Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Plutonium mass estimation utilizing the (𝛼,n) signature in mixed electrochemical samples

  • Gilliam, Stephen N. (University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Nuclear Engineering Department) ;
  • Coble, Jamie B. (University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Nuclear Engineering Department) ;
  • Goddard, Braden (Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering)
  • Received : 2021.01.03
  • Accepted : 2021.12.15
  • Published : 2022.06.25
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Quantification of sensitive material is of vital importance when it comes to the movement of nuclear fuel throughout its life cycle. Within the electrorefiner vessel of electrochemical separation facilities, the task of quantifying plutonium by neutron analysis is especially challenging due to it being in a constant mixture with curium. It is for this reason that current neutron multiplicity methods would prove ineffective as a safeguards measure. An alternative means of plutonium verification is investigated that utilizes the (𝛼,n) signature that comes as a result of the eutectic salt within the electrorefiner. This is done by utilizing the multiplicity variable a and breaking it down into its constituent components: spontaneous fission neutrons and (𝛼,n) yield. From there, the (𝛼,n) signature is related to the plutonium content of the fuel.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported in part by an Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP) grant sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, award number DE-NE0008553. Part of this work was supported by a one-year fellowship sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission under grant NRC-31310019M0039.

References

  1. N. Miura, H.O. Menlove, The use of curium neutrons to verify plutonium in spent fuel and reprocessing wastes. No. LA-12774-MS, Los Alamos National Lab., NM, United States, 1994.
  2. S.N. Gilliam, J.B. Coble, S.E. Skutnik, Examination of (α, n) signatures as a means of plutonium quantification in electrochemical reprocessing, Nucl. Sci. Eng. 195 (2021) 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2020.1785190
  3. T.-H. Lee, S. Menlove, H.O. Menlove, H.-S. Shin, H.-D. Kim, A direct nondestructive assay for the pu of u/tru ingot in pyroprocessing using 244cm neutron albedo reactivity technique and its error, Nucl. Technol. 206 (2020) 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1623617
  4. M. Salanne, C. Simon, P. Turq, P.A. Madden, Calculation of activities of ions in molten salts with potential application to the pyroprocessing of nuclear waste, J. Phys. Chem. B 112 (4) (2008) 1177-1183. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp075299n
  5. M. Williamson, J. Willit, Pyroprocessing flowsheets for recycling used nuclear fuel, Nucl. Eng. Technol. 43 (4) (2011) 329-334. https://doi.org/10.5516/NET.2011.43.4.329
  6. J.-H. Yoo, C.-S. Seo, E.-H. Kim, H.-S. Lee, A conceptual study of pyroprocessing for recovering actinides from spent oxide fuels, Nucl. Eng. Technol. 40 (7) (2008) 581-592. https://doi.org/10.5516/NET.2008.40.7.581
  7. R. Benedict, C. Solbrig, B. Westphal, T. Johnson, S. Li, K. Marsden, K. Goff, Pyroprocessing Progress at idaho National Laboratory, Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Systems, GLOBAL, 2007.
  8. S.M. Woo, S.S. Chirayath, M. Fratoni, Nuclide composition non-uniformity in used nuclear fuel for considerations in pyroprocessing safeguards, Nucl. Eng. Technol. 50 (7) (2018) 1120-1130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2018.05.011
  9. W. Zhou, Integrated Model Development for Safeguarding Pyroprocessing Facility, Ph.D. thesis, The Ohio State University, 2017.
  10. N. Ensslin, M. Krick, D. Langner, M.M. Pickrell, T. Reilly, J. Stewart, Passive neutron multiplicity counting, Passive Nondestructive Assay of Nuclear Materials (2007) 6-20.
  11. M. Gonzalez, L. Hansen, D. Rappleye, R. Cumberland, M. Simpson, Application of a one-dimensional transient electrorefiner model to predict partitioning of plutonium from curium in a pyrochemical spent fuel treatment process, Nucl. Technol. 192 (2) (2015) 165-171. https://doi.org/10.13182/NT15-28
  12. S. Croft, S.L. Cleveland, A.D. Nicholson, Calculation of the 240pu-Effective Coefficients for Neutron Correlation Counting-Inmm, Tech. rep, Oak Ridge National Lab.(ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States), 2015.
  13. B.B. Cipiti, Optimizing Near Real Time Accountability for Reprocessing, Tech. rep, Sandia National Laboratories, 2010.
  14. A. Favalli, D. Vo, B. Grogan, P. Jansson, H. Liljenfeldt, V. Mozin, P. Schwalbach, A. Sjoland, S.J. Tobin, H. Trellue, et al., Determining initial enrichment, burnup, and cooling time of pressurized-water-reactor spent fuel assemblies by analyzing passive gamma spectra measured at the clab interim-fuel storage facility in Sweden, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A Accel. Spectrom. Detect. Assoc. Equip. 820 (2016) 102-111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2016.02.072
  15. J.F. Briesmeister, Mcnp: a General Monte Carlo Code for Neutron and Photon Transport. Version 3a. Revision 2, Tech. rep, Los Alamos National Lab., 1986.
  16. B. Goddard, Quantitative NDA Measurements of Advanced Reprocessing Product Materials Containing Uranium, Neptunium, Plutonium, and Americium, Texas A&M University, 2013.
  17. B. Goddard, S. Croft, High-fidelity passive neutron multiplicity measurements and simulations of uranium oxide, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A Accel. Spectrom. Detect. Assoc. Equip. 712 (2013) 147-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2013.02.007
  18. B. Goddard, W. Charlton, P. Peerani, Quantitative nda measurements of multiactinide oxide fuels, Nucl. Technol. 186 (3) (2014) 403-414. https://doi.org/10.13182/nt13-18
  19. P. Santi, D. Beddingfield, D. Mayo, Revised prompt neutron emission multiplicity distributions for 236,238 pu, Nucl. Phys. 756 (3-4) (2005) 325-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2005.04.002
  20. J.A. Bucholz, SCALE: a modular code system for performing standardized computer analyses for licensing evaluation. No. NUREG/CR-0200-VOL. 2-BK. 2, Oak Ridge National Lab, 1982.