The first part devoted to the transmutation and separation of ling life radioactive elements presents the challenges, the advanced separation, the transmutation and the evaluation of the researches. The second part devoted to the long dated storage discusses the high activity wastes vitrification, the behavior of the vitrified wastes packages after thousand years, the international researches and the evaluation of the researches. (A.L.B.)

Helium and fission gas behaviour in magnesium aluminate spinel and zirconia for actinide transmutation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Damen, P.M.G.

2003-01-01

In order to reduce the long-term radiotoxicity of spent nuclear fuel, many studies are performed on partitioning and transmutation of actinides. In such a scenario, the long-lived radio-isotopes (mostly actinides) are partitioned from the nuclear waste, and subsequently transmuted or fissioned in a

Transmuted of Rayleigh Distribution with Estimation and Application on Noise Signal

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Suhad; Qasim, Zainab

2018-05-01

This paper deals with transforming one parameter Rayleigh distribution, into transmuted probability distribution through introducing a new parameter (λ), since this studied distribution is necessary in representing signal data distribution and failure data model the value of this transmuted parameter |λ| ≤ 1, is also estimated as well as the original parameter (⊖) by methods of moments and maximum likelihood using different sample size (n=25, 50, 75, 100) and comparing the results of estimation by statistical measure (mean square error, MSE).

Research activities related to accelerator-based transmutation at PSI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wydler, P.

1993-01-01

Transmutation of actinides and fission products using reactors and other types of nuclear systems may play a role in future waste management schemes. Possible advantages of separation and transmutation are: volume reductions, the re-use of materials, the avoidance of a cumulative risk, and limiting the duration of the risk. With its experience in reactor physics, accelerator-based physics, and the development of the SINQ spallation neutron source, PSI is in a good position to perform basic theoretical and experimental studies relating to the accelerator-based transmutation of actinides. Theoretical studies at PSI have been concentrated, so far, on systems in which protons are used directly to transmute actinides. With such systems and appropriate recycling schemes, the studies showed that considerable reduction factors for long-term toxicity can be obtained. With the aim of solving some specific data and method problems related to these types of systems, a programme of differential and integral measurements at the PSI ring accelerator has been initiated. In a first phase of this programme, thin samples of actinides will be irradiated with 590 MeV protons, using an existing irradiation facility. The generated spallation and fission products will be analysed using different experimental techniques, and the results will be compared with theoretical predictions based on high-energy nucleon-meson transport calculations. The principal motivation for these experiments is to resolve discrepancies observed between calculations based on different high-energy fission models. In a second phase of the programme, it is proposed to study the neutronic behaviour of multiplying target-blanket assemblies with the help of zero-power experiments set up at a separate, dedicated beam line of the accelerator. (author) 3 figs., 2 tabs., 8 refs

Physics and safety of transmutation systems. A status report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

The safe and efficient management of spent fuel from the operation of commercial nuclear power plants is an important issue. Worldwide, more than 250 000 tons of spent fuel from currently operating reactors will require disposal. These numbers account for only high-level radioactive waste generated by present-day power reactors. Nearly all issues related to risks to future generations arising from the long-term disposal of such spent nuclear fuel is attributable to only about 1% of its content. This 1% is made up primarily of plutonium, neptunium, americium and curium (called transuranic elements) and the long-lived isotopes of iodine and technetium.When transuranics are removed from discharged fuel destined for disposal, the toxic nature of the spent fuel drops below that of natural uranium ore (that which was originally mined for the nuclear fuel) within a period of several hundred to a thousand years. This significantly reduces the burden on geological repositories and the problem of addressing the remaining long-term residues can thus de done in controlled environments having timescales of centuries rather than millennia stretching beyond 10 000 years. Transmutation is one of the means being explored to address the disposal of transuranic elements. To achieve this, advanced reactors systems, appropriate fuels, separation techniques and associated fuel cycle strategies are required. This status report begins by providing a clear definition of partitioning and transmutation (P and T), and then describes the state of the art concerning the challenges facing the implementation of P and T, scenario studies and specific issues related to accelerator-driven systems (ADS) dynamics and safety, long-lived fission product transmutation and the impact of nuclear data uncertainty on transmutation system design. The report will be of particular interest to nuclear scientists working on P and T issues as well as advanced fuel cycles in general. (author)

Transmutation of Americium in Light and Heavy Water Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hyland, B.; Dyck, G.R.; Edwards, G.W.R. [Chalk River Laboratories, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (Canada); Ellis, R.J.; Gehin, J.C. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, Tennessee (United States); Maldonado, G.I. [University of Tennessee (Knoxville)/ORNL, Tennessee (United States)

2009-06-15

There is interest worldwide in reducing the burden on geological nuclear fuel disposal sites. In most disposal scenarios the decay heat loading of the surrounding rock limits the capacity of these sites. On the long term, this decay heat is generated primarily by actinides, and a major contributor 100 to 1000 years after discharge from the reactor is {sup 241}Am. One possible approach to reducing the decay-heat burden is to reprocess spent reactor fuel and use thermal spectrum reactors to 'burn' the Am nuclides. The viability of this approach is dependent upon the detailed changes in chemical and isotopic composition of actinide-bearing fuels after irradiation in thermal reactor spectra. The currently available thermal spectrum reactor options include light water-reactors (LWRs) and heavy-water reactors (HWRs) such as the CANDU{sup R} designs. In addition, as a result of the recycle of spent LWR fuel, there would be a considerable amount of potential recycled uranium (RU). One proposed solution for the recycled uranium is to use it as fuel in Candu reactors. This paper investigates the possibilities of transmuting americium in 'spiked' bundles in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and in boiling water reactors (BWRs). Transmutation of Am in Candu reactors is also examined. One scenario studies a full core fuelled with homogeneous bundles of Am mixed with recycled uranium, while a second scenario places Am in an inert matrix in target channels in a Candu reactor, with the rest of the reactor fuelled with RU. A comparison of the transmutation in LWRs and HWRs is made, in terms of the fraction of Am that is transmuted and the impact on the decay heat of the spent nuclear fuel. CANDU{sup R} is a registered trademark of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL). (authors)

Transmutation and activation of fusion reactor wall and structural materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jarvis, O.N.

1979-01-01

This report details the extent of the nuclear data needed for inclusion in a data library to be used for general assessments of fusion reactor structure activation and transmutation, describes the sources of data available, reviews the literature and explores the reliability of current calculations by providing an independent assessment of the activity inventory to be expected from five structural materials in a simple blanket design for comparison with the results of other workers. An indication of the nuclear reactions which make important contributions to the activity, transmutation and gas production rates for these structural materials is also presented. (author)

An assessment of partition and transmutation against UK requirements for radioactive waste management: supporting studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cummings, R.; Crookshanks, C.E.; McAdams, R.; Rogers, J.M.; Sims, H.E.; Smith-Briggs, J.L.

1996-06-01

A study of partition and transmutation (P and T) has recently been reported: An Assessment of Partition and Transmutation Against UK Requirements for Radioactive Waste Management (DOE/RAS/96.007). The prospects were assessed for real safety or financial gains being made through the future use of partition and transmutation within the United Kingdom in radioactive waste management. The assessment was made by AEA Technology, on behalf of the Department of the Environment. The assessment was partly based on the results of a number of studies described here. (Author)

Transmutation Strategy Using Thorium-Reprocessed Fuel ADS for Future Reactors in Vietnam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thanh Mai Vu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Nuclear power is believed to be a key to the energy security for a developing country like Vietnam where the power demanding increases rapidly every year. Nevertheless, spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants is the source of radiotoxic and proliferation risk. A conceptual design of ADS utilizing thorium fuel as a based fuel and reprocessed fuel as a seed for nuclear waste transmutation and energy production is proposed as one of the clean, safe, and economical solutions for the problem. In the design, 96 seed assemblies and 84 blanket assemblies were inserted into the core to make a heterogeneous subcritical core configuration. Introducing thorium fuel into the core offers an effective way to transmute plutonium and minor actinide (MA and gain energy from this process. Transmutation rate as a function of burnup is estimated using MCNPX 2.7.0 code. Results show that by using the seed-blanket designed ADS, at 40 GWd/t burnup, 192 kg of plutonium and 156 kg of MA can be eliminated. Equivalently, 1  ADS can be able to transmute the transuranic (TRU waste from 2  LWRs. 14 units of ADS would be required to eliminate TRUs from the future reactors to be constructed in Vietnam.

Application of a statistical methodology for the comprehension of corrosion phenomena on Phenix spent fuel pins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pantera, L.

1992-11-01

The maximum burnup of Phenix fuel elements is strongly conditioned by the internal corrosion of the steel cladding. This thesis is a part of a new study program on the corrosion phenomena. Based on the results of an experimental program during the years 1980-1990 its objective is the use of a statistical methodology for a better comprehension of the corrosion phenomena

Data collection modules for the PHENIX experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chi, C.Y.; Cole, B.; Nagle, J.L.; Sippach, W.; Zajc, W.A.

1998-01-01

The data acquisition (DAQ) system for the PHENIX experiment is designed as a pipeline system with simultaneous triggering and readout. The maximum average level-1 (LVL1) trigger rate is 25 KHz. The DAQ system consists of Front-End Modules (FEM's), a level-1 (LVL1) trigger, data collection modules (DCM's) timing systems, slow controllers and an event builder (EVB). The data collection modules have the responsibility of collecting uncompressed LVL1 trigger event fragments from the FEM's. The DCM's provide buffering for up to five LVL1 events. The DCM's also perform zero suppression, error checking, data reformatting and outputting data to the event builder. In addition to the FEM data, the DCM's also receive primitives from LVL1 trigger system. These primitives are used for alignment checking on the FEM data packet. Additional trigger primitives can also be generated together with the FEM data. The DCM is hosted in a VME crate. VME is used as a means for maintenance and slow control. Data collection within the crate is done through a private data-way

Analysis of Phenix End-of-Life asymmetry test with multi-dimensional pool modeling of MARS-LMR code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, H.-Y.; Ha, K.-S.; Choi, C.-W.; Park, M.-G.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Pool behaviors under asymmetrical condition in an SFR were evaluated with MARS-LMR. • The Phenix asymmetry test was analyzed one-dimensionally and multi-dimensionally. • One-dimensional modeling has limitation to predict the cold pool temperature. • Multi-dimensional modeling shows improved prediction of stratification and mixing. - Abstract: The understanding of complicated pool behaviors and its modeling is essential for the design and safety analysis of a pool-type Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor. One of the remarkable recent efforts on the study of pool thermal–hydraulic behaviors is the asymmetrical test performed as a part of Phenix End-of-Life tests by the CEA. To evaluate the performance of MARS-LMR code, which is a key system analysis tool for the design of an SFR in Korea, in the prediction of thermal hydraulic behaviors during an asymmetrical condition, the Phenix asymmetry test is analyzed with MARS-LMR in the present study. Pool regions are modeled with two different approaches, one-dimensional modeling and multi-dimensional one, and the prediction results are analyzed to identify the appropriateness of each modeling method. The prediction with one-dimensional pool modeling shows a large deviation from the measured data at the early stage of the test, which suggests limitations to describe the complicated thermal–hydraulic phenomena. When the pool regions are modeled multi-dimensionally, the prediction gives improved results quite a bit. This improvement is explained by the enhanced modeling of pool mixing with the multi-dimensional modeling. On the basis of the results from the present study, it is concluded that an accurate modeling of pool thermal–hydraulics is a prerequisite for the evaluation of design performance and safety margin quantification in the future SFR developments

Analysis of advanced European nuclear fuel cycle scenarios including transmutation and economical estimates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merino Rodriguez, I.; Alvarez-Velarde, F.; Martin-Fuertes, F.

2013-01-01

Four European fuel cycle scenarios involving transmutation options have been addressed from a point of view of resources utilization and economics. Scenarios include the current fleet using Light Water Reactor (LWR) technology and open fuel cycle (as a reference scenario), a full replacement of the initial fleet with Fast Reactors (FR) burning U-Pu MOX fuel and two fuel cycles with Minor Actinide (MA) transmutation in a fraction of the FR fleet or in dedicated Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS).Results reveal that all scenarios are feasible according to nuclear resources demand. Regarding the economic analysis, the estimations show an increase of LCOE - averaged over the whole period - with respect to the reference scenario of 20% for Pu management scenario and around 35% for both transmutation scenarios respectively.

Analysis of advanced European nuclear fuel cycle scenarios including transmutation and economical estimates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merino Rodriguez, I.; Alvarez-Velarde, F.; Martin-Fuertes, F.

2013-07-01

Four European fuel cycle scenarios involving transmutation options have been addressed from a point of view of resources utilization and economics. Scenarios include the current fleet using Light Water Reactor (LWR) technology and open fuel cycle (as a reference scenario), a full replacement of the initial fleet with Fast Reactors (FR) burning U-Pu MOX fuel and two fuel cycles with Minor Actinide (MA) transmutation in a fraction of the FR fleet or in dedicated Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS).Results reveal that all scenarios are feasible according to nuclear resources demand. Regarding the economic analysis, the estimations show an increase of LCOE - averaged over the whole period - with respect to the reference scenario of 20% for Pu management scenario and around 35% for both transmutation scenarios respectively.

Development of long-lived radionuclide transmutation technology - Development of a code system for core analysis of the transmutation reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cho, Nam Zin; Kim, Yong Hee; Kim, Tae Hyung; Jo, Chang Keun; Park, Chang Je [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1996-07-01

The objective of this study is to develop a code system for core analysis= of the critical transmutation reactors utilizing fast neutrons. Core characteristics of the transmutation reactors were identified and four codes, HANCELL for pincell calculation, PRISM and AFEN-H3D for core calculation, and MA{sub B}URN for depletion calculation, were developed. The pincell calculation code is based on one-dimensional collision probability method and may provide homogenized/condensed parameters of a pincell and also can homogenize the control assembly via a nonlinear iterative method. The core calculation codes, PRISM and AFEN-H3D, solve the multi-group, multi-dimensional neutron diffusion equations for a hexagonal geometry and they are based on the finite difference method and analytic function expansion nodal (AFEN) method, respectively. The MA{sub B}URN code san analyze the behavior of actinides and fission products in a reactor core. Through benchmarking, we confirmed that the newly developed codes provide accurate solutions. 30 refs., 10 tabs., 8 figs. (author)

Transmutation prospect of long-lived nuclear waste induced by high-charge electron beam from laser plasma accelerator

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, X. L.; Xu, Z. Y.; Luo, W.; Lu, H. Y.; Zhu, Z. C.; Yan, X. Q.

2017-09-01

Photo-transmutation of long-lived nuclear waste induced by a high-charge relativistic electron beam (e-beam) from a laser plasma accelerator is demonstrated. A collimated relativistic e-beam with a high charge of approximately 100 nC is produced from high-intensity laser interaction with near-critical-density (NCD) plasma. Such e-beam impinges on a high-Z convertor and then radiates energetic bremsstrahlung photons with flux approaching 1011 per laser shot. Taking a long-lived radionuclide 126Sn as an example, the resulting transmutation reaction yield is the order of 109 per laser shot, which is two orders of magnitude higher than obtained from previous studies. It is found that at lower densities, a tightly focused laser irradiating relatively longer NCD plasmas can effectively enhance the transmutation efficiency. Furthermore, the photo-transmutation is generalized by considering mixed-nuclide waste samples, which suggests that the laser-accelerated high-charge e-beam could be an efficient tool to transmute long-lived nuclear waste.

Neutron transmutation doping of gallium arsenide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alexiev, D.

1987-12-01

Neutron transmutation doping (NTD) was studied as a means of compensating p-type Cd-doped GaAs. By introducing specific donor concentrations, the net acceptor level was measured and showed a progressive reduction. The NTD constant K = 0.32 donor atoms.cm 3 per cm 2 was also measured. Radiation damage caused by neutron bombardment was annealed and no additional traps were generated

Transmutation Fuels Campaign FY-09 Accomplishments Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lori Braase

2009-09-01

This report summarizes the fiscal year 2009 (FY-08) accomplishments for the Transmutation Fuels Campaign (TFC). The emphasis is on the accomplishments and relevance of the work. Detailed description of the methods used to achieve the highlighted results and the associated support tasks are not included in this report.

Nudatra: nuclear data for transmutation in IP-Eurotrans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gonzalez, E.M.; Koning, A.; Leray, S.; Plompen, A.; Sanz, J.

2007-01-01

The objective of NUDATRA, Domain 5 of the EU Integrated Project EUROTRANS (FI6W-CT-2004- 516520), is to improve and validate the nuclear data and simulation tools required for the development and optimisation of nuclear waste transmutation, ADS dedicated transmutation systems and the associated fuel cycle. Activities are essentially aimed at supplementing the evaluated nuclear data libraries and improving the reaction models for materials in transmutation fuels, coolants, spallation targets, internal structures, and reactor and accelerator shielding, relevant for the design and optimisation of the ETD and XT-ADS. These activities are distributed over four Work Packages: Sensitivity Analysis and Validation of Nuclear Data and Simulation Tools; Low- and Intermediate-energy Nuclear Data Measurements; Nuclear Data Libraries Evaluation and Low-intermediate Energy Models; and High-energy Experiments and Modelling.The main accomplishments expected from NUDATRA are: 1) new measurements and evaluations of Pb-Bi cross-sections, i.e. inelastic, (n,xn) and isomer branching ratios (Po production); 2) new measurements and evaluations for minor actinides particularly the capture in 243 Am and fission on 244 Cm; 3) improvement of TALYS as an evaluation tool and as an a priori model for the estimation of low- and intermediate-energy reaction cross-section; 4) high-energy model improvement based on measurements, particularly for the prediction of the spallation products, and gas (H, He) production cross-sections; 5) sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of ETD fuel cycle and related covariance issues. (authors)

Chemical separations schemes for partitioning and transmutation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laidler, J.

2002-01-01

In the initial phase of the U.S. Accelerator Transmutation of Waste (ATW) program, a single-tier system was foreseen in which the transuranics and long-lived fission products (specifically, 99 Tc and 129 I) recovered from spent LWR oxide fuel would be sent directly to an accelerator-driven transmuter reactor [1]. Because the quantity of fuel to be processed annually was so large (almost 1,500 tons per year), an aqueous solvent extraction process was chosen for LWR fuel processing. Without the need to separate transuranics from one another for feed to the transmuter, it became appropriate to develop an advanced aqueous separations method that became known as UREX. The UREX process employs an added reagent (acetohydroxamic acid) that suppresses the extraction of plutonium and promotes the extraction of technetium together with uranium. Technetium can then be efficiently removed from the uranium; the recovered uranium, being highly decontaminated, can be disposed of as a low-level waste or stored in an unshielded facility for future use. Plutonium and the other transuranic elements, plus the remaining fission products, are directed to the liquid waste stream. This stream is calcined, converting the transuranics and fission products to their oxides. The resulting oxide powder, now representing only about four percent of the original mass of the spent fuel, is reduced to metallic form by means of a pyrometallurgical process. Subsequently, the transuranics are separated from the fission products in another pyro-metallurgical step involving molten salt electrorefining

The nuclear design optimization of a Pb-Bi alloy cooled transmuter, PEACER-300

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lim, Jae-Yong; Kim, Myung-Hyun

2006-01-01

A core design of lead-bismuth cooled fast reactor, PEACER-300 has been investigated to maximize its transmutation capability within safety criteria. Transmutation of minor actinide under a closed recycling was analyzed with assumption on decontamination factors in pyro-reprocessing plant data at reasonably high values. To acquire high transmutation performance, feed fuel composition, P/D ratio, active core height and fuel cycle strategy were changed. For preventing the fuel meting and guaranteeing long plant life-time, the number of fuel assembly array and normal operation temperature were decided. The optimized design parameter were chosen as of a flat core shape with 50 cm of active core height and 5 m core diameter, loaded with 17 x 17 arrayed fuel assemblies. A pitch to diameter ratio is 2.2, operating coolant temperature range is 300 deg. C to 400 deg. C, and core consists of 3 different enrichment zones with one year cycle length. Performance of designed core showed a high transmutation capability with support ratio of 2.085, large negative temperature feedback coefficients, and sufficient shutdown margin with 28 B 4 C control assemblies. (authors)

Transmutation technologies to solve the problem of long-term spent nuclear fuel storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosnedl, P.; Valenta, V.; Blahut, O.

2000-01-01

The paper gives a brief description of the transmutation process for actinides and long-lived fission products which are present in spent nuclear fuel. Transmutation technologies can solve the problem of long-term spent nuclear fuel storage and reduce the requirements for storage time and conditions. The basic data and requirements for the detailed design of the transmutor are summarized, and the views upon how to address the fuel purification and dry reprocessing issues are discussed. The results of activities of SKODA JS are highlighted; these include, for instance, the fluoride salt-resistant material MONICR, test loops, and electrowinners. The preliminary design of the transmutor is also outlined. Brief information regarding activities in the field of transmutation technologies in the Czech Republic and worldwide is also presented. The research and design activities to be developed for the whole design of the demonstration and basic units are summarized. It is emphasized that SKODA JS can join in international cooperation without constraints. The Attachment presents a simple assessment of how the radioactivity balance can be reduced, based on the actinide and long-lived fission product transmutation half-lives, is presented in the Attachment. (author)

Technical meeting on 'Review of solid and mobile fuels for partitioning and transmutation systems'. Working material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-07-01

The topics covered during the Meeting were divided into two Sessions. Session 1 - Qualification of Solid and Mobile Fuels delt with: Neutronic, fuel and material properties of a molten salt transmuter; and Preliminary analysis of transmutation fuels for KALIMER. Session 2 - Reactor Physics and Safety Characteristics of Transmutation Systems based on Solid and Mobile Fuel Types included the following: Activity in NEA for P and T area; IAEA activities in the area of partitioning and transmutation; The R and D activity in Brazil: A conceptual fast energy amplifier ADS cooled by helium double stata Th/U fuel cycle; Closed fuel cycle and contemporary tendencies of the nuclear facilities development; Current Russian activities in P and T area; Pyrochemical reprocessing and nuclear spent fuel disposal project; Fuel selection criteria specific for double stratum minor actinide burners.

Neutronic Analysis on Coolant Options in a Hybrid Reactor System for High Level Waste Transmutation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hong, Seong Hee; Kim, Myung Hyun [Kyung Hee University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

A fusion-fission hybrid reactor (FFHR) which is a combination of plasma fusion tokamak as a fast neutron source and a fission reactor as of fusion blanket is another potential candidate. In FFHR, fusion plasma machine can supply high neutron-rich and energetic 14.1MeV (D, T) neutrons compared to other options. Therefore it has better capability in HLW incineration. While, it has lower requirements compared to pure fusion. Much smaller-sized tokamak can be achievable in a near term because it needs relatively low plasma condition. FFHR has also higher safety potential than fast reactors just as ADSR because it is subcritical reactor system. FFHR proposed up to this time has many design concepts depending on the design purpose. FFHR may also satisfy many design requirement such as energy multiplication, tritium production, radiation shielding for magnets, fissile breeding for self-sustain ability also waste transmutation. Many types of fuel compositions and coolant options have been studied. Effect of choices for fuel and coolant was studied for the transmutation purpose FFHR by our team. In this study LiPb coolant was better than pure Li coolant both for neutron multiplication and tritium breeding. However, performance of waste transmutation was reduced with increased neutron absorption at coolant caused by tritium breeding. Also, LiPb as metal coolant has a problem of massive MHD pressure drop in coolant channels. Therefore, in a previous study, waste transmutation performance was evaluated with light water coolant option which may be a realistic choice. In this study, a neutronic analysis was done for the various coolant options with a detailed computation. One of solutions suggested is to use the pressure tubes inside of first wall and second wall In this work, performance of radioactive waste transmutation was compared with various coolant options. On the whole, keff increases with all coolants except for FLiBe, therefore required fusion power is decreased. In

Actinide and fission product partitioning and transmutation. Status and assessment report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

Implementation and partitioning technology is intended to reduce the inventory of actinides and long-lived fission products in nuclear waste. Such technology can decrease hazards of pre-disposal waste management and of physical disturbance of a waste repository. An authoritative analysis is given of the technical, radiological and economic consequences of the proposed partitioning and transmutation operations on the present and future fuel cycle options. The report is subdivided to a general part for non-specialist readers, and to a technical systems analysis discussing issues on partitioning, transmutation and long-term waste management. (R.P.)

Feasibility analysis of constant TRU feeding in waste transmutation system using accelerator-driven subcritical system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Kun Jai; Cho, Nam Zin; Jo, Chang Keun; Park, Chang Je; Kim, Do Sam; Park, Jeong Hwan [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea)

1999-03-01

It is probable that the issue of nuclear spent fuel and high-level waste can have negative impact on the future expansion of nuclear power programs. Accelerator-driven nuclear waste transmutation with constant composition TRU feeding which satisfies non-proliferation condition will help establish the long-range nuclear waste disposal strategy. In this study, current status of accelerator-driven transmutation of waste technology, and feasibility analysis of constant composition TRU feeding system were investigated. We ascertained that solid system using constant composition TRU is feasible with the the capability of transmutation. (author). 13 refs., 53 figs., 20 tabs.

Planning and reporting of Russian transmutation research projects within ISTC. Phase 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conde, H. [Uppsala Univ., (Sweden). Dept. of Neutron Research; Gudowski, W. [Royal Inst. of Tech., Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Reactor Technology; Liljenzin, J.O. [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Dept. of Nuclear Chemistry; Mileikovsky, C. [Pully (Switzerland)

1997-02-01

The International Scientific and Technical Center (ISTC) in Moscow funds research of civil interest to counteract the risk of nuclear weapon proliferation. Recently, new technical concepts, Accelerator Transmutation of Nuclear Waste (ATW), have been proposed to incinerate and transmute long-lived radioactive nuclear waste to relax the time needed to store the waste in a geological repository. The Russian experts are knowledgeable and well equipped for doing research in the different technical fields of relevance for the transmutation concepts. Thus, a number of ISTC projects have been proposed to investigate different technical aspects of ATW with a result that a fair number of former weapon specialists have converted from military to peaceful civilian research. The present report describes the back ground, the status and near term activities of a few ISTC projects of relevance for the ATW concept, which are planned with the participation of a Swedish reference group. 4 refs.

Planning and reporting of Russian transmutation research projects within ISTC. Phase 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conde, H.

1997-02-01

The International Scientific and Technical Center (ISTC) in Moscow funds research of civil interest to counteract the risk of nuclear weapon proliferation. Recently, new technical concepts, Accelerator Transmutation of Nuclear Waste (ATW), have been proposed to incinerate and transmute long-lived radioactive nuclear waste to relax the time needed to store the waste in a geological repository. The Russian experts are knowledgeable and well equipped for doing research in the different technical fields of relevance for the transmutation concepts. Thus, a number of ISTC projects have been proposed to investigate different technical aspects of ATW with a result that a fair number of former weapon specialists have converted from military to peaceful civilian research. The present report describes the back ground, the status and near term activities of a few ISTC projects of relevance for the ATW concept, which are planned with the participation of a Swedish reference group. 4 refs

System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation. Annual Report 2003

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gudowski, Waclaw; Wallenius, Jan; Tucek, Kamil

2004-12-01

The research on safety of Accelerator-Driven Transmutation Systems (ADS) at the Dept. of Nuclear and Reactor Physics reported here has been focused on different aspects of safety of the Accelerator-Driven Transmutation Systems and on Transmutation research in more general terms. An overview of the topics of our research is given in the Summary which is followed by detailed reports as separate chapters or subchapters. Some of the research topics reported in this report are referred to appendices, which have been published in the open literature. Topics, which are not yet published, are described with more details in the main part of this report. Main focus has been, as before, largely determined by the programme of the European projects of the 5th Framework Programme in which KTH is actively participating. In particular: a) ADS core design and development of advanced nuclear fuel optimised for high transmutation rates and good safety features. This activity includes even computer modeling of nuclear fuel production. Three different ADS-core concept are being investigated: Conceptual design of Pb-Bi cooled core with nitride fuel so called Sing-Sing Core developed at KTH; Pb-Bi cooled core with oxide fuel so called ANSALDO design for the European Project PDS-XADS; Gas cooled core with oxide fuel a design investigated for the European Project PDS-XADS. b) analysis of potential of advance fuels, in particular nitrides with high content of minor actinides; c) analysis of ADS-dynamics and assessment of major reactivity feedbacks; d) emergency heat removal from ADS; e) participation in ADS: MUSE (CEA-Cadarache), YALINA subcritical experiment in Minsk and designing of the subcritical experiment SAD in Dubna; f) theoretical and simulation studies of radiation damage in high neutron (and/or proton) fluxes; g) computer code and nuclear data development relevant for simulation and optimization of ADS, validation of the MCB code and sensitivity analysis; h) studies of

System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation. Annual Report 2003

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gudowski, Waclaw; Wallenius, Jan; Tucek, Kamil [Royal Inst. of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Nuclear and Reactor Physics] [and others

2004-12-01

The research on safety of Accelerator-Driven Transmutation Systems (ADS) at the Dept. of Nuclear and Reactor Physics reported here has been focused on different aspects of safety of the Accelerator-Driven Transmutation Systems and on Transmutation research in more general terms. An overview of the topics of our research is given in the Summary which is followed by detailed reports as separate chapters or subchapters. Some of the research topics reported in this report are referred to appendices, which have been published in the open literature. Topics, which are not yet published, are described with more details in the main part of this report. Main focus has been, as before, largely determined by the programme of the European projects of the 5th Framework Programme in which KTH is actively participating. In particular: a) ADS core design and development of advanced nuclear fuel optimised for high transmutation rates and good safety features. This activity includes even computer modeling of nuclear fuel production. Three different ADS-core concept are being investigated: Conceptual design of Pb-Bi cooled core with nitride fuel so called Sing-Sing Core developed at KTH; Pb-Bi cooled core with oxide fuel so called ANSALDO design for the European Project PDS-XADS; Gas cooled core with oxide fuel a design investigated for the European Project PDS-XADS. b) analysis of potential of advance fuels, in particular nitrides with high content of minor actinides; c) analysis of ADS-dynamics and assessment of major reactivity feedbacks; d) emergency heat removal from ADS; e) participation in ADS: MUSE (CEA-Cadarache), YALINA subcritical experiment in Minsk and designing of the subcritical experiment SAD in Dubna; f) theoretical and simulation studies of radiation damage in high neutron (and/or proton) fluxes; g) computer code and nuclear data development relevant for simulation and optimization of ADS, validation of the MCB code and sensitivity analysis; h) studies of

Recycling and transmutation of nuclear waste. ECN-Petten and Belgonucleaire contributions in the framework of 'Partitioning and transmutation studies of the 4th CEC programme on rad waste management and disposal'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abrahams, K.; Kloosterman, J.L.; Gruppelaar, H.; Brusselaers, P.; Evrard, G.; La Fuente, A.; Maldague, T.; Pilate, S.; Renard, A.

1995-12-01

A 'Strategy study on nuclear waste transmutation' by Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN) and Belgonucleaire (BN) in the frame of the EU R and D Programme 1990/1994 on management and storage of radioactive waste has been executed in collaboration with AEA Technology, CEA and Siemens. First of all the motivation for transmuting long-lived radioactive products has been formulated, next transmutation of Tc-99 and I-129 in fission reactors has been studied for the PWR, HFR, Superphenix, and the CANDU reactor. Cross section libraries have been improved for ORIGEN-S on the basis of JEF2.2 and EAF3. This study has been amended by a graphical representation of important reactions for activation of cladding and inert matrix materials. By means of the derived new data libraries, some sample calculations on transmutation of americium in thermal reactors have been performed. Implications of recycling plutonium and americium in the form of MOX fuel in light water reactors have been investigated. It became clear from the present study that trasmutation of the existing plutonium has the highest priority and that reduction of minor-actinides is next on the priority list. Thirdly, the (difficult) large-scale transmutation of Tc-99 and of I-129 could reduce the leakage dose risks. It also seems most worthwhile to be careful with naturally occurring U-234 in the waste, as this will in the long run lead to a substantial increase of the 'natural' radon dose in the neighbourhood of the storage facility. (orig.)

Recycling and transmutation of nuclear waste. ECN-Petten and Belgonucleaire contributions in the framework of `Partitioning and transmutation studies of the 4th CEC programme on rad waste management and disposal`

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abrahams, K. [Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN), Petten (Netherlands); Kloosterman, J.L. [Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN), Petten (Netherlands); Gruppelaar, H. [Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN), Petten (Netherlands); Brusselaers, P. [Belgonucleaire S.A., Brussels (Belgium); Evrard, G. [Belgonucleaire S.A., Brussels (Belgium); La Fuente, A. [Belgonucleaire S.A., Brussels (Belgium); Maldague, T. [Belgonucleaire S.A., Brussels (Belgium); Pilate, S. [Belgonucleaire S.A., Brussels (Belgium); Renard, A. [Belgonucleaire S.A., Brussels (Belgium)

1995-12-01

A `Strategy study on nuclear waste transmutation` by Netherlands Energy Research Foundation (ECN) and Belgonucleaire (BN) in the frame of the EU R and D Programme 1990/1994 on management and storage of radioactive waste has been executed in collaboration with AEA Technology, CEA and Siemens. First of all the motivation for transmuting long-lived radioactive products has been formulated, next transmutation of Tc-99 and I-129 in fission reactors has been studied for the PWR, HFR, Superphenix, and the CANDU reactor. Cross section libraries have been improved for ORIGEN-S on the basis of JEF2.2 and EAF3. This study has been amended by a graphical representation of important reactions for activation of cladding and inert matrix materials. By means of the derived new data libraries, some sample calculations on transmutation of americium in thermal reactors have been performed. Implications of recycling plutonium and americium in the form of MOX fuel in light water reactors have been investigated. It became clear from the present study that trasmutation of the existing plutonium has the highest priority and that reduction of minor-actinides is next on the priority list. Thirdly, the (difficult) large-scale transmutation of Tc-99 and of I-129 could reduce the leakage dose risks. It also seems most worthwhile to be careful with naturally occurring U-234 in the waste, as this will in the long run lead to a substantial increase of the `natural` radon dose in the neighbourhood of the storage facility. (orig.).

Transmutation studies using SSNTD and radiochemistry and the associated production of secondary neutrons

CERN Document Server

Brandt, R; Wan, J S; Schmidt, T; Langrock, E J; Vater, P; Adam, J; Bamblevski, V P; Bradnova, V; Gelovani, L K; Kalinnikov, V K; Krivopustov, M I; Kulakov, B A; Sosnin, A N; Perelygin, V P; Pronskikh, V S; Stegailov, V I; Tsoupko-Sitnikov, V M; Modolo, G; Odoj, R; Philippen, P W; Adloff, J C; Pape, F; Debeauvais, M; Zamani-Valassiadou, M; Hashemi-Nezhad, S R; Dwivedi, K K; Guo Shi Lun; Li, L; Wang, Y L; Wilson, B

1999-01-01

Experiments using 1.5 GeV, 3.7 GeV and 7.4 GeV protons from the Synchrophasotron, LHE, JINR, Dubna, Russia, on extended Pb- and U- targets were carried out using SSNTD and radiochemical sensors for the study of secondary neutron $9 fluences. We also carried out first transmutation studies on the long-lived radwaste nuclei /sup 129/I and /sup 237/Np. In addition, we carried out computer code simulation studies on these systems using LAHET and DCM/CEM codes. We $9 have difficulties to understand rather large transmutation rates observed experimentally when they are compared with computer simulations. There seems to be a rather fundamental problem understanding the large transmutation rates as $9 observed experimentally in Dubna and CERN, as compared to those theoretical computer simulations mentioned above. (10 refs).

Study on MAs transmutation of accelerator-driven system sodium-cooled fast reactor loaded with metallic fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han Song; Yang Yongwei

2007-01-01

Through the analysis of the effect of heavy metal actinides on the effective multiplication constant (k eff ) of the core in accelerator-driven system (ADS) sodium-cooled fast reactor loaded with metallic fuel, we gave the method for determining fuel components. the characteristics of minor actinides (MAs) transmutation was analyzed in detail. 3D burn-up code COUPLE, which couples MCNP4c3 and ORIGEN2, was applied to the neutron simulation and burn up calculation. The results of optimized scheme shows that adjusting the proportion of 239 Pu and maintaining the value during the burn-up cycle is an efficient method of designing k eff and keeping stable during the burn-up cycle. Spallation neutrons lead to the neutron spectrum harder at inner core than that at outer core. It is in favor of improving MA's fission cross sections and the capture-to-fission ratio. The total MAs transmutation support ratio 8.3 achieves excellent transmutation effect. For higher flux at inner core leads to obvious differences on transmutation efficiency,only disposing MAs at inner core is in favor of decreasing the loading mass and improving MAs transmutation effect. (authors)

Conceptual design study of Hyb-WT as fusion–fission hybrid reactor for waste transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siddique, Muhammad Tariq; Kim, Myung Hyun

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Conceptual design study of fusion-fission hybrid reactor for waste transmutation. • MCNPX and MONTEBURNS are compared for transmutation performance of WT-Hyb. • Detailed neutronic performance of final optimized Hyb-WT design is analyzed. • A new tube-in-duct core design is implemented and compared with pin type design. • Study shows many aspects of hybrid reactor even though scope was limited to neutronic analysis. - Abstract: This study proposes a conceptual design of a hybrid reactor for waste transmutation (Hyb-WT). The design of Hyb-WT is based on a low-power tokamak (less than 150 MWt) and an annular ring-shaped reactor core with metal fuel (TRU 60 w/o, Zr 40 w/o) and a fission product (FP) zone. The computational code systems MONTEBURNS and MCNPX2.6 are investigated for their suitability in evaluating the performance of Hyb-WT. The overall design performance of the proposed reactor is determined by considering pin-type and tube-in-duct core designs. The objective of such consideration is to explore the possibilities for enhanced transmutation with reduced wall loading from fusion neutrons and reduced transuranic (TRU) inventory. TRU and FP depletion is analyzed by calculating waste transmutation ratio, mass burned per full power year (in units of kg/fpy), and support ratio. The radio toxicity analysis of TRUs and FPs is performed by calculating the percentage of toxicity reduction in TRU and FP over a burn cycle

A Novel Molten Salt Reactor Concept to Implement the Multi-Step Time-Scheduled Transmutation Strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csom, Gyula; Feher, Sandor; Szieberthj, Mate

2002-01-01

Nowadays the molten salt reactor (MSR) concept seems to revive as one of the most promising systems for the realization of transmutation. In the molten salt reactors and subcritical systems the fuel and material to be transmuted circulate dissolved in some molten salt. The main advantage of this reactor type is the possibility of the continuous feed and reprocessing of the fuel. In the present paper a novel molten salt reactor concept is introduced and its transmutation capabilities are studied. The goal is the development of a transmutation technique along with a device implementing it, which yield higher transmutation efficiencies than that of the known procedures and thus results in radioactive waste whose load on the environment is reduced both in magnitude and time length. The procedure is the multi-step time-scheduled transmutation, in which transformation is done in several consecutive steps of different neutron flux and spectrum. In the new MSR concept, named 'multi-region' MSR (MRMSR), the primary circuit is made up of a few separate loops, in which salt-fuel mixtures of different compositions are circulated. The loop sections constituting the core region are only neutronically and thermally coupled. This new concept makes possible the utilization of the spatial dependence of spectrum as well as the advantageous features of liquid fuel such as the possibility of continuous chemical processing etc. In order to compare a 'conventional' MSR and a proposed MRMSR in terms of efficiency, preliminary calculational results are shown. Further calculations in order to find the optimal implementation of this new concept and to emphasize its other advantageous features are going on. (authors)

Transmutation of nuclear waste. Status report RAS programme 1993: Recycling and transmutation of actinides and fission products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abrahams, K.; Bultman, J.H.; Cordfunke, E.H.P.; Gruppelaar, H.; Janssen, A.J.; Franken, W.M.P.; Klippel, K.T.; Kloosterman, J.L.; Konings, R.J.M.; Smit, J.

1994-11-01

The term ''nuclear transmutation'' means a conversion of long-lived radioactive nuclides into short-lived or stable nuclides and ''recycling'' means re-use of fissile material to generate energy in power reactors. With these two processes a reduction of the radiotoxicity and of its duration may be achieved, thus reducing the potential hazard to future generations. Firstly, the report gives a survey of the present situation regarding nuclear waste: its components, how the waste is produced in current LWR and possible options for interim and final storage. Then the objective of the RAS programme, the working methods and the state of the art of the research are considered. Two chapters deal with preliminary results of national and international research. A rather tentative prediction for the future is formulated. Some conclusions are drawn: It seems to be in the best interests of the Netherlands to continue the established line of reprocessing nuclear waste, should new reactors be introduced. It may be advisable to make international agreements so that in the future fission products will contain as few traces of transuranic actinides and long-lived components as possible. Consequently, nuclear waste would become cleaner in terms of long-lived components. For the transmutation of products separated in foreign countries, the Netherlands could pursue an active policy, perform research and also consider the use of MOX fuel in future Dutch reactors. Further contributions towards the solution of these problems can only be made by the Netherlands on an international level. As such, the research and study performed within the framework of the RAS-programme represents a useful international contribution. The possibilities offered by the HFR are particularly of great value. Finally, the choice of a new generation of nuclear reactors should be made not based only on the safety aspects, but also on the extent of waste production and on the transmutation possibilities (application

Application of activation methods on the Dubna experimental transmutation set-ups.

Science.gov (United States)

Stoulos, S; Fragopoulou, M; Adloff, J C; Debeauvais, M; Brandt, R; Westmeier, W; Krivopustov, M; Sosnin, A; Papastefanou, C; Zamani, M; Manolopoulou, M

2003-02-01

High spallation neutron fluxes were produced by irradiating massive heavy targets with proton beams in the GeV range. The experiments were performed at the Dubna High Energy Laboratory using the nuclotron accelerator. Two different experimental set-ups were used to produce neutron spectra convenient for transmutation of radioactive waste by (n,x) reactions. By a theoretical analysis neutron spectra can be reproduced from activation measurements. Thermal-epithermal and fast-super-fast neutron fluxes were estimated using the 197Au, 238U (n,gamma) and (n,2n) reactions, respectively. Depleted uranium transmutation rates were also studied in both experiments.

The development of the market for neutron transmutation doped silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herzer, H.; Vieweg-Gutberlet, G.

1984-01-01

Neutron transmutation doped silicon was introduced to the electronic device market in the 1975-1976 time period. Today, neutron transmutation doping is definitely a mature technology applied mainly to semiconductor power devices. There is no doubt that the power device sector will remain the major consumer of NTD silicon in the near future. This paper examines the possible application of NTD silicon to other areas of the semiconductor market, and concludes that the need for NTD silicon will continue to grow and will expand into other applications. Consequently, unless new reactor capacities become available by the end of the decade, NTD silicon applications will probably be limited mainly to power and sensor devices

Neutronic evaluation of insertion of a transmutation layer in a Tokamak system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabrera, Carlos Eduardo Velasquez

2013-01-01

Using MCNP5 code were simulated different models representing the ITER system. It was evaluated the two alloys used by the first wall under high neutron flux. The neutron flux and the reaction rate along the different walls were obtained and evaluated. Based on the results, it was possible to conclude the best way to represent the fusion device evaluating; the different geometrical models, the best material to be used in the first wall taking into consideration the objective of transmutation and placed the transmutation layer. (author)

Actinide and fission product partitioning and transmutation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-07-01

The third international information exchange meeting on actinide and fission product partitioning and transmutation, took place in Cadarache France, on 12-14 December 1994. The proceedings are presented in six sessions : an introduction session, the major programmes and international cooperation, the systems studies, the reactors fuels and targets, the chemistry and a last discussions session. (A.L.B.)

Composite gauge bosons of transmuted gauge symmetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terazawa, Hidezumi.

1987-10-01

It is shown that effective gauge theories of composite gauge bosons describing the dynamics of composite quarks and leptons can be transmuted from the subcolor gauge theory describing that of subquarks due to the condensation of subquarks and that the equality of effective gauge coupling constants can result as in a grand unified gauge theory. (author)

Neutron-transmutation-doped germanium bolometers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Palaio, N.P.; Rodder, M.; Haller, E.E.; Kreysa, E.

1983-02-01

Six slices of ultra-pure germanium were irradiated with thermal neutron fluences between 7.5 x 10 16 and 1.88 x 10 18 cm - 2 . After thermal annealing the resistivity was measured down to low temperatures ( 0 exp(δ/T) in the hopping conduction regime. Also, several junction FETs were tested for noise performance at room temperature and in an insulating housing in a 4.2K cryostat. These FETs will be used as first stage amplifiers for neutron-transmutation-doped germanium bolometers

Analysis of advanced European nuclear fuel cycle scenarios including transmutation and economic estimates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodríguez, Iván Merino; Álvarez-Velarde, Francisco; Martín-Fuertes, Francisco

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Four fuel cycle scenarios have been analyzed in resources and economic terms. • Scenarios involve Once-Through, Pu burning, and MA transmutation strategies. • No restrictions were found in terms of uranium and plutonium availability. • The best case cost and the impact of their uncertainties to the LCOE were analyzed. - Abstract: Four European fuel cycle scenarios involving transmutation options (in coherence with PATEROS and CP-ESFR EU projects) have been addressed from a point of view of resources utilization and economic estimates. Scenarios include: (i) the current fleet using Light Water Reactor (LWR) technology and open fuel cycle, (ii) full replacement of the initial fleet with Fast Reactors (FR) burning U–Pu MOX fuel, (iii) closed fuel cycle with Minor Actinide (MA) transmutation in a fraction of the FR fleet, and (iv) closed fuel cycle with MA transmutation in dedicated Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS). All scenarios consider an intermediate period of GEN-III+ LWR deployment and they extend for 200 years, looking for long term equilibrium mass flow achievement. The simulations were made using the TR E VOL code, capable to assess the management of the nuclear mass streams in the scenario as well as economics for the estimation of the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and other costs. Results reveal that all scenarios are feasible according to nuclear resources demand (natural and depleted U, and Pu). Additionally, we have found as expected that the FR scenario reduces considerably the Pu inventory in repositories compared to the reference scenario. The elimination of the LWR MA legacy requires a maximum of 55% fraction (i.e., a peak value of 44 FR units) of the FR fleet dedicated to transmutation (MA in MOX fuel, homogeneous transmutation) or an average of 28 units of ADS plants (i.e., a peak value of 51 ADS units). Regarding the economic analysis, the main usefulness of the provided economic results is for relative comparison of

High cycle thermal fatigue: benchmark at a Te junction piping system of the nuclear power plant Phenix; Fatigue a grand nombre de cycles: benchmark d'un te de tuyauterie de la centrale Phenix

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gelineau, O.; Simoneau, J.P. [NOVATOME, a Div. of Framatome, 69 - Lyon (France); Roubin, P. [CEA Cadarache, DER, 13 - Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France)

2001-07-01

This paper presents the studies of the benchmark concerning a high cycle thermal fatigue problem. This benchmark is based on an industrial case, a Te junction piping system of the french FBR Phenix. The main objectives were the comparison of the different methods used by the participants and the analysis of the damage evaluation methods capacity compared to the observed phenomena. This study took place in an international framework with the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Korea, Russia, India and France. (A.L.B.)

Evaluation of actinide partitioning and transmutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

After a few centuries of radioactive decay the long-lived actinides, the elements of atomic numbers 89-103, may constitute the main potential radiological health hazard in nuclear wastes. This is because all but a very few fission products (principally technetium-99 and iodine-129) have by then undergone radioactive decay to insignificant levels, leaving the actinides as the principal radionuclides remaining. It was therefore at first sight an attractive concept to recycle the actinides to nuclear reactors, so as to eliminate them by nuclear fission. Thus, investigations of the feasibility and potential benefits and hazards of the concept of 'actinide partitioning and transmutation' were started in numerous countries in the mid-1970s. This final report summarizes the results and conclusions of technical studies performed in connection with a four-year IAEA Co-ordinated Research Programme, started in 1976, on the ''Environmental Evaluation and Hazard Assessment of the Separation of Actinides from Nuclear Wastes followed by either Transmutation or Separate Disposal''. Although many related studies are still continuing, e.g. on waste disposal, long-term safety assessments, and waste actinide management (particularly for low and intermediate-level wastes), some firm conclusions on the overall concept were drawn by the programme participants, which are reflected in this report

Analysis, design, and implementation of PHENIX on-line computing systems software using Shlaer-Mellor object-oriented analysis and recursive design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozlowski, T.; Desmond, E.; Haggerty, J.

1997-01-01

An early prototype of the core software for on-line computing systems for the PHENIX detector at RHIC has been developed using the Shlaer-Mellor OOA/RD method, including the automatic generation of C++ source code using a commercial translation engine and open-quotes architectureclose quotes

Minor actinide transmutation in a board type sodium cooled breed and burn reactor core

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, Meiyin; Tian, Wenxi; Zhang, Dalin; Qiu, Suizheng; Su, Guanghui

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A 1250 MWt board type sodium cooled breed and burn reactor core is further designed. • MCNP–ORIGEN coupled code MCORE is applied to perform neutronics and depletion calculation. • Transmutation efficiency and neutronic safety parameters are compared under different MA weight fraction. - Abstract: In this paper, a board type sodium cooled breed and burn reactor core is further designed and applied to perform minor actinide (MA) transmutation. MA is homogeneously loaded in all the fuel sub-assemblies with a weight fraction of 2.0 wt.%, 4.0 wt.%, 6.0 wt.%, 8.0 wt.%, 10.0 wt.% and 12.0 wt.%, respectively. The transmutation efficiency, transmutation amount, power density distribution, neutron fluence distribution and neutronic safety parameters, such as reactivity, Doppler feedback, void worth and delayed neutron fraction, are compared under different MA weight fraction. Neutronics and depletion calculations are performed based on the self-developed MCNP–ORIGEN coupled code with the ENDF/B-VII data library. In the breed and burn reactor core, a number of breeding sub-assemblies are arranged in the inner core in a board type way (scatter load) to breed, and a number of absorbing sub-assemblies are arranged in the inner side of the outer core to absorb neutrons and reduce power density in this area. All the fuel sub-assemblies (ignition and breeding sub-assemblies) are shuffled from outside in. The core reached asymptotically steady state after about 22 years, and the average and maximum discharged burn-up were about 17.0% and 35.3%, respectively. The transmutation amount increased linearly with the MA weight fraction, while the transmutation rate parabolically varied with the MA weight fraction. Power density in ignition sub-assembly positions increased with the MA weight fraction, while decreased in breeding sub-assembly positions. Neutron fluence decreased with the increase of MA weight fraction. Generally speaking, the core reactivity and void

Study on the transmutation of some radioactive wastes using the Bateman equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orlandi, Horus Ibrahim; Moreira, Joao M.L.

2009-01-01

In this work, a numerical solution for the nuclear transmutation equations using the Bateman algorithm. The numerical solution was implemented using the JAVA language and the program gives the time variation of isotope chain decays population which appears due to nuclear transmutation. With the present results it is possible to understand the radioactive decay and the need of storage the radioactive decay along the years. The chain decay studied were the 99 Tc, 99 Zr, 135 Cs, 137 Cs and the 90 Sr, due to their long half-lives and the high fission yield

Concept of the demonstration molten salt unit for the transuranium elements transmutations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alekseev, P.; Dudnikov, A.; Prusakov, V.; Subbotin, S.; Zakirov, R.; Lelek, V.; Peka, I.

1999-01-01

Fluorine reprocessing is discussed of spent fuel and of fluoride molten salt reactor in critical and subcritical modes for plutonium and minor actinides burning. International collaboration for creation of such system is proposed. Additional neutron source in the core will have positive influence on the transmutation processes in the reactor. Demonstration critical molten salt reactor of small power capacity will permit to decide the most part of problems inherent to large critical reactors and subcritical drivers. It could be expected that fluoride molten salt transmuter can work without accelerator as a critical reactor. (author)

Measurement of J/{psi} production in proton-proton collisions by the PHENIX experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruner, Nichelle [University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2004-07-01

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured J/{psi} production in proton-proton collisions at {radical}(s)= 200 GeV using data from the 2001-2002 collider run. Distributions of rapidity and transverse momentum are presented and compared with theoretical predictions. The total cross section and mean p{sub T} are calculated and compared to fixed-target results. The total J/{psi} cross section is 4.0{+-}0.6(stat){+-}0.6(sys){+-}0.4(abs){mu}b. The mean p{sub T} is 1.80{+-}0.23(stat){+-}0.16(sys) GeV/c. (orig.)

Measurement of J/ψ production in proton-proton collisions by the PHENIX experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruner, Nichelle

2004-01-01

The PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has measured J/ψ production in proton-proton collisions at √(s)= 200 GeV using data from the 2001-2002 collider run. Distributions of rapidity and transverse momentum are presented and compared with theoretical predictions. The total cross section and mean p T are calculated and compared to fixed-target results. The total J/ψ cross section is 4.0±0.6(stat)±0.6(sys)±0.4(abs)μb. The mean p T is 1.80±0.23(stat)±0.16(sys) GeV/c. (orig.)

Application of pattern recognition techniques to the detection of the Phenix reactor control rods vibrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zwingelstein, G.; Deat, M.; Le Guillou, G.

1979-01-01

The incipient detection of control rods vibrations is very important for the safety of the operating plants. This detection can be achieved by an analysis of the peaks of the power spectrum density of the neutron noise. Pattern Recognition techniques were applied to detect the rod vibrations which occured at the fast breeder Phenix (250MWe). In the first part we give a description of the basic pattern which is used to characterize the behavior of the plant. The pattern is considered as column vector in n dimensional Euclidian space where the components are the samples of the power spectral density of the neutron noise. In the second part, a recursive learning procedure of the normal patterns which provides the mean and the variance of the estimates is described. In the third part the classification problem has been framed in terms of a partitioning procedure in n dimensional space which encloses regions corresponding to normal operations. This pattern recognition scheme was applied to the detection of rod vibrations with neutron data collected at the Phenix site before and after occurence of the vibrations. The analysis was carried out with a 42-dimensional measurement space. The learned pattern was estimated with 150 measurement vectors which correspond to the period without vibrations. The efficiency of the surveillance scheme is then demonstrated by processing separately 119 measurement vectors recorded during the rod vibration period

Importance of All-in-one (MCNPX2.7.0+CINDER2008) Code for Rigorous Transmutation Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Oyeon [Institute for Modeling and Simulation Convergence, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Kwanghyun [RadTek Co. Ltd., Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

It can be utilized as a possible mechanism for reducing the volume and hazard of radioactive waste by transforming hazardous radioactive elements with long half-life into less hazardous elements with short halflife. Thus, the understanding of the transmutation mechanism and beneficial machinery design technologies are important and useful. Although the terminology transmutation was rooted back to alchemy which transforms the base metals into gold in the middle ages, Rutherford and Soddy were the first observers by discovering the natural transmutation as a part of radioactive decay of the alpha decay type in early 20th century. Along with the development of computing technology, analysis software, for example, CINDER was developed for rigorous atomic transmutation study. The code has a long history of development from the original work of T. England at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory (BAPL) in the early 1960s. It has been used to calculate the inventory of nuclides in an irradiated material. CINDER'90 which is recently released involved an upgrade of the code to allow the spontaneous tracking of chains based upon the significant density or pass-by of a nuclide, where pass-by represents the density of a nuclide transforming to other nuclides. Nuclear transmutation process is governed by highly non-linear differential equation. Chaotic nature of the non-linear equation bespeaks the importance of the accurate input data (i.e. number of significant digits). Thus, reducing the human interrogation is very important for the rigorous transmutation study and 'allin- one' code structure is desired. Note that non-linear characteristic of the transmutation equation caused by the flux changes due to the number density change during a given time interval (intrinsic physical phenomena) is not considered in this study. In this study, we only emphasized the effects of human interrogation in the computing process solving nonlinear differential equations, as shown in

Heterogeneous fuels for minor actinides transmutation: Fuel performance codes predictions in the EFIT case study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calabrese, R., E-mail: rolando.calabrese@enea.i [ENEA, Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycle Closure Division, via Martiri di Monte Sole 4, 40129 Bologna (Italy); Vettraino, F.; Artioli, C. [ENEA, Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycle Closure Division, via Martiri di Monte Sole 4, 40129 Bologna (Italy); Sobolev, V. [SCK.CEN, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol (Belgium); Thetford, R. [Serco Technical and Assurance Services, 150 Harwell Business Centre, Didcot OX11 0QB (United Kingdom)

2010-06-15

Plutonium recycling in new-generation fast reactors coupled with minor actinides (MA) transmutation in dedicated nuclear systems could achieve a decrease of nuclear waste long-term radiotoxicity by two orders of magnitude in comparison with current once-through strategy. In a double-strata scenario, purpose-built accelerator-driven systems (ADS) could transmute minor actinides. The innovative nuclear fuel conceived for such systems demands significant R and D efforts in order to meet the safety and technical performance of current fuel systems. The Integrated Project EUROTRANS (EUROpean research programme for the TRANSmutation of high level nuclear waste in ADS), part of the EURATOM Framework Programme 6 (FP6), undertook some of this research. EUROTRANS developed from the FP5 research programmes on ADS (PDS-XADS) and on fuels dedicated to MA transmutation (FUTURE, CONFIRM). One of its main objectives is the conceptual design of a small sub-critical nuclear system loaded with uranium-free fuel to provide high MA transmutation efficiency. These principles guided the design of EFIT (European Facility for Industrial Transmutation) in the domain DESIGN of IP EUROTRANS. The domain AFTRA (Advanced Fuels for TRAnsmutation system) identified two composite fuel systems: a ceramic-ceramic (CERCER) where fuel particles are dispersed in a magnesia matrix, and a ceramic-metallic (CERMET) with a molybdenum matrix in the place of MgO matrix to host a ceramic fissile phase. The EFIT fuel is composed of plutonium and MA oxides in solid solution with isotopic vectors typical of LWR spent fuel with 45 MWd/kg{sub HM} discharge burnup and 30 years interim storage before reprocessing. This paper is focused on the thermomechanical state of the hottest fuel pins of two EFIT cores of 400 MW{sub (th)} loaded with either CERCER or CERMET fuels. For calculations three fuel performance codes were used: FEMALE, TRAFIC and TRANSURANUS. The analysis was performed at the beginning of fuel life

Transmutation of radioactive nuclear waste – present status and ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Transmutation of long-lived actinides and fission products becomes an im- ... Similar approach was performed for sub critical fast reactor core with Pu/MA .... The same might be addressed to masses of nuclei (the use of experimental values.

System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gudowski, W.; Wallenius, J.; Tucek, K.; Eriksson, Marcus; Carlsson, Johan; Seltborg, P.; Cetnar, J. [Royal Inst. of Technology, Stockholm (Sweden). Dept. of Nuclear and Reactor Physics

2001-05-01

The research on safety of Accelerator-Driven Transmutation Systems (ADS) at the department has been focused on: a) ADS core design and development of advanced nuclear fuel optimised for high transmutation rates and good safety features; b) analysis of ADS-dynamics c) computer code and nuclear data development relevant for simulation and optimization of ADS; d) participation in ADS experiments including 1 MW spallation target manufacturing, subcritical experiments MUSE (CEA-Cadarache). Moreover, during the reporting period the EU-project 'IABAT', co-ordinated by the department has been finished and 4 other projects have been initiated in the frame of the 5th European Framework Programme. Most of the research topics reported in this paper are referred to appendices, which have been published in the open literature. The topics, which are not yet published, are described here in more details.

System and safety studies of accelerator driven transmutation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gudowski, W.; Wallenius, J.; Tucek, K.; Eriksson, Marcus; Carlsson, Johan; Seltborg, P.; Cetnar, J.

2001-05-01

The research on safety of Accelerator-Driven Transmutation Systems (ADS) at the department has been focused on: a) ADS core design and development of advanced nuclear fuel optimised for high transmutation rates and good safety features; b) analysis of ADS-dynamics c) computer code and nuclear data development relevant for simulation and optimization of ADS; d) participation in ADS experiments including 1 MW spallation target manufacturing, subcritical experiments MUSE (CEA-Cadarache). Moreover, during the reporting period the EU-project 'IABAT', co-ordinated by the department has been finished and 4 other projects have been initiated in the frame of the 5th European Framework Programme. Most of the research topics reported in this paper are referred to appendices, which have been published in the open literature. The topics, which are not yet published, are described here in more details

Definition of Technology Readiness Levels for Transmutation Fuel Development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jon Carmack; Kemal O. Pasamehmetoglu

2008-01-01

To quantitatively assess the maturity of a given technology, the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) process is used. The TRL process has been developed and successfully used by the Department of Defense (DOD) for development and deployment of new technology and systems for defense applications. In addition, NASA has also successfully used the TRL process to develop and deploy new systems for space applications. Transmutation fuel development is a critical technology needed for closing the nuclear fuel cycle. Because the deployment of a new nuclear fuel forms requires a lengthy and expensive research, development, and demonstration program, applying the TRL concept to the transmutation fuel development program is very useful as a management and tracking tool. This report provides definition of the technology readiness level assessment process as defined for use in assessing nuclear fuel technology development for the Transuranic Fuel Development Campaign

Fusion-Fission Transmutation Scheme-Efficient destruction of nuclear waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kotschenreuther, M.; Valanju, P.M.; Mahajan, S.M.; Schneider, E.A.

2009-01-01

A fusion-assisted transmutation system for the destruction of transuranic nuclear waste is developed by combining a subcritical fusion-fission hybrid assembly uniquely equipped to burn the worst thermal nonfissile transuranic isotopes with a new fuel cycle that uses cheaper light water reactors for most of the transmutation. The center piece of this fuel cycle, the high power density compact fusion neutron source (100 MW, outer radius <3 m), is made possible by a new divertor with a heat-handling capacity five times that of the standard alternative. The number of hybrids needed to destroy a given amount of waste is an order of magnitude below the corresponding number of critical fast-spectrum reactors (FRs) as the latter cannot fully exploit the new fuel cycle. Also, the time needed for 99% transuranic waste destruction reduces from centuries (with FR) to decades

Neutron transmutation doping of silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mireshghi, A.

1989-01-01

After a brief review of the theoretical bases for Neutron Transmutation Doping (NTD) process, the equations necessary for calculation of doped crystal resistivity (p) in terms of parameters of irradiation, such as time and neutron flux, are derived. The procedure for production of NTD-Si is described, important considerations are outlined and the advantages and applications are introduced. Also, an assessment is made of the practicality of using AEOI Research Reactor thermal neutron irradiation facilities for production of NTD-Si, which is concluded to be possible at reactor nominal operation conditions

Neutron characteristics of the Super-Phenix 1 reactor at Creys-Malville

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giacometti, C.; Bouget, Y.H.; Hammer, P.; Lyon, F.; Salvatores, M.; Sicard, B.; Pipaud, J.Y.

1980-01-01

The paper describes the method used to determine the critical enrichments for the first loading of the Super-Phenix reactor and the correction factors (together with their uncertainties) applied to the data calculated from the CARNAVAL IV code. These enrichments must be chosen so as to conform to the planned operating conditions of the reactor: nominal power of the pressure vessels, lifetime of the in-pile assemblies. Allowance for uncertainties of neutronic origin and those associated with the fabrication of the fuel pins calls for an over-enrichment of the first loading by approximately 4 per cent. An analysis is made of the effects of this over-enrichment on the core characteristics, which have to remain compatible with the established limits. (author)

Fuels and materials for transmutation. A status report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

The safe and efficient management of spent fuel from the operation of commercial nuclear power plants is an important issue. Worldwide, more than 250 000 tons of spent fuel from reactors currently operating will require disposal. These numbers account for only high-level radioactive waste generated by present-day power reactors. Nearly all issues related to risks to future generations arising from the long-term disposal of such spent nuclear fuel is attributable to only about 1% of its content. This 1% is made up primarily of plutonium, neptunium, americium and curium (called transuranic elements) and the long-lived isotopes of iodine and technetium. When transuranics are removed from discharged fuel destined for disposal, the toxic nature of the spent fuel drops below that of natural uranium ore (that which was originally mined for the nuclear fuel) within a period of several hundred to a thousand years. This significantly reduces the burden on geological repositories and the problem of addressing the remaining long-term residues can thus be done in controlled environments having timescales of centuries rather than millennia stretching beyond 10 000 years. Transmutation is one of the means being explored to address the disposal of transuranic elements. To achieve this, advanced reactor systems, appropriate fuels, separation techniques and associated fuel cycle strategies are required. This report describes the current status of fuel and material technologies for transmutation and suggests technical R and D issues that need to be resolved. It will be of particular interest to nuclear fuel and material scientists involved in the field of partitioning and transmutation (P and T), and in advanced fuel cycles in general. (author)

Timing and control requirements for a 32-channel AMU-ADC ASIC for the PHENIX detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emery, M.S.; Ericson, M.N.; Britton, C.L. Jr.

1998-01-01

A custom CMOS Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) has been developed consisting of an analog memory unit (AMU) has been developed consisting of an analog memory unit (AMU) and analog to digital converter (ADC), both of which have been designed for applications in the PHENIX experiment. This IC consists of 32 pipes of analog memory with 64 cells per pipe. Each pipe also has its own ADC channel. Timing and control signal requirements for optimum performance are discussed in this paper

Overview of the system alone and system/CFD coupled calculations of the PHENIX Natural Circulation Test within the THINS project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pialla, David, E-mail: david.pialla@cea.fr [Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), DEN/DM2S/STMF, 17 rue des martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Tenchine, Denis [Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), DEN/DM2S/STMF, 17 rue des martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Li, Simon [Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), DEN/DM2S/STMF, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); Gauthe, Paul; Vasile, Alfredo [Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), DEN/DER/SESI, 13108 Saint Paul Lez Durance Cedex (France); Baviere, Roland; Tauveron, Nicolas; Perdu, Fabien [Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), DEN/DM2S/STMF, 17 rue des martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Maas, Ludovic; Cocheme, François [Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN), PSN/SEMIA/BAST, B.P. 17, 92262 Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex (France); Huber, Klaus; Cheng, Xu [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Fusion and Reactor Technology (IFRT), Kaiserstraße 12, Building 07.08, 76131 Karlsruhe (Germany)

2015-08-15

Highlights: • The PHENIX natural convection test performed during the end of life tests program. • The calculation with system codes and theirs limits. • The calculation with coupling CFD and system code, which allows better prediction. • The tasks of code validation have been done in the frame of the THINS project. - Abstract: The PHENIX sodium cooled fast reactor started operation in 1973 and was shut down in 2009. Before decommissioning, an ultimate test program was designed and performed to provide valuable data for the development of future sodium cooled fast reactors, as the so-called Astrid prototype in France. Among these ultimate tests, a thermal-hydraulic Natural Convection Test (NCT) was set-up in June 2009. Starting from a reduced power state of 120 MWt, the NCT consists of a loss of the heat sink combined with a reactor scram and a primary pumps trip leading to stabilized natural circulation in the primary sodium system. The thermal-hydraulics innovative system project (THINS project), sponsored by the European Community in the frame of the 7th FP has selected this transient for validation of both stand-alone system code simulations and coupled simulations using system and CFD codes. Participants from three organizations (CEA, IRSN and KIT) have addressed this transient using different system codes (CATHARE, DYN2B and ATHLET) and CFD codes (TRIO-U and OPEN FOAM). The present paper depicts the different modeling approaches, methodologies and compares the numerical results with the available experimental data. Finally, the main lessons learned from the work performed within the THINS project on the PHENIX NCT with respect to code development and validation are summarized.

Water leak detection in steam generator of SUPER PHENIX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunet, M.; Garnaud, P.; Ghaleb, D.; Kong, N.

1988-01-01

With the intent of detecting water leaks inside steam generators, we developed a third system, called acoustic detector, to complement hydrogen detectors and rupture disks (burst disks). The role of the acoustic system is to enable rapid intervention in the event of a leak growing rapidly which could rupture neighbouring tubes. In such a case, the detectable flow rate of the leak varies from a few tens of g/s to a few hundred g/s. At the SUPER PHENIX, three teams work in [20-100 kHz] and CEA/STA* [50-300 kHz]. The simulation of water leaks in the steam generator by the argon injections performed to date at 50% of the rated power has shown promising results. An anomaly in the evolution of the background noise at more than 50% loading of one of the two instrumented steam generators would make difficult any extrapolation to full power behaviour. (author)