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Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Lesson 5- Fission and Chain Reactions
Energy.gov (U.S. Department of Energy (DOE))
Lesson Four showed how the nuclei of atoms store energy and how unstable atoms decay and release energy. How do nuclear engineers use this knowledge to help them harness energy to make electricity? The answer lies in being able to start a nuclear chain reaction in fuel inside a nuclear power plant and keep it going. This lesson examines nuclear reactions called fission as well as how uranium is processed from ore to fuel.
Nuclear Fission: Reaction to the Discovery in 1939
E-Print Network (OSTI)
and A. v. Grosse, "Nuclear fission of separated uraniumThe mechanism of nuclear fission," Physical Review, 56 (1liberated in the nuclear fission of uranium," Nature, 143 (
Hodes, Elizabeth; Tiddens, Adolph; Badash, Lawrence
Nuclear Fission Energy
NLE Websites -- All DOE Office Websites (Extended Search)
and about 250 kg of 239Pu. Some 40% of the energy produced in the course of a nuclear fuel cycle comes from 239Pu. Since about 20% of the electricity generated in the United...
DOE Patents (OSTI)
The patent describes a reactor consisting of a plurality of tubes passing through a body of heavy water or graphite, a heat exchanger, means for flowing UF/sub 6/ through the tubes and the heat exchangar, and means for bleeding off some of the UF/sub 6/ and separating plutonium therefrom. A specific suggestion contained is that the amount of the UF/sub 6/ outside the reaction unit be a multiple of that within it.
Anderson, H.L.; Brown, H.S.
Nuclear fission in covariant density functional theory
The current status of the application of covariant density functional theory to microscopic description of nuclear fission with main emphasis on superheavy nuclei (SHN) is reviewed. The softness of SHN in the triaxial plane leads to an emergence of several competing fission pathes in the region of the inner fission barrier in some of these nuclei. The outer fission barriers of SHN are considerably affected both by triaxiality and octupole deformation.
A. V. Afanasjev; H. Abusara; P. Ring
Some Considerations on the Probability of Nuclear Fission
om THE PROBABILITY OF NUCLEAR FISSION Robert Vandenbosch andON TRE PROBABILITY OF NUCLEAR FISSION O E Contents Abstractf is the fission threshold, and the nuclear temperature T is
Vandenbosch, Robert; Seaborg, Glenn T.
A REVIEW OF NUCLEAR FISSION. PART ONE. FISSION PHENOMENA AT LOW ENERGY. Revised Edition
SciTech Connect
The discovery of fission is described, and fission theory is outlined. The probability of fission is discussed. Distribution of mass and nuclear charge in fission is considered. Measurements of the kinetic energy of fission fragments are described. The emission of prompt neutrons, delayed neutrons, and gamma rays in fission is discussed. (M.C.G.)
Hyde, E.K.
on Physics of Nuclear Fission,
spin-tensor of orientation Experimental data on angular distributions of ? rays emitted from binary and ternary spontaneous fission of 252 Cf are analyzed. Their difference indicates that the alignment of fragments is higher in ternary fission than in binary one. The consequences of possible relation between the mechanism of ternary fission and the excitation of collective modes during the saddle- to-scission stage are discussed. ii
unknown authors
Fifty years of nuclear fission: Nuclear data and measurements series
Science Conference Proceedings (OSTI)
This report is the written version of a colloquium first presented at Argonne National Laboratory in January 1989. The paper begins with an historical preamble about the events leading to the discovery of nuclear fission. This leads naturally to an account of early results and understanding of the fission phenomena. Some of the key concepts in the development of fission theory are then discussed. The main theme of this discussion is the topography of the fission barrier, in which the interplay of the liquid-drop model and nucleon shell effects lead to a wide range of fascinating phenomena encompassing metastable isomers, intermediate-structure effects in fission cross-sections, and large changes in fission product properties. It is shown how study of these changing effects and theoretical calculations of the potential energy of the deformed nucleus have led to broad qualitative understanding of the nature of the fission process. 54 refs., 35 figs.
Lynn, J.E.
Microscopic description of complex nuclear decay: multimodal fission
Our understanding of nuclear fission, a fundamental nuclear decay, is still incomplete due to the complexity of the process. In this paper, we describe a study of spontaneous fission using the symmetry-unrestricted nuclear density functional theory. Our results show that the observed bimodal fission can be explained in terms of pathways in multidimensional collective space corresponding to different geometries of fission products. We also predict a new phenomenon of trimodal spontaneous fission for some rutherfordium, seaborgium, and hassium isotopes.
A. Staszczak; A. Baran; J. Dobaczewski; W. Nazarewicz
Future challenges for nuclear data research in fission (u)
I describe some high priority research areas in nuclear fission, where applications in nuclear reactor technologies and in modeling criticality in general are demanding higher accuracies in our databases. We focus on fission cross sections, fission neutron spectra, and fission product data.
Chadwick, Mark B [Los Alamos National Laboratory
Accurate fission data for nuclear safety
The Accurate fission data for nuclear safety (AlFONS) project aims at high precision measurements of fission yields, using the renewed IGISOL mass separator facility in combination with a new high current light ion cyclotron at the University of Jyvaskyla. The 30 MeV proton beam will be used to create fast and thermal neutron spectra for the study of neutron induced fission yields. Thanks to a series of mass separating elements, culminating with the JYFLTRAP Penning trap, it is possible to achieve a mass resolving power in the order of a few hundred thousands. In this paper we present the experimental setup and the design of a neutron converter target for IGISOL. The goal is to have a flexible design. For studies of exotic nuclei far from stability a high neutron flux (10^12 neutrons/s) at energies 1 - 30 MeV is desired while for reactor applications neutron spectra that resembles those of thermal and fast nuclear reactors are preferred. It is also desirable to be able to produce (semi-)monoenergetic neutrons for benchmarking and to study the energy dependence of fission yields. The scientific program is extensive and is planed to start in 2013 with a measurement of isomeric yield ratios of proton induced fission in uranium. This will be followed by studies of independent yields of thermal and fast neutron induced fission of various actinides.
A. Solders; D. Gorelov; A. Jokinen; V. S. Kolhinen; M. Lantz; A. Mattera; H. Penttila; S. Pomp; V. Rakopoulos; S. Rinta-Antila
Optimally moderated nuclear fission reactor and fuel source therefor
An improved nuclear fission reactor of the continuous fueling type involves determining an asymptotic equilibrium state for the nuclear fission reactor and providing the reactor with a moderator-to-fuel ratio that is optimally moderated for the asymptotic equilibrium state of the nuclear fission reactor; the fuel-to-moderator ratio allowing the nuclear fission reactor to be substantially continuously operated in an optimally moderated state.
Ougouag, Abderrafi M. (Idaho Falls, ID); Terry, William K. (Shelley, ID); Gougar, Hans D. (Idaho Falls, ID)
Density Functional Theory Approach to Nuclear Fission
The Skyrme nuclear energy density functional theory (DFT) is used to model neutron-induced fission in actinides. This paper focuses on the numerical implementation of the theory. In particular, it reports recent advances in DFT code development on leadership class computers, and presents a detailed analysis of the numerical accuracy of DFT solvers for near-scission calculations.
N. Schunck
Nuclear Thermal Rockets: The Physics of the Fission Reactor
Nuclear Thermal Rockets: The Physics of the Fission Reactor Shane D. Ross Control and Dynamical combustion are those powered by nuclear fission. Comparison of Chemical and Nuclear Rockets. Most existent.g., hydrogen and oxygen). In a nuclear rocket, or more precisely, a nuclear thermal rocket, the propellant
Ross, Shane
German) The concepts of fission theory developed in previous works (Ann. Physik (7) 7, 333(1961)) are systematically developed. From the basic conception of shell structure dependent deformation of the fragments at the moment of their separation, magic effects result in the nuclear force potential between both fragments and the mean kinetic energy of the fragments whose interaction makes quantitatively comprehensible the observed fission asymmetry. The spontaneous fission of Cf/sup 252/ is discussed as an example. The symmetric fission of Bi/ sup 209/ (by deuterons) is described. A qualitative clarification is given of the known decrease in fission asymmetry with increased excitation energy on the basis of the general hypotheses developed. (tr-auth)
Brunner, W.; Paul, H.
Nuclear-fission studies with relativistic secondary beams: analysis of fission channels
Nuclear fission of several neutron-deficient actinides and pre-actinides from excitation energies around 11 MeV was studied at GSI Darmstadt by use of relativistic secondary beams. The characteristics of multimodal fission of nuclei around 226Th are systematically investigated and interpreted as the superposition of three fission channels. Properties of these fission channels have been determined for 15 systems. A global view on the properties of fission channels including previous results is presented. The positions of the asymmetric fission channels are found to be constant in element number over the whole range of systems investigated.
C. Boeckstiegel; S. Steinhaeuser; K. -H. Schmidt; H. -G. Clerc; A. Grewe; A. Heinz; M. de Jong; A. R. Junghans; J. Mueller; B. Voss
Induction of nuclear fission by high-voltage application
In nuclear power generation, fissile materials are mainly used. For example, $U^{235}$ is fissile and therefore quite essential for use of nuclear energy. However, the material $U^{235}$ has very small natural abundance less than 1 %. We should seek possibility of utilizing fissionable materials such as $U^{238}$ because natural abundance of such fissionable materials is generally much larger than fissile ones. In this paper, we show that thermal neutrons with vanishing kinetic energy can induce nuclear fission when high voltage is applied to fissionable materials. To obtain this result, we use the liquid-drop model for nuclei. Finally, we propose how fissionable materials can be utilized.
Hirokazu Maruyama
September 2013 Most Viewed Documents for Fission And Nuclear...
Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI)
Fission And Nuclear Technologies Estimation of gas leak rates through very small orifices and channels. From sealed PuOsub 2 containers under accident conditions Bomelburg,...
the destruction of cities by nuclear fission killed millionsnuclear energy. Elizabeth Hodes is a professor of mathematics at Santa Barbara City
Laser Inertial Fusion-based Energy: Neutronic Design Aspects of a Hybrid Fusion-Fission Nuclear Energy System
it is unlikely that nuclear fission power plants willIn the case of nuclear fission reactions, the fundamentalaspects of nuclear fusion and fission. This approach, termed
Kramer, Kevin James
Nuclear multifragmentation and fission: similarity and differences
Thermal multifragmentation of hot nuclei is interpreted as the nuclear liquid�fog phase transition deep inside the spinodal region. The experimental data for p(8.1GeV) + Au collisions are analyzed. It is concluded that the decay process of hot nuclei is characterized by two size parameters: transition state and freeze-out volumes. The similarity between dynamics of fragmentation and ordinary fission is discussed. The IMF emission time is related to the mean rupture time at the multi-scission point, which corresponds to the kinetic freeze-out configuration. 1
V. Karnaukhov; H. Oeschler; S. Avdeyev; V. Rodionov; V. Kirakosyan; A. Simonenko; P. Rukoyatkin; A. Budzanowski; W. Karcz; I. Skwirczynska; B. Czech; L. Chulkov; E. Kuzmin; E. Norbeck; A. Botvina
Thermal multifragmentation of hot nuclei is interpreted as the nuclear liquid--fog phase transition deep inside the spinodal region. The experimental data for p(8.1GeV) + Au collisions are analyzed. It is concluded that the decay process of hot nuclei is characterized by two size parameters: transition state and freeze-out volumes. The similarity between dynamics of fragmentation and ordinary fission is discussed. The IMF emission time is related to the mean rupture time at the multi-scission point, which corresponds to the kinetic freeze-out configuration.
Theory of nuclear fission: present status and prospects
General properties of nuclear fission are reviewed and related to our present knowledge of fission theory. For this purpose the basic reasons for the shape of the fission barriers are discussed and their consequences compared with experimental results on barrier shapes and structures. Special emphasis is put on the asymmetry of the fission barriers and mass-distributions and its relation to the shells of the nascent fragment clusters. Finally the problem of a dynamical description of fission and its relation to the question of viscosity is discussed. (auth)
Mosel, U.; Goldberg, D.A.; Marion, J.B.; Wallace, S.J. (eds.)
Microscopic Description of Nuclear Fission: Fission Barrier Heights of Even-Even Actinides
We evaluate the performance of modern nuclear energy density functionals for predicting inner and outer fission barrier heights and energies of fission isomers of even-even actinides. For isomer energies and outer barrier heights, we find that the self-consistent theory at the HFB level is capable of providing quantitative agreement with empirical data.
J. McDonnell; N. Schunck; W. Nazarewicz
McDonnell, J; Nazarewicz, W
On "Sub-Threshold" Reactions Involving Nuclear Fission
We analyze reactions of several types that are naively below threshold but can proceed because of the release of binding energy from nuclear fission and occasionally the formation of Coulombic bound states. These reactions include (i) photofission with pion production and (ii) charged current neutrino-nucleus reactions that lead to fission and/or formation of a Coulomb bound state of a $\\mu^-$ with the nucleus of a fission fragment. We comment on the possible experimental observation of these reactions.
M. Goldhaber; R. Shrock
Microscopic Description of Nuclear Fission Dynamics
We discuss possible avenues to study fission dynamics starting from a time-dependent mean-field approach. Previous attempts to study fission dynamics using the time-dependent Hartree-Fock (TDHF) theory are analyzed. We argue that different initial conditions may be needed to describe fission dynamics depending on the specifics of the fission phenomenon and propose various approaches towards this goal. In particular, we provide preliminary calculations for studying fission following a heavy-ion reaction using TDHF with a density contraint. Regarding prompt muon-induced fission, we also suggest a new approach for combining the time-evolution of the muonic wave function with a microscopic treatment of fission dynamics via TDHF.
A. S. Umar; V. E. Oberacker; J. A. Maruhn; P. -G. Reinhard
Prompt muon-induced fission: a sensitive probe for nuclear energy dissipation and fission dynamics
Following the formation of an excited muonic atom, inner shell transitions may proceed without photon emission by inverse internal conversion, i.e. the muonic excitation energy is transferred to the nucleus. In actinides, the 2p -> 1s and the 3d -> 1s muonic transitions result in excitation of the nuclear giant dipole and giant quadrupole resonances, respectively, which act as doorway states for fission. The nuclear excitation energy is typically 6.5 - 10 MeV. Because the muon lifetime is long compared to the timescale of prompt nuclear fission, the motion of the muon in the Coulomb field of the fissioning nucleus may be utilized to learn about the dynamics of fission.
Volker E. Oberacker; A. Sait Umar; Feodor F. Karpeshin
Numerical Simulation of Fission Gas Bubble Coarsening in Nuclear ...
The gas from these bubbles is periodically re-dissolved back in the nuclear fuel by very high-energy fission fragments that pass either through or near the gas�...
Following the formation of an excited muonic atom, inner shell transitions may proceed without photon emission by inverse internal conversion, i.e. the muonic excitation energy is transferred to the nucleus. In actinides, the 2p ? 1s and the 3d ? 1s muonic transitions result in excitation of the nuclear giant dipole and giant quadrupole resonances, respectively, which act as doorway states for fission. The nuclear excitation energy is typically 6.5 ? 10 MeV. Because the muon lifetime is long compared to the timescale of prompt nuclear fission, the motion of the muon in the Coulomb field of the fissioning nucleus may be utilized to learn about the dynamics of fission. If there is large friction between the outer fission barrier and the scission point the muon will remain in the lowest molecular energy level and emerge in the 1s bound state of the heavy fission fragment. On the other hand, if friction is small (i.e. the nuclear collective motion is fast) there is a nonvanishing probability that the muon may be promoted to higher-lying molecular orbitals, e.g. the 2p? level, from where
FREYA-a new Monte Carlo code for improved modeling of fission chains
A new simulation capability for modeling of individual fission events and chains and the transport of fission products in materials is presented. FREYA ( Fission Yield Event Yield Algorithm ) is a Monte Carlo code for generating fission events providing correlated kinematic information for prompt neutrons, gammas, and fragments. As a standalone code, FREYA calculates quantities such as multiplicity-energy, angular, and gamma-neutron energy sharing correlations. To study materials with multiplication, shielding effects, and detectors, we have integrated FREYA into the general purpose Monte Carlo code MCNP. This new tool will allow more accurate modeling of detector responses including correlations and the development of SNM detectors with increased sensitivity.
Hagmann, C A; Randrup, J; Vogt, R L
Fission and Nuclear Liquid-Gas Phase Transition
The temperature dependence of the liquid-drop fission barrier is considered, the critical temperature for the liquid-gas phase transition in nuclear matter being a parameter. Experimental and calculated data on the fission probability are compared for highly excited $^{188}$Os. The calculations have been made in the framework of the statistical model. It is concluded that the critical temperature for the nuclear liquid--gas phase transition is higher than 16 MeV.
E. A. Cherepanov; V. A. Karnaukhov
A source of fission product recoil energy suitable for use in radiation chemistry is reported. The source consists of thermal neutron irradiated glass wool having a diameter of 1 to 5 microns and containing an isotope fissionable by thermal neutrons, such as U/sup 235/.
Harteck, P.; Dondes, S.
110101BenefitsNuclearFission.ppt [Read-Only]
Energy.gov (U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)) Indexed Site
Benefits of Nuclear Fission to Benefits of Nuclear Fission to the Civilian Space Program Gary Langford Fission Project Manager NASA MSFC NERAC Nov. 6, 2001 2 * Outer solar system exploration. * Planetary or lunar surface missions (robotic or human). * High-performance propulsion for human missions. * Advanced applications. Uses of Nuclear Fission in the Civilian Space Program Highly advanced propulsion, extremely high power surface applications. 3 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 Phase 1 * 10-500 kW NEP * 10-500 kW spacecraft & surface powerplants Phase 3 * 10-1000 MW, 0.1-1 kg/kW NEP * >2000 s Isp gas/plasma-based NTR Phase 2 * 1-100 MW, 1-10 kg/kW NEP * 900-1000 s Isp solid- core NTR * Multi-MW space & surface powerplants Kuiper Belt Exploration Triton Lander Europa Ocean Science Station Pluto Orbiter Large Asteroids Io Volcanic Observer
Terracentric Nuclear Fission Reactor: Background, Basis, Feasibility, Structure, Evidence, and Geophysical Implications
The background, basis, feasibility, structure, evidence, and geophysical implications of a naturally occurring Terracentric nuclear fission georeactor are reviewed. For a nuclear fission reactor to exist at the center of the Earth, all of the following conditions must be met: (1) There must originally have been a substantial quantity of uranium within Earth's core; (2) There must be a natural mechanism for concentrating the uranium; (3) The isotopic composition of the uranium at the onset of fission must be appropriate to sustain a nuclear fission chain reaction; (4) The reactor must be able to breed a sufficient quantity of fissile nuclides to permit operation over the lifetime of Earth to the present; (5) There must be a natural mechanism for the removal of fission products; (6) There must be a natural mechanism for removing heat from the reactor; (7) There must be a natural mechanism to regulate reactor power level, and; (8) The location of the reactor or must be such as to provide containment and prevent meltdown. Herndon's georeactor alone is shown to meet those conditions. Georeactor existence evidence based upon helium measurements and upon antineutrino measurements is described. Geophysical implications discussed include georeactor origin of the geomagnetic field, geomagnetic reversals from intense solar outbursts and severe Earth trauma, as well as georeactor heat contributions to global dynamics.
J. Marvin Herndon
Semiclassical Interpretation of the Mass Asymmetry in Nuclear Fission
We give a semiclassical interpretation of the mass asymmetry in the fission of heavy nuclei. Using only a few classical periodic orbits and a cavity model for the nuclear mean field, we reproduce the onset of left-right asymmetric shapes at the fission isomer minimum and the correct topology of the deformation energy surface in the region of the outer fission barrier. We point at the correspondence of the single-particle quantum states responsible for the asymmetry with the leading classical orbits, both lying in similar equatorial planes perpendicular to the symmetry axis of the system.
M. Brack; S. M. Reimann; M. Sieber
Enrico Fermi Achieves First Self Sustain Nuclear Chain Reaction...
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Achieves First Self Sustain Nuclear Chain Reaction Metallurgical Laboratory scientists led by Enrico Fermi achieve the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction in pile...
Spontaneous Muon Emission during Fission, a New Nuclear Radioactivity
In this paper the essential theoretical predictions for the nuclear muonic radioactivity are presented by using a special fission-like model similar with that used in description of the pionic emission during fission. Hence, a fission-like model for the muonic radioactivity takes into account the essential degree of freedom of the system: muon-fissility, muon-fission barrier height, etc. Using this model it was shown that most of the SHE-nuclei lie in the region where the muonic fissility parameters attain their limiting value X=1. Hence, the SHE-region is characterized by the absence of a classical barrier toward spontaneous muon and pion emissions. Numerical estimations on the yields for the natural muonic radioactivities of the transuranium elements as well numerical values for barrier heights are given only for even-even parent nuclei. Some experimental results from LCP-identification emission spectrum are reviewed. Also, the experimental results obtained by Khryachkov et al, using new spectrometer for investigation of ternary nuclear fission, are presented. The OPERA-experiment proposed to perform search for muonic radioactivity from lead nuclei, in the low background conditions offered by the Gran Sasso underground Laboratory (LNGS), is discussed.
D. B. Ion; M. L. D. Ion; Reveica Ion-Mihai
VII. Nuclear Chemistry (Chapter 17) A. Modes of radioactive decay, nuclear reactions, fission, fusion
40 VII. Nuclear Chemistry (Chapter 17) A. Modes of radioactive decay, nuclear reactions, fission #12;41 These masses are not exactly integer multiples due to nuclear interactions between the protons differences via the famous formula E = mc2 . Nuclear Fusion! For example, if you combine 2 protons and two
Pionic Radioactivity as New Mode of Nuclear Fission
In this paper a short review of the theoretical problems of the pionic radioactivity as a new nuclear mode is presented. The essential theoretical and experimental results obtained in the 25 years from the prediction of the nuclear pionic radioactivity are reviewed. Using the fission-like model it was shown that most of the SHE-nuclei lie in the region where the pionic fissility parameters attain their limiting value X=1 (see Fig.2-3). Hence, the SHE-region is characterized by the absence of a classical barrier toward spontaneous pion emission. Consequently, both decay modes, the pionic fission and the spontaneous fission of SHE nuclides, essentially will be determined only by shell effects. Then, it was seen that the usual predicted SHE-island of stability around the double magic nucleus 298-[114], which is not confirmed experimentally, can be explained by the dominant pionic radioactivity of the SHE-nuclei from this region. The bimodal symmetric (see Figs. 5ab) as well as, the supergiant radioactive halos (see Fig. 6) as two important signature of the nuclear pionic fission are evidentiated.
Prescission neutron multiplicity and fission probability from Langevin dynamics of nuclear fission
A theoretical model of one-body nuclear friction which was developed earlier, namely the chaos-weighted wall formula, is applied to a dynamical description of compound nuclear decay in the framework of the Langevin equation coupled with statistical evaporation of light particles and photons. We have used both the usual wall formula friction and its chaos-weighted version in the Langevin equation to calculate the fission probability and prescission neutron multiplicity for the compound nuclei $^{178}$W, $^{188}$Pt, $^{200}$Pb, $^{213}$Fr, $^{224}$Th, and $^{251}$Es. We have also obtained the contributions of the presaddle and postsaddle neutrons to the total prescission multiplicity. A detailed analysis of our results leads us to conclude that the chaos-weighted wall formula friction can adequately describe the fission dynamics in the presaddle region. This friction, however, turns out to be too weak to describe the postsaddle dynamics properly. This points to the need for a suitable explanation for the enhanced neutron emission in the postsaddle stage of nuclear fission.
Gargi Chaudhuri; Santanu Pal
Detecting fission from special nuclear material sources
A neutron detector system for discriminating fissile material from non-fissile material wherein a digital data acquisition unit collects data at high rate, and in real-time processes large volumes of data directly into information that a first responder can use to discriminate materials. The system comprises counting neutrons from the unknown source and detecting excess grouped neutrons to identify fission in the unknown source. The system includes a graphing component that displays the plot of the neutron distribution from the unknown source over a Poisson distribution and a plot of neutrons due to background or environmental sources. The system further includes a known neutron source placed in proximity to the unknown source to actively interrogate the unknown source in order to accentuate differences in neutron emission from the unknown source from Poisson distributions and/or environmental sources.
Rowland, Mark S. (Alamo, CA); Snyderman, Neal J. (Berkeley, CA)
April 2013 Most Viewed Documents for Fission And Nuclear Technologies |
April 2013 Most Viewed Documents for Fission And Nuclear Technologies April 2013 Most Viewed Documents for Fission And Nuclear Technologies Behavior of spent nuclear fuel in water pool storage Johnson, A.B. Jr. (null) 298 Estimation of gas leak rates through very small orifices and channels. [From sealed PuO/sub 2/ containers under accident conditions] Bomelburg, H.J. (null) 292 Graphite design handbook Ho, F.H. (1988) 216 System Definition and Analysis: Power Plant Design and Layout NONE (1996) 123 Flow-induced vibration of circular cylindrical structures Chen, S.S. (1985) 116 Stress analysis and evaluation of a rectangular pressure vessel. [For equipment for sampling Hanford tank radwaste] Rezvani, M.A.; Ziada, H.H. (Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States)); Shurrab, M.S. (Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United
Non-Markovian large amplitude motion and nuclear fission
The general problem of dissipation in macroscopic large-amplitude collective motion and its relation to energy diffusion of intrinsic degrees of freedom of a nucleus is studied. By applying the cranking approach to the nuclear many body system, a set of coupled dynamical equations for the collective classical variables and the quantum mechanical occupancies of the intrinsic nuclear states is derived. Different dynamical regimes of the intrinsic nuclear motion and its consequences on time properties of collective dissipation are discussed. The approach is applied to the descant of the nucleus from the fission barrier.
V. M. Kolomietz; S. V. Radionov
Fission theory: Its relevance to the nuclear cross section data base
The development of fission reaction theory in relation to its predictive power in the calculation of neutron cross-sections is reviewed. The topics covered include the transition state spectrum and the channel theory; the discovery of complex topography in the fission barrier and the consequences of intermediate structure in fission cross-sections; the evidence of experimental data in parameterizing the fission barrier; and the role of other aspects of collective nuclear motion in controlling fission reaction rates. 51 refs., 6 figs.
September 2013 Most Viewed Documents for Fission And Nuclear Technologies |
Fission And Nuclear Technologies Fission And Nuclear Technologies Estimation of gas leak rates through very small orifices and channels. [From sealed PuO/sub 2/ containers under accident conditions] Bomelburg, H.J. (1977) 133 Stress analysis and evaluation of a rectangular pressure vessel. [For equipment for sampling Hanford tank radwaste] Rezvani, M.A.; Ziada, H.H. (Westinghouse Hanford Co., Richland, WA (United States)); Shurrab, M.S. (Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)) (1992) 78 Graphite design handbook Ho, F.H. (1988) 76 Feed-pump hydraulic performance and design improvement, Phase I: research program design. Final report Brown, W.H.; Gopalakrishnan, S.; Fehlau, R.; Thompson, W.E.; Wilson, D.G. (1982) 69 Flow-induced vibration of circular cylindrical structures Chen, S.S. (1985)
Description of true and delayed ternary nuclear fission accompanied by the emission of various third particles
The mechanisms and the features of the main types of nuclear ternary fission (that is, true ternary fission, in which a third particle is emitted before the rupture of the fissioning nucleus into fragments, and delayed ternary fission, in which a third particle is emitted from fission fragments going apart) are investigated within quantum-mechanical fission theory. The features of T-odd asymmetry in true ternary nuclear fission induced by cold polarized neutrons are investigated for the cases where alpha particles, prescission neutrons, and photons appear as third particles emitted by fissioning nuclei, the Coriolis interaction of the spin of the polarized fissioning nucleus with the spin of the third particle and the interference between the fission amplitudes for neutron resonances excited in the fissioning nucleus in the case of projectile-neutron capture being taken into account. For the cases where third particles emitted by fission fragments are evaporated neutrons or photons, T-odd asymmetries in delayed ternary nuclear fission induced by cold polarized neutrons are analyzed with allowance for the mechanism of pumping of large fission-fragment spins oriented orthogonally to the fragment-emission direction and with allowance for the interference between the fission amplitudes for neutron resonances.
Kadmensky, S. G., E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com; Kadmensky, S. S.; Lyubashevsky, D. E. [Voronezh State University (Russian Federation)
In this paper a short review of the theoretical problems of the pionic radioactivity is presented. The essential experimental results obtained in the 18 years of existence of the nuclear pionic radioactivity are reviewed. Moreover, using the recent results on the spontaneous fission half lives TSF of the heavy nuclei with Z ? 100 new predictions on the pionic yields in the region of superheavy elements are established. 1
D. B. Ion; Reveica Ion-mihai; M. L. Ion; Adriana I. Sandru
Fuel elements for thermal-fission nuclear reactors are described. The fuel element is comprised of a core of alumina, a film of a metal of the class consisting of copper, silver, and nickel on the outer face of the core, and a coating of an oxide of a metal isotope of the class consisting of Un/sup 235/, U/ sup 233/, and Pu/sup 239/ on the metal f ilm.
Flint, O.
Fission involves a new state of nuclear matter
The rearrangement step of nuclear fission occurs within 0.17 yoctosecond, in a new state of nuclear matter characterized by the formation of closed shells of nucleons. The determination of its lifetime is now based on the prompt neutron emission law. The width of isotopic distributions measures the uncertainty in the neutron number of the fragments. Magic mass numbers, 82 and 126, play a major role in the mass distributions. Arguments are presented in favour of an all-neutron state. The boson field responsible for the new collective interaction has to be searched for.
C. Ythier; S. Hachem; G. Mouze
SNIF: A Futuristic Neutrino Probe for Undeclared Nuclear Fission Reactors
Today reactor neutrino experiments are at the cutting edge of fundamental research in particle physics. Understanding the neutrino is far from complete, but thanks to the impressive progress in this field over the last 15 years, a few research groups are seriously considering that neutrinos could be useful for society. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) works with its Member States to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies. In a context of international tension and nuclear renaissance, neutrino detectors could help IAEA to enforce the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). In this article we discuss a futuristic neutrino application to detect and localize an undeclared nuclear reactor from across borders. The SNIF (Secret Neutrino Interactions Finder) concept proposes to use a few hundred thousand tons neutrino detectors to unveil clandestine fission reactors. Beyond previous studies we provide estimates of all known background sources as a function of the detecto...
Lasserre, Thierry; Mention, Guillaume; Reboulleau, Romain; Cribier, Michel; Letourneau, Alain; Lhuillier, David
Nuclear Design of the HOMER-15 Mars Surface Fission Reactor
The next generation of robotic missions to Mars will most likely require robust power sources in the range of 3 to 20 kWe. Fission systems are well suited to provide safe, reliable, and economic power within this range. The goal of this study is to design a compact, low-mass fission system that meets Mars surface power requirements, while maintaining a high level of safety and reliability at a relatively low cost. The Heat pipe Power System (HPS) is one possible approach for producing near-term, low-cost, space fission power. The goal of the HPS project is to devise an attractive space fission system that can be developed quickly and affordably. The primary ways of doing this are by using existing technology and by designing the system for inexpensive testing. If the system can be designed to allow highly prototypic testing with electrical heating, then an exhaustive test program can be carried out quickly and inexpensively, and thorough testing of the actual flight unit can be performed - which is a major benefit to reliability. Over the past 4 years, three small HPS proof-of-concept technology demonstrations have been conducted, and each has been highly successful. The Heat pipe-Operated Mars Exploration Reactor (HOMER) is a derivative of the HPS designed especially for producing power on the surface of Mars. The HOMER-15 is a 15-kWt reactor that couples with a 3-kWe Stirling engine power system. The reactor contains stainless-steel (SS)-clad uranium nitride (UN) fuel pins that are structurally and thermally bonded to SS/sodium heat pipes. Fission energy is conducted from the fuel pins to the heat pipes, which then carry the heat to the Stirling engine. This paper describes conceptual design and nuclear performance the HOMER-15 reactor. (author)
Poston, David I. [Nuclear Systems Design Group, Decision Applications Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87545 (United States)
this century with OTC) · Closing the nuclear fuel cycle requires augmenting with fast reactors the present nuclear fuel discharged from LWRs ii) Fast Breeder Reactors which transmute the non-fissionable U-238 (>99-Fission Hybrid (FFH) is a subcritical nuclear reactor with a fusion neutron source. · The motivation for the FFH
Nuclear decay heat -the energy released by fission fragments A.A. Sonzogni and M. Herman
Nuclear decay heat - the energy released by fission fragments A.A. Sonzogni and M. Herman National Nuclear Data Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 Decay heat is an important issue that has to be dealt with after a nuclear reactor is shut down. Following the fission of an actinide
Monitoring system for a liquid-cooled nuclear fission reactor
A monitoring system for detecting changes in the liquid levels in various regions of a water-cooled nuclear power reactor, viz., in the downcomer, in the core, in the inlet and outlet plenums, at the head, and elsewhere; and also for detecting changes in the density of the liquid in these regions. A plurality of gamma radiation detectors are used, arranged vertically along the outside of the reactor vessel, and collimator means for each detector limits the gamma-radiation it receives as emitting from only isolated regions of the vessel. Excess neutrons produced by the fission reaction will be captured by the water coolant, by the steel reactor walls, or by the fuel or control structures in the vessel. Neutron capture by steel generates gamma radiation having an energy level of the order of 5-12 MeV, whereas neutron capture by water provides an energy level of approximately 2.2 MeV, and neutron capture by the fission fuel or its cladding provides an energy level of 1 MeV or less. The intensity of neutron capture thus changes significantly at any water-metal interface. Comparative analysis of adjacent gamma detectors senses changes from the normal condition with liquid coolant present to advise of changes in the presence and/or density of the coolant at these specific regions. The gamma detectors can also sense fission-product gas accumulation at the reactor head to advise of a failure of fuel-pin cladding.
DeVolpi, Alexander (Bolingbrook, IL)
Description of Induced Nuclear Fission with Skyrme Energy Functionals: I. Static Potential Energy Surfaces and Fission Fragment Properties
Eighty years after its experimental discovery, a microscopic description of induced nuclear fission based solely on the interactions between neutrons and protons and quantum many-body methods still poses formidable challenges. The goal of this paper is to contribute to the development of a predictive microscopic framework for the accurate calculation of static properties of fission fragments for hot fission and thermal or slow neutrons. To this end, we focus on the 239Pu(n,f) reaction and employ nuclear density functional theory with Skyrme energy densities. Potential energy surfaces are computed at the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov approximation with up to five collective variables. We find that the triaxial degree of freedom plays an important role, both near the fission barrier and at scission. The impact of the parameterization of the Skyrme energy density on deformation properties from the ground-state up to scission is also quantified. We introduce a general template for the detailed description of fission fragment properties. It is based on the careful analysis of the scission point, using both advanced topological methods and recently proposed quantum many-body techniques. We conclude that an accurate prediction of fission fragment properties at low incident neutron energies, although technologically demanding, should be within the reach of current nuclear density functional theory.
N. Schunck; D. Duke; H. Carr; A. Knoll
for magnetic fusion reactors and IFMIF. Journal of NuclearFusion reactors blanket nucleonics. In Progress in NuclearFusion-Fission hybrid reactors. In Advances in Nuclear
Today reactor neutrino experiments are at the cutting edge of fundamental research in particle physics. Understanding the neutrino is far from complete, but thanks to the impressive progress in this field over the last 15 years, a few research groups are seriously considering that neutrinos could be useful for society. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) works with its Member States to promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technologies. In a context of international tension and nuclear renaissance, neutrino detectors could help IAEA to enforce the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). In this article we discuss a futuristic neutrino application to detect and localize an undeclared nuclear reactor from across borders. The SNIF (Secret Neutrino Interactions Finder) concept proposes to use a few hundred thousand tons neutrino detectors to unveil clandestine fission reactors. Beyond previous studies we provide estimates of all known background sources as a function of the detector's longitude, latitude and depth, and we discuss how they impact the detectability.
Thierry Lasserre; Maximilien Fechner; Guillaume Mention; Romain Reboulleau; Michel Cribier; Alain Letourneau; David Lhuillier
The Future of Nuclear Energy: Facts and Fiction Chapter I: Nuclear Fission Energy Today
Nuclear fission energy is considered to be somewhere between the holy grail, required to solve all energy worries of the human industrialized civilization, and a fast path directly to hell. Discussions about future energy sources and the possible contribution from nuclear energy are often dominated by variations of fundamentalists and often irrational approaches. As a result, very little is known by the general public and even by decision makers about the contribution of nuclear energy today, about uranium supplies, uranium resources and current and future technological challenges and limitations. This analysis about nuclear energy and its contribution for tomorrow tries to shed light on the nuclear reality and its limitations in the near and long term future. The report, presented in four chapters, is based essentially on the data provided in the documents from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Administration) and the NEA (the Nuclear Energy Agency from the OECD countries, the WNA (World Nuclear Associat...
Dittmar, Michael
Initiation of persistent fission chains in the fast burst reactor Caliban
We provide in this article, experimental data of initiation of persistent fission chains obtained at different supercritical states, using the Fast Burst Reactor CALIBAN. In many past papers, theory has been compared mostly to initiation experiments at various super-prompt critical states, whereas very few experimental data has been published in delayed supercritical states. To fill the lack of data, we have conducted three campaigns on the reactor at reactivities far below 0.7$ which was one of the rare lowest state ever published on a similar assembly [2][1]. We give a justification of the use of the gamma function to fit experimental results of the temporal distributions of waiting times and compare experiments with numerical simulations obtained with a zero-D punctual Monte Carlo code. (authors)
Authier, N.; Richard, B.; Grivot, P.; Casoli, P. [Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique et Aux Energies Alternatives CEA DAM, Centre de Val Duc, 21120 Is-sur-Tille (France); Humbert, P. [Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique et Aux Energies Alternatives CEA DAM, Centre de Bruyeres-le-chatel, 91297 Arpajon Cedex (France)
Detecting special nuclear materials in containers using high-energy gamma rays emitted by fission products
A method and a system for detecting the presence of special nuclear materials in a container. The system and its method include irradiating the container with an energetic beam, so as to induce a fission in the special nuclear materials, detecting the gamma rays that are emitted from the fission products formed by the fission, to produce a detector signal, comparing the detector signal with a threshold value to form a comparison, and detecting the presence of the special nuclear materials using the comparison.
Norman, Eric B. (Oakland, CA); Prussin, Stanley G. (Kensington, CA)
Fission Yeast Cells Undergo Nuclear Division in the Absence of Spindle Microtubules
Mitosis in eukaryotic cells employs spindle microtubules to drive accurate chromosome segregation at cell division. Cells lacking spindle microtubules arrest in mitosis due to a spindle checkpoint that delays mitotic progression until all chromosomes have achieved stable bipolar attachment to spindle microtubules. In fission yeast, mitosis occurs within an intact nuclear membrane with the mitotic spindle elongating between the spindle pole bodies. We show here that in fission yeast interference with mitotic spindle formation delays mitosis only briefly and cells proceed to an unusual nuclear division process we term nuclear fission, during which cells perform some chromosome segregation and efficiently enter S-phase of the next cell cycle. Nuclear fission is blocked if spindle pole body maturation or sister chromatid separation cannot take place or if actin polymerization is inhibited. We suggest that this process exhibits vestiges of a primitive nuclear division process independent of spindle microtubules, possibly reflecting an evolutionary intermediate state between bacterial and Archeal
Stefania Castagnetti; Snezhana Oliferenko; Paul Nurse
Assessment of fission product yields data needs in nuclear reactor applications
Studies on the build-up of fission products in fast reactors have been performed, with particular emphasis on the effects related to the physics of the nuclear fission process. Fission product yields, which are required for burn-up calculations, depend on the proton and neutron number of the target nucleus as well as on the incident neutron energy. Evaluated nuclear data on fission product yields are available for all relevant target nuclides in reactor applications. However, the description of their energy dependence in evaluated data is still rather rudimentary, which is due to the lack of experimental fast fission data and reliable physical models. Additionally, physics studies of evaluated JEFF-3.1.1 fission yields data have shown potential improvements, especially for various fast fission data sets of this evaluation. In recent years, important progress in the understanding of the fission process has been made, and advanced model codes are currently being developed. This paper deals with the semi-empirical approach to the description of the fission process, which is used in the GEF code being developed by K.-H. Schmidt and B. Jurado on behalf of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, and with results from the corresponding author's diploma thesis. An extended version of the GEF code, supporting the calculation of spectrum weighted fission product yields, has been developed. It has been applied to the calculation of fission product yields in the fission rate spectra of a MOX fuelled sodium-cooled fast reactor. Important results are compared to JEFF-3.1.1 data and discussed in this paper. (authors)
Kern, K.; Becker, M.; Broeders, C. [Institut fuer Neutronenphysik und Reaktortechnik, KIT Campus Nord, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Leopoldshafen (Germany)
Spontaneous Fission Modes and Lifetimes of Superheavy Elements in the Nuclear Density Functional Theory
Background: The reactions with the neutron-rich 48Ca beam and actinide targets resulted in the detection of new superheavy (SH) nuclides with Z=104 118. The unambiguous identification of the new isotopes, however, still poses a problem because their -decay chains terminate by spontaneous fission (SF) before reaching the known region of the nuclear chart. The understanding of the competition between -decay and SF channels in SH nuclei is, therefore, of crucial importance for our ability to map the SH region and to assess its extent. Purpose: We perform self-consistent calculations of the competing decay modes of even-even SH isotopes with 108 Z 126 and 148 N 188. Methods: We use the state-of-the-art computational framework based on self-consistent symmetry-unrestricted nuclear density functional theory capable of describing the competition between nuclear attraction and electrostatic repulsion. We apply the SkM* Skyrme energy density functional. The collective mass tensor of the fissioning superfluid nucleus is computed by means of the cranking approximation to the adiabatic time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) approach. This paper constitutes a systematic self-consistent study of spontaneous fission in the SH region, carried out at a full HFB level, that simultaneously takes into account both triaxiality and reflection asymmetry. Results: Breaking axial symmetry and parity turns out to be crucial for a realistic estimate of collective action; it results in lowering SF lifetimes by more than 7 orders of magnitude in some cases. We predict two competing SF modes: reflection symmetric modes and reflection asymmetric modes. Conclusions: The shortest-lived SH isotopes decay by SF; they are expected to lie in a narrow corridor formed by 280Hs, 284Fl, and 118284Uuo that separates the regions of SH nuclei synthesized in cold-fusion and hot-fusion reactions. The region of long-lived SH nuclei is expected to be centered on 294Ds with a total half-life of 1.5 days. Our survey provides a solid benchmark for the future improvements of self-consistent SF calculations in the region of SH nuclei.
Staszczak, A, [UTK/ORNL/Inst. Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland; Baran, A. [UTK/ORNL/Inst. Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland; Nazarewicz, Witold [UTK/ORNL/University of Warsaw
Sharp change over from compound nuclear fission to shape dependent quasi fission
Fission fragment mass distribution has been measured from the decay of $^{246}$Bk nucleus populating via two entrance channels with slight difference in mass asymmetries but belonging on either side of the Businaro Gallone mass asymmetry parameter. Both the target nuclei were deformed. Near the Coulomb barrier, at similar excitation energies the width of the fission fragment mass distribution was found to be drastically different for the $^{14}$N + $^{232}$Th reaction compared to the $^{11}$B + $^{235}$U reaction. The entrance channel mass asymmetry was found to affect the fusion process sharply.
T. K. Ghosh; K. Banerjee; C. Bhattacharya; S. Bhattacharya; S. Kundu; P. Mali; J. K. Meena; G. Mukherjee; S. Mukhopadhyay; T. K. Rana; P. Bhattacharya; K. S. Golda
Recent advances in nuclear fission theory: pre- and post-scission physics
Recent advances in the modeling of the nuclear fission process for data evaluation purposes are reviewed. In particular, it is stressed that a more comprehensive approach to fission data is needed if predictive capability is to be achieved. The link between pre- and post-scission data is clarified, and a path forward to evaluate those data in a consistent and comprehensive manner is presented. Two examples are given: (i) the modeling of fission cross-sections in the R-matrix formalism, for which results for Pu isotopes from 239 to 242 are presented; (ii) the modeling of prompt fission neutrons in the Monte Carlo Hauser-Feshbach framework. Results for neutron-induced fission on {sup 235}U are discussed.
Talou, Patrick [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Kawano, Toshihiko [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Bouland, Olivier [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Moller, Peter [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Chadwick, Mark B [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Lynn, J E [CEA DEN FRANCE
Enrico Fermi Achieves First Self Sustain Nuclear Chain Reaction | National
Enrico Fermi Achieves First Self Sustain Nuclear Chain Reaction | National Enrico Fermi Achieves First Self Sustain Nuclear Chain Reaction | National Nuclear Security Administration Our Mission Managing the Stockpile Preventing Proliferation Powering the Nuclear Navy Emergency Response Recapitalizing Our Infrastructure Continuing Management Reform Countering Nuclear Terrorism About Us Our Programs Our History Who We Are Our Leadership Our Locations Budget Our Operations Media Room Congressional Testimony Fact Sheets Newsletters Press Releases Speeches Events Social Media Video Gallery Photo Gallery NNSA Archive Federal Employment Apply for Our Jobs Our Jobs Working at NNSA Blog Home > About Us > Our History > NNSA Timeline > Enrico Fermi Achieves First Self Sustain Nuclear ... Enrico Fermi Achieves First Self Sustain Nuclear Chain Reaction
About the inconsistency between Bohr-Wheelers transition-state method and Kramers' escape rate in nuclear fission
The problem of an apparent inconsistency between the fission rates derived on the basis of Bohr-Wheeler's transition-state method and Kramers' dynamical model of nuclear fission, first pointed out by Strutinsky in 1973, is revisited. The study is based on studying the features of individual trajectories on the fission path.
K. -H. Schmidt
Prompt muon-induced fission: a probe for nuclear energy dissipation
We solve the time-dependent Dirac equation for a muon which is initially bound to a fissioning actinide nucleus. The computations are carried out on a 3-D cartesian lattice utilizing the Basis-Spline collocation method. The muon dynamics is sensitive to the nuclear energy dissipation between the outer fission barrier and the scission point. From a comparison with experimental data we find a dissipated energy of about 10 MeV and a fission time delay due to friction of order $2 \\times 10^{-21}$ s.
Volker E. Oberacker
Abstract. We solve the time-dependent Dirac equation for a muon which is initially bound to a fissioning actinide nucleus. The computations are carried out on a 3-D cartesian lattice utilizing the Basis-Spline collocation method. The muon dynamics is sensitive to the nuclear energy dissipation between the outer fission barrier and the scission point. From a comparison with experimental data we find a dissipated energy of about 10 MeV and a fission time delay due to friction of order 2 � 10 ?21 s.
consequences of nuclear weapons in 1939, such informationdevelopment of both nuclear weapons and civilian reactorsresponsible for nuclear weapons�or to absolve them. Rather,
Estimates of fission yields in nuclear criticality excursions
There is a need for computer simulation of hypothetical criticality excursions involving significant quantities of fissionable materials, especially in fissile aqueous system. The need arises due to the requirements for the emergency planning of facilities where the fissionable materials are handled, processed, or stored; and the regulatory requirements associated with facility operation or conversion. It is proposed here that a data base of fission yeilds for critical experiments and known accidents (both aqueous and solid) should be generated by using existing or new computer codes. The success in compiling this data base would provide useful source-terms for criticality excursions, realistic estimates of emergency-response boundary, as well as a replacement for the ``rule-of-thumb`` or ``bounding`` method. 10 refs.
Choi, J.S. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States); Thompson, J.W. [Atlantic Nuclear Services, Ottawa, ON (Canada); Reed, R. [Westinghouse Savannah River Co., Aiken, SC (United States)
On numerical relations playing a role in nuclear fission
The key numbers useful for describing the fission process are the mass number of the primordial cluster of the fissioning system and the magic mass numbers 82 and 126 of the nascent light and heavy fragments. The mean mass number and the mean atomic number of the light fragments are linked to the mass number and to the atomic number of the primordial cluster by simple relationships. The value 54 of the mean atomic number of the heavy fragments is predicted by the nucleon phase model.
G. Mouze; C. Ythier
Description of Induced Nuclear Fission with Skyrme Energy Functionals: II. Finite Temperature Effects
Understanding the mechanisms of induced nuclear fission for a broad range of neutron energies could help resolve fundamental science issues, such as the formation of elements in the universe, but could have also a large impact on societal applications in energy production of nuclear waste management. The goal of this paper is to set up the foundations of a microscopic model to study the static aspects of induced fission as a function of the excitation energy of the incident neutron, from thermal to fast neutrons. To account for the high excitation energy of the compound nucleus, we employ a statistical approach based on finite temperature nuclear density functional theory with Skyrme energy densities, which we benchmark on the fission of 239Pu(n,f). We compute the evolution of the least-energy fission pathway across multidimensional potential energy surfaces with up to five collective variables as a function of the nuclear temperature, and predict the evolution of both the inner and outer fission barriers as a function of the excitation energy of the compound nucleus. We show that the coupling to the continuum induced by the finite temperature is negligible in the range of neutron energies relevant to induced fission. We prove that the concept of quantum localization introduced recently can be extended to T>0, and we apply the method to compute the kinetic and interaction energy of fission fragments as a function of the temperature. While large uncertainties in theoretical modeling remain, we conclude that finite temperature nuclear density functional may provide a useful framework to obtain accurate predictions.
N. Schunck; D. Duke; H. Carr
Characterization of a Stochastic Procedure for the Generation and Transport of Fission Fragments within Nuclear Fuels
With the ever-increasing demands of the nuclear power community to extend fuel cycles and overall core-lifetimes in a safe and economic manner, it is becoming more necessary to extend the working knowledge of nuclear fuel performance. From the atomistic to the macroscopic level, great morphological changes occur within the fuel over its lifetime. The main initial damaging events produced by fuel recoils from fast neutrons and fission fragment spiking leads to the onset of grain growths and fuel restructuring. Therefore, it is desirable to have a more detailed understanding of the initial events leading to fuel morphology changes at the atomistic level. However, this is difficult to achieve with the fission fragments due to the wide variability of their species (charge, mass, and energy) and the large averaging of their relative yields in the nuclear data files. This work is our first iteration at developing a general methodology to characterize a procedure, based on Monte Carlo principles, for generating individual fission event result channels and analyzing their specific response in the fuel. We utilized the nuclear reaction simulation tool, TALYS, to generate energy-dependent fission fragment yield distributions for different fissile/fissionable isotopes. These distributions can then be used in conjunction with fuel isotopics and a neutron energy spectrum to generate a fission-reaction-rate-averaged distribution of the fission fragment yields. We then used Monte Carlo sampling to generate the result channels from individual fission events, using the Q-value of the prompt fission system to either accept or reject. The simulation tool: Transport of Ions in Matter (TRIM) was used to characterize the general response of the fission fragment species within Uranium Dioxide (UO2), including the range, energy loss, displacements, recoils, etc. These responses were then correlated which allowed for the quick calculation of the response of the individual fission fragment species generated from the Monte Carlo sampling. As an example of this strategy, we calculated the response on a PWR fuel pin where MCNP was used to generate a high-fidelity neutron energy spectrum.
Hackemack, Michael Wayne
Quasi-fission reactions as a probe of nuclear viscosity
Fission fragment mass and angular distributions were measured from the ^{64}Ni+^{197}Au reaction at 418 MeV and 383 MeV incident energy. A detailed data analysis was performed, using the one-body dissipation theory implemented in the code HICOL. The effect of the window and the wall friction on the experimental observables was investigated. Friction stronger than one-body was also considered. The mass and angular distributions were consistent with one-body dissipation. An evaporation code DIFHEAT coupled to HICOL was developed in order to predict reaction time scales required to describe available data on pre-scission neutron multiplicities. The multiplicity data were again consistent with one-body dissipation. The cross-sections for touch, capture and quasi-fission were also obtained.
J. Velkovska; C. R. Morton; R. L. McGrath; P. Chung; I. Dioszegi
Magnetic Field Generation in Planets and Satellites by Natural Nuclear Fission Reactors
One of the most fundamental problems in physics has been to understand the nature of the mechanism that generates the geomagnetic field and the magnetic fields of other planets and satellites. For decades, the dynamo mechanism, thought to be responsible for generating the geomagnetic field and other planetary magnetic fields, has been ascribed to convection in each planet's iron-alloy core. Recently, I described the problems inherent in Earth-core convection and proposed instead that the geomagnetic field is produced by a dynamo mechanism involving convection, not in the fluid core, but in the electrically conductive, fluid, fission-product sub-shell of a natural nuclear fission reactor at the center of the Earth, called the georeactor. Here I set forth in detail the commonality in the Solar System of the matter like that of the inside of the Earth, which is my basis for generalizing the concept of planetary magnetic field generation by natural planetocentric nuclear fission reactors.
World Energy Data System (WENDS). Volume XI. Nuclear fission program summaries
Brief management and technical summaries of nuclear fission power programs are presented for nineteen countries. The programs include the following: fuel supply, resource recovery, enrichment, fuel fabrication, light water reactors, heavy water reactors, gas cooled reactors, breeder reactors, research and test reactors, spent fuel processing, waste management, and safety and environment. (JWR)
Interplanetary mission fission
A new fission experiment demonstrates the viability of a small nuclear reactor to power solar-system-exploring spacecraft. July 15, 2013 Interplanetary mission fission Artist's...
Critical temperature for the nuclear liquid-gas phase transition (from multifragmentation and fission)
Critical temperature Tc for the nuclear liquid-gas phase transition is stimated both from the multifragmentation and fission data. In the first case,the critical temperature is obtained by analysis of the IMF yields in p(8.1 GeV)+Au collisions within the statistical model of multifragmentation (SMM). In the second case, the experimental fission probability for excited 188Os is compared with the calculated one with Tc as a free parameter. It is concluded for both cases that the critical temperature is higher than 16 MeV.
V. A. Karnaukhov; H. Oeschler; A. Budzanowski; S. P. Avdeyev; A. S. Botvina; E. A. Cherepanov; W. Karcz; V. V. Kirakosyan; P. A. Rukoyatkin; I. Skwirczynska; E. Norbeck
Interplay between compound and fragments aspects of nuclear fission and heavy-ion reaction
The scission point in nuclear fission plays a special role where one-body system changes to two-body system. Inverse of this situation is realized in heavy-ion fusion reaction where two-body system changes to one body system. Among several peculiar phenomena expected to occur during this change, we focus our attention to the behavior of compound and fragments shell effects. Some aspects of the interplay between compound and fragments shell effect are discussed related to the topics of the fission valleys in the potential energy surface of actinide nuclei and the fusion-like trajectory found in the cold fusion reaction leading to superheavy nuclei.
Moller, Peter [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Iwamoto, A [JAPAN; Ichikawa, I [JAPAN
June 2013 Most Viewed Documents for Fission And Nuclear Technologies...
media Xu, Tianfu; Pruess, Karsten (2001) 75 System Definition and Analysis: Power Plant Design and Layout NONE (1996) 68 LWR nuclear fuel bundle data for use in fuel...
Detecting special nuclear materials in suspect containers using high-energy gamma rays emitted by fission products
A method and a system for detecting the presence of special nuclear materials in a suspect container. The system and its method include irradiating the suspect container with a beam of neutrons, so as to induce a thermal fission in a portion of the special nuclear materials, detecting the gamma rays that are emitted from the fission products formed by the thermal fission, to produce a detector signal, comparing the detector signal with a threshold value to form a comparison, and detecting the presence of the special nuclear materials using the comparison.
Norman, Eric B [Oakland, CA; Prussin, Stanley G [Kensington, CA
Neutron Radiography and Fission Mapping Measurements of Nuclear Materials with Varying Composition and Shielding
Neutron radiography and fission mapping measurements were performed on four measurement objects with varying composition and shielding arrangements at the Idaho National Laboratory's Zero Power Physics Reactor (ZPPR) facility. The measurement objects were assembled with ZPPR reactor plate materials comprising plutonium, natural uranium, or highly enriched uranium and were presented as unknowns for characterization. As a part of the characterization, neutron radiography was performed using a deuterium-tritium (D-T) neutron generator as a source of time and directionally tagged 14 MeV neutrons. The neutrons were detected by plastic scintillators placed on the opposite side of the object, using the time-correlation-based data acquisition of the Nuclear Materials Identification System developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Each object was measured at several rotations with respect to the neutron source to obtain a tomographic reconstruction of the object and a limited identification of materials via measurement of the neutron attenuation. Large area liquid scintillators with pulse shape discrimination were used to detect the induced fission neutrons. A fission site map reconstruction was produced by time correlating the induced fission neutrons with each tagged neutron from the D-T neutron generator. This paper describes the experimental configuration, the ZPPR measurement objects used, and the neutron imaging and fission mapping results.
Mullens, James Allen [ORNL; McConchie, Seth M [ORNL; Hausladen, Paul [ORNL; Mihalczo, John T [ORNL; Grogan, Brandon R [ORNL; Sword, Eric D [ORNL
Emilio Segr� and Spontaneous Fission
however, had revealed that the uranium fissioned instead. The discovery of fission led in turn to the discovery of the chain reaction that, if sustained, would provide the...
Physics and Chemistry of Fission, Vienna 1969 (IAEA, ViennaDeformation energies along the fission path plotted againstMICROSCOPIC CALCULATIONS OF FISSION BARRIERS AND CRITICAL
Diebel, Michael
strongly damped nuclear collisions and in fission. This work48, In nuclear collisions and in fission the fluctuations instages of fission and strongly damped nuclear collisions the
Myers, W.D.
Most Viewed Documents - Fission and Nuclear Technologies | OSTI, US Dept of
Most Viewed Documents - Fission and Nuclear Technologies Most Viewed Documents - Fission and Nuclear Technologies Metals design handbook Betts, W.S. (1988) Estimation of gas leak rates through very small orifices and channels. [From sealed PuO/sub 2/ containers under accident conditions] Bomelburg, H.J. () Graphite design handbook Ho, F.H. (1988) Motor-operated valve (MOV) actuator motor and gearbox testing DeWall, K.; Watkins, J.C.; Bramwell, D. [Lockheed Idaho Technologies Co., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)] (1997) Environmental Aspects, Objectives and Targets Identification Process R. Green (2002) Flow-induced vibration of circular cylindrical structures Chen, S.S. (1985) System Definition and Analysis: Power Plant Design and Layout NONE (1996) Materials and design bases issues in ASME Code Case N-47 Huddleston, R.L.; Swindeman, R.W. (Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United
Fission-Fusion: A new reaction mechanism for nuclear astrophysics based on laser-ion acceleration
We propose to produce neutron-rich nuclei in the range of the astrophysical r-process around the waiting point N = 126 by fissioning a dense laser-accelerated thorium ion bunch in a thorium target (covered by a CH{sub 2} layer), where the light fission fragments of the beam fuse with the light fission fragments of the target. Via the 'hole-boring' mode of laser Radiation Pressure Acceleration using a high-intensity, short pulse laser, very efficiently bunches of {sup 232}Th with solid-state density can be generated from a Th target and a deuterated CD{sub 2} foil, both forming the production target assembly. Laser-accelerated Th ions with about 7 MeV/u will pass through a thin CH{sub 2} layer placed in front of a thicker second Th foil (both forming the reaction target) closely behind the production target and disintegrate into light and heavy fission fragments. In addition, light ions (d,C) from the CD{sub 2} layer of the production target will be accelerated as well, inducing the fission process of {sup 232}Th also in the second Th layer. The laser-accelerated ion bunches with solid-state density, which are about 10{sup 14} times more dense than classically accelerated ion bunches, allow for a high probability that generated fission products can fuse again. The high ion beam density may lead to a strong collective modification of the stopping power, leading to significant range and thus yield enhancement. Using a high-intensity laser as envisaged for the ELI-Nuclear Physics project in Bucharest (ELI-NP), order-of-magnitude estimates promise a fusion yield of about 10{sup 3} ions per laser pulse in the mass range of A = 180-190, thus enabling to approach the r-process waiting point at N = 126.
Thirolf, P. G.; Gross, M.; Allinger, K.; Bin, J.; Henig, A.; Kiefer, D. [Fakultaet fuer Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet Muenchen, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Habs, D. [Fakultaet fuer Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet Muenchen, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Max-Planck-Institut fuer Quantenoptik, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Ma, W.; Schreiber, J. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Quantenoptik, D-85748 Garching (Germany)
Piglet and the Pumpkin Field - Argonne's Nuclear Science and...
scientists describe the historic events which brought them to understand nuclear fission Anniversary - 80 years ago, Leo Szilard envisioned neutron chain reaction blog...
Role and use of nuclear theories and models in practical evaluation of neutron nuclear data needed for fission and fusion reactor design and other nuclear applications
A review of the various nuclear models used in the evaluation of neutron nuclear data for fission and fusion reactors is presented. Computer codes embodying the principles of the relevant nuclear models are compared with each other and with experimental data. The regions of validity and limitations of the conceptual formalisms are also included, along with the effects of the numerical procedures used in the codes themselves. Conclusions and recommendations for future demands are outlined.15 tables, 15 figures, 90 references. (auth)
Prince, A.
situations: nuclear vibrations, fission, collisions, theformulae to nuclear vibrations, fission, collisions, thenuclear phenomena: nuclear vibrations, fission, collisions,
Robel, M.C.
Absolute nuclear material assay
A method of absolute nuclear material assay of an unknown source comprising counting neutrons from the unknown source and providing an absolute nuclear material assay utilizing a model to optimally compare to the measured count distributions. In one embodiment, the step of providing an absolute nuclear material assay comprises utilizing a random sampling of analytically computed fission chain distributions to generate a continuous time-evolving sequence of event-counts by spreading the fission chain distribution in time.
Prasad, Manoj K. (Pleasanton, CA); Snyderman, Neal J. (Berkeley, CA); Rowland, Mark S. (Alamo, CA)
The Metabolic Properties of the Fission Products and Actinide Elements
directly from nuclear fission. Radioactive substances can��free Fission Prodl,wts in the Rat" Natl Nuclear Energy
Hamilton M.D., J.G.
strongly damped nuclear collisions or in fission. Since theDistribution in Fission William 0. Myers Nuclear Science
Probabilities for the emission of light particles and their energy and angular distributions for true quaternary nuclear fission
On the basis of quantum-mechanical fission theory, the features of true quaternary nuclear fission are studied by treating this fission process as a sequence of three processes following one another in the course of time. The first two processes are the escape of the first and then the second of the two light particles emitted from the neck of a fissioning nucleus because of a nonadiabatic character of the collective deformation motion of this nucleus. Finally, the third process is the separation of the fissioning nucleus into two rather heavy fission fragments. The differences that arise in the emission probabilities and in the angular and energy distributions upon going over from the first emitted to the second emitted prescission third and fourth particles are analyzed by invoking experimental data on the spontaneous and thermalneutron-induced fission of nuclei, and it is shown that these differences are caused by the changes both in the geometric configuration of the fissioning nucleus and in the shell structure of its neck after the first prescission particle is emitted from it.
Kadmensky, S. G., E-mail: email@example.com; Titova, L. V. [Voronezh State University (Russian Federation)] [Voronezh State University (Russian Federation)
Brownian shape motion on five-dimensional potential-energy surfaces: Nuclear fission-fragment mass distributions
Although nuclear fission can be understood qualitatively as an evolution of the nuclear shape, a quantitative description has proven to be very elusive. In particular, until now, there exists no model with demonstrated predictive power for the fission fragment mass yields. Exploiting the expected strongly damped character of nuclear dynamics, we treat the nuclear shape evolution in analogy with Brownian motion and perform random walks on five-dimensional fission potential-energy surfaces which were calculated previously and are the most comprehensive available. Test applications give good reproduction of highly variable experimental mass yields. This novel general approach requires only a single new global parameter, namely the critical neck size at which the mass split is frozen in, and the results are remarkably insensitive to its specific value.
Jorgen Randrup; Peter Moller
The percolation behavior of grain boundary networks is characterized in two- and three-dimensional lattices with circular macroscale cross-sections that correspond to nuclear fuel elements. The percolation of gas bubbles on grain boundaries, and the subsequent percolation of grain boundary networks is the primary mechanism of fission gas release from nuclear fuels. Both radial cracks and radial gradients in grain boundary property distributions are correlated with the fraction of grain boundaries vented to the free surfaces. Our results show that cracks surprisingly do not significantly increase the percolation of uniform grain boundary networks. However, for networks with radial gradients in boundary properties, the cracks can considerably raise the vented grain boundary content.
Paul C. Millett
Nukes (notes on PFFP) Chain reactions
corresponds to 300 million kg of TNT = 300 ktons Energetics But the Hiroshima bomb (10 kg) only release 20 Clouds" Nagasaki Atomic Bomb 1945 Volcanic Eruption (Mount Redoubt) Not characteristic of nuclear bombs weapons and nuclear power reactors. #12;Chain reactions in nuclear fission bomb Note the number
Browder, Tom
and J. R. Huizenga, Nuclear Fission (to be published inHeavy-lon-Induced Nuclear Fission, (to be published in Proc.
Gordon, Glen E.; Larsh, Almon E.; Sikkeland, Torbjorn; Seaborg, Glenn T.
Effect of transients in nuclear fission on multiplicity of prescission neutrons
Transients in the fission of highly excited nuclei are studied in the framework of the Langevin equation. Time-dependent fission widths are calculated which show that after the initial transients, a steady flow towards the scission point is established not only for nuclei which have fission barriers but also for nuclei which have no fission barrier. It is shown from a comparison of the transient time and the fission life time that fission changes from a diffusive to a transient dominated process over a certain transition region as a function of the spin of the fissioning nucleus. Multiplicities of prescission neutrons are calculated in a statistical model with as well as without a single swoop description of fission and they are found to differ in the transition region. We however find that the difference is marginal and hence a single swoop picture of fission though not strictly valid in the transition region can still be used in the statistical model calculations.
Hybrid Technique in SCALE for Fission Source Convergence Applied to Used Nuclear Fuel Analysis
The new hybrid SOURCE ConveRgence accelERator (SOURCERER) sequence in SCALE deterministically computes a fission distribution and uses it as the starting source in a Monte Carlo eigenvalue criticality calculation. In addition to taking the guesswork out of defining an appropriate, problem-dependent starting source, the more accurate starting source provided by the deterministic calculation decreases the probability of producing inaccurate tally estimates associated with undersampling problems caused by inadequate source convergence. Furthermore, SOURCERER can increase the efficiency of the overall simulation by decreasing the number of cycles that has to be skipped before the keff accumulation. SOURCERER was applied to a representative example for a used nuclear fuel cask utilized at the Maine Yankee storage site {Scaglione and Ilas}. Because of the time constraints of the Used Fuel Research, Development, and Demonstration project, it was found that using more than 30,000 neutrons per cycle will lead to inaccurate Monte Carlo calculation of keff due to the inevitable decrease in the number of skipped and active cycles used with this problem. For a fixed uncertainty objective and by using 30,000 neutron per cycle, the use of SOURCERER increased the efficiency of the keff calculation by 60%compared to a Monte Carlo calculation that used a starting source distributed uniformly in fissionable regions, even with the inclusion of the extra computational time required by the deterministic calculation. Additionally, the use of SOURCERER increased the reliability of keff calculation using any number of skipped cycles below 350.
Ibrahim, Ahmad M [ORNL; Peplow, Douglas E. [ORNL; Bekar, Kursat B [ORNL; Celik, Cihangir [ORNL; Scaglione, John M [ORNL; Ilas, Dan [ORNL; Wagner, John C [ORNL
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 554 (2005) 494499 Micro-pocket fission detectors (MPFD) for
Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 554 (2005) 494499 Micro-pocket fission detectors (MPFD) for in-core neutron flux monitoring Douglas S. McGregor�?, Martin F. Ohmes, Rylan E. Ortiz. The prototype devices have been coated with a natural uranyl- nitrate to provide a neutron reactive coating
Shultis, J. Kenneth
X-ray imaging, spacecraft nuclear fission and cosmic ray contraband
R&D 100 Awards winners R&D 100 Awards winners X-ray imaging, spacecraft nuclear fission and cosmic ray contraband detection score R&D 100 awards R&D Magazine announced the winners and three technologies from Los Alamos National Laboratory and its partners are among the honorees. July 8, 2013 MiniMAX is a battery powered, digital x-ray imaging system that is completely self-contained, lightweight, compact and portable. MiniMAX is a battery powered, digital x-ray imaging system that is completely self-contained, lightweight, compact and portable. Contact Nancy Ambrosiano Communications Office (505) 667-0471 Email "The innovation and creativity shown in this year's awards is truly inspiring. It gives me great confidence in the Laboratory's intellectual vitality and ongoing role in national security science. Congratulations to
Detecting a Nuclear Fission Reactor at the Center of the Earth
A natural nuclear fission reactor with a power output of 3- 10 terawatt at the center of the earth has been proposed as the energy source of the earth's magnetic field. The proposal can be directly tested by a massive liquid scintillation detector that can detect the signature spectrum of antineutrinos from the geo-reactor as well as the direction of the antineutrino source. Such detectors are now in operation or under construction in Japan/Europe. However, the clarity of both types of measurements may be limited by background from antineutrinos from surface power reactors. Future U. S. detectors, relatively more remote from power reactors, may be more suitable for achieving unambiguous spectral and directional evidence for a 3TW geo-reactor.
R. S. Raghavan
Reconversion of nuclear weapons
The nuclear predicament or nuclear option. Synopsis of three lectures : 1- The physical basis of nuclear technology. Physics of fission. Chain reaction in reactors and weapons. Fission fragments. Separration of isotopes. Radiochemistry.2- Nuclear reactors with slow and fast neutrons. Power, size, fuel and waste. Plutonium production. Dose rate, shielding and health hazard. The lessons of Chernobyl3- Nuclear weapons. Types, energy, blast and fallout. Fusion and hydrogen bombs. What to do with nuclear weapons when you cannot use them? Testing. Nonmilittary use. Can we get rid of the nuclear weapon? Nuclear proliferation. Is there a nuclear future?
Kapitza, Sergei P
3He- and 4He-induced nuclear fission - a test of the transition state method
Fission in 3He and 4He induced reactions at excitation energies between the fission barrier and 140 MeV has been investigated. Twentythree fission excitation functions of various compound nuclei in different mass regions are shown to scale exactly according to the transition state prediction once the shell effects are accounted for. New precise measurements of excitation functions in a mass region where shell effects are very strong, allow one to test the predictions with an even higher accuracy. The fact that no deviations from the transition state method have been observed within the experimentally investigated excitation energy regime allows one to assign limits for the fission transient time. The precise measurement of fission excitation functions of neighboring isotopes enables us to experimentally estimate the first chance fission probability. Even if only first chance fission is investigated, no evidence for fission transient times larger than 30 zs can be found.
Th. Rubehn; K. X. Jing; L. G. Moretto; L. Phair; K. Tso; G. J. Wozniak
Development of fission gas swelling and release models for metallic nuclear fuels
Fuel swelling and fission gas generation for fast reactor fuels are of high importance since they are among the main limiting factors in the development of metallic fast reactor fuel. Five new fission gas and swelling ...
Andrews, Nathan Christopher
Laser Intertial Fusion Energy: Neutronic Design Aspects of a Hybrid Fusion-Fission Nuclear Energy System
This study investigates the neutronics design aspects of a hybrid fusion-fission energy system called the Laser Fusion-Fission Hybrid (LFFH). A LFFH combines current Laser Inertial Confinement fusion technology with that of advanced fission reactor technology to produce a system that eliminates many of the negative aspects of pure fusion or pure fission systems. When examining the LFFH energy mission, a significant portion of the United States and world energy production could be supplied by LFFH plants. The LFFH engine described utilizes a central fusion chamber surrounded by multiple layers of multiplying and moderating media. These layers, or blankets, include coolant plenums, a beryllium (Be) multiplier layer, a fertile fission blanket and a graphite-pebble reflector. Each layer is separated by perforated oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) ferritic steel walls. The central fusion chamber is surrounded by an ODS ferritic steel first wall. The first wall is coated with 250-500 {micro}m of tungsten to mitigate x-ray damage. The first wall is cooled by Li{sub 17}Pb{sub 83} eutectic, chosen for its neutron multiplication and good heat transfer properties. The {sub 17}Pb{sub 83} flows in a jacket around the first wall to an extraction plenum. The main coolant injection plenum is immediately behind the Li{sub 17}Pb{sub 83}, separated from the Li{sub 17}Pb{sub 83} by a solid ODS wall. This main system coolant is the molten salt flibe (2LiF-BeF{sub 2}), chosen for beneficial neutronics and heat transfer properties. The use of flibe enables both fusion fuel production (tritium) and neutron moderation and multiplication for the fission blanket. A Be pebble (1 cm diameter) multiplier layer surrounds the coolant injection plenum and the coolant flows radially through perforated walls across the bed. Outside the Be layer, a fission fuel layer comprised of depleted uranium contained in Tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles having a packing fraction of 20% in 2 cm diameter fuel pebbles. The fission blanket is cooled by the same radial flibe flow that travels through perforated ODS walls to the reflector blanket. This reflector blanket is 75 cm thick comprised of 2 cm diameter graphite pebbles cooled by flibe. The flibe extraction plenum surrounds the reflector bed. Detailed neutronics designs studies are performed to arrive at the described design. The LFFH engine thermal power is controlled using a technique of adjusting the {sup 6}Li/{sup 7}Li enrichment in the primary and secondary coolants. The enrichment adjusts system thermal power in the design by increasing tritium production while reducing fission. To perform the simulations and design of the LFFH engine, a new software program named LFFH Nuclear Control (LNC) was developed in C++ to extend the functionality of existing neutron transport and depletion software programs. Neutron transport calculations are performed with MCNP5. Depletion calculations are performed using Monteburns 2.0, which utilizes ORIGEN 2.0 and MCNP5 to perform a burnup calculation. LNC supports many design parameters and is capable of performing a full 3D system simulation from initial startup to full burnup. It is able to iteratively search for coolant {sup 6}Li enrichments and resulting material compositions that meet user defined performance criteria. LNC is utilized throughout this study for time dependent simulation of the LFFH engine. Two additional methods were developed to improve the computation efficiency of LNC calculations. These methods, termed adaptive time stepping and adaptive mesh refinement were incorporated into a separate stand alone C++ library name the Adaptive Burnup Library (ABL). The ABL allows for other client codes to call and utilize its functionality. Adaptive time stepping is useful for automatically maximizing the size of the depletion time step while maintaining a desired level of accuracy. Adaptive meshing allows for analysis of fixed fuel configurations that would normally require a computationally burdensome number of depletion zones. Alternatively, Adaptive M
Kramer, K
184.108.40.206 Fission Energy . . . . . . . . . 126.96.36.199.1.3.3 Fission-Fusion Hybrids . . . . 1.2 Scope and Purposei CONTENTS Fission Blanket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ENDF/B-VII.1 Nuclear Data for Science and Technology: Cross Sections, Covariances, Fission Product Yields and Decay Data
The ENDF/B-VII.1 library is our latest recommended evaluated nuclear data file for use in nuclear science and technology applications, and incorporates advances made in the five years since the release of ENDF/B-VII.0. These advances focus on neutron cross sections, covariances, fission product yields and decay data, and represent work by the US Cross Section Evaluation Working Group (CSEWG) in nuclear data evaluation that utilizes developments in nuclear theory, modeling, simulation, and experiment. The principal advances in the new library are: (1) An increase in the breadth of neutron reaction cross section coverage, extending from 393 nuclides to 418 nuclides; (2) Covariance uncertainty data for 185 of the most important nuclides, as documented in companion papers in this edition; (3) R-matrix analyses of neutron reactions on light nuclei, including isotopes of He, Li, and Be; (4) Resonance parameter analyses at lower energies and statistical high energy reactions at higher energies for isotopes of F, Cl, K, Ti, V, Mn, Cr, Ni, Zr and W; (5) Modifications to thermal neutron reactions on fission products (isotopes of Mo, Tc, Rh, Ag, Cs, Nd, Sm, Eu) and neutron absorber materials (Cd, Gd); (6) Improved minor actinide evaluations for isotopes of U, Np, Pu, and Am (we are not making changes to the major actinides 235,238U and 239Pu at this point, except for delayed neutron data, and instead we intend to update them after a further period of research in experiment and theory), and our adoption of JENDL-4.0 evaluations for isotopes of Cm, Bk, Cf, Es, Fm, and some other minor actinides; (7) Fission energy release evaluations; (8) Fission product yield advances for fission-spectrum neutrons and 14 MeV neutrons incident on 239Pu; and (9) A new Decay Data sublibrary. Integral validation testing of the ENDF/B-VII.1 library is provided for a variety of quantities: For nuclear criticality, the VII.1 library maintains the generally-good performance seen for VII.0 for a wide range of MCNP simulations of criticality benchmarks, with improved performance coming from new structural material evaluations, especially for Ti, Mn, Cr, Zr and W. For Be we see some improvements although the fast assembly data appear to be mutually inconsistent. Actinide cross section updates are also assessed through comparisons of fission and capture reaction rate measurements in critical assemblies and fast reactors. We describe the cross section evaluations that have been updated for ENDF/B-VII.1 and the measured data and calculations that motivated the changes, and therefore this paper augments the ENDF/B-VII.0 publication [1].
G. Palmiotti
For presentation at ASCE Convention in Reno, Nevada on Thursday, June 23, 1860. A description of the Hallam Nuclear Power Facslity is presented. The history of the project, program participants, site description, component development program, reaetor building, reactor structure, reactor core, sodium systems, instrumentation and control, fuel and component handling, auxsilary sustems, special design features, and advantages of sodium graphite reactor systems are discussed. (M.C.G.)
Gronemeyer, F.C.; Merryman, J.W.
Ternary Fission of 249Cf(n,f) and 250Cf(SF)
+b. INTRODUCTION Nuclear fission is essentially a binaryternary fission data are of interest for nuclear physics innuclear reactors and also in used fuel elements due to spontaneous fission.
, S. Vermote
Angular distribution of products of ternary nuclear fission induced by cold polarized neutrons
Within quantum fission theory, angular distributions of products originating from the ternary fission of nuclei that is induced by polarized cold and thermal neutrons are investigated on the basis of a non-evaporative mechanism of third-particle emission and a consistent description of fission-channel coupling. It is shown that the inclusion of Coriolis interaction both in the region of the discrete and in the region of the continuous spectrum of states of the system undergoing fission leads to T-odd correlations in the aforementioned angular distributions. The properties of the TRI and ROT effects discovered recently, which are due to the interference between the fission amplitudes of neutron resonances, are explored. The results obtained here are compared with their counterparts from classic calculations based on the trajectory method.
Bunakov, V. E., E-mail: email@example.com; Kadmensky, S. G., E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com; Kadmensky, S. S. [Voronezh State University (Russian Federation)
L. Wilets, "Theories of Nuclear Fission", Clarendon Press,of the nuclear force, result in lower calculated fission
Comment on Mean First Passage Time for Nuclear Fission and the Emission of Light Particles
Theoretical methods, interpretations and conclusions on the fission dynamics in a recent publication of H. Hofmann and F. A. Ivanyuk on the mean first passage time are critically considered.
K. -H. Schmidt; J. Benlliure; D. Boilley; A. Heinz; A. Junghans; B. Jurado; A. Kelic; J. Pereira; C. Schmitt; O. Yordanov
Analysis and numerical optimization of gas turbine space power systems with nuclear fission reactor heat sources
A new three objective optimization technique is developed and applied to find the operating conditions for fission reactor heated Closed Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) space power systems at which maximum efficiency, minimum radiator area, and minimum total ...
Albert J. Juhasz / Jerzy Sawicki
Neutron Transport and Nuclear Burnup Analysis for the Laser Inertial Confinement Fusion-Fission Energy (LIFE) Engine
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is currently developing a hybrid fusion-fission nuclear energy system, called LIFE, to generate power and burn nuclear waste. We utilize inertial confinement fusion to drive a subcritical fission blanket surrounding the fusion chamber. It is composed of TRISO-based fuel cooled by the molten salt flibe. Low-yield (37.5 MJ) targets and a repetition rate of 13.3 Hz produce a 500 MW fusion source that is coupled to the subcritical blanket, which provides an additional gain of 4-8, depending on the fuel. In the present work, we describe the neutron transport and nuclear burnup analysis. We utilize standard analysis tools including, the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport code, ORIGEN2 and Monteburns to perform the nuclear design. These analyses focus primarily on a fuel composed of depleted uranium not requiring chemical reprocessing or enrichment. However, other fuels such as weapons grade plutonium and highly-enriched uranium are also under consideration. In addition, we have developed a methodology using {sup 6}Li as a burnable poison to replace the tritium burned in the fusion targets and to maintain constant power over the lifetime of the engine. The results from depleted uranium analyses suggest up to 99% burnup of actinides is attainable while maintaining full power at 2GW for more than five decades.
Kramer, K J; Latkowski, J F; Abbott, R P; Boyd, J K; Powers, J J; Seifried, J E
Absolute nuclear material assay using count distribution (LAMBDA) space
A nuclear reactor is designed incorporating a slurry of uranium- containing particles in heavy water and including means for circulating the slurry and for cooling the slurry. (AEC)
Wigner, E.P.; Ohlinger, L.A.; Young, G.J.; Weinberg, A.M.
TRISO Fuel Performance: Modeling, Integration into Mainstream Design Studies, and Application to a Thorium-fueled Fusion-Fission Hybrid Blanket
generation [1, 5, 6, 7]. Nuclear fission energy systems thatgeneration from nuclear fission plants may in fact need toof a Hybrid Fusion-Fission Nuclear Energy System. � Thesis.
Powers, Jeffrey
Primary system fission product release and transport: A state-of-the-art report to the committee on the safety of nuclear installations
This report presents a summary of the status of research activities associated with fission product behavior (release and transport) under severe accident conditions within the primary systems of water-moderated and water-cooled nuclear reactors. For each of the areas of fission product release and fission product transport, the report summarizes relevant information on important phenomena, major experiments performed, relevant computer models and codes, comparisons of computer code calculations with experimental results, and general conclusions on the overall state of the art. Finally, the report provides an assessment of the overall importance and knowledge of primary system release and transport phenomena and presents major conclusions on the state of the art.
Wright, A.L. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
Development of a Micromegas TPC for Low Energy Heavy Ions Measurement for Nuclear Fission and Astrophysics Applications
Time Projection Chambers are widely used since many years for tracking and identification of charged particles in high energy physics. We present a new R and D project to investigate the feasibility of a Micromegas TPC for low energy heavy ions detection. Two physics cases are relevant for this project. The first is the study of the nuclear fission of actinides by measuring the fission fragments properties (mass, nuclear charge, kinetic energy) that will be performed at different installations and in particular at the NFS facility to be built in the framework of the SPIRAL2 project in GANIL. The second physics case is the study of heavy ion reactions, like ({alpha},{gamma}), ({alpha},p), ({alpha},n) and all the inverse reactions in the energy range between 1.5 and 3 AMeV using both stable and radioactive beams. These reactions have a key role in p process in nuclear astrophysics to explain the synthesis of heavy proton-rich nuclei. Within the project, a large effort is devoted to Monte-Carlo simulations and a detailed benchmark of different simulation codes on the energy loss and range in gas of heavy ions at low energy has been performed. A new approach for simulating the ion charge state evolution in GEANT4 is also presented. Finally, preliminary results of an experimental test campaign on prototype are discussed.
Panebianco, S.; Dore, D.; Giomataris, I.; Papaevangelou, Th.; Vernoud, L. [CEA, Centre de Saclay, Institut de Recherche sur les lois Fondamentales de l' Univers, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France); Axiotis, M.; Fanourakis, G.; Geralis, Th.; Harissopoulos, S.; Lagoyannis, A. [Institute of Nuclear Physics, NCRS ' Demokritos' , 15310 Aghia Paraskevi, Athens (Greece)
Y-12 Earn 11 R&D 100 Awards Jul 2, 2013 US, International Partners Remove Last Remaining HEU from Vietnam, Set Nuclear Security Milestone View All > Timeline Curious about NNSA...
Neutrinoless $??$ decay nuclear matrix elements in an isotopic chain
We analyze nuclear matrix elements (NME) of neutrinoless double beta decay calculated for the Cadmium isotopes. Energy density functional methods including beyond mean field effects such as symmetry restoration and shape mixing are used. Strong shell effects are found associated to the underlying nuclear structure of the initial and final nuclei. Furthermore, we show that NME for two-neutrino double beta decay evaluated in the closure approximation, $M^{2\
Tom�s R. Rodr�guez; Gabriel Mart�nez-Pinedo
Next Generation Nuclear Plant Phenomena Identification and Ranking Tables (PIRTs) Volume 3: Fission-Product Transport and Dose PIRTs
This Fission Product Transport (FPT) Phenomena Identification and Ranking Technique (PIRT) report briefly reviews the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) FPT mechanisms and then documents the step-by-step PIRT process for FPT. The panel examined three FPT modes of operation: (1) Normal operation which, for the purposes of the FPT PIRT, established the fission product circuit loading and distribution for the accident phase. (2) Anticipated transients which were of less importance to the panel because a break in the pressure circuit boundary is generally necessary for the release of fission products. The transients can change the fission product distribution within the circuit, however, because temperature changes, flow perturbations, and mechanical vibrations or shocks can result in fission product movement. (3) Postulated accidents drew the majority of the panel's time because a breach in the pressure boundary is necessary to release fission products to the confinement. The accidents of interest involved a vessel or pipe break, a safety valve opening with or without sticking, or leak of some kind. Two generic scenarios were selected as postulated accidents: (1) the pressurized loss-of-forced circulation (P-LOFC) accident, and (2) the depressurized loss-of-forced circulation (D-LOFC) accidents. FPT is not an accident driver; it is the result of an accident, and the PIRT was broken down into a two-part task. First, normal operation was seen as the initial starting point for the analysis. Fission products will be released by the fuel and distributed throughout the reactor circuit in some fashion. Second, a primary circuit breach can then lead to their release. It is the magnitude of the release into and out of the confinement that is of interest. Depending on the design of a confinement or containment, the impact of a pressure boundary breach can be minimized if a modest, but not excessively large, fission product attenuation factor can be introduced into the release path. This exercise has identified a host of material properties, thermofluid states, and physics models that must be collected, defined, and understood to evaluate this attenuation factor. The assembled PIRT table underwent two iterations with extensive reorganization between meetings. Generally, convergence was obtained on most issues, but different approaches to the specific physics and transport paths shade the answers accordingly. The reader should be cautioned that merely selecting phenomena based on high importance and low knowledge may not capture the true uncertainty of the situation. This is because a transport path is composed of several serial linkages, each with its own uncertainty. The propagation of a chain of modest uncertainties can lead to a very large uncertainty at the end of a long path, resulting in a situation that is of little regulatory guidance.
Morris, Robert Noel [ORNL
The ENDF/B-VII.1 library is our latest recommended evaluated nuclear data file for use in nuclear science and technology applications, and incorporates advances made in the five years since the release of ENDF/B-VII.0. These advances focus on neutron cross sections, covariances, fission product yields and decay data, and represent work by the US Cross Section Evaluation Working Group (CSEWG) in nuclear data evaluation that utilizes developments in nuclear theory, modeling, simulation, and experiment. The principal advances in the new library are: (1) An increase in the breadth of neutron reaction cross section coverage, extending from 393 nuclides to 423 nuclides; (2) Covariance uncertainty data for 190 of the most important nuclides, as documented in companion papers in this edition; (3) R-matrix analyses of neutron reactions on light nuclei, including isotopes of He; Li, and Be; (4) Resonance parameter analyses at lower energies and statistical high energy reactions for isotopes of Cl; K; Ti, V, Mn, Cr, Ni, Zr and W; (5) Modifications to thermal neutron reactions on fission products (isotopes of Mo, Tc, Rh, Ag, Cs, Nd, Sm, Eu) and neutron absorber materials (Cd, Gd); (6) Improved minor actinide evaluations for isotopes of U, Np, Pu, and Am (we are not making changes to the major actinides (235,238)U and (239)Pu at this point, except for delayed neutron data and covariances, and instead we intend to update them after a further period of research in experiment and theory), and our adoption of JENDL-4.0 evaluations for isotopes of Cm, Bk, Cf, Es; Fm; and some other minor actinides; (7) Fission energy release evaluations; (8) Fission product yield advances for fission-spectrum neutrons and 14 MeV neutrons incident on (239)Pu; and (9) A new decay data sublibrary. Integral validation testing of the ENDF/B-VII.1 library is provided for a variety of quantities: For nuclear criticality, the VII.1 library maintains the generally-good performance seen for VII.0 for a wide range of MCNP simulations of criticality benchmarks, with improved performance coming from new structural material evaluations, especially for Ti, Mn, Cr, Zr and W. For Be we see some improvements although the fast assembly data appear to be mutually inconsistent. Actinide cross section updates are also assessed through comparisons of fission and capture reaction rate measurements in critical assemblies and fast reactors, and improvements are evident. Maxwellian-averaged capture cross sections at 30 keV are also provided for astrophysics applications. We describe the cross section evaluations that have been updated for ENDF/B-VII.1 and the measured data and calculations that motivated the changes, and therefore this paper augments the ENDF/B-VII.0 publication [H.
Chadwick, M. B. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Herman, Micheal W [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Oblozinsky, Pavel [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Dunn, Michael E [ORNL; Danon, Y. [Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI); Kahler, A. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Smith, Donald L. [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL); Pritychenko, B [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Arbanas, Goran [ORNL; Arcilla, r [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Brewer, R [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Brown, D A [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Capote, R. [International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Carlson, A. D. [National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); Cho, Y S [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute; Derrien, Herve [ORNL; Guber, Klaus H [ORNL; Hale, G. M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Hoblit, S [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Holloway, Shannon T. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Johnson, T D [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Kawano, T. [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Kiedrowski, B C [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Kim, H [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute; Kunieda, S [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Larson, Nancy M [ORNL; Leal, Luiz C [ORNL; Lestone, J P [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Little, R C [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Mccutchan, E A [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Macfarlane, R E [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); MacInnes, M [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Matton, C M [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); Mcknight, R D [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL); Mughabghab, S F [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Nobre, G P [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Palmiotti, G [Idaho National Laboratory (INL); Palumbo, A [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Pigni, Marco T [ORNL; Pronyaev, V. G. [Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE), Obninsk, Russia; Sayer, Royce O [ORNL; Sonzogni, A A [Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Summers, N C [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); Talou, P [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Thompson, I J [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); Trkov, A. [Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia; Vogt, R L [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL); Van der Marck, S S [Nucl Res & Consultancy Grp, Petten, Netherlands; Wallner, A [University of Vienna, Austria; White, M C [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL); Wiarda, Dorothea [ORNL; Young, P C [Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Complex fission phenomena
Complex fission phenomena are studied in a unified way. Very general reflection asymmetrical equilibrium (saddle point) nuclear shapes are obtained by solving an integro-differential equation without being necessary to specify a certain parametrization. The mass asymmetry in binary cold fission of Th and U isotopes is explained as the result of adding a phenomenological shell correction to the liquid drop model deformation energy. Applications to binary, ternary, and quaternary fission are outlined.
D. N. Poenaru; R. A. Gherghescu; W. Greiner
Development of the quantum theory of T-odd asymmetries for prescission and evaporated third particles in ternary nuclear fission induced by cold polarized neutrons
A comparative analysis of the results obtained by experimentally and theoretically studying T-odd asymmetries for various third particles in the true and delayed ternary nuclear fission induced by cold polarized neutrons was performed. It was confirmed that the appearance of these asymmetries was associated with the effect of rotation of a polarized system undergoing fission on the angular distributions of prescission and evaporated third particles with respect to the direction along which the emerging fission fragments flew apart, this effect being determined by the Coriolis interaction of the rotational and the internalmotion of the fissioning system. A quantum-mechanical description of particle motion in a rotating coordinate system was generalized to the case where gamma-ray emission was present. It was shown that the separation of the motions of an axially symmetric fissile system into a rotational and an internal motion was valid in the external region as well, where ternary-fission products had already been formed, if it was considered that the motion of fission fragments was tightly connected with the system symmetry axis, which rotated in the laboratory frame. It was found that the dependence of the fissile-system moment of inertia appearing in the Coriolis interaction Hamiltonian on the distance between the fission fragments flying apart generated an additional phase in the amplitude of the radial distribution of fission fragments. It was shown that this phase might change sizably the contribution of the interference between fission amplitudes of neutron resonances excited in a fissile compound nucleus to the absolute values of T -odd asymmetries, especially for third particles such as neutrons and photons, which interacted only slightly with fission fragments.
Kadmensky, S. G., E-mail: email@example.com [Voronezh State University (Russian Federation); Bunakov, V. E., E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com [Russian Academy of Sciences, Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (Russian Federation); Titova, L. V.; Kadmensky, S. S. [Voronezh State University (Russian Federation)
Fail-safe source-driven fission and fusion-fission hybrid reactor configurations.
??A source-driven nuclear reactor configuration with a unity infinite medium multiplication factor fission core (1k??), is investigated for both fission and fusion-fission hybrid systems. Suchaconfiguration� (more)
Singh, Monish
On the origin of high- spin states in nuclear fission fragments
In the "nucleon-phase" model of binary fission, the transfer of nucleons between an A =126 {\\guillemotleft} nucleon core {\\guillemotright} and the primordial "cluster" can explain both the formation of high- spin states and the saw-tooth behavior of the variation, as a function of fragment mass, of the average angular momentum.
G. Mouze; C. Ythier; S. Hachem
Laser Fusion-Fission Hybrid / Eighteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (Part 2)
Kevin J. Kramer; Jeffery F. Latkowski; Ryan P. Abbott; John K. Boyd; Jeffrey J. Powers; Jeffrey E. Seifried
Effect of Angular Momentum on Fission Probability (Thesis),R. Vandenbosch, Nuclear Fission, to be published in Nuclearfrom Heavy-lon-Induced Fission (Thesis), Lawrence Radiation
Thomas, T. Darrah; Gordon, Glen E.; Latimer, Robert M.; Seaborg, Glenn T.
Microscopic Description of Induced Fission
Selected aspects of the description of neutron-induced fission in 240Pu in the framework of the nuclear energy density functional theory at finite temperature are presented. In particular, we discuss aspects pertaining to the choice of thermodynamic state variables, the evolution of fission barriers as function of the incident neutron energy, and the temperatures of the fission fragments.
Scaling Laws and Transient Times in 3He Induced Nuclear Fission
Fission excitation functions of compound nuclei in a mass region where shell effects are expected to be very strong are shown to scale exactly according to the transition state prediction once these shell effects are accounted for. The fact that no deviations from the transition state method have been observed within the experimentally investigated excitation energy regime allows one to assign an upper limit for the transient time of 10 zs.
Spontaneous fission modes and lifetimes of super-heavy elements in the nuclear density functional theory
Lifetimes of super-heavy (SH) nuclei are primarily governed by alpha decay and spontaneous fission (SF). Here we study the competing decay modes of even-even SH isotopes with 108 cold fusion" and "hot fusion" reactions. The region of long-lived SH nuclei is expected to be centered on $^{294}$Ds with a total half-life of ?1.5 days.
A. Staszczak; A. Baran; W. Nazarewicz
Axisymmetric Magnetic Mirror Fusion-Fission Hybrid
Fusion-Fission Hybrids and Transmutation / Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems
R. W. Moir; N. N. Martovetsky; A. W. Molvik; D. D. Ryutov; T. C. Simonen
Experimental demonstration of stimulated polarization wave in a chain of nuclear spins
A stimulated wave of polarization, which implements a simple mechanism of quantum amplification, is experimentally demonstrated in a chain of four J-coupled nuclear spins, irradiated by a weak radio-frequency transverse field. The "quantum domino" dynamics, a wave of flipped spins triggered by a flip of the first spin, has been observed in fully $^{13}$C-labeled sodium butyrate.
Jae-Seung Lee; Travis Adams; A. K. Khitrin
Iterative quantum state transfer along a chain of nuclear spin qubits
Transferring quantum information between two qubits is a basic requirement for many applications in quantum communication and quantum information processing. In the iterative quantum state transfer (IQST) proposed by D. Burgarth et al. [Phys. Rev. A 75, 062327 (2007)], this is achieved by a static spin chain and a sequence of gate operations applied only to the receiving end of the chain. The only requirement on the spin chain is that it transfers a finite part of the input amplitude to the end of the chain, where the gate operations accumulate the information. For an appropriate sequence of evolutions and gate operations, the fidelity of the transfer can asymptotically approach unity. We demonstrate the principle of operation of this transfer scheme by implementing it in a nuclear magnetic resonance quantum information processor.
Jingfu Zhang; Nageswaran Rajendran; Xinhua Peng; Dieter Suter
Global nuclear power supply chains and the rise of China's nuclear industry
China has embarked on a massive expansion of nuclear power that may fundamentally change the global nuclear industry, for better or for worse. Some industry observers argue that the incumbent nuclear power companies are ...
Metzler, Florian
Background for Terrestrial Antineutrino Investigations: Radionuclide Distribution, Georeactor Fission Events, and Boundary Conditions on Fission Power Production
Estimated masses of fissioning and non-fissioning radioactive elements and their respective distributions within the Earth are presented, based upon the fundamental identity of the components of the interior 82% of the Earth, the endo-Earth, with corresponding components of the Abee enstatite chondrite meteorite. Within limits of existing data, the following generalizations concerning the endo-Earth radionuclides can be made: (1) Most of the K-40 may be expected to exist in combination with oxygen in the silicates of the lower mantle, perhaps being confined to the upper region of the lower mantle where it transitions to the upper mantle; (2) Uranium may be expected to exist at the center of the Earth where it may undergo self-sustaining nuclear fission chain reactions, but there is a possibility that some non-fissioning uranium may be found scattered diffusely within the core floaters which are composed of CaS and MgS; and, (3) Thorium may be expected to occur within the core floaters at the core-mantle boundary, although its presence as well at the center of the Earth cannot be ruled out. Results of nuclear georeactor numerical simulations show: (1) The maximum constant nuclear fission power level is 30 terawatts; (2) U-235 comprises 76 percent of present-day georeactor fission, U-238 comprises 23 percent; and, (3) Thorium can neither be fuel nor converted into fuel for the georeactor.
J. Marvin Herndon; Dennis A. Edgerley
Coatings to Prevent Diffusion of Fission Products into Turbine Materials Used in High Temperature Gas Cooled Nuclear Electric Genera ting Stations
This report describes EPRI activities relating to turbine blade coatings to prevent diffusion of fission products into turbine materials used in high temperature gas cooled nuclear electric generating stations. Specifically, this report describes activities that have identified candidate coatings and methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of these coatings.
Scaling laws, transient times and shell effects in helium induced nuclear fission
Fission excitation functions of He-3 and He-4 induced compound nuclei are shown to scale exactly according to the Bohr-Wheeler transition state prediction once the shell effects are accounted for. The presented method furthermore allows one to model-independently extract values for the shell effects which are in good agreement to those obtained from liquid-drop model calculations. The fact that no deviations from the transition state method have been observed within the experimentally investigated excitation energy regime allows one to assign an upper limit for the transient time of 10 zs.
A comparative analysis of accident risks in fossil, hydro, and nuclear energy chains
This study presents a comparative assessment of severe accident risks in the energy sector, based on the historical experience of fossil (coal, oil, natural gas, and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas)) and hydro chains contained in the comprehensive Energy-related Severe Accident Database (ENSAD), as well as Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) for the nuclear chain. Full energy chains were considered because accidents can take place at every stage of the chain. Comparative analyses for the years 1969-2000 included a total of 1870 severe ({>=} 5 fatalities) accidents, amounting to 81,258 fatalities. Although 79.1% of all accidents and 88.9% of associated fatalities occurred in less developed, non-OECD countries, industrialized OECD countries dominated insured losses (78.0%), reflecting their substantially higher insurance density and stricter safety regulations. Aggregated indicators and frequency-consequence (F-N) curves showed that energy-related accident risks in non-OECD countries are distinctly higher than in OECD countries. Hydropower in non-OECD countries and upstream stages within fossil energy chains are most accident-prone. Expected fatality rates are lowest for Western hydropower and nuclear power plants; however, the maximum credible consequences can be very large. Total economic damages due to severe accidents are substantial, but small when compared with natural disasters. Similarly, external costs associated with severe accidents are generally much smaller than monetized damages caused by air pollution.
Burgherr, P.; Hirschberg, S. [Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen (Switzerland)
of applications to nuclear fission and heavy-ion collisionsapplications to nuclear fission and nucleus-nucleusU dynamical fission paths Yukawa- plus-exponential nuclear
Swiatecki, W.J.
Phys. A278 (1977) 387. NUCLEAR FISSION INDUCED BY ATOMICand J.R. Huizenga, in Nuclear Fission (Academic Press, Newvery soft nuclei, nuclear fission and heavy ion reactions.
Saxon, D.S.
Dynamical interpretation of average fission-fragment kinetic energy systematics and nuclear scission
A dynamical interpretation of the well-known systematics for average total kinetic energy of fission fragments over a wide range of the Coulomb parameter (600fission theory--at zero neck radius and at finite neck radius--have been applied in dynamical calculations. Both have resulted in a fairly good description of the dependence of on the Coulomb parameter. The results of dynamical calculations of within three-dimensional Langevin dynamics show that the mean distance between the centers of mass of nascent fragments at the scission configuration increases linearly with the parameter Z{sup 2}/A{sup 1/3}. This distance changes approximately from 2.35R{sub 0} for {sup 119}Xe to 2.6R{sub 0} for {sup 256}Fm. In spite of this increase in mean distance between future fragments at scission, the linear dependence of on the parameter Z{sup 2}/A{sup 1/3} remains approximately valid over a wide range of the Coulomb parameter Z{sup 2}/A{sup 1/3}.
Nadtochy, P.N. [GSI, Plankstrasse 1, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Omsk State University, Department of Theoretical Physics, Mira Prospect 55-A, RU-644077 Omsk (Russian Federation); Adeev, G.D. [Omsk State University, Department of Theoretical Physics, Mira Prospect 55-A, RU-644077 Omsk (Russian Federation)
Simultaneous separation of cesium and strontium from spent nuclear fuel using the fission-product extraction process
The Fission-Product Extraction (FPEX) Process is being developed as part of the United States Department of Energy Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) for the simultaneous separation of cesium and strontium from spent LWR fuel. Separation of the Cs and Sr will reduce the short-term heat load in a geological repository and, when combined with the separation of Am and Cm, could increase the capacity of the geological repository by a factor of approximately 100. The FPEX process is based on two highly-specific extractants: 4,4',(5')-di-(t-butyl-dicyclohexano)- 18-crown-6 (DtBuCH18C6) and calix[4]arene-bis-(t-octyl-benzo-crown-6 ) (BOBCalixC6). The DtBuCH18C6 extractant is selective for strontium, and the BOBCalixC6 extractant is selective for cesium. Results of flowsheet testing of the FPEX process with simulated and actual spent-nuclear-fuel feed solution in centrifugal contactors are detailed. Removal efficiencies, co-extraction of metals, and process hydrodynamic performance ar e discussed along with recommendations for future flowsheet testing with actual spent nuclear fuel. Recent advances in the evaluation of alternative calixarenes with increased solubility and stability are also detailed. (authors)
Law, J.D.; Peterman, D.R.; Riddle, C.L.; Meikrantz, D.A.; Todd, T.A. [Idaho National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415-3870 (United States)
Formation and Incorporation Energies of Fission Gases He, Xe, and ...
Presentation Title, Formation and Incorporation Energies of Fission Gases He, Xe , ... nuclear fuels are bcc alloys of uranium that swell under fission conditions,�...
Diamond as a solid state quantum computer with a linear chain of nuclear spins system
By removing a $^{12}C$ atom from the tetrahedral configuration of the diamond, replace it by a $^{13}C$ atom, and repeating this in a linear direction, it is possible to have a linear chain of nuclear spins one half and to build a solid state quantum computer. One qubit rotation and controlled-not (CNOT) quantum gates are obtained immediately from this configuration, and CNOT quantum gate is used to determined the design parameters of this quantum computer.
G. V. L�pez
with Application to Fission W. D. Myers, G. Mantzouranis andnuclear collisions and in fission. This work was supportedIn nuclear collisions and in fission the fluctuations in the
Nuclear Weapons
nuclear science that has had a significant global influence. Following the observation of fission products of uranium by Hahn and Strassmann in 1938, a uranium fission weapon...
J.R. Nix, Theory of Nuclear Fission and Superheavy Nuclei,energy maps relevant for nuclear fission and nucleus-nucleusin connection with nuclear fission. The need for a better
Blocki, J.
The nucleon phase hypothesis of binary fission
The mass distribution of fission fragments of actinide and superheavy nuclei can be explained if a new state of nuclear matter, a nucleon phase, is created in any fission event.
G. Mouze; S. Hachem; C. Ythier
Mouze, G; Ythier, C
A nuclear reactor in which fuel pellets are continuously dissolved in a moderator liquid is described. The fuel pellets are fed into the top of elongated baskets which are submerged in moderator liquid, and a portion of the moderator liquid is continuously withdrawn and processed to recove r reaction products.
Hyman, H.H.; Katz, J.J.
Advances in Development of the Fission Product Extraction Process for the Separation of Cesium and Strontium from Spent Nuclear Fuel
The Fission Product Extraction (FPEX) Process is being developed as part of the United States Department of Energy Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative for the simultaneous separation of cesium (Cs) and strontium (Sr) from spent light water reactor (LWR) fuel. Separation of the Cs and Sr will reduce the short-term heat load in a geological repository, and when combined with the separation of americium (Am) and curium (Cm), could increase the capacity of the geological repository by a factor of approximately 100. The FPEX process is based on two highly specific extractants: 4,4',(5')-Di-(t-butyldicyclo-hexano)-18-crown-6 (DtBuCH18C6) and Calix[4]arene-bis-(tert-octylbenzo-crown-6) (BOBCalixC6). The DtBuCH18C6 extractant is selective for strontium and the BOBCalixC6 extractant is selective for cesium. Results of flowsheet testing of the FPEX process with a simulated feed solution in 3.3-cm centrifugal contactors are detailed. Removal efficiencies, distribution coefficient data, coextraction of metals, and process hydrodynamic performance are discussed along with recommendations for future flowsheet testing with actual spent nuclear fuel.
JAck D. Law
Liquid-Drop Theory of Nuclear Fission, Lawrence Radiationemployed in the study of nuclear fission. determined some ofusual liquid drop model of nuclear fission assumes a charged
Tsang, Chin-Fu.
Simulation of an entangled state in a chain of three nuclear spins system
We study the formation of an entangled state in a one-dimensional chain of three nuclear spins system which interact weakly through the Ising type of interaction and taking into account first and second neighbor interactions. We can get this entangled state using two pulses ($\\pi/2$ and $\\pi$ pulses), and we study the efficiency of getting this entangled state as a function of the ratio of the second neighbor interaction coupling constant to the first neighbor interaction coupling constant ($J'/J$). We found that for $J'/J\\ge 0.04$, the entangled state is well defined.
Gustavo V. Lopez; Lorena Lara
A pyrogenic method of separating nuclear reactor waste solutions containing aluminum and fission products as buring petroleum coke in an underground retort, collecting the easily volatile gases resulting as the first fraction, he uminum chloride as the second fraction, permitting the coke bed to cool and ll contain all the longest lived radioactive fission products in greatly reduced volume.
Huff, J.B.
Analytical methods for fissionable materials in the nuclear fuel cycle. Covering June 1974--June 1975
Research progress is reported on method development for the dissolution of difficult-to-dissolve materials, the automated analysis of plutonium and uranium, the preparation of plutonium materials for the Safeguard Analytical Laboratory Evaluation (SALE) Program, and the analysis of HTGR fuel and SALE uranium materials. The previously developed Teflon-container, metal-shell apparatus was applied to the dissolution of various nuclear materials. Gas-- solid reactions, mainly using chlorine at elevated temperatures, are promising for separating uranium from refractory compounds. An automated spectrophotometer designed for determining plutonium and uranium was tested successfully. Procedures were developed for this instrument to analyze uranium--plutonium mixtures and the effects of diverse ions upon the analysis of plutonium and uranium were further established. A versatile apparatus was assembled to develop electrotitrimetric methods that will serve as the basis for precise automated determinations of plutonium. Plutonium materials prepared for the Safeguard Analytical Laboratory Evaluation (SALE) Program were plutonium oxide, uranium-- plutonium mixed oxide, and plutonium metal. Improvements were made in the methods used for determining uranium in HTGR fuel materials and SALE uranium materials. Plutonium metal samples were prepared, characterized, and distributed, and half-life measurements were in progress as part of an inter-ERDA- laboratory program to measure accurately the half-lives of long-lived plutonium isotopes. (auth)
Waterbury, G.R.
The role of the Pairing Center and its interaction with the nuclear envelope during meiosis in C. elegans
1998). Oscillatory nuclear movement in fission yeast meiotic1998). Oscillatory nuclear movement in fission yeast meioticdependent nuclear migrations of meiotic prophase in fission
Sato, Aya
Fission neutron/gamma irradiation of Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria at the Texas A&M University Nuclear Science Center Reactor
The objective of this research is to fully characterize the effectiveness of the Texas A&M University Nuclear Science Center Reactor (TAMU NSCR) neutrons for bacterial sterilization, and to assess the secondary gamma flux produced when neutrons collide with nuclei in biological materials. Sterilization of bacteria by exposure to gamma rays and charged particles is fairly well understood. Exposure to neutrons and gamma rays from fission as a means of sterilization has not to date been adequately characterized. The lack of data on the relationship between biological detriment resulting from thermal or fast neutron exposures and absorbed doses as applied in countermeasures to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) is the primary motivation for this investigation of neutron doses to endospores. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) spores were irradiated after producing and sampling them using standard microbiological procedures. Irradiation was accomplished using neutrons and gamma rays from the 1-MW TRIGA reactor at the TAMU NSCR using a reactor power of 100 kilowatts (kW). The combination of neutron and gamma-ray absorbed dose provided an effective means of sterilization of these types of spores; it yielded a 100-percent kill for the first study. Survival curves have been developed, from subsequent experiments, for these energy dependent neutron interactions with biological materials using a combination of radiation dosimetry, microbiological culture techniques, and computer modeling (Monte Carlo Neutral Particle history modeling - MCNP). Survival curves indicate a D?? value of 321.08 Gy. Additional work is needed to investigate the specific bacteria used in biological weapons in order to understand agent-specific radiation sensitivity. Once this is done, more effective and meaningful experiments can be conducted in order to tailor the neutron source strength to the robustness of the threat.
Hearnsberger, David Wayne
DT Deuterium-Tritium DU Depleted Uranium FIMA Fission ofengine loaded with depleted uranium. In Proc. PHYSOR 2010,in the form of depleted uranium (DU). The remaining ~3,075
18.104.22.168 Chamber Radius and Fusion Neutron Flux . . . . .22.214.171.124 Fusion Energy . . . . . . . . .126.96.36.199 Fission-Fusion Hybrids . . . . 1.2 Scope and Purpose
PHYSICAL REVIEW VOLUME 183; NUMBER 4 20 J ULY 1969 Single-Particle Theory of Fission*
manuscript received 6 December 1968) The single-particle aspects of nuclear fission theories are investigated
Fission-Suppressed Fusion, Thorium-Cycle Breeder and Nonproliferation
R. W. Moir
Simulation of a Heisenberg XY- chain and realization of a perfect state transfer algorithm using liquid nuclear magnetic resonance
The three- spin chain with Heisenberg XY- interaction is simulated in a three- qubit nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum computer. The evolution caused by the XY- interaction is decomposed into a series of single- spin rotations and the $J$- coupling evolutions between the neighboring spins. The perfect state transfer (PST) algorithm proposed by M. Christandl et al [Phys. Rev. Lett, 92, 187902(2004)] is realized in the XY- chain.
Jingfu Zhang; Gui Lu Long; Wei Zhang; Zhiwei Deng; Wenzhang Liu; Zhiheng Lu
and Hydroelectric 1.1.3 Nuclear Energy . . . . . . . . .Gain GNEP Global Nuclear Energy Partnership HEU HighlyIn Progress in Nuclear Energy, 17. Pergamon Press, 1986.
Louis J. Hamilton. Nuclear Reactor Analysis. John Wiley &the past and current fleet of nuclear reactors has generatedgenerate fuel for fast nuclear reactors, although Basov and
Naval Nuclear Propulsion Plants | National Nuclear Security Administra...
Naval Nuclear Propulsion Plants In naval nuclear propulsion plants, fissioning of uranium atoms in the reactor core produces heat. Because the fission process also produces...
Fission energy program of the US Department of Energy, FY 1981
Information is presented concerning the National Energy Plan and fission energy policy; fission energy program management; converter reactor systems; breeder reactor systems; and special nuclear evaluations and systems.
Not Available
2.1.2 Spent Nuclear Fuel Destruction . . 2.1.3 WeaponsArrangement of the nuclear fuel in aLehman II. A sustainable nuclear fuel cycle based on laser
Fission modes of mercury isotopes
Background: Recent experiments on beta-delayed fission in the mercury-lead region and the discovery of asym- metric fission in 180 Hg [1] have stimulated theoretical interest in the mechanism of fission in heavy nuclei. Purpose: We study fission modes and fusion valleys in 180 Hg and 198 Hg to reveal the role of shell effects in pre-scission region and explain the experimentally observed fragment mass asymmetry and its variation with A. Methods: We use the self-consistent nuclear density functional theory employing Skyrme and Gogny energy density functionals. Results: The potential energy surfaces in multi-dimensional space of collective coordinates, including elongation, triaxiality, reflection-asymmetry, and necking, are calculated for 180 Hg and 198 Hg. The asymmetric fission valleys - well separated from fusion valleys associated with nearly spherical fragments - are found in in both cases. The density distributions at scission configurations are studied and related to the experimentally observed mass splits. Conclusions: The energy density functionals SkM\\ast and D1S give a very consistent description of the fission process in 180 Hg and 198 Hg. We predict a transition from asymmetric fission in 180 Hg towards more symmetric distribution of fission fragments in 198 Hg. For 180 Hg, both models yield 100 Ru/80 Kr as the most probable split. For 198 Hg, the most likely split is 108 Ru/90 Kr in HFB-D1S and 110 Ru/88 Kr in HFB-SkM\\ast.
M. Warda; A. Staszczak; W. Nazarewicz
Fission Modes of Mercury Isotopes
Background: Recent experiments on -delayed fission in the mercury-lead region and the discovery of asymmetric fission in 180Hg [A. N. Andreyev et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 252502 (2010)] have stimulated theoretical interest in the mechanism of fission in heavy nuclei. Purpose: We study fission modes and fusion valleys in 180Hg and 198Hg to reveal the role of shell effects in the prescission region and explain the experimentally observed fragment mass asymmetry and its variation with A. Methods: We use the self-consistent nuclear density functional theory employing Skyrme and Gogny energy density functionals. Results: The potential energy surfaces in multidimensional space of collective coordinates, including elongation, triaxiality, reflection-asymmetry, and necking, are calculated for 180Hg and 198Hg. The asymmetric fission valleys well separated from fusion valleys associated with nearly spherical fragments are found in both cases. The density distributions at scission configurations are studied and related to the experimentally observed mass splits. Conclusions: The energy density functionals SkM and D1S give a very consistent description of the fission process in 180Hg and 198Hg. We predict a transition from asymmetric fission in 180Hg toward a more symmetric distribution of fission fragments in 198Hg. For 180Hg, both models yield 100Ru/80Kr as the most probable split. For 198Hg, the most likely split is 108Ru/90Kr in HFB-D1S and 110Ru/88Kr in HFB-SkM .
Warda, M. [Maria Curie-Sk?odowska University-Poland; Staszczak, A. [Maria Curie-Sklodowska University; Nazarewicz, Witold [UTK/ORNL/University of Warsaw
A General Approach to Nuclear Fission Sustainability and the Need for Specific Solutions. A Case Study on a New Coolant
Education, Economics, and Sustainability / Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems
Mireia Piera; Antonio Lafuente; Jose M. Martinez-Val
Nuclear Energy Governance and the Politics of Social Justice: Technology, Public Goods, and Redistribution in Russia and France
Jose and Mireia Piera. "Nuclear fission sustainability withJose and Mireia Piera. "Nuclear fission sustainability withnuclear energy redistribution in Russia and France; the substitution of fission
Grigoriadis, Theocharis N
Fission Yield Measurements by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass-Spectrometry
Correct prediction of the fission products inventory in irradiated nuclear fuels is essential for accurate estimation of fuel burnup, establishing proper requirements for spent fuel transportation and storage, materials accountability and nuclear forensics. Such prediction is impossible without accurate knowledge of neutron induced fission yields. Unfortunately, the accuracy of the fission yields reported in the ENDF/B-VII.0 library is not uniform across all of the data and much of the improvement is desired for certain isotopes and fission products. We discuss our measurements of cumulative fission yields in nuclear fuels irradiated in thermal and fast reactor spectra using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry.
Irina Glagolenko; Bruce Hilton; Jeffrey Giglio; Daniel Cummings; Karl Grimm; Richard McKnight
Example of NIF fusion target hohlraum with multiple beamsimilar to those used on NIF. . . . . Overview of LFFHNES Nuclear Energy System NIF National Ignition Facility ODS
surrounding nuclear non-proliferation are contin- uouslyfrom associated non-proliferation treaties and operating thethe LFFH engine design, non-proliferation aspects and code
Theoretical Description of the Fission Process
Advanced theoretical methods and high-performance computers may finally unlock the secrets of nuclear fission, a fundamental nuclear decay that is of great relevance to society. In this work, we studied the phenomenon of spontaneous fission using the symmetry-unrestricted nuclear density functional theory (DFT). Our results show that many observed properties of fissioning nuclei can be explained in terms of pathways in multidimensional collective space corresponding to different geometries of fission products. From the calculated collective potential and collective mass, we estimated spontaneous fission half-lives, and good agreement with experimental data was found. We also predicted a new phenomenon of trimodal spontaneous fission for some transfermium isotopes. Our calculations demonstrate that fission barriers of excited superheavy nuclei vary rapidly with particle number, pointing to the importance of shell effects even at large excitation energies. The results are consistent with recent experiments where superheavy elements were created by bombarding an actinide target with 48-calcium; yet even at high excitation energies, sizable fission barriers remained. Not only does this reveal clues about the conditions for creating new elements, it also provides a wider context for understanding other types of fission. Understanding of the fission process is crucial for many areas of science and technology. Fission governs existence of many transuranium elements, including the predicted long-lived superheavy species. In nuclear astrophysics, fission influences the formation of heavy elements on the final stages of the r-process in a very high neutron density environment. Fission applications are numerous. Improved understanding of the fission process will enable scientists to enhance the safety and reliability of the nation�s nuclear stockpile and nuclear reactors. The deployment of a fleet of safe and efficient advanced reactors, which will also minimize radiotoxic waste and be proliferation-resistant, is a goal for the advanced nuclear fuel cycles program. While in the past the design, construction, and operation of reactors were supported through empirical trials, this new phase in nuclear energy production is expected to heavily rely on advanced modeling and simulation capabilities.
Witold Nazarewicz
Neutronics for critical fission reactors and subcritical fission in hybrids
The requirements of future innovative nuclear fuel cycles will focus on safety, sustainability and radioactive waste minimization. Critical fast neutron reactors and sub-critical, external source driven systems (accelerator driven and fusion-fission hybrids) have a potential role to meet these requirements in view of their physics characteristics. This paper provides a short introduction to these features.
Salvatores, Massimo [CEA-Cadarache, DEN-Dir, Bat. 101, St-Paul-Lez-Durance 13108 (France)
Cold Fission
Global Technologies is working on a nuclear voltaic cell consisting basically of a semiconductor and an amount of radioactive material. By replacing solid semiconductors with molten selenium and molten sulfur, GT's nuclear battery could run on much more ...
Samuel K. Moore
Nuclear Science Division Annual Report 1995-1996
Times in 3He Induced Nuclear Fission Th. Rubehn, K.X. Jing,of the discovery of nuclear fission. Many review papers andtimes in 3He induced nuclear fission* Th. Rubehn, K.X. Jing,
Authors, Various
Nuclear Science Division Annual Report 1984-85
and J.R. Huizenga, Nuclear Fission (Academic, New York,and J.R. Huizenga, Nuclear Fission (Academic, N.Y. , 1973).is well known from nuclear fission where it can be related
Mahoney Editor, Jeannette
Analysis of a Nuclear Accident: Fission and Activation Product Releases from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Facility as Remote Indicators of Source Identification, Extent of Release, and State of Damaged Spent Nuclear Fuel
Measurements of several radionuclides within environmental samples taken from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility and reported on the Tokyo Electric Power Company website following the recent tsunami-initiated catastrophe were evaluated for the purpose of identifying the source term, reconstructing the release mechanisms, and estimating the extent of the release. 136Cs/137Cs and 134Cs/137Cs ratios identified Units 1-3 as the major source of radioactive contamination to the surface soil close to the facility. A trend was observed between the fraction of the total core inventory released for a number of fission product isotopes and their corresponding Gibbs Free Energy of formation for the primary oxide form of the isotope, suggesting that release was dictated primarily by chemical volatility driven by temperature and reduction potential within the primary containment vessels of the vented reactors. The absence of any major fractionation beyond volatilization suggested all coolant had evaporated by the time of venting. High estimates for the fraction of the total inventory released of more volatile species (Te, Cs, I) indicated the damage to fuel bundles was likely extensive, minimizing any potential containment due to physical migration of these species through the fuel matrix and across the cladding wall. 238Pu/239,240Pu ratios close-in and at 30 km from the facility indicated that the damaged reactors were the major contributor of Pu to surface soil at the source but that this contribution likely decreased rapidly with distance from the facility. The fraction of the total Pu inventory released to the environment from venting units 1 and 3 was estimated to be ~0.003% based upon Pu/Cs isotope ratios relative to the within-reactor modeled inventory prior to venting and was consistent with an independent model evaluation that considered chemical volatility based upon measured fission product release trends. Significant volatile radionuclides within the spent fuel at the time of venting but not as yet observed and reported within environmental samples are suggested as potential analytes of concern for future environmental surveys around the site.
Schwantes, Jon M.; Orton, Christopher R.; Clark, Richard A.
Fusion-Fission Hybrid Using a D-D Cylindrical Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) Driver
George H. Miley; Bradley Boyer
Basics of Fusion-Fission Research Facility (FFRF) as a Fusion Neutron Source
Leonid E. Zakharov
The Project of Fusion-Fission Hybrid Energy Reactor in China
Maosheng Li; Rong Liu; Xueming Shi; Weiwei Yi; Yaosong Shen; Xianjue Peng
Segregation of Fission Products to Dislocations in Uranium Dioxide
Abstract Scope, Irradiation of nuclear fuel leads to the formation of extended ... very important to understand the interaction of fission products with dislocations.
Glass Ceramic Waste Form Development for Fission Products from ...
Symposium, Materials Issues in Nuclear Waste Management in the 21st Century. Presentation Title, Glass Ceramic Waste Form Development for Fission�...
Thermodynamic Modelling of Volatile Fission Products during SFR ...
The creation of fission products can modify the physical and chemical properties of the nuclear fuel behaviour during operating conditions. A thermodynamic�...
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology
One the cover: One the cover: Albert Einstein (1879-1955) U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology Washington, D.C. 20585 The History of Nuclear Energy Table of Contents Preface ................................................................... 1 Introduction .......................................................... 3 The Discovery of Fission ...................................... 4 The First Self-Sustaining Chain Reaction ............ 5 The Development of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Applications ..................................... 7 Chronology of Nuclear Research and Development, 1942-1994 .................................... 13 Selected References ............................................. 23 Glossary ..............................................................
Italian hybrid and fission reactors scenario analysis
Italy is a country where a long tradition of studies both in the fission and fusion field is consolidated; nevertheless a strong public opinion concerned with the destination of the Spent Nuclear Fuel hinders the development of nuclear power. The possibility to a severe reduction of the NSF mass generated from a fleet of nuclear reactors employing an hypothetical fusionfission hybrid reactor has been investigated in the Italian framework. The possibility to produce nuclear fuel for the fission nuclear reactors with the hybrid reactor was analyzed too.
Ciotti, M.; Manzano, J.; Sepielli, M. [ENEA CR Frascati, Via Enrico Fermi, 45, 00044, Frascati, Roma (Italy); ENEA CR casaccia, Via Anguillarese, 301, 00123, Santa Maria di Galeria, Roma (Italy)
Enrico Fermi and the First Self-Sustaining Nuclear Chain Reaction
stature for their lifetimes of exceptional achievement in the development, use, or production of energy (broadly defined to include the science and technology of nuclear, atomic,...
Transient effects in fission evidenced from new experimental signatures
A new experimental approach is introduced to investigate the relaxation of the nuclear deformation degrees of freedom. Highly excited fissioning systems with compact shapes and low angular momenta are produced in peripheral relativistic heavy-ion collisions. Both fission fragments are identified in atomic number. Fission cross sections and fission-fragment element distributions are determined as a function of the fissioning element. From the comparison of these new observables with a nuclear-reaction code a value for the transient time is deduced.
B. Jurado; C. Schmitt; K. -H. Schmidt; J. Benlliure; T. Enqvist; A. R. Junghans; A. Kelic; F. Rejmund
The Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) waste management strategy revolves around specific treatment of individual or groups of separated waste streams. A goal for the separations processes is to efficiently manage the waste to be dispositioned as high level radioactive waste. The Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) baseline technology for immobilization of the lanthanide (Ln) and transition metal fission product (TM) wastes is vitrification into a borosilicate glass. A current interest is to evaluate the feasibility of vitrifying combined waste streams to most cost effectively immobilize the wastes resulting from aqueous fuel reprocessing. Studies showed that high waste loadings are achievable for the Ln only (Option 1) stream. Waste loadings in excess of 60 wt % (on a calcined oxide basis) were demonstrated via a lanthanide borosilicate (LaBS) glass. The resulting glasses had excellent relative durability as determined by the Product Consistency Test (PCT). For a combined Ln and TM waste stream glass (Option 2), noble metal solubility was found to limit waste loading. However, the measured PCT normalized elemental releases for this glass were at least an order of magnitude below that of Environmental Assessment (EA) glass. Current efforts to evaluate the feasibility of vitrifying combined Ln, TM, alkali (Cs is the primary radionuclide of concern) and alkaline earth (Sr is the primary radionuclide of concern) wastes (Option 3) have shown that these approaches are feasible. However, waste loading limitations with respect to heat load (Cs/Sr loading), molybdenum solubility and/or noble metal solubility will likely be realized and must be considered in determining the cost effectiveness of these approaches.
Marra, J.; Billings, A.
Fission theory and actinide fission data
The understanding of the fission process has made great progress recently, as a result of the calculation of fission barriers, using the Strutinsky prescription. Double-humped shapes were obtained for nuclei in the actinide region. Such shapes could explain, in a coherent manner, many different phenomena: fission isomers, structure in near-threshold fission cross sections, intermediate structure in subthreshold fission cross sections and anisotropy in the emission of the fission fragments. A brief review of fission barrier calculations and relevant experimental data is presented. Calculations of fission cross sections, using double-humped barrier shapes and fission channel properties, as obtained from the data discussed previously, are given for some U and Pu isotopes. The fission channel theory of A. Bohr has greatly influenced the study of low-energy fission. However, recent investigation of the yields of prompt neutrons and ..gamma.. rays emitted in the resonances of /sup 235/U and /sup 239/Pu, together with the spin determination for many resonances of these two nuclei cannot be explained purely in terms of the Bohr theory. Variation in the prompt neutron and ..gamma..-ray yields from resonance to resonance does not seem to be due to such fission channels, as was thought previously, but to the effect of the (n, ..gamma.., f) reaction. The number of prompt fission neutrons and the kinetic energy of the fission fragments are affected by the energy balance and damping or viscosity effects in the last stage of the fission process, from saddle point to scission. These effects are discussed for some nuclei, especially for /sup 240/Pu. 17 figures, 56 ref. (auth)
Michaudon, A.
Nuclear Supply Chain Training - Warehouse Inventory Management v1.0
This software is a computer based training course that captures and communicates commercial nuclear industry-specific concepts to the end45user and assesses their skills. This software is a computer based training course that captures and communicates commercial nuclear industry45specific concepts to the end-user and assesses their skills. The course includes modules on inventory counting, issue and return, receiving and packaging, shipping, and foreign material exclusion. Platform Requirements Windows20...
Event-by-event study of neutron observables in spontaneous and thermal fission
The event-by-event fission model FREYA is extended to spontaneous fission of actinides and a variety of neutron observables are studied for spontaneous fission and fission induced by thermal neutrons with a view towards possible applications for detection of special nuclear materials.
Vogt, R
R. Vogt; J. Randrup
Fission properties of the BCPM functional
We explore the properties of the Barcelona Catania Paris Madrid (BCPM) energy density functional concerning fission dynamics. Potential energy surfaces as well as collective inertias relevant in the fission process are computed for several nuclei where experimental data exists. Inner and outer barrier heights as well as fission isomer excitation energies are reproduced quite well in all the cases. The spontaneous fission half lives $t_{\\textrm{\\textrm{SF}}}$ are also computed using the standard semiclassical approach and the results are compared with the experimental data. A reasonable agreement with experiment is found over a range of 27 orders of magnitude but the theoretical predictions suffer from large uncertainties associated to the values of the parameters entering the spontaneous fission half life formula. The impact that increasing the pairing correlations strengths has in the spontaneous fission half lives is analyzed and found to be large in all the nuclei considered. Given the satisfactory description of the trend of fission properties with mass number we explore the fission properties of the even-even uranium isotope chain from $^{226}$U to $^{282}$U. Very large half lives are found when getting close to neutron number N=184.
Samuel A. Giuliani; Luis M. Robledo
Our 50-year odyssey with fission: Summary
On the occasion of this International Conference on Fifty Years Research in Nuclear Fission, we summarize our present understanding of the fission process and the challenges that lie ahead. The basic properties of fission arise from a delicate competition between disruptive Coulomb forces, cohesive nuclear forces, and fluctuating shell and pairing forces. These static forces are primarily responsible for such experimental phenomena as deformed ground-state nuclear shapes, fission into fragments of unequal size, sawtooth neutron yields, spontaneously fissioning isomers, broad resonances and narrow intermediate structure in fission cross sections, and cluster radioactivity. However, inertial and dissipative forces also play decisive roles in the dynamical evolution of a fissioning nucleus. The energy dissipated between the saddle and scission points is small for low initial excitation energy at the saddle point and increases with increasing excitation energy. At moderate excitation energies, the dissipation of collective energy into internal single-particle excitation energy proceeds largely through the interaction of nucleons with the mean field and with each other in the vicinity of the nuclear surface, as well as through the transfer of nucleons between the two portions of the evolving dumbell-like system. These unique dissipation mechanisms arise from the Pauli exclusion principle for fermions and the details of the nucleon-nucleon interaction, which make the mean free path of a nucleon near the Fermi surface at low excitation energy longer than the nuclear radius. With its inverse process of heavy-ion fusion reactions, fission continues to yield surprises in the study of large-amplitude collective nuclear motion. 87 refs., 12 figs.
Nix, J.R.
Statistical Model of Heavy-Ion Fusion-Fission Reactions
Cross-section and neutron-emission data from heavy-ion fusion-fission reactions are consistent with the fission of fully equilibrated systems with fission lifetime estimates obtained via a Kramers-modified statistical model which takes into account the collective motion of the system about the ground state, the temperature dependence of the location and height of fission transition points, and the orientation degree of freedom. If the standard techniques for calculating fission lifetimes are used, then the calculated excitation-energy dependence of fission lifetimes is incorrect. We see no evidence to suggest that the nuclear viscosity has a temperature dependence. The strong increase in the nuclear viscosity above a temperature of approximately 1.3 MeV deduced by others is an artifact generated by an inadequate fission model.
J. P. Lestone; S. G. McCalla
Improved Calculation of Thermal Fission Energy
Thermal fission energy is one of the basic parameters needed in the calculation of antineutrino flux for reactor neutrino experiments. It is useful to improve the precision of the thermal fission energy calculation for current and future reactor neutrino experiments, which are aimed at more precise determination of neutrino oscillation parameters. In this article, we give new values for thermal fission energies of some common thermal reactor fuel iso-topes, with improvements on two aspects. One is more recent input data acquired from updated nuclear databases. The other, which is unprecedented, is a consideration of the production yields of fission fragments from both thermal and fast incident neutrons for each of the four main fuel isotopes. The change in calculated antineutrino flux due to the new values of thermal fission energy is about 0.33%, and the uncertainties of the new values are about 30% smaller.
Ma, X B; Wang, L Z; Chen, Y X; Cao, J
Systems analyses of fusion-driven fission
Fusion-driven fissioning systems possess unique advantages not available in either pure fusion or pure fission systems. These systems can set a reasonably low maximum price for fissionable fuel, prevent the necessity of mining low-grade uranium ores, and possibly lead to the best way to exploit the vast fuel potential of our depleted uranium reserves. These systems are less demanding on the characteristics of the fusion systems making the advanced fusion fuels more accessible. By relieving the fission lattice of the need for criticality, more attractive fission system characteristics are allowed. Accurate economic predictions are not yet possible due to continuing uncertainty about the transport properties of reactor-grade plasmas. Hybrid systems have the potential to avoid the causes of most of the criticisms of nuclear power.
Mills, R.G.
Long-Term Planning for Nuclear Energy Systems Under Deep Uncertainty
Following the discovery of nuclear fission in the late 1930�products produced by a nuclear fission re- action present apathways to a nuclear fission weapon. In a nutshell, the
Kim, Lance Kyungwoo
Fission Decay Widths for Heavy-Ion Fusion-Fission Reactions
Cross-section and neutron-emission data from heavy-ion fusion-fission reactions are consistent with a Kramers-modified statistical model which takes into account the collective motion of the system about the ground state; the temperature dependence of the location of fission transition points; and the orientation degree of freedom. We see no evidence to suggest that the nuclear viscosity departs from the surface-plus-window dissipation model. The strong increase in the nuclear viscosity above a temperature of ~1 MeV deduced by others is an artifact generated by an inadequate fission model.
S. G. McCalla; J. P. Lestone
A New Method of Prompt Fission Neutron Energy Spectrum Unfolding
The prompt neutron emission in spontaneous fission of 252 Cf has been investigated applying digital signal electronics along with associated digital signal processing algorithms. The goal was to find out the reasons of a long time existing discrepancy between theoretical calculations and the measurements of prompt fission neutron (PFN) emission dependence on the total kinetic energy (TKE) of fission fragments (FF). On the one hand the 252 Cf (sf) reaction is one of the main references for nuclear data
O. V. Zeynalova; Sh. Zeynalov; F.?J. Hambsch; S. Oberstedt
Modeling Fission Product Sorption in Graphite Structures
The goal of this project is to determine changes in adsorption and desorption of fission products to/from nuclear-grade graphite in response to a changing chemical environment. First, the project team will employ principle calculations and thermodynamic analysis to predict stability of fission products on graphite in the presence of structural defects commonly observed in very high- temperature reactor (VHTR) graphites. Desorption rates will be determined as a function of partial pressure of oxygen and iodine, relative humidity, and temperature. They will then carry out experimental characterization to determine the statistical distribution of structural features. This structural information will yield distributions of binding sites to be used as an input for a sorption model. Sorption isotherms calculated under this project will contribute to understanding of the physical bases of the source terms that are used in higher-level codes that model fission product transport and retention in graphite. The project will include the following tasks: Perform structural characterization of the VHTR graphite to determine crystallographic phases, defect structures and their distribution, volume fraction of coke, and amount of sp2 versus sp3 bonding. This information will be used as guidance for ab initio modeling and as input for sorptivity models; Perform ab initio calculations of binding energies to determine stability of fission products on the different sorption sites present in nuclear graphite microstructures. The project will use density functional theory (DFT) methods to calculate binding energies in vacuum and in oxidizing environments. The team will also calculate stability of iodine complexes with fission products on graphite sorption sites; Model graphite sorption isotherms to quantify concentration of fission products in graphite. The binding energies will be combined with a Langmuir isotherm statistical model to predict the sorbed concentration of fission products on each type of graphite site. The model will include multiple simultaneous adsorbing species, which will allow for competitive adsorption effects between different fission product species and O and OH (for modeling accident conditions).
Szlufarska, Izabela [University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Morgan, Dane [University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Allen, Todd [University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
of spectro- scopical data, nuclear fission for a long timein fission, faced physicists with a large scale nuclearfission of the heavy partner in the Coulomb and nuclear
Moretto, L.G.
Electroplating method for producing ultralow-mass fissionable deposits
A method for producing ultralow-mass fissionable deposits for nuclear reactor dosimetry is described, including the steps of holding a radioactive parent until the radioactive parent reaches secular equilibrium with a daughter isotope, chemically separating the daughter from the parent, electroplating the daughter on a suitable substrate, and holding the electroplated daughter until the daughter decays to the fissionable deposit.
Ruddy, Francis H. (Monroeville, PA)
I. Nuclear Production Reaction and Chemical Isolation Procedure for 240Am II. New Superheavy Element Isotopes: 242Pu(48Ca,5n)285-114
material and common nuclear fission products in the 1 eV �of destroying long-lived nuclear fission products by neutronFlerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions Fission product Focal
Ellison, Paul Andrew
Thermal fission energy is one of the basic parameters needed in the calculation of antineutrino flux for reactor neutrino experiments. It is useful to improve the precision of the thermal fission energy calculation for current and future reactor neutrino experiments, which are aimed at more precise determination of neutrino oscillation parameters. In this article, we give new values for thermal fission energies of some common thermal reactor fuel isotopes, with improvements on three aspects. One is more recent input data acquired from updated nuclear databases. the second one is a consideration of the production yields of fission fragments from both thermal and fast incident neutrons for each of the four main fuel isotopes. The last one is more carefully calculation of the average energy taken away by antineutrinos in thermal fission with the comparison of antineutrino spectrum from different models. The change in calculated antineutrino flux due to the new values of thermal fission energy is about 0.32%, and the uncertainties of the new values are about 50% smaller.
X. B. Ma; W. L. Zhong; L. Z. Wang; Y. X. Chen; J. Cao
Evidence of the release Pu from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station to the local environment and surrounding communities and estimates on fraction of total fuel inventory released
Phase-Field Simulation of Void and Fission-Gas Bubble Evolution in ...
Symposium, Mechanical Performance for Current and Next-Generation Nuclear Reactors. Presentation Title, Phase-Field Simulation of Void and Fission-Gas�...
Multi-Scale Modeling of Fission Gas Evolution in UO2
Fission gases in uranium dioxide (UO2) nuclear fuels, of which Xe is one of the most prominent, influence fuel performance during reactor operation and have�...
UO 2 fission gas release rates from atomistic calculations of intrinsic ...
Based on DFT and empirical potential calculations, the diffusivity of fission gas atoms (Xe) in UO2 nuclear fuel has been calculated for a range of �...
Kinetic Monte Carlo Study of Fission Gas and Grain Growth in ...
We have considered the effect of fission gas bubbles (primarily due to xenon and krypton) on the swelling of the nuclear fuel. Using an analytical model we have�...
DOE Science Showcase - Fission Theory | OSTI, US Dept of Energy, Office of
Fission Theory Fission Theory A predictive theory of nuclear fission has eluded physicists since 1939. Because understanding the fission process is crucial for many areas of scientific research, including particle systems, the development of carbon-free energy and to national security, much work continues at the Department of Energy (DOE) to understand fission's inherent complexity. Today, scientists are performing new experiments and using both microscopic and macroscopic-microscopic models of fission to help them in this quest. Read more about remarkable advances in the Department's fission theory research In the OSTI Collections: Fission Theory by Dr. William Watson, Physicist, OSTI staff. Image Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory Additional Links of Interest Office of Nuclear Energy, DOE
Browse by Discipline -- E-print Network Subject Pathways: Fission...
Fission and Nuclear Technologies A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z Go to Research Collections E-prints Provided...
Fission gas detection system
A device for collecting fission gas released by a failed fuel rod which device uses a filter to pass coolant but which filter blocks fission gas bubbles which cannot pass through the filter due to the surface tension of the bubble.
Colburn, Richard P. (Pasco, WA)
Nuclear power plants: structure and function
Topics discussed include: steam electric plants; BWR type reactors; PWR type reactors; thermal efficiency of light water reactors; other types of nuclear power plants; the fission process and nuclear fuel; fission products and reactor afterheat; and reactor safety.
Hendrie, J.M.
Fission Energy Release for 16 Fissioning Nuclides
This report describes results of a study of fission energy releases and the components of this energy. Energy releases for primary isotopes, for which relatively good experimental quantities exist, were determined by a combination of mass-defect systematics and least-square fits with the experimental data. Only the systematic study was carried out for the remaining isotopes.
Accelerated Materials Evaluation for Nuclear Application Utilizing ...
Jul 15, 2013... of accelerated nuclear materials testing for fission and fusion reactors. Presentations combining experiment with theory, modeling and�...
Overview of Fission Safety for Laser ICF Fission Energy
Per F. Peterson; Edward Blandford; Christhian Galvez
Liquid uranium alloy-helium fission reactor
This invention describes a nuclear fission reactor which has a core vessel and at least one tandem heat exchanger vessel coupled therewith across upper and lower passages to define a closed flow loop. Nuclear fuel such as a uranium alloy in its liquid phase fills these vessels and flow passages. Solid control elements in the reactor core vessel are adapted to be adjusted relative to one another to control fission reaction of the liquid fuel therein. Moderator elements in the other vessel and flow passages preclude fission reaction therein. An inert gas such as helium is bubbled upwardly through the heat exchanger vessel operable to move the liquid fuel upwardly therein and unidirectionally around the closed loop and downwardly through the core vessel. This helium gas is further directed to heat conversion means outside of the reactor vessels to utilize the heat from the fission reaction to generate useful output. The nuclear fuel operates in the 1200 to 1800/sup 0/C range, and even higher to 2500/sup 0/C.
Minkov, V.
This invention teaches a nuclear fission reactor having a core vessel and at least one tandem heat exchanger vessel coupled therewith across upper and lower passages to define a closed flow loop. Nuclear fuel such as a uranium alloy in its liquid phase fills these vessels and flow passages. Solid control elements in the reactor core vessel are adapted to be adjusted relative to one another to control fission reaction of the liquid fuel therein. Moderator elements in the other vessel and flow passages preclude fission reaction therein. An inert gas such as helium is bubbled upwardly through the heat exchanger vessel operable to move the liquid fuel upwardly therein and unidirectionally around the closed loop and downwardly through the core vessel. This helium gas is further directed to heat conversion means outside of the reactor vessels to utilize the heat from the fission reaction to generate useful output. The nuclear fuel operates in the 1200.degree.-1800.degree. C. range, and even higher to 2500.degree. C., limited only by the thermal effectiveness of the structural materials, increasing the efficiency of power generation from the normal 30-35% with 300.degree.-500.degree. C. upper limit temperature to 50-65%. Irradiation of the circulating liquid fuel, as contrasted to only localized irradiation of a solid fuel, provides improved fuel utilization.
Minkov, Vladimir (Skokie, IL)
Inverse beta decay reaction in 232 Th and 233 U fission antineutrino flux
Energy spectra of antineutrinos coming from 232 Th and 233 U neutroninduced fission are calculated, relevant inverse beta decay �?e + p ? n+e + positron spectra and total cross sections are found. This study is stimulated by a hypothesis that a self-sustained nuclear chain reaction is burning at the center of the Earth (�Georeactor�). The Georeactor, according to the author of this idea, provides energy necessary to sustain the Earth�s magnetic field. The Georeactor�s nuclear fuel is 235 U and, probably, 232 Th and 233 U. Results of present study may appear to be useful in future experiments aimed to test the Georector hypothesis and to estimate its fuel components as a part of developments in geophysics and astrophysics based on observations of low energy antineutrinos in Nature.
G. Domogatski; V. Kopeikin; L. Mikaelyan; V. Sinev
Enabling the Nuclear Renaissance
Symposium, Materials Solutions for the Nuclear Renaissance ... Glass Development for the Combined Cs + LN + TM Fission Products from the Advanced Fuel�...
CMCs for Nuclear Energy
Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) are considered to improve the performance and safety of nuclear fusion and fission reactors. Silicon carbide-reinforced�...
Fission Barriers of Compound Superheavy Nuclei
The dependence of fission barriers on the excitation energy of the compound nucleus impacts the survival probability of superheavy nuclei synthesized in heavy-ion fusion reactions. In this work, we investigate the isentropic fission barriers by means of the self-consistent nuclear density functional theory. The relationship between isothermal and isentropic descriptions is demonstrated. Calculations have been carried out for $^{264}$Fm, $^{272}$Ds, $^{278}$112, $^{292}$114, and $^{312}$124. For nuclei around $^{278}$112 produced in "cold fusion" reactions, we predict a more rapid decrease of fission barriers with excitation energy as compared to the nuclei around $^{292}$114 synthesized in "hot fusion" experiments. This is explained in terms of the difference between the ground-state and saddle-point temperatures. The effect of the particle gas is found to be negligible in the range of temperatures studied.
J. C. Pei; W. Nazarewicz; J. A. Sheikh; A. K. Kerman
Experimental Progress Report--Modernizing the Fission Basis
In 2010 a proposal (Modernizing the Fission Basis) was prepared to 'resolve long standing differences between LANL and LLNL associated with the correct fission basis for analysis of nuclear test data'. Collaboration between LANL/LLNL/TUNL has been formed to implement this program by performing high precision measurements of neutron induced fission product yields as a function of incident neutron energy. This new program benefits from successful previous efforts utilizing mono-energetic neutrons undertaken by this collaboration. The first preliminary experiment in this new program was performed between July 24-31, 2011 at TUNL and had 2 main objectives: (1) demonstrating the capability to measure characteristic {gamma}-rays from specific fission products; (2) studying background effects from room scattered neutrons. In addition, a new dual fission ionization chamber has been designed and manufactured. The production design of the chamber is shown in the picture below. The first feasibility experiment to test this chamber is scheduled at the TUNL Tandem Laboratory from September 19-25, 2011. The dual fission chamber design will allow simultaneous exposure of absolute fission fragment emission rate detectors and the thick fission activation foils, positioned between the two chambers. This document formalizes the earlier experimental report demonstrating the experimental capability to make accurate (fission product yields of the 239Pu(n,f) reaction (induced by quasimonoenergetic neutrons). A second experiment (9/2011) introduced an compact double-sided fission chamber into the experimental arrangement, and so the relative number of incident neutrons striking the sample foil at each bombarding energy is limited only by statistics. (The number of incident neutrons often limits the experimental accuracy.) Fission chamber operation was so exceptional that 2 more chambers have been fabricated; thus fission foils of different isotopes may be left in place with sample changes. The scope of the measurements is both greatly expanded and the results become vetted. Experiment 2 is not reported here. A continuing experiment has been proposed for February 2012.
Macri, R A
Singlet fission photovoltaics
The efficiency of a solar cell is restricted by the "single junction limit," whereby photons with energy higher than the bandgap lose energy by thermalization. Singlet exciton fission splits a high-energy molecular excitation ...
Lee, Jiye
Nuclear and Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology : T...
applied and basic science, nuclear many-body theory, nuclear reaction theory, fission, nuclear data evaluation, processing and validation testing for applications that include...
Materials for Nuclear Power: Digital Resource Center - REPORT ...
Feb 12, 2007... Nuclear Power Background, Trends in Nuclear Power, The Nuclear ... Science: Application to Fusion and Generation IV Fission Reactors
Ceramics in fission and fusion technology
The role of ceramic components in fission and fusion reactors is described. Almost all of the functions normally performed by ceramics, except mechanical, are required of nuclear ceramics. The oxides of uranium and plutonium are of predominant importance in nuclear applications, but a number of other ceramics play peripheral roles. The unique service conditions under which nuclear ceramics must operate include intense radiation fields, high temperatures and large temperature gradients, and aggressive chemical environments. Examples of laboratory research designed to broaden understanding of the behavior of uranium dioxide in such conditions are given. The programs described include high temperature vaporization, diffusional processes, and interaction with hydrogen.
Olander, D.R.
The Fission of Thorium with Alpha Particles
fissi on distribution of fission of thor ium v'jith alphaafter the discovery of fission, Meitner and Bretscher andin the distribution of fission products in the two . !
Newton, Amos S.
The prompt neutron emission in spontaneous fission of {sup 252}Cf has been investigated applying digital signal electronics along with associated digital signal processing algorithms. The goal was to find out the reasons of a long time existing discrepancy between theoretical calculations and the measurements of prompt fission neutron (PFN) emission dependence on the total kinetic energy (TKE) of fission fragments (FF). On the one hand the {sup 252}Cf(sf) reaction is one of the main references for nuclear data, on the other hand the understanding of PFN emission mechanism is very important for nuclear fission theory. Using a twin Frisch-grid ionization chamber for fission fragment (FF) detection and a NE213-equivalent neutron detector in total about 10{sup 7} fission fragment-neutron coincidences have been registered. Fission fragment kinetic energy, mass and angular distribution, neutron time-of-flight and pulse shape have been investigated using a 12 bit waveform digitizer. The signal waveforms have been analyzed using digital signal processing algorithms. For the first time the dependence of the number of emitted neutrons as a function of total kinetic energy (TKE) of the fragments is in very good agreement with theoretical calculations in the range of TKE from 140-220 MeV.
Zeynalova, O. V. [Moscow State Institute of Radioengineering, Electronics and Automation, Moscow (Russian Federation); Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation); Zeynalov, Sh. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation); Hambsch, F.-J.; Oberstedt, S. [EC-JRC-Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements, Geel (Belgium)
Sensitivity analysis of the fission gas behavior model in BISON.
This report summarizes the result of a NEAMS project focused on sensitivity analysis of a new model for the fission gas behavior (release and swelling) in the BISON fuel performance code of Idaho National Laboratory. Using the new model in BISON, the sensitivity of the calculated fission gas release and swelling to the involved parameters and the associated uncertainties is investigated. The study results in a quantitative assessment of the role of intrinsic uncertainties in the analysis of fission gas behavior in nuclear fuel.
Swiler, Laura Painton; Pastore, Giovanni [Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Fall, ID; Perez, Danielle [Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Fall, ID; Williamson, Richard [Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Fall, ID
Reactor as a Source of Antineutrinos: Thermal Fission Energy
Deeper insight into the features of a reactor as a source of antineutrinos is required for making further advances in studying the fundamental properties of the neutrino. The relationship between the thermal power of a reactor and the rate of the chain fission reaction in its core is analyzed.
V. Kopeikin; L. Mikaelyan; V. Sinev
Mirror fusion--fission hybrids
The fusion-fission concept and the mirror fusion-fission hybrid program are outlined. Magnetic mirror fusion drivers and blankets for hybrid reactors are discussed. Results of system analyses are presented and a reference design is described.
Lee, J.D.
Radiochemistry of the fission products
This paper discusses the historical aspects of the radiochemistry of fission products. 20 figs., 2 tabs. (LSP)
Steinberg, E.P.
Process for treating fission waste
A method is described for the treatment of fission waste. A glass forming agent, a metal oxide, and a reducing agent are mixed with the fission waste and the mixture is heated. After melting, the mixture separates into a glass phase and a metal phase. The glass phase may be used to safely store the fission waste, while the metal phase contains noble metals recovered from the fission waste.
Rohrmann, Charles A. (Kennewick, WA); Wick, Oswald J. (Richland, WA)
Contract NO e W~7405~eng~4B "FISSION" OF w~IU11 w~IGHT EL~~California May The fission reaction has been observed withmore properly be termed fission, Cu b3 As an example 9 the
Batzel., Roger T.; Seaborg, G.T.
Reactor power history from fission product signatures
The purpose of this research was to identify fission product signatures that could be used to uniquely identify a specific spent fuel assembly in order to improve international safeguards. This capability would help prevent and deter potential diversion of spent fuel for a nuclear weapons program. The power history experienced by a fuel assembly is distinct and could serve as the basis of a method for unique identification. Using fission product concentrations to characterize the assembly power history would limit the ability of a proliferator to deceive the identification method. As part of the work completed, the TransLat lattice physics code was successfully benchmarked for fuel depletion. By developing analytical models for potential monitor isotopes an understanding was built of how specific isotope characteristics affect the production and destruction mechanisms that determine fission product concentration. With this knowledge potential monitor isotopes were selected and tested for concentration differences as a result of power history variations. Signature ratios were found to have significant concentration differences as a result of power history variations while maintaining a constant final burnup. A conceptual method for implementation of a fission product identification system was proposed in conclusion.
Sweeney, David J.
Materials for Nuclear Power: Digital Resource Center - WEB ...
Jun 13, 2007 ... Presentations from the ACTINET Thermodynamics of Nuclear Fuels: ... Fuels and Transmutation Targets and Fission Product Chemistry.
Feb 12, 2007 ... Select, Sandbox, Open Discussion Regarding Materials for Nuclear ... and fission products relevant for radioactive waste disposal projects.
Radiation Detection from Fission
This report briefly describes the neutrons and gamma rays emitted in fission, briefly discusses measurement methods, briefly discusses sources and detectors relevant to detection of shielded HEU in sealand containers, and lists the measurement possibilities for the various sources. The brief descriptions are supplemented by reference.
Mihalczo, J.
Spontaneous fission lifetimes from the minimization of self-consistent collective action
The spontaneous fission lifetime of 264Fm has been studied within nuclear density functional theory by minimizing the collective action integral for fission in a two-dimensional quadrupole collective space representing elongation and triaxiality. The collective potential and inertia tensor are obtained self-consistently using the Skyrme energy density functional and density-dependent pairing interaction. The resulting spontaneous fission lifetimes are compared with the static result obtained with the minimum-energy pathway. We show that fission pathways strongly depend on assumptions underlying collective inertia. With the non-perturbative mass parameters, the dynamic fission pathway becomes strongly triaxial and it approaches the static fission valley. On the other hand, when the standard perturbative cranking inertia tensor is used, axial symmetry is restored along the path to fission; an effect that is an artifact of the approximation used.
Jhilam Sadhukhan; K. Mazurek; A. Baran; J. Dobaczewski; W. Nazarewicz; J. A. Sheikh
Fission of heavy $?$ hypernuclei with the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock approach
Fission-related phenomena of heavy $\\Lambda$ hypernuclei are discussed with the constraint Skyrme-Hartree-Fock+BCS (SHF+BCS) method, in which a similar Skyrme-type interaction is employed also for the interaction between a $\\Lambda$ particle and a nucleon. Assuming that the $\\Lambda$ particle adiabatically follows the fission motion, we discuss the fission barrier height of $^{239}_{\\Lambda}$U. We find that the fission barrier height increases slightly when the $\\Lambda$ particle occupies the lowest level. In this case, the $\\Lambda$ particle is always attached to the heavier fission fragment. This indicates that one may produce heavy neutron-rich $\\Lambda$ hypernuclei through fission, whose weak decay is helpful for the nuclear transmutation of long-lived fission products. We also discuss cases where the $\\Lambda$ particle occupies a higher single-particle level.
F. Minato; S. Chiba; K. Hagino
Executive Summary: Research in Nuclear Power�Workshop on the Needs of the Next Generation of Nuclear Power Technology
Technical Paper / NSF Workshop on the Research Needs of the Next Generation Nuclear Power Technology / Fission Reactor
A. David Rossin; Kunmo Chung; K. L. Peddicord
An evaporation-based model of thermal neutron induced ternary fission of plutonium
Ternary fission probabilities for thermal neutron induced fission of plutonium are analyzed within the framework of an evaporation-based model where the complexity of time-varying potentials, associated with the neck collapse, are included in a simplistic fashion. If the nuclear temperature at scission and the fission-neck-collapse time are assumed to be ~1.2 MeV and ~10^-22 s, respectively, then calculated relative probabilities of ternary-fission light-charged-particle emission follow the trends seen in the experimental data. The ability of this model to reproduce ternary fission probabilities spanning seven orders of magnitude for a wide range of light-particle charges and masses implies that ternary fission is caused by the coupling of an evaporation-like process with the rapid re-arrangement of the nuclear fluid following scission.
J. P. Lestone
Nuclear fission barriers, mass parameters and spontaneous fission half lives of fermium isotopes calculated in a framework of the Skyrme Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov model with the SkM* force are discussed. Zero-point energy corrections in the ground state are determined for each nucleus using the Gaussian overlap approximation of the generator coordinate method and in the cranking formalism. Results of spontaneous fission half lives are compared to experimental data.
Baran, A. [Maria Curie-Sklodowska University; Staszczak, Andrzej [ORNL; Nazarewicz, A. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Modeling and simulation in analyzing geological repositories for high level nuclear waste
Nuclear energy is very often used to generate electricity. But first the energy must be released from atoms which can be done in two ways: nuclear fusion and nuclear fission. Nuclear power plants use nuclear fission to produce electrical energy. Electrical ... Keywords: modeling, nuclear energy, nuclear waste, nuclear waste storage, simulation
Dietmar P. F. M�ller
Undergraduate Measurements For Fission Reactor Applications
Undergraduate students at the University of Dallas (UD) have investigated elastic and inelastic neutron scattering cross sections on structural materials important for criticality considerations in nuclear fission processes. Neutrons scattered off of {sup 23}Na and {sup Nat}Fe were detected using neutron time-of-flight techniques at the University of Kentucky Low-Energy Nuclear Accelerator Facility. These measurements are part of an effort to increase the efficiency of power generation from existing fission reactors in the US and in the design of new fission systems. Students have learned the basics of how to operate the Model CN Van de Graaff generator at the laboratory, setup detectors and electronics, use data acquisition systems, and they are currently analyzing the angular dependence of the scattered neutrons for incident neutron energies of 3.57 and 3.80 MeV. Most students participating in the project will use the research experience as the material for their undergraduate research thesis required for all Bachelor of Science students at the University of Dallas. The first student projects on this topic were completed during the summer of 2010; an overview of student participation in this investigation and their preliminary results will be presented.
Hicks, S. F.; Kersting, L. J.; Lueck, C. J.; McDonough, P. [Department of Physics, University of Dallas, Irving TX 75019 (United States); Crider, B. P.; McEllistrem, M. T.; Peters, E. E. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506 (United States); Vanhoy, J. R. [Department of Physics, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis MD 21402 (United States)
Fission Cross Section Measurements of Actinides at LANSCE
Fission cross sections of a range of actinides have been measured at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) in support of nuclear energy applications. By combining measurement at two LANSCE facilities, Lujan Center and the Weapons Neutron Research center (WNR), differential cross sections can be measured from sub-thermal energies up to 200 MeV. Incident neutron energies are determined using the time-of-flight method, and parallel-plate ionization chambers are used to measure fission cross sections relative to the 235U standard. Recent measurements include the 233, 238U, 239-242Pu, and 243Am neutron-induced fission cross sections. In this paper preliminary results for fission cross sections of 243Am and 233U will be presented.
F. Tovesson; A. B. Laptev; T. S. Hill
International Nuclear Energy Learning Resources for Home and...
'Atomic Fission Fun with the American Nuclear Society', Jan. 26, 2013 Getting to know nuclear energy: the past, the present & the future - free public lecture (Nov. 15, 2012,...
Girls, choose a career in Nuclear Science and Technology!
In 2010 a proposal (Modernizing the Fission Basis) was prepared to 'resolve long standing differences between LANL and LLNL associated with the correct fission basis for analysis of nuclear test data'. Collaboration between LANL/LLNL/TUNL has been formed to implement this program by performing high precision measurements of neutron induced fission product yields as a function of incident neutron energy. This new program benefits from successful previous efforts utilizing mono-energetic neutrons undertaken by this collaboration. The first preliminary experiment in this new program was performed between July 24-31, 2011 at TUNL and had 2 main objectives: (1) demonstrating the capability to measure characteristic {gamma}-rays from specific fission products; (2) studying background effects from room scattered neutrons. In addition, a new dual fission ionization chamber has been designed and manufactured. The production design of the chamber is shown in the picture below. The first feasibility experiment to test this chamber is scheduled at the TUNL Tandem Laboratory from September 19-25, 2011. The dual fission chamber design will allow simultaneous exposure of absolute fission fragment emission rate detectors and the thick fission activation foils, positioned between the two chambers. This document formalizes the earlier experimental report demonstrating the experimental capability to make accurate (< 2 %) precision gamma-ray spectroscopic measurements of the excitation function of high fission product yields of the 239Pu(n,f) reaction (induced by quasimonoenergetic neutrons). A second experiment (9/2011) introduced an compact double-sided fission chamber into the experimental arrangement, and so the relative number of incident neutrons striking the sample foil at each bombarding energy is limited only by statistics. (The number of incident neutrons often limits the experimental accuracy.) Fission chamber operation was so exceptional that 2 more chambers have been fabricated; thus fission foils of different isotopes may be left in place with sample changes. The scope of the measurements is both greatly expanded and the results become vetted. Experiment 2 is not reported here. A continuing experiment has been proposed for February 2012.
Nuclear evaporation process with simultaneous multiparticle emission
The nuclear evaporation process is reformulated by taking into account simultaneous multiparticle emission from a hot compound nucleus appearing as an intermediate state in many nuclear reaction mechanisms. The simultaneous emission of many particles is particularly relevant for high excitation energy of the compound nucleus.These channels are effectively open in competition with the single particle emissions and fission in this energy regime. Indeed, the inclusion of these channels along the decay evaporating chain shows that the yield of charged particles and occurrence of fission are affected by these multiparticle emission processes of the compounded nucleus, when compared to the single sequential emission results. The effect also shows a qualitative change in the neutron multiplicity of different heavy compound nucleus considered. This should be an important aspect for the study of spallation reaction in Acceleration Driven System (ADS) reactors. The majority of neutrons generated in these reactions come from the evaporation stage of the reaction, the source of neutron for the system. A Monte Carlo simulation is employed to determine the effect of these channels on the particle yield and fission process. The relevance of the simultaneous particle emission with the increasing of excitation energy of the compound nucleus is explicitly shown.
Leonardo P. G. De Assis; Sergio B. Duarte; Bianca M. Santos
Updated comparison of economics of fusion reactors with advanced fission reactors
The projected cost of electricity (COE) for fusion is compared with that from current and advanced nuclear fission and coal-fired plants. Fusion cost models were adjusted for consistency with advanced fission plants and the calculational methodology and cost factors follow guidelines recommended for cost comparisons of advanced fission reactors. The results show COEs of about 59--74 mills/kWh for the fusion designs considered. In comparison, COEs for future fission reactors are estimated to be in the 43--54 mills/kWh range with coal-fired plant COEs of about 53--69 mills/kWh ($2--3/GJ coal). The principal cost driver for the fusion plants relative to fission plants is the fusion island cost. Although the estimated COEs for fusion are greater than those for fission or coal, the costs are not so high as to preclude fusion's competitiveness as a safe and environmentally sound alternative.
Delene, J.G.
Assessment of selected fission products in the Savannah River Site environment
Most of the radioactivity produced by the operation of a nuclear reactor results from the fission process, during which the nucleus of a fissionable atom (such as 235U) splits into two or more nuclei, which typically are radioactive. The Radionuclide Assessment Program (RAP) has reported on fission products cesium, strontium, iodine, and technetium. Many other radionuclides are produced by the fission process. Releases of several additional fission products that result in dose to the offsite population are discussed in this publication. They are 95Zr, 95Nb, 103Ru, 106Ru, 141Ce, and 144Ce. This document will discuss the production, release, migration, and dose to humans for each of these selected fission products.
Carlton, W.H.; Denham, M.
SOGGY SADDLE THEORY OF FISSION L.G. Moretto and G. GuarinoMIWW The soggy saddle theory of fission L.6. Moretto and G.transition state theory of fission is generalized to allow
The Fission of thorium with Alpha Particles
cm 2 FIG. 2 YIELD OF SOME FISSION PRODUCTS FROM THORIUM +-in aalou.latlnl~ I tha fission yield ot tlla 2.3;; dnyci~S~~SIO NASS HO. FIG. I FISSION YIELD SPECTRUM OF THORIUM
private communication. The fission-barrier calculations arein the systematics of spontaneous-fission half lives, W. J.1955). H. Marshall Blann, Fission of Gold with 112-Mev C
Post-scission fission theory: Neutron emission in fission
A survey of theoretical representations of two of the observables in neutron emission in fission is given, namely, the prompt fission neutron spectrum N (E) and the average prompt neutron multiplicity {bar {nu}}{sub p}. Early representations of the two observables are presented and their deficiencies are discussed. This is followed by summaries and examples of recent theoretical models for the calculation of these quantities. Emphasis is placed upon the predictability and accuracy of the recent models. In particular, the dependencies of N (E) and {bar {nu}}{sub p} upon the fissioning nucleus and its excitation energy are treated. Recent work in the calculation of the prompt fission neutron spectrum matrix N (E, E{sub n}), where E{sub n} is the energy of the neutron inducing fission, is then discussed. Concluding remarks address the current status of our ability to calculate these observables with confidence, the direction of future theoretical efforts, and limitations to current (and future) approaches.
Madland, D.G.
Conversion of electron spectrum associated with fission into the antineutrino spectrum
The accuracy of the procedure that converts the experimentally determined electron spectrum associated with fission of the nuclear fuels ^{235}U, ^{239}Pu, ^{241}Pu, and ^{238}U into the $\\bar{\
Petr Vogel
Vogel, Petr
Fission fragment driven neutron source
Fissionable uranium formed into a foil is bombarded with thermal neutrons in the presence of deuterium-tritium gas. The resulting fission fragments impart energy to accelerate deuterium and tritium particles which in turn provide approximately 14 MeV neutrons by the reactions t(d,n).sup.4 He and d(t,n).sup.4 He.
Miller, Lowell G. (Idaho Falls, ID); Young, Robert C. (Idaho Falls, ID); Brugger, Robert M. (Columbia, MO)
Fission throughout the periodic table
The dualistic view of fission and evaporation as two distinct compound nucleus processes is substituted with a unified view in which fission, complex fragment emission, and light particle evaporation are seen as different aspects of a single process. 47 refs., 22 figs.
Moretto, L.G.; Wozniak, G.J.
EEE 562 Nuclear Reactor Theory and Design (3 hrs) Catalog Description: Principles of neutron chain reacting systems. Neutron diffusion and moderation.
important part of reactor physics. As the neutrons are produced in neutron induced fission of a fissile physical processes like neutron capture, elastic and inelastic scattering, upscattering, etc. Neutron technique is a scattering of free neutrons by matter. It is used in biophysics, physics, chemistry
The calculation of prompt fission neutron spectrum for 233U(n,f) reaction by the semi-empirical method
The prompt fission neutron spectra for neutron-induced fission of 233U for low energy neutrons (below 6 MeV) are calculated using the nuclear evaporation theory with a semi-empirical method, in which the partition of the total excitation energy between the fission fragments for the nth+233U fission reactions are determined with the available experimental and evaluation data. The calculated prompt fission neutron spectra agree well with the experimental data. The proportions of high- energy outgoing neutrons of prompt fission neutron spectrum versus incident neutron energies are investigated with the theoretical spectra, and the results are consistent with the systematics. We conclude that the semi-empirical method is sound, and it could be a useful tool for prompt fission neutron spectra evaluation.
Yong-Jing Chen; Jia Min; Ting-Jin Liu; Neng-Chuan Shu
Materials Science of Nuclear Waste Management I
Mar 6, 2013 ... Separation of the nuclear waste stream into actinides and fission products offers new opportunities for development of ceramic waste forms.
Argonne Chemical Sciences & Engineering - People - Nuclear and...
Loyola University Design of liquid-liquid extraction systems for actinide and fission product separations Nuclear fuel and target dissolution Chemical processes for...
PDF: The History of Nuclear Energy
Feb 12, 2007 ... This 28-page report, produced by the U. S. Department of Energy, reviews the history of nuclear energy from the discovery of fission through�...
Sequential fissions of heavy nuclear systems
In Xe+Sn central collisions from 12 to 20 MeV/A measured with the INDRA 4$\\pi$ multidetector, the three-fragment exit channel occurs with a significant cross section. In this contribution, we show that these fragments arise from two successive binary splittings of a heavy composite system. Strong Coulomb proximity effects are observed in the three-fragment final state. By comparison with Coulomb trajectory calculations, we show that the time scale between the consecutive break-ups decreases with increasing bombarding energy, becoming compatible with quasi-simultaneous multifragmentation above 18 MeV/A.
Diego Gruyer; J. D. Frankland; E. Bonnet; M. Boisjoli; A. Chbihi; L. Manduci; P. Marini; K. Mazurek; P. N. Nadtochy
Structural Materials for Fission and Fusion Energy
Structural materials represent the key for containment of nuclear fuel and fission products as well as reliable and thermodynamically efficient production of electrical energy from nuclear reactors. Similarly, high-performance structural materials will be critical for the future success of proposed fusion energy reactors, which will subject the structures to unprecedented fluxes of high-energy neutrons along with intense thermomechanical stresses. Advanced materials can enable improved reactor performance via increased safety margins and design flexibility, in particular by providing increased strength, thermal creep resistance and superior corrosion and neutron radiation damage resistance. In many cases, a key strategy for designing highperformance radiation-resistant materials is based on the introduction of a high, uniform density of nanoscale particles that simultaneously provide good high temperature strength and neutron radiation damage resistance.
Zinkle, Steven J [ORNL; Busby, Jeremy T [ORNL
Quantum and Thermodynamic Properties of Spontaneous and Low-Energy Induced Fission of Nuclei
It is shown that A. Bohr's concept of transition fission states can be matched with the properties of Coriolis interaction if an axisymmetric fissile nucleus near the scission point remains cold despite a nonadiabatic character of nuclear collective deformation motion. The quantum and thermodynamic properties of various stages of binary and ternary fission after the descent of a fissile nucleus from the outer saddle point are studied within quantum-mechanical fission theory. It is shown that two-particle nucleon-nucleon correlations--in particular, superfluid correlations--play an important role in the formation of fission products and in the classification of fission transitions. The distributions of thermalized primary fission fragments with respect to spins and their projections onto the symmetry axis of the fissile nucleus and fission fragments are constructed, these distributions determining the properties of prompt neutrons and gamma rays emitted by these fragments. A new nonevaporation mechanism of third-particle production in ternary fission is proposed. This mechanism involves transitions of third particles from the cluster states of the fissile-nucleus neck to high-energy states under effects of the shake-off type that are due to the nonadiabatic character of nuclear collective deformation motion.
Kadmensky, S.G. [Voronezh State University, Universitetskaya pl. 1, Voronezh, 394693 (Russian Federation)
Application of Neutron-Absorbing Structural-Amorphous metal (SAM) Coatings for Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) Container to Enhance Criticality Safety Controls
Metal Coatings for Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) Containers: UseCoatings for Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) Container to Enhance2006 ABSTRACT Spent nuclear fuel contains fissionable
More on the term �Fission?
information, and he certainly did. His insight into the origin of the term "fission" expanded greatly on the mere mention I had made of it in the Y-12 history column he...
The microscopic theory of fission
Fission-fragment properties have been calculated for thermal neutron-induced fission on a $^{239}\\textrm{Pu}$ target, using constrained Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations with a finite-range effective interaction. A quantitative criterion based on the interaction energy between the nascent fragments is introduced to define the scission configurations. The validity of this criterion is benchmarked against experimental measurements of the kinetic energies and of multiplicities of neutrons emitted by the fragments.
W. Younes; D. Gogny
University of California. FISSION YIELDS AL\\JD LIFETIMES FORfor his assistance in the fission chamber calibrations andCl8 (1978) 1452. Table 1 Fission yields yf Nucleus 23su 23Su
Ahmad, S.
Nuclear Theory and Applications progress report, January 1, 1989-- April 1, 1990
This report contains brief papers on the following topics: data evaluation and libraries; data processing; nuclear applications; reactions; fission; and nuclear structure.
Strottman, D.D.; Mutschlecner, A.D. (comps.)
Engineering Fundamentals - Basic Atomic and Nuclear Physics, Version 2.0
The Basic Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory module covers basic atomic structure, fission, radioactivity, reactor operation, and nuclear safety. This course will help new engineers understand how ...
Isotopic yield measurement in the heavy mass region for {sup 239}Pu thermal neutron induced fission
Despite the huge number of fission yield data available in the different evaluated nuclear data libraries, such as JEFF-3.1.1, ENDF/B-VII.0, and JENDL-4.0, more accurate data are still needed both for nuclear energy applications and for our understanding of the fission process itself. It is within the framework of this that measurements on the recoil mass spectrometer Lohengrin (at the Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble, France) was undertaken, to determine isotopic yields for the heavy fission products from the {sup 239}Pu(n{sub th},f) reaction. In order to do this, a new experimental method based on {gamma}-ray spectrometry was developed and validated by comparing our results with those performed in the light mass region with completely different setups. Hence, about 65 fission product yields were measured with an uncertainty that has been reduced on average by a factor of 2 compared to that previously available in the nuclear data libraries. In addition, for some fission products, a strongly deformed ionic charge distribution compared to a normal Gaussian shape was found, which was interpreted as being caused by the presence of a nanosecond isomeric state. Finally, a nuclear charge polarization has been observed in agreement, with the one described on other close fissioning systems.
Bail, A.; Serot, O.; Mathieu, L.; Litaize, O.; Materna, T.; Koester, U.; Faust, H.; Letourneau, A.; Panebianco, S. [CEA, DEN-Cadarache, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Institut Laue Langevin, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, B.P. 156, F-38042, Grenoble (France); CEA, DSM-Saclay, IRFU/SPhN, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)
ZIRCALOY WITH SIMULATED FISSION PRODUCTS Rajiv Kohli JanuaryOF ZIRCALOY WITH SIMULATED FISSION PRODUCTS Rajiv Kohlion long-term exposure to fission product environments in the
Kohli, R.
Logging Calibration Models for Fission Neutron Sondes (September...
Logging Calibration Models for Fission Neutron Sondes (September 1981) Logging Calibration Models for Fission Neutron Sondes (September 1981) Logging Calibration Models for Fission...
Spallation Cro ss Sections Fission Product Cross Sections V.B. Spallation Reactions Fission Yields Acknowledgme nts . .UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ;"~I FISSION SPALLATION EXCITATION
Ritsema, Susanne Elaine
Fission product solvent extraction
Two main objectives concerning removal of fission products from high-level tank wastes will be accomplished in this project. The first objective entails the development of an acid-side Cs solvent-extraction (SX) process applicable to remediation of the sodium-bearing waste (SBW) and dissolved calcine waste (DCW) at INEEL. The second objective is to develop alkaline-side SX processes for the combined removal of Tc, Cs, and possibly Sr and for individual separation of Tc (alone or together with Sr) and Cs. These alkaline-side processes apply to tank wastes stored at Hanford, Savannah River, and Oak Ridge. This work exploits the useful properties of crown ethers and calixarenes and has shown that such compounds may be economically adapted to practical processing conditions. Potential benefits for both acid- and alkaline-side processing include order-of-magnitude concentration factors, high rejection of bulk sodium and potassium salts, and stripping with dilute (typically 10 mM) nitric acid. These benefits minimize the subsequent burden on the very expensive vitrification and storage of the high-activity waste. In the case of the SRTALK process for Tc extraction as pertechnetate anion from alkaline waste, such benefits have now been proven at the scale of a 12-stage flowsheet tested in 2-cm centrifugal contactors with a Hanford supernatant waste simulant. SRTALK employs a crown ether in a TBP-modified aliphatic kerosene diluent, is economically competitive with other applicable separation processes being considered, and has been successfully tested in batch extraction of actual Hanford double-shell slurry feed (DSSF).
Moyer, B.A.; Bonnesen, P.V.; Sachleben, R.A. [and others
Neutron source capability assessment for cumulative fission yields measurements
A recent analysis of high-quality cumulative fission yields data for Pu-239 published in the peer-reviewed literature showed that the quoted experimental uncertainties do not allow a clear statement on how the fission yields vary as a function of energy. [Prussin2009] To make such a statement requires a set of experiments with well 'controlled' and understood sources of experimental errors to reduce uncertainties as low as possible, ideally in the 1 to 2% range. The Inter Laboratory Working Group (ILWOG) determined that Directed Stockpile Work (DSW) would benefit from an experimental program with the stated goal to reduce the measurement uncertainties significantly in order to make a definitive statement of the relationship of energy dependence to the cumulative fission yields. Following recent discussions between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), there is a renewed interest in developing a concerted experimental program to measure fission yields in a neutron energy range from thermal energy (0.025 eV) to 14 MeV with an emphasis on discrete energies from 0.5 to 4 MeV. Ideally, fission yields would be measured at single energies, however, in practice there are only 'quasi-monoenergetic' neutrons sources of finite width. This report outlines a capability assessment as of June 2011 of available neutron sources that could be used as part of a concerted experimental program to measure cumulative fission yields. In a framework of international collaborations, capabilities available in the United States, at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in the United Kingdom and at the Commissariat Energie Atomique (CEA) in France are listed. There is a need to develop an experimental program that will reduce the measurement uncertainties significantly in order to make a definitive statement of the relationship of energy dependence to the cumulative fission yields. Fission and monoenergetic neutron sources are available that could support these fission yield experiments in the US, as well as at AWE and CEA. Considerations that will impact the final choice of experimental venues are: (1) Availability during the timeframe of interest; (2) Ability to accommodate special nuclear materials; (3) Cost; (4) Availability of counting facilities; and (5) Expected experimental uncertainties.
Descalle, M A; Dekin, W; Kenneally, J
Comprehensive Nuclear Materials
This book encompasses a rich seam of current information on the vast and multidisciplinary field of nuclear materials employed in fission and prototype fusion systems. Discussion includes both historical and contemporary international research in nuclear materials, from Actinides to Zirconium alloys, from the worlds leading scientists and engineers. Synthesizes pertinent current science to support the selection, assessment, validation and engineering of materials in extreme nuclear environments. The work discusses the major classes of materials suitable for usage in nuclear fission, fusion reactors and high power accelerators, and for diverse functions in fuels, cladding, moderator and control materials, structural, functional, and waste materials.
Konings, Dr. Rudy J. M. [European Commission Joint Research Centre; Allen, Todd R. [University of Wisconsin, Madison; Stoller, Roger E [ORNL; Yamanaka, Prof. Shinsuke [Osaka University
Compact fission counter for DANCE
The Detector for Advanced Neutron Capture Experiments (DANCE) consists of 160 BF{sub 2} crystals with equal solid-angle coverage. DANCE is a 4{pi} {gamma}-ray calorimeter and designed to study the neutron-capture reactions on small quantities of radioactive and rare stable nuclei. These reactions are important for the radiochemistry applications and modeling the element production in stars. The recognition of capture event is made by the summed {gamma}-ray energy which is equivalent of the reaction Q-value and unique for a given capture reaction. For a selective group of actinides, where the neutron-induced fission reaction competes favorably with the neutron capture reaction, additional signature is needed to distinguish between fission and capture {gamma} rays for the DANCE measurement. This can be accomplished by introducing a detector system to tag fission fragments and thus establish a unique signature for the fission event. Once this system is implemented, one has the opportunity to study not only the capture but also fission reactions. A parallel-plate avalanche counter (PPAC) has many advantages for the detection of heavy charged particles such as fission fragments. These include fast timing, resistance to radiation damage, and tolerance of high counting rate. A PPAC also can be tuned to be insensitive to {alpha} particles, which is important for experiments with {alpha}-emitting actinides. Therefore, a PPAC is an ideal detector for experiments requiring a fast and clean trigger for fission. A PPAC with an ingenious design was fabricated in 2006 by integrating amplifiers into the target assembly. However, this counter was proved to be unsuitable for this application because of issues related to the stability of amplifiers and the ability to separate fission fragments from {alpha}'s. Therefore, a new design is needed. A LLNL proposal to develop a new PPAC for DANCE was funded by NA22 in FY09. The design goal is to minimize the mass for the proposed counter and still be able to maintain a stable operation under extreme radioactivity and the ability to separate fission fragments from {alpha}'s. In the following sections, the description is given for the design and performance of this new compact PPAC, for studying the neutron-induced reactions on actinides using DANCE at LANL.
Wu, C Y; Chyzh, A; Kwan, E; Henderson, R; Gostic, J; Carter, D; Bredeweg, T; Couture, A; Jandel, M; Ullmann, J
Rapid disappearance of shell effects in the fission of transfermium nuclei
In the last fifteen years we have learned that nuclear shells have a very broad and pervasive impact on the fission process. In the first few decades after the discovery of nuclear fission, the nucleus was treated as a drop of liquid with smoothly varying attractive and repulsive forces. Although this model still forms the underlying basis for fission, we also observe large effects from the superimposition of shell corrections derived from coupling the quantum states of individual nucleons. The consequences of single-particle coupling on the fission process can be striking and may often overshadow that originating from the intrinsic liquid-drop component. Here, we point out several major features attributable to shell effects in the spontaneous fission (SF) of the lighter actinides, the sudden transition to symmetric fission in the fermium isotopes, and finally new experimental information indicating another transition in the SF of transfermium nuclides due to the disappearance of shell perturbations. In each transition, the abruptness is surprising, and for the moment, such rapid changes in fission behavior lack a theoretical rationale.
Hulet, E.K.
Time delays in heavy-ion-induced fission of medium-Z nuclei, measured by crystal blocking
Time delays in fission induced by bombardment of Mo with 170- and 180-MeV {sup 32}S, 225- and 240-MeV {sup 48}Ti, and 300-MeV {sup 58}Ni have been measured by observation of crystal blocking of fission fragments. In contrast to earlier measurements with a W target, the results are consistent with fission of a compound nucleus in competition with mainly neutron emission. Most of the fissions happen on a time scale much shorter than attoseconds but there is a significant component of fission with much longer lifetimes. The measurements are reproduced with a standard statistical model, including a Kramers correction to fission widths from the viscosity of hot nuclear matter. These new results support the interpretation of our earlier measurements with a W target, which indicate that there is a transition in heavy-ion-induced fission at large atomic number and mass, from multichance fission in the standard Bohr-Wheeler picture to fission without formation of a compound nucleus. The process is slowed down by nuclear viscosity, with measured delays of order attoseconds.
Andersen, J. U. [Aarhus University; Chevallier, J. [University of Aarhus, Denmark; Forster, J. S. [Universite de Montreal; Karamian, S. A. [FLNR-JINR, Russia; Vane, C Randy [ORNL; Beene, James R [ORNL; Gross, Carl J [ORNL; Krause, Herbert F [ORNL; Liang, J Felix [ORNL; Shapira, Dan [ORNL; Uguzzoni, A. [University of Bologna
Nuclear Systems Technology | Nuclear Science | ORNL
Advanced Fuel Cycle Systems Criticality Safety Irradiation Experiment Development and Execution Robotics & Remote Systems Engineering and Applications Thermal & Hydraulic Experiments & Analysis Used Nuclear Fuel Storage, Transportation, and Disposal Reactor Technology Nuclear Science Home | Science & Discovery | Nuclear Science | Research Areas | Nuclear Systems Technology SHARE Nuclear Systems Technology Nuclear Systems Technology Image 2 ORNL has had historic involvement in a broad set of nuclear research areas: irradiated materials and isotopes R&D, fission and fusion reactors development, neutron scattering, fuel enrichment, used fuel recycling and disposal, etc. The skills and knowledge required to succeed in these research areas often cultivated core areas of expertise in which ORNL is
Spontaneous fission half-lives of heavy and superheavy nuclei within a generalized liquid drop model
We systematically calculate the spontaneous fission half-lives for heavy and superheavy nuclei between U and Fl isotopes. The spontaneous fission process is studied within the semi-empirical WKB approximation. The potential barrier is obtained using a generalized liquid drop model, taking into account the nuclear proximity, the mass asymmetry, the phenomenological pairing correction, and the microscopic shell correction. Macroscopic inertial-mass function has been employed for the calculation of the fission half-life. The results reproduce rather well the experimental data. Relatively long half-lives are predicted for many unknown nuclei, sufficient to detect them if synthesized in a laboratory.
Xiaojun Bao; Hongfei Zhang; G. Royer; Junqing Li
Background and Derivation of ANS-5.4 Standard Fission Product Release Model
This background report describes the technical basis for the newly proposed American Nuclear Society (ANS) 5.4 standard, Methods for Calculating the Fractional Release of Volatile Fission Products from Oxide Fuels. The proposed ANS 5.4 standard provides a methodology for determining the radioactive fission product releases from the fuel for use in assessing radiological consequences of postulated accidents that do not involve abrupt power transients. When coupled with isotopic yields, this method establishes the 'gap activity,' which is the inventory of volatile fission products that are released from the fuel rod if the cladding are breached.
Beyer, Carl E.; Turnbull, Andrew J.
The nuclear fission phenomenon is a magnificent example of a quantal collective motion during which the nucleus evolves in a multidimensional space representing shapes with different geometries. The triaxial degrees of freedom are usually important around the inner fission barrier, and reduce the fission barrier height by several MeV. Beyond the inner barrier, reflection-asymmetric shapes corresponding to asymmetric elongated fragments come into play. We discuss the interplay between different symmetry breaking mechanisms in the case of even-even fermium isotopes using the Skyrme HFB formalism.
Staszczak, A. [Maria Curie-Sklodowska University; Nazarewicz, Witold [ORNL; Baran, Andrzej K [ORNL
Entrance-channel dependence of fission transients
Fission transients describe the fission rate as it evolves towards the quasistationary value given by Kramers' formula. The nature of fission transients is dependent on the assumed initial distribution of the compound nuclei along the fission coordinate. Although the standard initial assumption of a near-spherical object leads to a transient suppression of the fission rate (fission delay), a moderate initial fissionlike deformation can reduce the magnitude of this suppression. For still larger initial deformations, transient fission enhancements are possible. Examples of this behavior are illustrated via a one-dimensional Langevin simulation. It is argued that the initial conditions are determined by the fusion dynamics and thus are entrance-channel dependent. Transient fission may be considered intermediate between statistical fission and quasifission as the rapid time scale of transient fission may not lead to an equilibrium of the angular and mass-asymmetry coordinates. The relationship between the mean first passage time and the transients are discussed. For temperatures much smaller than the fission barrier, the mean first passage time is independent of the nature of the fission transients if there is no strong competition from evaporation. Thus, fission transients are most important when the evaporation time scale is smaller than, or of the order of, the transient time.
R. J. Charity
Cranking mass parameters for fission
A formalism for semi-adiabatic cranking mass parameters is presented. For the fission process of 234U, the time-dependent pairing equations of motion were used to calculate the excitation energy and to extract values of the cranking inertia. A fission barrier is determined by minimizing the action trajectory in a five dimensional configuration space spanned by elongation, necking, deformations of fragments and mass-asymmetry. The deformation energy is computed in the the frame of the microscopic-macroscopic model. The two center shell model with Woods-Saxon potentials is used in this context. Values of the inertia for excited fissioning systems are reported. A dependence between the cranking mass parameters and the intrinsic excitation energy is evidenced.
M. Mirea; R. C. Bobulescu
Fission Product Benchmarking for Burnup Credit Applications: Progress Report
Progress toward developing a technical basis for a cost-effective burnup credit methodology for spent nuclear fuel with initial U-235 enrichment up to 5 percent is presented. Present regulatory practices provide as much burnup credit flexibility as can be currently expected. Further progress is achievable by incorporating the negative reactivity effects of a subset of neutron-absorbing fission product isotopes. Progress also depends on optimizing the procedure for establishing the burnup characteristics ...
Modeling of Molten Core Concrete Interactions and Fission Product Release
The study of molten core concrete interactions is important in estimating the possible consequences of a severe nuclear reactor accident. CORCON-Mod2 is a computer program that models the thermal, chemical, and physical phenomena associated with molten core concrete interactions. Models have been added to extend the modeling of these phenomena. An ideal solution chemical equilibrium methodology predicts the fission product vaporization release. Additional chemical species have been added, and the calcula...
A nuclear fuel element comprising a large number og wafers of fissionable material and a protective jacket having compartments holding these wafers is described. The compartments of the jacket aid the removal of heat from the wafers, keep the wafers or fragments thereof from migrating in the jacket, and permit the escape of gaseous fission products.
Carney, K.G. Jr.
Status update on the NIFFTE high precision fission cross section measurement program
DOE Green Energy (OSTI)
The Neutron Induced Fission Fragment Tracking Experiment (NIFFTE) program has been underway for nearly two years. The program's mission is to measure fission cross sections of the primary fissionable and fissile materials ({sup 235}U, {sup 239}Pu, {sup 238}U) as well as the minor actinides across energies from approximately 50 keV up to 20 MeV with an absolute uncertainty of less than one percent while investigating energy ranges from below an eV to 600 MeV. This basic nuclear physics data is being reinvestigated to support the next generation power plants and a fast burner reactor program. Uncertainties in the fast, resolved and unresolved resonance regions in plutonium and other transuranics are extremely large, dominating safety margins in the next generation nuclear power plants and power plants of today. This basic nuclear data can be used to support all aspects of the nuciear renaissance. The measurement campaign is utilizing a Time Projection Chamber or TPC as the tool to measure these cross sections to these unprecedented levels. Unlike traditional fission cross section measurements using time-of-flight and a multiple fission foil configurations in which fission cross sections in relation to that of {sup 235}U are performed, the TPC project uses time-of-flight and hydrogen as the benchmark cross section. Using the switch to hydrogen, a simple, smooth cross section that can be used which removes the uncertainties associated with the resolved and unresolved resonances in {sup 235}U.
Laptev, Alexander B [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Tovesson, Fredrik [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Burgett, Eric [GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECH; Greife, Uwe [COLORADO SCHOOL OF THE MINES; Grimes, Steven [OHIO UNIV; Heffner, Michael D [LLNL; Hertel, Nolan E [GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECH; Hill, Tony [IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY; Isenhower, Donald [ABILENE CHRISTIN UNIV; Klay, Jennifer L [CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIV; Kornilov, Nickolay [OHIO UNIV; Kudo, Ryuho [CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIV; Loveland, Walter [OREGON STATE UNIV; Massey, Thomas [OHIO UNIV; Mc Grath, Chris [IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY; Pickle, Nathan [ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIV; Qu, Hai [ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIV; Sharma, Sarvagya [ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIV; Snyder, Lucas [COLORADO SCHOOL OF THE MINES; Thornton, Tyler [ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIV; Towell, Rusty S [ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIV; Watson, Shon [ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIV
Quantum efficiency and fission rate in tetracene
Using singlet fission in a photovoltaic cell, the theoretical energy conversion efficiency limit is larger than the Shockley-Queisser limit due to two excitons produced with one incident photon. In a singlet fission material, ...
Wu, Tony Chang-Chi
This patent broadly discloses the production of plutonium by the neutron bombardment of uranium to produce neptunium which decays to plutonium, and the fissionability of plutonium by neutrons, both fast and thermal, to produce energy and fission products.
Segre, E.; Kennedy, J.W.; Seaborg, G.T.
neutron and fission cross sections nuclear decay modes andfission yields (15), shielding factors (6), nuclearfission-product half-lives, is of special note. The Evaluated Nuclear
Firestone, R.B.
Multiple-Coincidence Interrogation of Fissionables
The multiple coincidence technique uses 14.1 MeV neutrons to produce (n, multiple-?) coincidences to detect fissile and fissionable materials. Measurements of n-?-? coincidences with targets of depleted uranium (DU), W, and Pb, show that the counting rate for the DU is substantially above that for the non-fissionables. Also, the data involving prompt neutrons and delayed gammas in the DU time spectra provide a signature for fissionables that is distinct from that of non-fissionables.
J.P. Hurley, R.P. Keegan, J.R. Tinsley, R. Trainham
Process for treating fission waste. [Patent application
Rohrmann, C.A.; Wick, O.J.
Savannah River Site plays a critical role in the Tritium Production Supply Chain for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The entire process includes: � Production of Tritium Producing Burnable Absorber Rods (TPBARs) at the Westinghouse WesDyne Nuclear Fuels Plant in Columbia, South Carolina � Production of unobligated Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) at the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) in Portsmouth, Ohio � Irradiation of TPBARs with the LEU at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Watts Bar Reactor � Extraction of tritium from the irradiated TPBARs at the Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF) at Savannah River Site � Processing the tritium at the Savannah River Site, which includes removal of nonhydrogen species and separation of the hydrogen isotopes of protium, deuterium and tritium.
Wyrick, Steven [Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC, USA; Cordaro, Joseph [Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, SC, USA; Founds, Nanette [National Nuclear Security Administration, Albuquerque, NM, USA; Chambellan, Curtis [National Nuclear Security Administration, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Title: WPEC Subgroup Proposal Prompt Photon Production from Fission Products
In a typical nuclear reactor some 10-12 % of heating comes from the energy deposited by gamma rays. The major photon production sources (equal proportions) are:- prompt neutron induced fission, capture of prompt neutrons, and the decay of fission plus activation daughter products. The photons penetrate some distance from their birth and can cause some 80-90 % of heating in non-fissile regions. This can lead to distortion of control rods and chemical damage in moderators, e.g. enhancing graphite erosion rate. There is considerable interest in extending fuel life (deep burn) and this in turn leads to more higher actinides and more FISSION PRODUCTS (nuclides with Z=35-70). A survey (of JEFF3.0, ENDF/B-VIr8 and JENDL3.3) in 2003 indicated very few modern evaluations in the mass range of fission products contain gamma source data. Where data are present they are often old and incomplete. At the completion of WPEC sub-group 23, a comprehensive and validated file of neutron cross sections will be ready for inclusion in modern libraries. This would form an ideal base that could be extended to include source information for production of prompt gammas.
Short Justification For A Subgroup; Jeff C J Dean
Temperature-Dependent Fission Barriers of Superheavy Nuclei
The dependence of fission barriers on the excitation energy of the compound nucleus impacts the survival probability of superheavy nuclei synthesized in heavy-ion fusion reactions. We study the temperature-dependent fission barriers by means of the self-consistent nuclear density functional theory. The equivalence of isothermal and isentropic descriptions is demonstrated. The effect of the particle gas is found to be negligible in the range of temperatures studied. Calculations have been carried out for $^{264}$Fm, $^{272}$Ds, $^{278}$112, $^{292}$114, and $^{312}$124. For nuclei around $^{278}$112 produced in "cold fusion" reactions, we predict a more rapid decrease of fission barriers with temperature as compared to the nuclei around $^{292}$114 synthesized in "hot fusion" experiments. This is explained in terms of the difference between the ground-state and fission-barrier temperatures. Our calculations are consistent with the long survival probabilities of the superheavy elements produced in Dubna with th...
Pei, J C; Sheikh-Javid, A; Kerman, A K
Sensitivity analysis for the outages of nuclear power plants
Feb 17, 2012 ... voirs, fossil energy (coal, gas), atom (nuclear fission process) and to a small .... The dynamic of the stocks of fuel is clear from the differential�...
Large Scale Computing and Storage Requirements for Nuclear Physics Research
day experimental fusion devices and in nuclear reactors thatnuclear energy both for next-generation fission reactors and for fusion reactors
Gerber, Richard A.
Why Supply Chain
Why supply chain explains the importance of supply chains. It includes an introduction to ERP as designed by SAP.
Datta, Shoumen
Improved Design of Nuclear Reactor Control System | U.S. DOE...
Office of Science (SC) Website
energy released during the neutron-induced fission of nuclear fuels is used for energy production in power reactors. The process of beta-n emission from fission products...
Short-lived fission product measurements from >0.1 MeV neutron-induced fission using boron carbide.
A boron carbide shield was designed, custom fabricated, and used to create a fast fission energy neutron spectrum. The fissionable isotopes 233, 235, 238U, 237Np, and 239Pu were separately placed inside of this shield and irradiated under pulsed conditions at the Washington State University 1 MW TRIGA reactor. A unique set of fission product gamma spectra were collected at short times (4 minutes to 1 week) post-fission. Gamma spectra were collected on single-crystal high purity germanium detectors and on Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's (PNNL's) Direct Simultaneous Measurement (DSM) system composed of HPGe detectors connected in coincidence. This work defines the experimental methods used to produce and collect the gamma data, and demonstrates the validity of the measurements. It is important to fully document this information so the data can be used with high confidence for the advancement of nuclear science and non-proliferation applications. The gamma spectra collected in these and other experiments will be made publicly available at https://spcollab.pnl.gov/sites/gammadata or via the link at http://rdnsgroup.pnl.gov. A revised version of this publication will be posted with the data to make the experimental details available to those using the data.
Finn, Erin C.; Metz, Lori A.; Greenwood, Lawrence R.; Pierson, Bruce D.; Friese, Judah I.; Kephart, Rosara F.; Kephart, Jeremy D.
Vented nuclear fuel element
A nuclear fuel cell for use in a thermionic nuclear reactor in which a small conduit extends from the outside surface of the emitter to the center of the fuel mass of the emitter body to permit escape of volatile and gaseous fission products collected in the center thereof by virtue of molecular migration of the gases to the hotter region of the fuel.
Grossman, Leonard N. (Livermore, CA); Kaznoff, Alexis I. (Castro Valley, CA)
Fission dynamics at low excitation energy
The origin of mass asymmetry in the fission of uranium at a low excitation energy is clarified by a trajectory analysis of the Langevin equation. The positions of the peaks in the mass distribution of fission fragments are mainly determined by fission saddle points originating from the shell correction energy. The widths of the peaks, on the other hand, result from a shape fluctuation around the scission point caused by the random force in the Langevin equation. We found that a random vibration in the oblate direction of fissioning fragments is essential for the fission process. According to this picture, fission does not occur with continuous stretching in the prolate direction, similarly to that observed in starch syrup. This is expected to lead to a new viewpoint of fission dynamics and the splitting mechanism.
Y. Aritomo; S. Chiba
Nuclear | Department of Energy
Nuclear Nuclear Nuclear Radioisotope Power Systems, a strong partnership between the Energy Department's Office of Nuclear Energy and NASA, has been providing the energy for deep space exploration. Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6 percent of the world's energy and 13-14 percent of the world's electricity. Featured Five Years of Building the Next Generation of Reactors Simulated three-dimensional fission power distribution of a single 17x17 rod PWR fuel assembly. | Photo courtesy of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL). A two-year update on the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors and the progress being made in overcoming barriers to national
Bulk and surface controlled diffusion of fission gas atoms
Fission gas retention and release impact nuclear fuel performance by, e.g., causing fuel swelling leading to mechanical interaction with the clad, increasing the plenum pressure and reducing the gap thermal conductivity. All of these processes are important to understand in order to optimize operating conditions of nuclear reactors and to simulate accident scenarios. Most fission gases have low solubility in the fuel matrix, which is especially pronounced for large fission gas atoms such as Xe and Kr, and as a result there is a significant driving force for segregation of gas atoms to extended defects such as grain boundaries or dislocations and subsequently for nucleation of gas bubbles at these sinks. Several empirical or semi-empirical models have been developed for fission gas release in nuclear fuels, e.g. [1-6]. One of the most commonly used models in fuel performance codes was published by Massih and Forsberg [3,4,6]. This model is similar to the early Booth model [1] in that it applies an equivalent sphere to separate bulk UO{sub 2} from grain boundaries represented by the sphere circumference. Compared to the Booth model, it also captures trapping at grain boundaries, fission gas resolution and it describes release from the boundary by applying timedependent boundary conditions to the circumference. In this work we focus on the step where fission gas atoms diffuse from the grain interior to the grain boundaries. The original Massih-Forsberg model describes this process by applying an effective diffusivity divided into three temperature regimes. In this report we present results from density functional theory calculations (DFT) that are relevant for the high (D{sub 3}) and intermediate (D{sub 2}) temperature diffusivities of fission gases. The results are validated by making a quantitative comparison to Turnbull's [8-10] and Matzke's data [12]. For the intrinsic or high temperature regime we report activation energies for both Xe and Kr diffusion in UO{sub 2{+-}x}, which compare favorably to available experiments. This is an extension of previous work [13]. In particular, it applies improved chemistry models for the UO{sub 2{+-}x} nonstoichiometry and its impact on the fission gas activation energies. The derivation of these models follows the approach that used in our recent study of uranium vacancy diffusion in UO{sub 2} [14]. Also, based on the calculated DFT data we analyze vacancy enhanced diffusion mechanisms in the intermediate temperature regime. In addition to vacancy enhanced diffusion we investigate species transport on the (111) UO{sub 2} surface. This is motivated by the formation of small voids partially filled with fission gas atoms (bubbles) in UO{sub 2} under irradiation, for which surface diffusion could be the rate-limiting transport step. Diffusion of such bubbles constitutes an alternative mechanism for mass transport in these materials.
Andersson, Anders D. [Los Alamos National Laboratory
Correlation of /sup 239/Pu thermal and fast reactor fission yields with neutron energy
The relative isotopic abundances and the fisson yields for over 40 stable and long-lived fission products from /sup 239/Pu fast fission were evaluated to determine if the data could be correlated with neutron energy. Only mass spectrometric data were used in this study. For some nuclides changes of only a few percent in the relative isotopic abundance or the fission yields over the energy range of thermal to 1 MeV are easily discernable and significant; for others the data are too sparse and scattered to obtain a good correlation. The neutron energy index usedin this study is the /sup 150/Nd//sup 143/Nd isotopic ratio. The results of this correlation study compared to the US Evaluated Nuclear Data File (ENDF) fast fission yield compilation. Several discrepancies are noted and suggestions for future work are presented.
Maeck, W.J.
Advanced fission and fossil plant economics-implications for fusion
In order for fusion energy to be a viable option for electric power generation, it must either directly compete with future alternatives or serve as a reasonable backup if the alternatives become unacceptable. This paper discusses projected costs for the most likely competitors with fusion power for baseload electric capacity and what these costs imply for fusion economics. The competitors examined include advanced nuclear fission and advanced fossil-fired plants. The projected costs and their basis are discussed. The estimates for these technologies are compared with cost estimates for magnetic and inertial confinement fusion plants. The conclusion of the analysis is that fusion faces formidable economic competition. Although the cost level for fusion appears greater than that for fission or fossil, the costs are not so high as to preclude fusion`s potential competitiveness.
A nuclear reactor system is described wherein the reactor is the type using a liquid metal fuel, such as a dispersion of fissile material in bismuth. The reactor is designed ln the form of a closed loop having a core sectlon and heat exchanger sections. The liquid fuel is clrculated through the loop undergoing flssion in the core section to produce heat energy and transferrlng this heat energy to secondary fluids in the heat exchanger sections. The fission in the core may be produced by a separate neutron source or by a selfsustained chain reaction of the liquid fuel present in the core section. Additional auxiliary heat exchangers are used in the system to convert water into steam which drives a turbine.
Dwyer, O.E.
Fission Properties for R-Process Nuclei
We present a systematics of fission barriers and fission lifetimes for the whole landscape of superheavy elements (SHE), i.e., nuclei with Z 100. The fission lifetimes are also compared with the -decay half-lives. The survey is based on a self-consistent description in terms of the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock (SHF) approach. Results for various different SHF parametrizations are compared to explore the robustness of the predictions. The fission path is computed by quadrupole constrained SHF. The computation of fission lifetimes takes care of the crucial ingredients of the large-amplitude collective dynamics along the fission path, as self-consistent collective mass and proper quantum corrections. We discuss the different topologies of fission landscapes which occur in the realm of SHE (symmetric versus asymmetric fission, regions of triaxial fission, bimodal fission, and the impact of asymmetric ground states). The explored region is extended deep into the regime of very neutron-rich isotopes as they are expected to be produced in the astrophysical r process.
Erler, J. [Inst. fur Theoretische Physik II, Univ. Erlangen-Numberg, Germany/UTK/ORNL; Langanke, K. [GSI-Darmstadt/Tech. Univ. Darmstadt, Inst. Phys./Frankfurt Inst. Advanced Studies, Germany; Loens, H. P. [GSI-Darmstadt/Tech. Univ. Darmstadt, Inst. Phys.; Martinez-Pinedo, G. [GSI-Darmstadt/Tech. Univ. Darmstadt, Inst. Phys.; Reinhard, P.-G. [Inst. fur Theoretische Physik II, Univ. Erlangen-Numberg, Germany
Fission properties for r-process nuclei
We present a systematics of fission barriers and fission lifetimes for the whole landscape of super-heavy elements (SHE), i.e. nuclei with Z>100. The fission lifetimes are also compared with the alpha-decay half-lives. The survey is based on a self-consistent description in terms of the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock (SHF) approach. Results for various different SHF parameterizations are compared to explore the robustness of the predictions. The fission path is computed by quadrupole constrained SHF. The computation of fission lifetimes takes care of the crucial ingredients of the large-amplitude collective dynamics along the fission path, as self-consistent collective mass and proper quantum corrections. We discuss the different topologies of fission landscapes which occur in the realm of SHE (symmetric versus asymmetric fission, regions of triaxial fission, bi-modal fission, and the impact of asymmetric ground states). The explored region is extended deep into the regime of very neutron-rich isotopes as they are expected to be produced in the astrophysical r process.
J. Erler; K. Langanke; H. P. Loens; G. Mart�nez-Pinedo; P. -G. Reinhard
Isotopic Yield Distributions of Transfer- and Fusion-Induced Fission from 238U+12C Reactions in Inverse Kinematics
A novel method to access the complete identification in atomic number Z and mass A of fragments produced in low-energy fission of actinides is presented. This method, based on the use of multi- nucleon transfer and fusion reactions in inverse kinematics, is applied in this work to reactions between a 238U beam and a 12C target to produce and induce fission of moderately excited actinides. The fission fragments are detected and fully identified with the VAMOS spectrometer of GANIL, allowing the measurement of fragment yields of several hundreds of isotopes in a range between A ~ 80 and ~ 160, and from Z ~ 30 to ~ 64. For the first time, complete isotopic yield distributions of fragments from well-defined fissioning systems are available. Together with the precise measurement of the fragment emission angles and velocities, this technique gives further insight into the nuclear-fission process.
M. Caama�o; O. Delaune; F. Farget; X. Derkx; K. -H. Schmidt; L. Audouin; C. -O. Bacri; G. Barreau; J. Benlliure; E. Casarejos; A. Chbihi; B. Fernandez-Dominguez; L. Gaudefroy; C. Golabek; B. Jurado; A. Lemasson; A. Navin; M. Rejmund; T. Roger; A. Shrivastava; C. Schmitt
New Nuclear And Subnuclear Exotic Decays
In this paper new nuclear and subnuclear exotic decays are investigated. Some theoretical problems of the pionic radioactivity, such as fission-like models, applicable to all kind of exotic nuclear and subnuclear decays are presented. The induced nuclear and subnuclear decays are discussed. Moreover, using the recent results on the spontaneous fission half lives T of the heavy nuclei with Z new predictions on the pionic yields in the region of superheavy elements are presented.
D. B. Ion; Reveica Ion-Mihai; M. L. Ion
The direct conversion of the electrical energy of charged fission fragments was examined early in the nuclear reactor era, and the first theoretical treatment appeared in the literature in 1957. Most of the experiments conducted during the next ten years to investigate fission fragment direct energy conversion (DEC) were for understanding the nature and control of the charged particles. These experiments verified fundamental physics and identified a number of specific problem areas, but also demonstrated a number of technical challenges that limited DEC performance. Because DEC was insufficient for practical applications, by the late 1960s most R&D ceased in the US. Sporadic interest in the concept appears in the literature until this day, but there have been no recent programs to develop the technology. This has changed with the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative that was funded by the U.S. Congress in 1999. Most of the previous concepts were based on a fission electric cell known as a triode, where a central cathode is coated with a thin layer of nuclear fuel. A fission fragment that leaves the cathode with high kinetic energy and a large positive charge is decelerated as it approaches the anode by a charge differential of several million volts, it then deposits its charge in the anode after its kinetic energy is exhausted. Large numbers of low energy electrons leave the cathode with each fission fragment; they are suppressed by negatively biased on grid wires or by magnetic fields. Other concepts include magnetic collimators and quasi-direct magnetohydrodynamic generation (steady flow or pulsed). We present the basic principles of DEC fission reactors, review the previous research, discuss problem areas in detail and identify technological developments of the last 30 years relevant to overcoming these obstacles. A prognosis for future development of direct energy conversion fission reactors will be presented.
The patent relates to the direct conversion of fission heat to electricity by use of thermionic plasma diodes having fissionable material cathodes, said diodes arranged to form a critical mass in a nuclear reactor. The patent describes a fuel element comprising a plurality of diodes each having a fissionable material cathode, an anode around said cathode, and an ionizable gas therebetween. Provision is made for flowing the gas and current serially through the diodes. (AEC)
Rasor, N.S.; Hirsch, R.L.
Papers are presented for the following topics: (1) Nuclear Structure and Nuclear Properties - (a) Nuclear Spectroscopy and Radioactivity; (b) Nuclear Reactions and Scattering; (c) Nuclear Theory; and (d) Fission. (2) Chemical and Atomic Physics - (a) Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy; and (b) Hyperfine Interactions. (3) Physical, Inorganic, and Analytical Chemistry - (a) X-Ray Crystallography; (b) Physical and Inorganic Chemistry; (c) Radiation Chemistry; and (d) Chemical Engineering. (4) Instrumentation and Systems Development.
Isoscaling behavior in the Fission Dynamics
The fission processes of $^{112}$Sn + $^{112}$Sn and $^{116}$Sn + $^{116}$Sn are simulated with the combination of the Langevin equation and the statistical decay model. The masses of two fission fragments are given by assuming the process of symmetric fission or asymmetric fission by the Monte Carlo sampling with the Gaussian probability distribution. From the analysis to the isotopic/isotonic ratios of the fission fragments from both reactions, the isoscaling behavior has been observed and investigated in details. Isoscaling parameters $\\alpha$ and $\\beta$ are extracted as a function of the charge number and neutron number, respectively, in different width of the sampling Gaussian probability distribution. It seems that $\\alpha$ is sensitive to the width of fission probability distribution of the mass asymmetrical parameter but $\\beta$ is not. Both $\\alpha$ and $\\beta$ drop with the increasing of beam energy and the reduced friction parameter.
Y. G. Ma; K. Wang; X. Z. Cai; J. G. Chen; J. H. Chen; D. Q. Fang; W. Guo; C. W. Ma; G. L. Ma; W. Q. Shen; Q. M. Su; W. D. Tian; Y. B. Wei; T. Z. Yan; C. Zhong; X. F. Zhou; J. X. Zuo
Fission barriers and half-lives
We briefly review the development of theoretical models for the calculation of fission barriers and half-lives. We focus on how results of actual calculations in a unified macroscopic-microscopic approach provide an interpretation of the mechanisms behind some of the large number of phenomena observed in fission. As instructive examples we choose studies of the rapidly varying fission properties of elements at the end of the periodic system. 31 refs., 10 figs.
Moeller, P.; Nix, J.R.; Swiatecki, W.J.
A method is given for recovertng aluminum values from aqueous solutions containing said values together with fission products. A mixture of Fe/sub 2/O/ sub 3/ and MnO/sub 2/ is added to a solution containing aluminum and fission products. The resulting aluminum-containing supernatant is then separated from the fission product-bearing metal oxide precipitate and is contacted with a cation exchange resin. The aluminum sorbed on the resin is then eluted and recovered. (AEC)
Blanco, R.E.; Higgins, I.R.
The decontamination of organic solvents from fission products and in particular the treatment of solvents that were used for the extraction of uranium and/or plutonium from aqueous acid solutions of neutron-irradiated uranium are treated. The process broadly comprises heating manganese carbonate in air to a temperature of between 300 and 500 deg C whereby manganese dioxide is formed; mixing the manganese dioxide with the fission product-containing organic solvent to be treated whereby the fission products are precipitated on the manganese dioxide; and separating the fission product-containing manganese dioxide from the solvent.
Moore, R.H.
Carrier precipitation processes for separating plutonium values from uranium fission products are described. Silicon dioxide or titanium dioxide in a finely divided state is added to an acidic aqueous solution containing hexavalent plutonium ions together with ions of uranium fission products. The supernatant solution containing plutonium ions is then separated from the oxide and the fission products associated therewith.
Davies, T.H.
Fission fragment excited laser system
A laser system and method for exciting lasing action in a molecular gas lasing medium which includes cooling the lasing medium to a temperature below about 150 K and injecting fission fragments through the lasing medium so as to preferentially excite low lying vibrational levels of the medium and to cause population inversions therein. The cooled gas lasing medium should have a mass areal density of about 5 .times. 10.sup.-.sup.3 grams/square centimeter, relaxation times of greater than 50 microseconds, and a broad range of excitable vibrational levels which are excitable by molecular collisions.
McArthur, David A. (Albuquerque, NM); Tollefsrud, Philip B. (Albuquerque, NM)
the Charge Distribution in Fission William 0. Myers Nuclearnuclear collisions or in fission. Since the asymptotic widthin ref. [ 4] for the fission of ? 3fi U. As the neck between
The Experiential Bridge: remedial landscape for Hanford's nuclear future
The groundbreaking discovery of nuclear fission opened up new possibilities for generating power and resources for people. Nuclear energy was much preferred over fossil fuel because of its efficiency in production, ...
Kim, Yuna
A,B,C`s of nuclear science
This introductory level presentation contains information on nuclear structure, radioactivity, alpha decay, beta decay, gamma decay, half-life, nuclear reactions, fusion, fission, cosmic rays, and radiation protection. Nine experiments with procedures and test questions are included.
Noto, V.A. [Mandeville High School, LA (United States); Norman, E.B.; Chan, Yuen-Dat; Dairiki, J.; Matis, H.S.; McMahan, M.A.; Otto, R. [Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)
Proton-induced fission of actinides at energies 26.5 and 62.9 MeV--Theoretical interpretation
Fission properties of proton-induced fission on {sup 232}Th, {sup 237}Np, {sup 238}U, {sup 239}Pu and {sup 241}Am targets, measured at the Louvain-la-Neuve cyclotron facility at proton energies of 26.5 and 62.9 MeV, are compared with the predictions of the state-of-the-art nuclear reaction code TALYS. The sensitivity of the calculations to the input parameters of the code and possible improvements are discussed.
Demetriou, P. [Institute of Nuclear Physics, NCSR 'Demokritos', 15310 Athens (Greece); Keutgen, Th.; Prieels, R.; El Masri, Y. [FNRS and Institut de Physique Nucleaire, Universite catholique de Louvain, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium)
Fission barriers for neutron-rich nuclei by means of Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculation
The nuclear fission barrier height has been estimated by means of the constraint Skyrme Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method. The potential energy surfaces obtained by the method are analyzed with the flooding method to find several saddle points. The results for U, Np, Bk isotopes are compared with the barrier derived from the extended Thomas-Fermi plus Strutinsky integral method.
Hashizume, K.; Wada, T.; Ohta, M. [Department of Physic, Konan University, Okamoto, Kobe 658-8501 (Japan); Samyn, M.; Goriely, S. [Institute d'Astronomie et d'Astrophysique, ULB-CP226, B-1050 Brussels (Belgium)
Fission: theory and beyond (a study of collective dynamics)
From correlation on nuclei conference; Lake Balaton, Hungary (3 Sep 1973). The topic of the dynamics of the fission process has two subdivisions, the determination of the inertial mass parameters and the study of deviations from adiabaticity, excitation of singleparticle levels, viscosity, etc. The problems of dynamics are studied, with attention directed to the role of nuclear correlations. Two alternate forms for the mass parameter are presented. The first is variational, but it requires the evaluation of matrix elements involving the Hamiltonian. The other does not involve the Hamiltonian, but rather it utilizes the physical content of the wave function. (1 figures) (RWR)
Wilets, L.; Haff, P.K.
Cryogenic method for measuring nuclides and fission gases
A cryogenic method is provided for determining airborne gases and particulates from which gamma rays are emitted. A special dewar counting vessel is filled with the contents of the sampling flask which is immersed in liquid nitrogen. A vertically placed sodium-iodide or germanium-lithium gamma-ray detector is used. The device and method are of particular use in measuring and identifying the radioactive noble gases including emissions from coal-fired power plants, as well as fission gases released or escaping from nuclear power plants.
Perdue, P.T.; Haywood, F.F.
A nuclear reactor of the homogeneous liquid fuel type is described wherein the fissionable isotope is suspended or dissolved in a liquid moderator such as water. The reactor core is comprised essentially of a spherical vessel for containing the reactive composition surrounded by a reflector, preferably of beryllium oxide. The reactive composition may be an ordinary water solution of a soluble salt of uranium, the quantity of fissionable isotope in solution being sufficient to provide a critical mass in the vessel. The liquid fuel is stored in a tank of non-crtttcal geometry below the reactor vessel and outside of the reflector and is passed from the tank to the vessel through a pipe connecting the two by air pressure means. Neutron absorbing control and safety rods are operated within slots in the reflector adjacent to the vessel.
Christy, R.F.
A Review of Previous Research in Direct Energy Conversion Fission Reactors
From the earliest days of power reactor development, direct energy conversion was an obvious choice to produce high efficiency electric power generation. Directly capturing the energy of the fission fragments produced during nuclear fission avoids the intermediate conversion to thermal energy and the efficiency limitations of classical thermodynamics. Efficiencies of more than 80% are possible, independent of operational temperature. Direct energy conversion fission reactors would possess a number of unique characteristics that would make them very attractive for commercial power generation. These reactors would be modular in design with integral power conversion and operate at low pressures and temperatures. They would operate at high efficiency and produce power well suited for long distance transmission. They would feature large safety margins and passively safe design. Ideally suited to production by advanced manufacturing techniques, direct energy conversion fission reactors could be produced more economically than conventional reactor designs. The history of direct energy conversion can be considered as dating back to 1913 when Moseleyl demonstrated that charged particle emission could be used to buildup a voltage. Soon after the successful operation of a nuclear reactor, E.P. Wigner suggested the use of fission fragments for direct energy conversion. Over a decade after Wigner's suggestion, the first theoretical treatment of the conversion of fission fragment kinetic energy into electrical potential appeared in the literature. Over the ten years that followed, a number of researchers investigated various aspects of fission fragment direct energy conversion. Experiments were performed that validated the basic physics of the concept, but a variety of technical challenges limited the efficiencies that were achieved. Most research in direct energy conversion ceased in the US by the late 1960s. Sporadic interest in the concept appears in the literature until this day, but there have been no recent significant programs to develop the technology.
Nuclear Science Day live webinar (National Nuclear Science Week) - Argonne
Nuclear Science Day live webinar Nuclear Science Day live webinar Search Go Home Postdocs Students Student Outreach Resources for Schools U.S.-based International (English) International (Other) Events IGED 2013 Science Careers in Search of Women Girls, choose a career in Nuclear Science and Technology! Argonne Nuclear Engineers tell why they chose a Nuclear Career Resources Contact Us Recent Events Science Careers in Search of Women, Apr. 18, 2013 Junior Girl Scout Workshop 'Atomic Fission Fun with the American Nuclear Society', Jan. 26, 2013 Getting to know nuclear energy: the past, the present & the future - free public lecture (Nov. 15, 2012, Argonne National Laboratory) On January 26, 2013, Argonne staff members participated in the Junior Girl Scout Workshop 'Atomic Fission Fun with the American Nuclear Society'
The History of Nuclear Energy | Department of Energy
History of Nuclear Energy History of Nuclear Energy The History of Nuclear Energy Although they are tiny, atoms have a large amount of energy holding their nuclei together. Certain isotopes of some elements can be split and will release part of their energy as heat. This splitting is called fission. The heat released in fission can be used to help generate electricity in powerplants. Uranium-235 (U-235) is one of the isotopes that fissions easily. During fission, U-235 atoms absorb loose neutrons. This causes U-235 to become unstable and split into two light atoms called fission products. The combined mass of the fission products is less than that of the original U-235. The reduction occurs because some of the matter changes into energy. The energy is released as heat. Two or three neutrons
The removal of fission products such as strontium, barium, cesium, rubidium, or iodine from neutronirradiated uranium is described. Uranium halide or elemental halogen is added to melted irradiated uranium to convert the fission products to either more volatile compositions which vaporize from the melt or to higher melting point compositions which separate as solids.
Spedding, F.H.; Butler, T.A.; Johns, I.B.
Los Alamos National Laboratory Fission Basis
This report is an overview of two main publications that provide a comprehensive review of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Fission Basis. The first is the experimental paper, {sup F}ission Product Data Measured at Los Alamos for Fission Spectrum and Thermal Neutrons on {sup 239}Pu, {sup 235}U, {sup 238}U, [Selby, H. D., et al., Nucl. Data Sheets, Vol. 111 2010, pp. 2891-2922] and the second is the theoretical paper, Fission Product Yields from Fission Spectrum n+ {sup 239}Pu for ENDF/B-VII.1, [Chadwick, M. B., et al., Nucl. Data Sheets, Vol. 111, 2010, pp. 2923-2964]. One important note is that none of this work would have been possible without the great documentation of the experimental details and results by G.W. Knobeloch, G. Butler, C.I. Browne, B. Erdal, B. Bayhurst, R. Prestwood, V. Armijo, J. Hasty and many others. (authors)
Keksis, A.L.; Chadwick, M.B.; Selby, H.D.; Mac Innes, M.R.; Barr, D.W.; Meade, R.A.; Burns, C.J.; Wallstrom, T.C. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM 87545 (United States)
Processing and Properties of SiC/SiC Composites for Nuclear ...
It is thought that these materials can be used for numerous applications in all generations of nuclear fission power plants as well as for structural material in�...
Experimental evidence for the separability of compound-nucleus and fragment properties in fission
The large body of experimental data on nuclear fission is analyzed with a semi-empirical ordering scheme based on the macro-microscopic approach and the separability of compound-nucleus and fragment properties on the fission path. We apply the statistical model to the non-equilibrium descent from saddle to scission, taking the influence of dynamics into account by an early freeze out. The present approach reveals a large portion of common features behind the variety of the complex observations made for the different systems. General implications for out-of-equilibrium processes are mentioned.
Karl-Heinz Schmidt; Aleksandra Kelic; Maria Valentina Ricciardi
Binding energy and fission of the heavy charged massive particle - nucleus bound state
We consider a possibility of capture of a heavy charged massive particle $\\chi^-$ by the nucleus leading to appearance of a bound state. A simple analytic formula allowing to calculate binding energies of the $N\\chi^-$ bound state for different nuclei is derived. If the binding energy is sufficiently large the particle $\\chi^-$ is stable inside the nucleus. The probabilities of the nuclear fissions for such states are calculated. It is shown that the bound states are more stable to a possible fission in comparison to the bare nucleus. This makes an observation of this hypothetical charged massive particle and the superheavy nuclei more probable.
V. V. Flambaum; G. McManus; S. G. Porsev
Laser amplifier chain
A laser amplifier chain has a plurality of laser amplifiers arranged in a chain to sequentially amplify a low-power signal beam to produce a significantly higher-power output beam. Overall efficiency of such a chain is improved if high-gain, low efficiency amplifiers are placed on the upstream side of the chain where only a very small fraction of the total pumped power is received by the chain and low-gain, high-efficiency amplifiers are placed on the downstream side where a majority of pumping energy is received by the chain.
Hackel, Richard P. (Livermore, CA)
A laser amplifier chain has a plurality of laser amplifiers arranged in a chain to sequentially amplify a low-power signal beam to produce a significantly higher-power output beam. Overall efficiency of such a chain is improved if high-gain, low efficiency amplifiers are placed on the upstream side of the chain where only a very small fraction of the total pumped power is received by the chain and low-gain, high-efficiency amplifiers are placed on the downstream side where a majority of pumping energy is received by the chain. 6 figs.
Hackel, R.P.
Spectroscopy of element 115 decay chains
A high-resolution a, X-ray and -ray coincidence spectroscopy experiment was conducted at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum fu r Schwerionenforschung. Thirty correlated a-decay chains were detected following the fusion-evaporation reaction 48Ca + 243Am. The observations are consistent with previous assignments of similar decay chains to originate from element Z = 115. The data includes first candidates of fingerprinting the decay step Mt --> Bh with characteristic X rays. For the first time, precise spectroscopy allows the derivation of excitation schemes of isotopes along the decay chains starting with elements Z > 112. Comprehensive Monte-Carlo simulations accompany the data analysis. Nuclear structure models provide a first level interpretation.
Rudolph, Dirk [Lund University, Sweden; Forsberg, U. [Lund University, Sweden; Golubev, P. [Lund University, Sweden; Sarmiento, L. G. [Lund University, Sweden; Yakushev, A. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Andersson, L.-L. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Di Nitto, A. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Duehllmann, Ch. E. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Gates, J. M. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL); Gregorich, K. E. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL); Gross, Carl J [ORNL; Hessberger, F. P. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Herzberg, R.-D [University of Liverpool; Khuyagbaatar, J. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Kratz, J. V. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Rykaczewski, Krzysztof Piotr [ORNL; Schaedel, M. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Aberg, S. [Lund University, Sweden; Ackermann, D. [GSI-Hemholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany; Block, M. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Brand, H. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Carlsson, B. G. [Lund University, Sweden; Cox, D. [University of Liverpool; Derkx, X. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Eberhardt, K. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Even, J. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Fahlander, C. [Lund University, Sweden; Gerl, J. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Jaeger, E. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Kindler, B. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Krier, J. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Kojouharov, I. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Kurz, N. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Lommel, B. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Mistry, A. [University of Liverpool; Mokry, C. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Nitsche, H. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL); Omtvedt, J. P. [Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland; Papadakis, P. [University of Liverpool; Ragnarsson, I. [Lund University, Sweden; Runke, J. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Schaffner, H. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Schausten, B. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Thoerle-Pospiech, P. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Torres, T. [Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI), Germany; Traut, T. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Trautmann, N. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Tuerler, A. [Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland; Ward, A. [University of Liverpool; Ward, D. E. [Lund University, Sweden; Wiehl, N. [Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Mainz, Germany
Fission Matrix Capability for MCNP Monte Carlo
In a Monte Carlo criticality calculation, before the tallying of quantities can begin, a converged fission source (the fundamental eigenvector of the fission kernel) is required. Tallies of interest may include powers, absorption rates, leakage rates, or the multiplication factor (the fundamental eigenvalue of the fission kernel, k{sub eff}). Just as in the power iteration method of linear algebra, if the dominance ratio (the ratio of the first and zeroth eigenvalues) is high, many iterations of neutron history simulations are required to isolate the fundamental mode of the problem. Optically large systems have large dominance ratios, and systems containing poor neutron communication between regions are also slow to converge. The fission matrix method, implemented into MCNP[1], addresses these problems. When Monte Carlo random walk from a source is executed, the fission kernel is stochastically applied to the source. Random numbers are used for: distances to collision, reaction types, scattering physics, fission reactions, etc. This method is used because the fission kernel is a complex, 7-dimensional operator that is not explicitly known. Deterministic methods use approximations/discretization in energy, space, and direction to the kernel. Consequently, they are faster. Monte Carlo directly simulates the physics, which necessitates the use of random sampling. Because of this statistical noise, common convergence acceleration methods used in deterministic methods do not work. In the fission matrix method, we are using the random walk information not only to build the next-iteration fission source, but also a spatially-averaged fission kernel. Just like in deterministic methods, this involves approximation and discretization. The approximation is the tallying of the spatially-discretized fission kernel with an incorrect fission source. We address this by making the spatial mesh fine enough that this error is negligible. As a consequence of discretization we get a spatially low-order kernel, the fundamental eigenvector of which should converge faster than that of continuous kernel. We can then redistribute the fission bank to match the fundamental fission matrix eigenvector, effectively eliminating all higher modes. For all computations here biasing is not used, with the intention of comparing the unaltered, conventional Monte Carlo process with the fission matrix results. The source convergence of standard Monte Carlo criticality calculations are, to some extent, always subject to the characteristics of the problem. This method seeks to partially eliminate this problem-dependence by directly calculating the spatial coupling. The primary cost of this, which has prevented widespread use since its inception [2,3,4], is the extra storage required. To account for the coupling of all N spatial regions to every other region requires storing N{sup 2} values. For realistic problems, where a fine resolution is required for the suppression of discretization error, the storage becomes inordinate. Two factors lead to a renewed interest here: the larger memory available on modern computers and the development of a better storage scheme based on physical intuition. When the distance between source and fission events is short compared with the size of the entire system, saving memory by accounting for only local coupling introduces little extra error. We can gain other information from directly tallying the fission kernel: higher eigenmodes and eigenvalues. Conventional Monte Carlo cannot calculate this data - here we have a way to get new information for multiplying systems. In Ref. [5], higher mode eigenfunctions are analyzed for a three-region 1-dimensional problem and 2-dimensional homogenous problem. We analyze higher modes for more realistic problems. There is also the question of practical use of this information; here we examine a way of using eigenmode information to address the negative confidence interval bias due to inter-cycle correlation. We apply this method mainly to four problems: 2D pressurized water reactor (PWR) [6],
Carney, Sean E. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Brown, Forrest B. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Kiedrowski, Brian C. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Martin, William R. [Los Alamos National Laboratory
In the OSTI Collections: Fission Theory | OSTI, US Dept of Energy, Office
Fission Theory Fission Theory How do atoms split Interest in the details Macroscopic-microscopic approaches Microscopic approaches Improved theory and design References Additional References Research Organizations Reports available from OSTI's Information Bridge How do atoms split? The main influences on the splitting of atoms were understood in at least a rough way almost as soon as nuclear fission was discovered in 1938. An atom's nucleus is composed of two kinds of nucleons: protons, which all have equal amounts of positive electric charge and thus repel each other, and neutrons, which have no net electric charge and are thus not affected electrically by the protons or each other. If internal electrostatic forces were the only ones that influenced nucleons' motions, the protons
Fission Product Impact Reduction via Protracted In-core Retention in Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) Transmutation Scenarios
The closure of the nuclear fuel cycle is a topic of interest in the sustainability context of nuclear energy. The implication of such closure includes considerations of nuclear waste management. This originates from the fact that a closed fuel cycle requires recycling of useful materials from spent nuclear fuel and discarding of non-usable streams of the spent fuel, which are predominantly the fission products. The fission products represent the near-term concerns associated with final geological repositories for the waste stream. Long-lived fission products also contribute to the long-term concerns associated with such repository. In addition, an ultimately closed nuclear fuel cycle in which all actinides from spent nuclear fuels are incinerated will result in fission products being the only source of radiotoxicity. Hence, it is desired to develop a transmutation strategy that will achieve reduction in the inventory and radiological parameters of significant fission products within a reasonably short time. In this dissertation, a transmutation strategy involving the use of the VHTR is developed. A set of specialized metrics is developed and applied to evaluate performance characteristics. The transmutation strategy considers six major fission products: 90Sr, 93Zr, 99Tc, 129I, 135Cs and 137Cs. In this approach, the unique core features of VHTRs operating in equilibrium fuel cycle mode of 405 effective full power days are used for transmutation of the selected fission products. A 30 year irradiation period with 10 post-irradiation cooling is assumed. The strategy assumes no separation of each nuclide from its corresponding material stream in the VHTR fuel cycle. The optimum locations in the VHTR core cavity leading to maximized transmutation of each selected nuclides are determined. The fission product transmutation scenarios are simulated with MCNP and ORIGEN-S. The results indicate that the developed fission product transmutation strategy offers an excellent potential approach for the reduction of inventories and radiological parameters, particularly for long-lived fission products (93Zr, 99Tc, 129I and 135Cs). It has been determined that the in-core transmutation of relatively short-lived fission products (90Sr and 137Cs) has minimal advantage over a decay-only scenario for these nuclides. It is concluded that the developed strategy is a viable option for the reduction of radiotoxicity contributions of the selected fission products prior to their final disposal in a geological repository. Even in the cases where the transmutation advantage is minimal, it is deemed that the improvement gained, coupled with the virtual storage provided for the fission products during the irradiation period, makes the developed fission product transmutation strategy advantageous in the spent fuel management scenarios. Combined with the in-core incineration options for TRU, the developed transmutation strategy leads to potential achievability of engineering time scales in the comprehensive nuclear waste management.
Alajo, Ayodeji Babatunde
Calculations of fission rates for r-process nucleosynthesis
Fission plays an important role in the r-process which is responsible not only for the yields of transuranium isotopes, but may have a strong influence on the formation of the majority of heavy nuclei due to fission recycling. We present calculations of beta-delayed and neutron-induced fission rates, taking into account different fission barriers predictions and mass formulae. It is shown that an increase of fission barriers results naturally in a reduction of fission rates, but that nevertheless fission leads to the termination of the r-process. Furthermore, it is discussed that the probability of triple fission could be high for $A>260$ and have an effect on the formation of the abundances of heavy nuclei. Fission after beta-delayed neutron emission is discussed as well as different aspects of the influence of fission upon r-process calculations.
I. V. Panov; E. Kolbe; B. Pfeiffer; T. Rauscher; K. -L. Kratz; F. -K. Thielemann
Nuclear fuel element
A nuclear fuel element wherein a tubular cladding of zirconium or a zirconium alloy has a fission gas plenum chamber which is held against collapse by the loops of a spacer in the form of a tube which has been deformed inwardly at three equally spaced, circumferential positions to provide three loops. A heat resistant disc of, say, graphite separates nuclear fuel pellets within the cladding from the plenum chamber. The spacer is of zirconium or a zirconium alloy.
Meadowcroft, Ronald Ross (Deep River, CA); Bain, Alastair Stewart (Deep River, CA)
Biofuel Supply Chain Infrastructure
Research Areas Freight Flows Passenger Flows Supply Chain Efficiency Transportation: Energy Environment Safety Security Vehicle Technologies The Infrastructure Challenge of...
Proliferation Resistant Nuclear Reactor Fuel
Global appetite for fission power is projected to grow dramatically this century, and for good reason. Despite considerable research to identify new sources of energy, fission remains the most plentiful and practical alternative to fossil fuels. The environmental challenges of fossil fuel have made the fission power option increasingly attractive, particularly as we are forced to rely on reserves in ecologically fragile or politically unstable corners of the globe. Caught between a globally eroding fossil fuel reserve as well as the uncertainty and considerable costs in the development of fusion power, most of the world will most likely come to rely on fission power for at least the remainder of the 21st century. Despite inevitable growth, fission power faces enduring challenges in sustainability and security. One of fission power's greatest hurdles to universal acceptance is the risk of potential misuse for nefarious purposes of fissionable byproducts in spent fuel, such as plutonium. With this issue in mind, we have discussed intrinsic concepts in this report that are motivated by the premise that the utility, desirability, and applicability of nuclear materials can be reduced. In a general sense, the intrinsic solutions aim to reduce or eliminate the quantity of existing weapons usable material; avoid production of new weapons-usable material through enrichment, breeding, extraction; or employ engineering solutions to make the fuel cycle less useful or more difficult for producing weapons-usable material. By their nature, these schemes require modifications to existing fuel cycles. As such, the concomitants of these modifications require engagement from the nuclear reactor and fuel-design community to fully assess their effects. Unfortunately, active pursuit of any scheme that could further complicate the spread of domestic nuclear power will probably be understandably unpopular. Nevertheless, the nonproliferation and counterterrorism issues are paramount, and we posit that the exploration, development, and implementation of intrinsic mechanisms such as discussed here are part of a balanced approach aimed at preventing the misuse of nuclear material for nuclear-energy applications.
Gray, L W; Moody, K J; Bradley, K S; Lorenzana, H E
The dependence of fission barriers on the excitation energy of the compound nucleus impacts the survival probability of superheavy nuclei synthesized in heavy-ion fusion reactions. In this work, we investigate the isentropic ...
Sheikh, J. A.
Porous fission fragment tracks in fluorapatite
Fission tracks caused by the spontaneous fission of {sup 238}U in minerals, as revealed by chemical etching, are extensively used to determine the age and thermal history of Earth's crust. Details of the structure and annealing of tracks at the atomic scale have remained elusive, as the original track is destroyed during chemical etching. By combining transmission electron microscopy with in situ heating, we demonstrate that fission tracks in fluorapatite are actually porous tubes, instead of having an amorphous core, as generally assumed. Direct observation shows thermally induced track fragmentation in fluoapatite, in clear contrast to the amorphous tracks in zircon, which gradually ''fade'' without fragmentation. Rayleigh instability and the thermal emission of vacancies control the annealing of porous fission tracks in fluorapatite.
Li Weixing; Ewing, Rodney C. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2104 (United States); Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2104 (United States); Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1005 (United States); Wang Lumin [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2104 (United States); Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2104 (United States); Sun Kai [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2104 (United States); Lang, Maik [Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1005 (United States); Trautmann, Christina [GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, Planckstr. 1, 64291 Darmstadt (Germany)
Neutron Correlations in Special Nuclear Materials, Experiments and Simulations
Fissile materials emit neutrons with an unmistakable signature that can reveal characteristics of the material. We describe here measurements, simulations, and predicted signals expected and prospects for application of neutron correlation measurement methods to detection of special nuclear materials (SNM). The occurrence of fission chains in SNM can give rise to this distinctive, measurable time correlation signal. The neutron signals can be analyzed to detect the presence and to infer attributes of the SNM and surrounding materials. For instance, it is possible to infer attributes of an assembly containing a few kilograms of uranium, purely passively, using detectors of modest size in a reasonable time. Neutron signals of three radioactive sources are shown to illustrate the neutron correlation and analysis method. Measurements are compared with Monte Carlo calculations of the authenticated sources.
Verbeke, J; Dougan, A; Nakae, L; Sale, K; Snyderman, N
The contrasting fission potential-energy structure of actinides and mercury isotopes
Fission-fragment mass distributions are asymmetric in fission of typical actinide nuclei for nucleon number $A$ in the range $228 \\lnsim A \\lnsim 258$ and proton number $Z$ in the range $90\\lnsim Z \\lnsim 100$. For somewhat lighter systems it has been observed that fission mass distributions are usually symmetric. However, a recent experiment showed that fission of $^{180}$Hg following electron capture on $^{180}$Tl is asymmetric. We calculate potential-energy surfaces for a typical actinide nucleus and for 12 even isotopes in the range $^{178}$Hg--$^{200}$Hg, to investigate the similarities and differences of actinide compared to mercury potential surfaces and to what extent fission-fragment properties, in particular shell structure, relate to the structure of the static potential-energy surfaces. Potential-energy surfaces are calculated in the macroscopic-microscopic approach as functions of fiveshape coordinates for more than five million shapes. The structure of the surfaces are investigated by use of an immersion technique. We determine properties of minima, saddle points, valleys, and ridges between valleys in the 5D shape-coordinate space. Along the mercury isotope chain the barrier heights and the ridge heights and persistence with elongation vary significantly and show no obvious connection to possible fragment shell structure, in contrast to the actinide region, where there is a deep asymmetric valley extending from the saddle point to scission. The mechanism of asymmetric fission must be very different in the lighter proton-rich mercury isotopes compared to the actinide region and is apparently unrelated to fragment shell structure. Isotopes lighter than $^{192}$Hg have the saddle point blocked from a deep symmetric valley by a significant ridge. The ridge vanishes for the heavier Hg isotopes, for which we would expect a qualitatively different asymmetry of the fragments.
Takatoshi Ichikawa; Akira Iwamoto; Peter M�ller; Arnold J. Sierk
ICENES '91:Sixth international conference on emerging nuclear energy systems
This document contains the program and abstracts of the sessions at the Sixth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems held June 16--21, 1991 at Monterey, California. These sessions included: The plenary session, fission session, fission and nonelectric session, poster session 1P; (space propulsion, space nuclear power, electrostatic confined fusion, fusion miscellaneous, inertial confinement fusion, [mu]-catalyzed fusion, and cold fusion); Advanced fusion session, space nuclear session, poster session 2P, (nuclear reactions/data, isotope separation, direct energy conversion and exotic concepts, fusion-fission hybrids, nuclear desalting, accelerator waste-transmutation, and fusion-based chemical recycling); energy policy session, poster session 3P (energy policy, magnetic fusion reactors, fission reactors, magnetically insulated inertial fusion, and nuclear explosives for power generation); exotic energy storage and conversion session; and exotic energy storage and conversion; review and closing session.
Bimodal fission in the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock approach ?
studied within the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock+BCS framework. In the particlehole channel we take the Skyrme SkM ? effective force, while in the particleparticle channel we employ the seniority pairing interaction. Three static fission paths for all investigated heavy fermium isotopes are found. The analysis of these fission modes allows to describe observed asymmetric fission of 256 Fm, as well as bimodal fission of 258 Fm and symmetric fission in
A. Staszczak A; J. Dobaczewski B; W. Nazarewicz B
Neutron-Induced Fission Cross Section Measurements for Uranium Isotopes and Other Actinides at LANSCE
A well established program of neutron-induced fission cross section measurement at Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) is supporting the Fuel Cycle Research program (FC R&D). The incident neutron energy range spans from sub-thermal up to 200 MeV by combining two LANSCE facilities, the Lujan Center and the Weapons Neutron Research center (WNR). The time-of-flight method is implemented to measure the incident neutron energy. A parallel-plate fission ionization chamber was used as a fission fragment detector. The event rate ratio between the investigated foil and a standard {sup 235}U foil is translated into a fission cross section ratio. Thin actinide targets with deposits of <200 {micro}g/cm{sup 2} on stainless steel backing were loaded into a fission chamber. In addition to previously measured data for {sup 237}Np, {sup 239-242}Pu, {sup 243}Am, new measurements include the recently completed {sup 233,238}U isotopes, {sup 236}U data which is being analyzed, and {sup 234}U data acquired in the 2011-2012 LANSCE run cycle. The new data complete the full suite of Uranium isotopes which were investigated with this experimental approach. When analysis of the new measured data is completed, data will be delivered to evaluators. Having data for multiple Uranium isotopes will support theoretical modeling capabilities and strengthens nuclear data evaluation.
Laptev, Alexander B. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Tovesson, Fredrik K. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Hill, Tony S. [Los Alamos National Laboratory
MCNP6 Fission Multiplicity with FMULT Card
With the merger of MCNPX and MCNP5 into MCNP6, MCNP6 now provides all the capabilities of both codes allowing the user to access all the fission multiplicity data sets. Detailed in this paper is: (1) the new FMULT card capabilities for accessing these different data sets; (2) benchmark calculations, as compared to experiment, detailing the results of selecting these separate data sets for thermal neutron induced fission on U-235.
Wilcox, Trevor [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Fensin, Michael Lorne [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Hendricks, John S. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; James, Michael R. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; McKinney, Gregg W. [Los Alamos National Laboratory
Transport properties of fission product vapors
Kinetic theory of gases is used to calculate the transport properties of fission product vapors in a steam and hydrogen environment. Provided in tabular form is diffusivity of steam and hydrogen, viscosity and thermal conductivity of the gaseous mixture, and diffusivity of cesium iodide, cesium hydroxide, diatomic tellurium and tellurium dioxide. These transport properties are required in determining the thermal-hydraulics of and fission product transport in light water reactors.
Im, K.H.; Ahluwalia, R.K.
Overview of tritium fast-fission yields
Tritium production rates are very important to the development of fast reactors because tritium may be produced at a greater rate in fast reactors than in light water reactors. This report focuses on tritium production and does not evaluate the transport and eventual release of the tritium in a fast reactor system. However, if an order-of-magnitude increase in fast fission yields for tritium is confirmed, fission will become the dominant production source of tritium in fast reactors.
Tanner, J.E.
Spontaneous fission of the heaviest elements
Although spontaneous fission was discovered in /sup 238/U in 1940, detailed studies of the process were first made possible in the 1960's with the availability of milligram quantities of /sup 252/Cf. The advent of solid-state detectors made it possible to perform measurements of coincident fission fragments from even very short-lived spontaneous fission activities or those available in only very small quantities. Until 1971 it was believed that the main features of the mass and kinetic-energy distributions were essentially the same as those for thermal neutron-induced fission and that all low-energy fission proceeded via asymmetric mass division with total kinetic energies which could be derived by linear extrapolation from those of lighter elements. In 1971, measurements of /sup 257/Fm showed an increase in symmetric mass division with anomalously high TKE's. Subsequent experiments showed that in /sup 258/Fm and /sup 259/Fm, the most probable mass split was symmetric with very high total kinetic energy. Measurements for the heavier elements have shown symmetric mass distributions with both high and low total kinetic energies. Recent results for spontaneous fission properties of the heaviest elements are reviewed and compared with theory. 31 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab.
Hoffman, D.C.
A search for inverse fission of uranium
There is a long-term interest in running the fission reaction backward, i.e., studying the 'inverse fission' of uranium. The recent availability of beams of n-rich fission fragments has stimulated interest in this endeavor. The purpose is to search for inverse fission in the reactions {sup 124,132}Sn + {sup 100}Mo. In the {sup 124}Sn + {sup 100}Mo reaction, evaporation residues were searched for using in-beam detection of evaporation residues, in-beam {alpha} spectroscopy, and post-irradiation {alpha} spectroscopy, while in the {sup 132}Sn + {sup 100}Mo reaction, the evaporation residue {sup 230}U was searched for using post-irradiation {alpha} spectroscopy. No evidence for the occurrence of the inverse fission reactions was found. The upper-limit cross section for the latter reaction is {approx}550 {mu}b, while the experimental upper-limit cross section for the former reaction is about 21{sup -21}{sup +38} nb. The intensity of suitable radioactive beams is not high enough at present to detect inverse fission. For the {sup 124}Sn + {sup 100}Mo reaction, the observed upper limits are below the estimates of current models for these reactions, probably due to fusion hindrance.
Yanez, R [Oregon State University, Corvallis; Loveland, Walter [Oregon State University; Beckerman, J. [Oregon State University, Corvallis; Leonard, M. [Oregon State University, Corvallis; Pettersson, G. [Oregon State University, Corvallis; Gross, Carl J [ORNL; Shapira, Dan [ORNL; Liang, J Felix [ORNL; Kohley, Zachary W [ORNL; Varner Jr, Robert L [ORNL
Anatomy of neck configuration in fission decay
The anatomy of neck configuration in the fission decay of Uranium and Thorium isotopes is investigated in a microscopic study using Relativistic mean field theory. The study includes $^{236}U$ and $^{232}Th$ in the valley of stability and exotic neutron rich isotopes $^{250}U$, $^{256}U$, $^{260}U$, $^{240}Th$, $^{250}Th$, $^{256}Th$ likely to play important role in the r-process nucleosynthesis in stellar evolution. Following the static fission path, the neck configurations are generated and their composition in terms of the number of neutrons and protons are obtained showing the progressive rise in the neutron component with the increase of mass number. Strong correlation between the neutron multiplicity in the fission decay and the number of neutrons in the neck is seen. The maximum neutron-proton ratio is about 5 for $^{260}$U and $^{256}$Th suggestive of the break down of liquid-drop picture and inhibition of the fission decay in still heavier isotopes. Neck as precursor of a new mode of fission decay like multi-fragmentation fission may also be inferred from this study.
S. K. Patra; R. K. Choudhury; L. Satpathy
Spontaneous fission of /sup 259/Md
The mass and kinetic energy distributions of fission fragments from the spontaneous fission of th newly discovered nuclide /sup 259/Md were obtained. /sup 259/Md was identified as the E. C. daughter of /sup 259/No, and was found to decay entirely (> 95%) by spontaneous fission with a 95-min half-life. From the kinetic energies measured for 397 pairs of coincident fragments, a mass distribution was derived that is symmetric with sigma = 13 amu. /sup 259/Md, together with /sup 258/Fm and /sup 259/Fm, form a select group of three nuclides whose mass division in spontaneous fission is highly symmetric. Unlike the total-kinetic-energy (TKE) distributions of /sup 258/Fm and /sup 259/Fm, which peak at approx. = to 240 MeV, this distribution for /sup 259/Md is broad and is 50 MeV lower in energy. Analysis of the mass and energy distributions shows that events near mass symmetry also exhibit a broad TKE distribution, with one-third of the symmetric events having TKEs less than 200 MeV. The associated of low TKEs with symmetric mass division in the fission of very heavy actinides is anomalous and inconsistent with theories based upon the emergence of fragment shells near the scission point. Either three-body fragmentation or peculiar fragment shapes are assumed as the cause for the large consumption of Coulomb energy observed for a significant fraction of symmetric fissions in /sup 259/Md. 6 figures.
Hulet, E.K.; Wild, J.F.; Lougheed, R.W.; Baisden, P.A.; Landrum, J.H.; Dougan, R.J.; Mustafa, M.; Ghiorso, A.; Nitschke, J.M.
Delayed neutron measurements from fast fission of actinide waste isotopes
A study was performed to determine the delayed neutron emission properties from fast fission of several actinide waste isotopes. The specific isotopes evaluated were U-235, Np-237, and Am-243. A calculational technique based on the microscopic method was used to predict initial guesses for the delayed neutron parameters (group decay constants and yields). Based on these calculations, an alternate "seven-group" structure, in contrast to the traditional "six-group" structure used previously, was suggested which would yield a superior fit to the measured data. A series of measurements were performed to test the hypothesis suggested by this alternate group structure. Using a set of highly purified actinide samples (provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory), the delayed neutron emission decay constants and yields for six groups of the "seven-group" structure were measured for U-235, Np-237, and Am-243. These experiments were performed using the Texas A&M University Nuclear Science Center Reactor, a quick pneumatic transfer system, an integrated computer control and counting system, and a specially designed in-core irradiation device. The values for the total delayed neutron yield (per 100 fissions) from fast-neutron induced fission of U-235, Np237, and Am-243 were determined to be 1.67 ?0.08, 1.14 ?0.07, 0.86 ?0.05, respectively. The newly measured values were compared with other values recommended by Keepin et al., Waldo et al., Saleh et al., and Brady and England. Good agreement was found in all cases. The "seven-group" structure was shown to yield a superior fit to the measured data, as well as, provide a more direct correlation between delayed neutron groups and their associated delayed neutron precursors.
Charlton, William S.
Nuclear Criticality Safety | More Science | ORNL
Criticality Safety Criticality Safety SHARE Criticality Safety Nuclear Criticality Safety ORNL is the lead national laboratory responsible for supporting the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in managing the US Nuclear Criticality Safety Program. NCSP is chartered to maintain the technical infrastructure (integral experiments, computational tools, training, data, etc.) needed to support safe, efficient fissionable material operations. ORNL has extensive expertise in the area of nuclear criticality safety (NCS) based upon years of experience in the following areas: Operations Support: providing fissionable material operations support for enrichment, fabrication, production, and research; Critical Experiments: performing experiments at the Y-12 Critical Experiment Facility;
Case Study: Darlington Nuclear Generating Station
Darlington is a four-reactor nuclear plant east of Toronto. It is operated by Ontario Hydro. Each reactor has two independent shutdown systems: SDS1 drops neutron-absorbing rods into the core, while SDS2 injects liquid poison into the moderator. Both ... Keywords: Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada, Canada, Darlington nuclear generating station, Ontario Hydro, case study, certification, code quality, decision-making logic, documentation, fission reactor core control and monitoring, fission reactor safety, formal methods, formal model-based inspection, formal specification, licensing, liquid poison injection, neutron-absorbing rods, nuclear engineering computing, nuclear plant, safety, safety-critical systems, software driven shutdown systems, software reliability, specifications
Dan Craigen; Susan Gerhart; Ted Ralston
between heavy and light fission fragments is extended byenergies in actinides exceed the fission barrier height,so that prompt fission becomes possible,(l) The
Zhong-yu, Ma
Melodic Fission in Trance Music: The Perception of Interleaved Vocal and Non-Vocal Melodies
W. J. 1968. Rhythmic fission and perceptual organization. �J. Dowling. �Rhythmic fission and perceptual organization,��2 (2003): 217-249. Melodic Fission in Trance Music sources
Atherton, Lawrence John
INELASTIC PROCESSES AND IN FISSION L. G. Moretto Lawrenceinelastic processes and fission have been studied in thealpha [10] and sequential fission probabilities and angular
al. , in Proc. Sem. on Fission, Corsendonk, Belgium, Worldand neutron induced fission of Cm and Cf isotopes�, Ph.D.emission probabilities (per fission) for the various ternary
ICT Supply Chain Risk Management
... ICT Supply Chain Risk Management Manager's Forum ... ICT Supply Chain Risk Management National Institute of Standards and Technology Page 6. ...
A nuclear fuel element for use in the core of a nuclear reactor is disclosed and has a composite cladding having a substrate and a metal barrier metallurgically bonded on the inside surface of the substrate so that the metal barrier forms a shield between the substrate and the nuclear fuel material held within the cladding. The metal barrier forms about 1 to about 30 percent of the thickness of the cladding and is comprised of a low neutron absorption metal of substantially pure zirconium. The metal barrier serves as a preferential reaction site for gaseous impurities and fission products and protects the substrate from contact and reaction with such impurities and fission products. The substrate of the composite cladding is selected from conventional cladding materials and preferably is a zirconium alloy. Methods of manufacturing the composite cladding are also disclosed.
Armijo, Joseph S. (Saratoga, CA); Coffin, Jr., Louis F. (Schenectady, NY)
A nuclear fuel element for use in the core of a nuclear reactor is disclosed and has an improved composite cladding comprised of a moderate purity metal barrier of zirconium metallurgically bonded on the inside surface of a zirconium alloy tube. The metal barrier forms a shield between the alloy tube and a core of nuclear fuel material enclosed in the composite cladding. There is a gap between the cladding and the core. The metal barrier forms about 1 to about 30 percent of the thickness of the composite cladding and has low neutron absorption characteristics. The metal barrier serves as a preferential reaction site for gaseous impurities and fission products and protects the alloy tube from contact and reaction with such impurities and fission products. Methods of manufacturing the composite cladding are also disclosed.
Identification of nuclear weapons
A method and apparatus for non-invasively indentifying different types of nuclear weapons is disclosed. A neutron generator is placed against the weapon to generate a stream of neutrons causing fissioning within the weapon. A first detects the generation of the neutrons and produces a signal indicative thereof. A second particle detector located on the opposite side of the weapon detects the fission particles and produces signals indicative thereof. The signals are converted into a detected pattern and a computer compares the detected pattern with known patterns of weapons and indicates which known weapon has a substantially similar pattern. Either a time distribution pattern or noise analysis pattern, or both, is used. Gamma-neutron discrimination and a third particle detector for fission particles adjacent the second particle detector are preferably used. The neutrons are generated by either a decay neutron source or a pulled neutron particle accelerator.
Mihalczo, J.T.; King, W.T.
Simulating NMIS Imaging and Fission-Mapping Measurements
The Nuclear Materials Identification System (NMIS) detects and characterizes fissile and nonfissile materials using time correlations between a time-tagged source and one or more detectors. The first fieldable configuration of dedicated hardware and software was developed in the 1990s. In its original configuration, the measurement system consisted of a time-tagged source and two to four detectors. Measurements with this configuration were easily simulated using a single Monte Carlo run. The present measurement configuration is far more complex than the original. The source is now divided into multiple neutron cones; significantly more detectors are included; and the source, detectors, and object being interrogated can all be moved during the measurement to capture different views of the object. In addition to the hardware changes, the software can now reconstruct high-resolution tomographs of the 14 MeV neutron attenuation coefficients and fission sites inside the object. This work shows how a complex measurement of an object that consists of both fissile and nonfissile parts can be simulated by using multiple input decks and combining the resulting output into the desired format. The results of this simulation were then reconstructed using the imaging and fission-mapping software used with measurements. These reconstructions are consistent with the original model, thus validating the simulation method.
Grogan, Brandon R [ORNL; Mihalczo, John T [ORNL
Bimodal fission in the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock approach
Spontaneous-fission properties of 256Fm, 258Fm, and 260Fm isotopes are studied within the Skyrme-Hartree-Fock+BCS framework. In the particle-hole channel we take the Skyrme SkM* effective force, while in the particle-particle channel we employ the seniority pairing interaction. Three static fission paths for all investigated heavy fermium isotopes are found. The analysis of these fission modes allows to describe observed asymmetric fission of 256Fm, as well as bimodal fission of 258Fm and symmetric fission in 260Fm.
A. Staszczak; J. Dobaczewski; W. Nazarewicz
Manhattan Project: Fission Comes to America, 1939
Excerpt from the comic book "Adventures Inside the Atom." Click on this image or visit the "Library" to view the whole comic book. FISSION COMES TO AMERICA Excerpt from the comic book "Adventures Inside the Atom." Click on this image or visit the "Library" to view the whole comic book. FISSION COMES TO AMERICA (1939) Events > Atomic Discoveries, 1890s-1939 A Miniature Solar System, 1890s-1919 Exploring the Atom, 1919-1932 Atomic Bombardment, 1932-1938 The Discovery of Fission, 1938-1939 Fission Comes to America, 1939 News of the fission experiments of Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann, and of the Meitner-Frisch calculations that confirmed them, spread rapidly. Meitner and Frisch communicated their results to Niels Bohr, who was in Copenhagen preparing to depart for the United States via Sweden and England. Bohr confirmed the validity of the findings while sailing to New York City, arriving on January 16, 1939. Ten days later Bohr, accompanied by Enrico Fermi, communicated the latest developments to some European émigré scientists who had preceded him to this country and to members of the American scientific community at the opening session of a conference on theoretical physics in Washington, D.C.
NEET Micro-Pocket Fission Detector -- FY 2012 Status Report
A research program has been initiated by the NEET program for developing and testing compact miniature fission chambers capable of simultaneously measuring thermal neutron flux, fast neutron flux and temperature within a single package. When implemented, these sensors will significantly advance flux detection capabilities for irradiation tests in US Materials Test Reactors (MTRs).Ultimately, evaluations may lead to a more compact, more accurate, and longer lifetime flux sensor for critical mock-ups, high performance reactors and commercial nuclear power plants. Deployment of Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors (MPFDs) in US DOE-NE program irradiation tests will address several challenges: Current fission chamber technologies do not offer the ability to measure fast flux, thermal flux and temperature within a single compact probe, MPFDs offer this option. MPFD construction is very different then current fission chamber construction; the use of high temperature materials allow MPFDs to be specifically tailored to survive harsh conditions in typical high performance MTR irradiation tests. New high-fidelity reactor physics codes will need a small, accurate, multipurpose in-core sensor to validate the codes without perturbing the validation experiment; MPFDs fill this requirement. MPFDs can be built with variable sensitivities to survive the lifetime of an experiment or fuel assembly in some MTRs; allowing for more efficient and cost effective power monitoring. The small size of the MPFDs allows multiple sensors to be simultaneously deployed; obtaining data required to visualize the reactor flux and temperature profiles. This report summarizes the research progress for year 1 of this 3 year project. An updated design of the MPFD has been developed, materials and tools to support the new design have been procured, construction methods to support the new design have been initiated at INL�s HTTL and KSU�s SMART Laboratory, plating methods are being updated at KSU, new detector electronics have been designed, built and tested at KSU. In addition, a project meeting was held at KSU and a detector evaluation plan has been initiated between INL and KSU. Once NEET program evaluations are completed, the final MPFD will be deployed in MTR irradiations, enabling DOE-NE programs evaluating the performance of candidate new fuels and materials to better characterize irradiation test conditions.
Troy Unruh; Joy Rempe; Douglas McGregor; Philip Ugorowski; Michael Reichenberger
Passive cooling system for top entry liquid metal cooled nuclear reactors
This patent describes a passive cooling system for liquid metal cooled, top entry loop nuclear fission reactors. It comprises: a liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor plant; a passive cooling system; and a secondary passive cooling system.
Boardman, C.E.; Hunsbedt, A.; Hui, M.M.
Fundamental Studies of Irradiation-Induced Defect Formation and Fission Product Dynamics in Oxide Fuels
The objective of this research program is to address major nuclear fuels performance issues for the design and use of oxide-type fuels in the current and advanced nuclear reactor applications. Fuel performance is a major issue for extending fuel burn-up which has the added advantage of reducing the used fuel waste stream. It will also be a significant issue with respect to developing advanced fuel cycle processes where it may be possible to incorporate minor actinides in various fuel forms so that they can be 'burned' rather than join the used fuel waste stream. The potential to fission or transmute minor actinides and certain long-lived fission product isotopes would transform the high level waste storage strategy by removing the need to consider fuel storage on the millennium time scale.
Stubbins, James
Detailed Burnup Calculations for Testing Nuclear Data
A general method (MCQ) has been developed by introducing a microscopic burnup scheme that uses the Monte Carlo calculated fluxes and microscopic reaction rates of a complex system and a depletion code for burnup calculations as a basis for solving nuclide material balance equations for each spatial region in which the system is divided. Continuous energy-dependent cross-section libraries and full 3D geometry of the system can be input for the calculations. The resulting predictions for the system at successive burnup time steps are thus based on a calculation route where both geometry and cross sections are accurately represented, without geometry simplifications and with continuous energy data, providing an independent approach for benchmarking other methods and nuclear data of actinides, fission products, and other burnable absorbers. The main advantage of this method over the classical deterministic methods currently used is that the MCQ System is a direct 3D method without the limitations and errors introduced on the homogenization of geometry and condensation of energy of deterministic methods. The Monte Carlo and burnup codes adopted until now are the widely used MCNP and ORIGEN codes, but other codes can be used also. For using this method, there is need of a well-known set of nuclear data for isotopes involved in burnup chains, including burnable poisons, fission products, and actinides. For fixing the data to be included in this set, a study of the present status of nuclear data is performed, as part of the development of the MCQ method. This study begins with a review of the available cross-section data of isotopes involved in burnup chains for power and research nuclear reactors. The main data needs for burnup calculations are neutron cross sections, decay constants, branching ratios, fission energy, and yields. The present work includes results of selected experimental benchmarks and conclusions about the sensitivity of different sets of cross-section data for burnup calculations, using some of the main available evaluated nuclear data files (ENDF-B-VI-Rel.8, JEFF-3.0, JENDL-3.3), on an isotope-by-isotope basis as much as possible. The selected experimental burnup benchmarks are reference cases for LWR and HWR reactors, with analysis of isotopic composition as a function of burnup. For LWR (H2O-moderated uranium oxide lattices) four benchmarks are included: ATM-104 NEA Burnup credit criticality benchmark; Yankee-Rowe Core V; H.B.Robinson Unit 2 and Turkey Point Unit 3. For HWR (D2O-moderated uranium oxide cluster lattices), three benchmarks were selected: NPD-19-rod Fuel Clusters; Pickering-28-rod Fuel Clusters; and Bruce-37-rod Fuel Clusters. The isotopes with experimental concentration data included in these benchmarks are: Se-79, Sr90, Tc99, Ru106, Sn126, Sb125,1129, Cs133-137, Nd143, 145, Sm149-150, 152, Eul53-155, U234-235, 238, Np237, Pu238-242, Am241-243, and Cm242-248. Results and analysis of differences between calculated and measured absolute and/or relative concentrations of these isotopes for the seven benchmarks are included in this work.
Leszczynski, F. [Centro Atomico Bariloche (CNEA), 8400 S.C.de Bariloche (Argentina)
Reports studies undertaken to produce a precise and readily interpretable description of the distribution of absorbed energy in an LWR fuel element. Data are useful in determining the spatial distribution of absorption of fission-product gamma-ray energy around regions of high local power density following the shutdown of a nuclear reactor.
BS>A method is described for fabricating a jacketed fissionable body or slug to provide an effective leak-proof seal between the jacket and the end closure. A housing for the fissionable slug is first formed and then tinned on the interior. The fissionable slug is coated on its exterior surface with the same material used to tin the interior of the housing. The coated slug is then inserted into the housing. A disc shaped end closure for the housing, coated with the tinning material, is inserted into the open end of the housing while the tinning material is still liquid. The end of the housing is then swaged into good contact with the periphery of the closure.
Young, G.J.; Ohlinger, L.A.
The fiftieth anniversary of the first public announcement of the successful test of fission: Proceedings
This report contains comments and discussions on the history of fission. The following people comments and lectures are discussed in this report: Remarks and introduction of Maxine F. Singer; president's message, Maxine F. Singer; introduction of Stephen Joel Trachtenberg; President's message, Stephen Joel Trachtenberg; introduction of Frederick Seitz; lecture: Nuclear Science: Promises and Perceptions, '' Frederick Seitz; introduction of K. Alex Mueller; lecture: High Temperature Ferroelectricity and Superconductivity,'' introduction of Edward Teller; and lecture: Toward a More Secure World,'' Edward Teller.
Low-mass fission detector for the fission neutron spectrum measurement
For the fission neutron spectrum measurement, the neutron energy is determined in a time-of-flight experiment by the time difference between the fission event and detection of the neutron. Therefore, the neutron energy resolution is directly determined by the time resolution of both neutron and fission detectors. For the fission detection, the detector needs not only a good timing response but also the tolerance of radiation damage and high {alpha}-decay rate. A parallel-plate avalanche counter (PPAC) has many advantages for the detection of heavy charged particles such as fission fragments. These include fast timing, resistance to radiation damage, and tolerance of high counting rate. A PPAC also can be tuned to be insensitive to particles, which is important for experiments with - emitting actinides. Therefore, a PPAC is an ideal detector for experiments requiring a fast and clean trigger for fission. In the following sections, the description will be given for the design and performance of a new low-mass PPAC for the fission-neutron spectrum measurements at LANL.
Wu, C Y; Henderson, R; Gostic, J; Haight, R C; Lee, H Y
Fragmentation of spherical radioactive heavy nuclei as a novel probe of transient effects in fission
Peripheral collisions with radioactive heavy-ion beams at relativistic energies are discussed as an innovative approach for probing the transient regime experienced by fissile systems evolving towards quasi-equilibrium. A dedicated experiment using the advanced technical installations of GSI, Darmstadt, permitted to realize ideal conditions for the investigation of relaxation effects in the meta-stable well. Combined with a highly sensitive experimental signature, it provides a measure of the transient effects with respect to the flux over the fission barrier. Within a two-step reaction process, 45 proton-rich unstable spherical isotopes produced by projectile-fragmentation of a stable 238U beam have been used as secondary projectiles. The fragmentation of the radioactive projectiles on lead results in nearly spherical compound nuclei which span a wide range in excitation energy and fissility. The decay of these excited systems by fission is studied with a dedicated set-up which permits the detection of both fission products in coincidence and the determination of their atomic numbers with high resolution. The width of the fission-fragment nuclear charge distribution is shown to be specifically sensitive to pre-saddle transient effects and is used to establish a clock for the passage of the saddle point. The comparison of the experimental results with model calculations points to a fission delay of (3.3+/-0.7).10-21s for initially spherical compound nuclei, independent of excitation energy and fissility. This value suggests a nuclear dissipation strength at small deformation of (4.5+/-0.5).1021s-1. The very specific combination of the physics and technical equipment exploited in this work sheds light on previous controversial conclusions.
C. Schmitt; K. -H. Schmidt; A. Keli?; A. Heinz; B. Jurado; P. N. Nadtochy
Investigation of phenomenological models for the Monte Carlo simulation of the prompt fission neutron and {gamma} emission
A Monte Carlo simulation of the fission fragment deexcitation process was developed in order to analyze and predict postfission-related nuclear data which are of crucial importance for basic and applied nuclear physics. The basic ideas of such a simulation were already developed in the past. In the present work, a refined model is proposed in order to make a reliable description of the distributions related to fission fragments as well as to prompt neutron and {gamma} energies and multiplicities. This refined model is mainly based on a mass-dependent temperature ratio law used for the initial excitation energy partition of the fission fragments and a spin-dependent excitation energy limit for neutron emission. These phenomenological improvements allow us to reproduce with a good agreement the {sup 252}Cf(sf) experimental data on prompt fission neutron multiplicity {nu}(A), {nu}(TKE), the neutron multiplicity distribution P({nu}), as well as their energy spectra N(E), and lastly the energy release in fission.
Litaize, O.; Serot, O. [CEA Cadarache, F-13108 Saint Paul lez Durance (France)
Advanced Fuel Cycle Scenarios with AP1000 PWRs and VHTRs and Fission Spectrum Uncertainties
Minimization of HLW inventories and U consumption are key elements guaranteeing nuclear energy expansion. The integration of complex nuclear systems into a viable cycle yet constitutes a challenging multi-parametric optimization problem. The reactors and fuel cycle performance parameters may be strongly dependent on minor variations in the system's input data. Proven discrepancies in nuclear data evaluations could affect the validity of the system optimization metrics. This study first analyzes various advanced AP1000-VHTR fuel cycle scenarios by assessing their TRU destruction and their U consumption minimization capabilities, and by computing reactor performance parameters such as the time evolution of the effective multiplication factor keff, the reactors' energy spectrum or the isotopic composition/activity at EOL. The performance metrics dependence to prompt neutron fission spectrum discrepancies is then quantified to assess the viability of one strategy. Fission spectrum evaluations are indeed intensively used in reactors' calculations. Discrepancies higher than 10% have been computed among nuclear data libraries for energies above 8MeV for 235U. TRU arising from a 3wt% 235U-enriched UO2-fueled AP1000 were incinerated in a VHTR. Fuels consisting of 20%, 40% and 100% of TRU completed by UO2 were examined. MCNPX results indicate that up to 88.9% of the TRU initially present in a VHTR fueled with 20% of TRU and 80% of ThO2 were transmuted. Additionally, the use of WgPu instead of RgPu should reduce the daily consumption of 235U by 1.3 and augment core lifetime. To estimate the system metrics dependence to fission spectrum discrepancies and validate optimization studies outputs, the VTHR 235U fission spectrum distribution was altered successively in three manners. keff is at worst lowered by 1.7% of the reference value and the energy spectrum by 5% between 50meV and 2MeV when a significantly distorted fission spectrum tail is used. 233U, 236Pu and 237Pu inventories and activities are multiplied by 263, 523 and 34 but are still negligible compared to 239Pu mass or the total activity. The AP1000-VHTR system is in conclusion not dependent on the selected fission spectrum variations. TRU elimination optimization studies in AP1000-VHTR systems will be facilitated by freeing performance metrics dependency from 1 input parameter.
Cuvelier, Marie-Hermine
Reexamination of fission fragment angular distributions and the fission process: Formalism
The theory of fission fragment angular distributions is examined and the universally used expression is found to be valid only under restrictive assumptions. A more general angular distribution formula is derived and applied to recent data of high spin systems. At the same time it is shown that the strong anisotropies observed from such systems can be understood without changing the essential basis of standard fission theory. The effects of reaction mechanisms other than complete fusion on fission fragment angular distributions are discussed and possible angular distribution signatures of noncompound nucleus formation are mentioned.
Bond, P.D.
Chemical States of Volatile and Corrosive Fission Products in ...
Page 1. Chemical States of Volatile and Corrosive Fission Products in Thorium Based Fuels from Thermodynamic Studies ...
Large Scale Weather Control Using Nuclear Reactors
It is pointed out that controlled release of thermal energy from fission type nuclear reactors can be used to alter weather patterns over significantly large geographical regions. (1) Nuclear heat creates a low pressure region, which can be used to draw moist air from oceans, onto deserts. (2) Creation of low pressure zones over oceans using Nuclear heat can lead to Controlled Cyclone Creation (CCC).(3) Nuclear heat can also be used to melt glaciers and control water flow in rivers.
Moninder Singh Modgil
Fission measurements with PPAC detectors using a coincidence technique
A fission detection setup based on Parallel Plate Avalanche Counters (PPAC) has been constructed and used at the CERN n-TOF facility. The setup takes advantage of the coincidence detection of both fission fragments to discriminate the background reactions produced by high energy neutrons and it allows obtaining neutron-induced fission cross section up to 1 GeV. (authors)
Paradela, C.; Duran, I.; Tarrio, D. [Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Audouin, L.; Tassan-Got, L.; Stephan, C. [Inst. de Physique Nucleaire d'Orsay (France)
Design of a High Intensity Neutron Source for Neutron-Induced Fission Yield Studies
The upgraded IGISOL facility with JYFLTRAP, at the accelerator laboratory of the University of Jyv\\"askyl\\"a, has been supplied with a new cyclotron which will provide protons of the order of 100 {\\mu}A with up to 30 MeV energy, or deuterons with half the energy and intensity. This makes it an ideal place for measurements of neutron-induced fission products from various actinides, in view of proposed future nuclear fuel cycles. The groups at Uppsala University and University of Jyv\\"askyl\\"a are working on the design of a neutron converter that will be used as neutron source in fission yield studies. The design is based on simulations with Monte Carlo codes and a benchmark measurement that was recently performed at The Svedberg Laboratory in Uppsala. In order to obtain a competitive count rate the fission targets will be placed very close to the neutron converter. The goal is to have a flexible design that will enable the use of neutron fields with different energy distributions. In the present paper, some considerations for the design of the neutron converter will be discussed, together with different scenarios for which fission targets and neutron energies to focus on.
M. Lantz; D. Gorelov; A. Jokinen; V. S. Kolhinen; A. Mattera; H. Penttil�; S. Pomp; V. Rakopoulos; S. Rinta-Antila; A. Solders
Plasma Mass Filters For Nuclear Waste Reprocessing
Practical disposal of nuclear waste requires high-throughput separation techniques. The most dangerous part of nuclear waste is the fission product, which contains the most active and mobile radioisotopes and produces most of the heat. We suggest that the fission products could be separated as a group from nuclear waste using plasma mass filters. Plasmabased processes are well suited to separating nuclear waste, because mass rather than chemical properties are used for separation. A single plasma stage can replace several stages of chemical separation, producing separate streams of bulk elements, fission products, and actinoids. The plasma mass filters may have lower cost and produce less auxiliary waste than chemical processing plants. Three rotating plasma configurations are considered that act as mass filters: the plasma centrifuge, the Ohkawa filter, and the asymmetric centrifugal trap.
Abraham J. Fetterman and Nathaniel J. Fisch
Fission Detection Using the Associated Particle Technique
A beam of tagged 14 MeV neutrons from the deuterium-tritium (DT) reaction is used to induce fission in a target composed of depleted uranium. The generator yield is 107 neutrons/second radiated into a 4? solid angle. Two 4 in.�4 in. NaI detectors are used for gamma-ray detection. The fission process is known to produce multiple gamma-rays and neutrons. Triple coincidences (?-?-?) are measured as a function of neutron flight time up to 90 ns after fission, where the ?-particle arises from the DT reaction. A sudden increase in the triple coincidence rate at the location of the material is used to localize and detect fission in the interrogated target. Comparisons are made with experiment runs where lead, tungsten, and iron were used as target materials. The triple coincidence response profile from depleted uranium is noted to be different to those observed from the other target materials. The response from interrogation targets composed of fissile material is anticipated to be even more unique than that observed from depleted uranium.
R.P. Keegan, J.P. Hurley, J.R. Tinsley, R. Trainham, S.C. Wilde
Improving MPI communication via data type fission
Message Passing Interface (MPI) messages are centered around transmitting instances of MPI data types. The data types represented in MPI terms are usually modeled after data types native to the application. If a user does not want to transmit a field ... Keywords: MPI, communication, data type fission, static transformation
Ben Perry; Martin Swany
One step of a process for separating plutonium from uranium and fission products is presented. A nitric acid solution containing these constituents is treated with formic acid to reduce simultaneously the plutonium to a valence state of not greater than +4 and destroy and eliminate the excess nitric acid.
Olson, C.M.
Elevated Radioxenon Detected Remotely Following the Fukushima Nuclear Accident
We report on the first measurements of short-lived gaseous fission products detected outside of Japan following the Fukushima nuclear releases, which occurred after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
Bowyer, Ted W.; Biegalski, Steven R.; Cooper, Matthew W.; Eslinger, Paul W.; Haas, Derek A.; Hayes, James C.; Miley, Harry S.; Strom, Daniel J.; Woods, Vincent T.
Evaluated Nuclear Data
This chapter describes the current status of evaluated nuclear data for nuclear technology applications. We start with evaluation procedures for neutron-induced reactions focusing on incident energies from the thermal energy up to 20 MeV, though higher energies are also mentioned. This is followed by examining the status of evaluated neutron data for actinides that play dominant role in most of the applications, followed by coolants/moderators, structural materials and fission products. We then discuss neutron covariance data that characterize uncertainties and correlations. We explain how modern nuclear evaluated data libraries are validated against an extensive set of integral benchmark experiments. Afterwards, we briefly examine other data of importance for nuclear technology, including fission yields, thermal neutron scattering and decay data. A description of three major evaluated nuclear data libraries is provided, including the latest version of the US library ENDF/B-VII.0, European JEFF-3.1 and Japanese JENDL-3.3. A brief introduction is made to current web retrieval systems that allow easy access to a vast amount of up-to-date evaluated nuclear data for nuclear technology applications.
Oblozinsky, P.; Oblozinsky,P.; Herman,M.; Mughabghab,S.F.
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design bases issues in ASME Code Case N-47 Huddleston, R.L.; Swindeman, R.W. (Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)) (1993) Severe accidents in spent fuel pools in support...
Analysis of fission gas release kinetics by on-line mass spectrometry
The release of fission gas (Xe and Kr) and helium out of nuclear fuel materials in normal operation of a nuclear power reactor can constitute a strong limitation of the fuel lifetime. Moreover, radioactive isotopes of Xe and Kr contribute significantly to the global radiological source term released in the primary coolant circuit in case of accidental situations accompanied by fuel rod loss of integrity. As a consequence, fission gas release investigation is of prime importance for the nuclear fuel cycle economy, and is the driven force of numerous R and D programs. In this domain, for solving current fuel behavior understanding issues, preparing the development of new fuels (e.g. for Gen IV power systems) and for improving the modeling prediction capability, there is a marked need for innovations in the instrumentation field, mainly for: . Quantification of very low fission gas concentrations, released from fuel sample and routed in sweeping lines. Monitoring of quick gas release variations by quantification of elementary release during a short period of time. Detection of a large range of atomic masses (e.g. H{sub 2}, HT, He, CO, CO{sub 2}, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe), together with a performing separation of isotopes for Xe and Kr elements. Coupling measurement of stable and radioactive gas isotopes, by using in parallel mass spectrometry and gamma spectrometry techniques. To fulfill these challenging needs, a common strategy for analysis equipment implementation has been set up thanks to a recently launched collaboration between the CEA and the Univ. of Provence, with the technological support of the Liverpool Univ.. It aims at developing a chronological series of mass spectrometer devices based upon mass filter and 2D/3D ion traps with Fourier transform operating mode and having increasing levels of performances to match the previous challenges for out-of pile and in-pile experiments. The final objective is to install a high performance online mass spectrometer coupled to a gamma spectrometer in the fission product laboratory of the future Jules Horowitz Material Test Reactor. An intermediate step will consist of testing first equipment on an existing experimental facility in the LECA-STAR Hot Cell Laboratory of the CEA Cadarache. This paper presents the scientific and operational stakes linked to fission gas issues, resumes the current state of art for analyzing them in nuclear facilities, then presents the skills gathered through this collaboration to overcome technological bottlenecks. Finally it describes the implementation strategy in nuclear research facilities of the CEA Cadarache. (authors)
Zerega, Y.; Reynard-Carette, C. [Univ. of Provence, Laboratoire Chimie Provence, UMR 6264, Avenue escadrille Normandie - Niemen, F-13397 Marseille (France); Parrat, D. [CEA, Nuclear Energy Div. DEN, CEA Cadarache, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Carette, M. [Univ. of Provence, Laboratoire Chimie Provence, UMR 6264, Avenue escadrille Normandie - Niemen, F-13397 Marseille (France); Brkic, B. [Univ. of Liverpool, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Liverpool L69 3BX (United Kingdom); Lyoussi, A.; Bignan, G. [CEA, Nuclear Energy Div. DEN, CEA Cadarache, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Janulyte, A.; Andre, J. [Univ. of Provence, Laboratoire Chimie Provence, UMR 6264, Avenue escadrille Normandie - Niemen, F-13397 Marseille (France); Pontillon, Y.; Ducros, G. [CEA, Nuclear Energy Div. DEN, CEA Cadarache, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Taylor, S. [Univ. of Liverpool, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Liverpool L69 3BX (United Kingdom)
A new fission-fragment detector to complement the CACTUS-SiRi setup at the Oslo Cyclotron Laboratory
An array of Parallel Plate Avalanche Counters (PPAC) for the detection of heavy ions has been developed. The new device, NIFF (Nuclear Instrument for Fission Fragments), consists of four individual detectors and covers $60\\%$ of 2$\\pi$. It was designed to be used in conjunction with the SiRi array of ${\\Delta}E-E$ silicon telescopes for light charged particles and fits into the CACTUS array of 28 large-volume NaI scintillation detectors at the Oslo Cyclotron Laboratory. The low-pressure gas-filled PPACs are sensitive for the detection of fission fragments, but are insensitive to scattered beam particles of light ions or light-ion ejectiles. The PPAC detectors of NIFF have good time resolution and can be used either to select or to veto fission events in in-beam experiments with light-ion beams and actinide targets. The powerful combination of SiRi, CACTUS, and NIFF provides new research opportunities for the study of nuclear structure and nuclear reactions in the actinide region. The new setup is particularly well suited to study the competition of fission and $\\gamma$ decay as a function of excitation energy.
Tam�s G�bor Tornyi; Andreas G�rgen; Magne Guttormsen; Ann-Cecilie Larsen; Sunniva Siem; Attila Krasznahorkay; L�r�nt Csige
Battery-Recycling Chain
...The battery-recycling chain has changed dramatically over the past ten years. The changes have resulted from environmental regulation, changes in battery-processing technology, changes in battery distribution and sales techniques, changes in lead-smelting...
Improving supply chain resilience
Due to the global expansion of Company A's supply chain network, it is becoming more vulnerable to many disruptions. These disruptions often incur additional costs; and require time to respond to and recover from these ...
Leung, Elsa Hiu Man
European supply chain study
Introduction: Supply chain management has been defined as, "..a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses and stores, so that merchandise is produced and distributed at the ...
Puri, Mohitkumar
Nuclear criticality accidents
Criticality occurs when a sufficient quantity of fissionable material is accumulated, and it results in the liberation of nuclear energy. All process accidents have involved plutonium or highly enriched uranium, as have most of the critical experiment accidents. Slightly enriched uranium systems require much larger quantities of material to achieve criticality. An appreciation of criticality accidents should be based on an understanding of factors that influence criticality, which are discussed in this article. 11 references.
Smith, D.R. (Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico (Unites States))
Impact of alternative nuclear fuel cycle options on infrastructure and fuel requirements, actinide and waste inventories, and economics
The nuclear fuel once-through cycle (OTC) scheme currently practiced in the U.S. leads to accumulation of uranium, transuranic (TRU) and fission product inventories in the spent nuclear fuel. Various separation and recycling ...
Gu�rin, Laurent, S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Spin-orbit interaction in final state as possible reason for T-odd correlation in ternary fission
A model for ternary fission is discussed in which a third particle (alpha-particle) is emitted due to non-adiabatic change of the nuclear potential at neck rapture. An expression for energy and angular distribution of alpha-particles is proposed. It is shown that an interaction between spin of fissioning system and orbital momentum of alpha-particle (spin-orbit interaction in the final state) results in recently observed asymmetry of alpha-particle emission, which can be formally related to T-odd correlation. No strong dependence of the asymmetry on the angle of alpha-particle emission with respect to the fission axis is predicted by the model in accordance with the experimental data.
A. L. Barabanov
Reactive transport modelling of the interaction of fission product ground contamination with alkaline and cementitious leachates
The fission products Cs-137 and Sr-90 are amongst the most common radionuclides occurring in ground contamination at the UK civil nuclear sites. Such contamination is often associated with alkaline liquids and the mobility of these fission products may be affected by these chemical conditions. Similar geochemical effects may also result from cementitious leachate associated with building foundations and the use of grouts to remediate ground contamination. The behaviour of fission products in these scenarios is a complex interaction of hydrogeological and geochemical processes. A suite of modelling tools have been developed to investigate the behaviour of a radioactive plume containing Cs and Sr. Firstly the effects of sorption due to cementitious groundwater is modelled using PHREEQC. This chemical model is then incorporated into PHAST for the 3-D reactive solute transport modeling. Results are presented for a generic scenario including features and processes that are likely to be relevant to a number of civil UK nuclear sites. Initial results show that modelling can be a very cost-effective means to study the complex hydrogeological and geochemical processes involved. Modelling can help predict the mobility of contaminants in a range of site end point scenarios, and in assessing the consequences of decommissioning activities. (authors)
Kwong, S.; Small, J. [Nexia Solutions Ltd, The British Technology Centre, Sellafield, Seascale, CA20 1PG (United Kingdom)
Radionuclide Partitioning in an Underground Nuclear Test Cavity
In 2004, a borehole was drilled into the 1983 Chancellor underground nuclear test cavity to investigate the distribution of radionuclides within the cavity. Sidewall core samples were collected from a range of depths within the re-entry hole and two sidetrack holes. Upon completion of drilling, casing was installed and a submersible pump was used to collect groundwater samples. Test debris and groundwater samples were analyzed for a variety of radionuclides including the fission products {sup 99}Tc, {sup 125}Sb, {sup 129}I, {sup 137}Cs, and {sup 155}Eu, the activation products {sup 60}Co, {sup 152}Eu, and {sup 154}Eu, and the actinides U, Pu, and Am. In addition, the physical and bulk chemical properties of the test debris were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Electron Microprobe measurements. Analytical results were used to evaluate the partitioning of radionuclides between the melt glass, rubble, and groundwater phases in the Chancellor test cavity. Three comparative approaches were used to calculate partitioning values, though each method could not be applied to every nuclide. These approaches are based on: (1) the average Area 19 inventory from Bowen et al. (2001); (2) melt glass, rubble, and groundwater mass estimates from Zhao et al. (2008); and (3) fission product mass yield data from England and Rider (1994). The U and Pu analyses of the test debris are classified and partitioning estimates for these elements were calculated directly from the classified Miller et al. (2002) inventory for the Chancellor test. The partitioning results from this study were compared to partitioning data that were previously published by the IAEA (1998). Predictions of radionuclide distributions from the two studies are in agreement for a majority of the nuclides under consideration. Substantial differences were noted in the partitioning values for {sup 99}Tc, {sup 125}Sb, {sup 129}I, and uranium. These differences are attributable to two factors: chemical volatility effects that occur during the initial plasma condensation, and groundwater remobilization that occurs over a much longer time frame. Fission product partitioning is very sensitive to the early cooling history of the test cavity because the decay of short-lived (t{sub 1/2} < 1 hour) fission-chain precursors occurs on the same time scale as melt glass condensation. Fission product chains that include both volatile and refractory elements, like the mass 99, 125, and 129 chains, can show large variations in partitioning behavior depending on the cooling history of the cavity. Uranium exhibits similar behavior, though the chemical processes are poorly understood. The water temperature within the Chancellor cavity remains elevated (75 C) more than two decades after the test. Under hydrothermal conditions, high solubility chemical species such as {sup 125}Sb and {sup 129}I are readily dissolved and transported in solution. SEM analyses of melt glass samples show clear evidence of glass dissolution and secondary hydrothermal mineral deposition. Remobilization of {sup 99}Tc is also expected during hydrothermal activity, but moderately reducing conditions within the Chancellor cavity appear to limit the transport of {sup 99}Tc. It is recommended that the results from this study should be used together with the IAEA data to update the range in partitioning values for contaminant transport models at the Nevada National Security Site (formerly known as the Nevada Test Site).
Rose, T P; Hu, Q; Zhao, P; Conrado, C L; Dickerson, R; Eaton, G F; Kersting, A B; Moran, J E; Nimz, G; Powell, B A; Ramon, E C; Ryerson, F J; Williams, R W; Wooddy, P T; Zavarin, M
Several problems connected with vortex cavity reactors were studied analytically. They include, the generation of high-strength vortices by utilization of bleed through a porous tube wall to stabilize the shear layer on the wall; the nuclear criticality problem; the suitability of various compounds of plutonium as gaseous fissionable materials; and the problem of retaining the fission fragments within the vortex tube. It is concluded that the shear layer on the vortex tube wall can be stabilized if a mass flow greater than or equal to the vortex through flow is bled through the porous wall, and that the tangential Mach numbers which can be obtained are then slightly more than one-half the inviscid values. Beryllium oxide or graphite-moderated reactors of reasonable size and weight can attain criticality if the product of the hydrogen pressure in the vortex core and the maximum value of the ratio of fissionable gas density to hydrogen density in the tube is greater than about 100 atm. The reactor weights are then in the order of 10,000 lb or less. Of the several compounds of plutonium considered as gaseous fuel carriers, plutonium trifluoride and plutonium tribromide appear to be the most promising. It is probable that they can be held in gaseous form in hydrogen, under the desired concentrations. The rate of loss of fission fragments from the vortex tube can be reduced to a small fraction of the rate of their generation by making the vortex tubes about twice the minimum size that is allowable for satisfactory retention of the fissionable material. (auth)
Kerrebrock, J.L.; Lafyatis, P.G.
ICENES `91:Sixth international conference on emerging nuclear energy systems. Program and abstracts
This document contains the program and abstracts of the sessions at the Sixth International Conference on Emerging Nuclear Energy Systems held June 16--21, 1991 at Monterey, California. These sessions included: The plenary session, fission session, fission and nonelectric session, poster session 1P; (space propulsion, space nuclear power, electrostatic confined fusion, fusion miscellaneous, inertial confinement fusion, {mu}-catalyzed fusion, and cold fusion); Advanced fusion session, space nuclear session, poster session 2P, (nuclear reactions/data, isotope separation, direct energy conversion and exotic concepts, fusion-fission hybrids, nuclear desalting, accelerator waste-transmutation, and fusion-based chemical recycling); energy policy session, poster session 3P (energy policy, magnetic fusion reactors, fission reactors, magnetically insulated inertial fusion, and nuclear explosives for power generation); exotic energy storage and conversion session; and exotic energy storage and conversion; review and closing session.
Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors (MPFD) For Fuel Assembly Analysis
Neutron sensors capable of real-time measurement of thermal flux, fast flux, and temperature in a single miniaturized probe are needed in irradiation tests required to demonstrate the performance of candidate new fuels, and cladding materials. In-core ceramic-based miniature neutron detectors or �Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors� (MPFDs) have been studied at Kansas State University (KSU). The first MPFD prototypes were tested in various neutron fields at the KSU TRIGA research reactor with successful results. Currently, a United States Department of Energy-sponsored joint KSU/Idaho National Laboratory (INL) effort is underway to develop a high-temperature, high-pressure version of the MPFD using radiation-resistant, high temperature materials, which would be capable of withstanding irradiation test conditions in high performance material and test reactors (MTRs). Ultimately, this more compact, more accurate, and longer lifetime flux sensor for critical mock-ups, existing and advanced reactor designs, high performance MTRs, and transient test reactors has the potential to lead to higher accuracy and resolution data from irradiation testing, more detailed core flux measurements and enhanced fuel assembly processing. Prior evaluations by KSU indicate that these sensors could also be used to monitor burn-up of nuclear fuel. If integrated into nuclear fuel assemblies, MPFDs offer several advantages to current spent fuel management systems.
Troy Unruh; Michael Reichenberger; Phillip Ugorowski
Nuclear fuel particles and method of making nuclear fuel compacts therefrom
Methods for making nuclear fuel compacts exhibiting low heavy metal contamination and fewer defective coatings following compact fabrication from a mixture of hardenable binder, such as petroleum pitch, and nuclear fuel particles having multiple layer fission-product-retentive coatings, with the dense outermost layer of the fission-product-retentive coating being surrounded by a protective overcoating, e.g., pyrocarbon having a density between about 1 and 1.3 g/cm.sup.3. Such particles can be pre-compacted in molds under relatively high pressures and then combined with a fluid binder which is ultimately carbonized to produce carbonaceous nuclear fuel compacts having relatively high fuel loadings.
DeVelasco, Rubin I. (Encinitas, CA); Adams, Charles C. (San Diego, CA)
Fusion-fission energy systems evaluation
This report serves as the basis for comparing the fusion-fission (hybrid) energy system concept with other advanced technology fissile fuel breeding concepts evaluated in the Nonproliferation Alternative Systems Assessment Program (NASAP). As such, much of the information and data provided herein is in a form that meets the NASAP data requirements. Since the hybrid concept has not been studied as extensively as many of the other fission concepts being examined in NASAP, the provided data and information are sparse relative to these more developed concepts. Nevertheless, this report is intended to provide a perspective on hybrids and to summarize the findings of the rather limited analyses made to date on this concept.
Teofilo, V.L.; Aase, D.T.; Bickford, W.E.
Phase Transition Induced Fission in Lipid Vesicles
In this work we demonstrate how the first order phase transition in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) can function as a trigger for membrane fission. When driven through their gel-fluid phase transition GUVs exhibit budding or pearl formation. These buds remain connected to the mother vesicle presumably by a small neck. Cooling these vesicles from the fluid phase (T>Tm) through the phase transition into the gel state (Tfission of the neck, while the mother vesicle remains intact. Pearling tubes which formed upon heating break-up and decay into multiple individual vesicles which then diffuse freely. Finally we demonstrate that mimicking the intracellular bulk viscosity by increasing the bulk viscosity to 40cP does not affect the overall fission process, but leads to a significant decrease in size of the released vesicles.
C. Leirer; B. Wunderlich; V. M. Myles; M. F. Schneider
Final excitation energy of fission fragments
We study how the excitation energy of the fully accelerated fission fragments is built up. It is stressed that only the intrinsic excitation energy available before scission can be exchanged between the fission fragments to achieve thermal equilibrium. This is in contradiction with most models used to calculate prompt neutron emission where it is assumed that the total excitation energy of the final fragments is shared between the fragments by the condition of equal temperatures. We also study the intrinsic excitation-energy partition according to a level density description with a transition from a constant-temperature regime to a Fermi-gas regime. Complete or partial excitation-energy sorting is found at energies well above the transition energy.
Karl-Heinz Schmidt; Beatriz Jurado
Fission of a multiphase membrane tube
A common mechanism for intracellular transport is the use of controlled deformations of the membrane to create spherical or tubular buds. While the basic physical properties of homogeneous membranes are relatively well-known, the effects of inhomogeneities within membranes are very much an active field of study. Membrane domains enriched in certain lipids in particular are attracting much attention, and in this Letter we investigate the effect of such domains on the shape and fate of membrane tubes. Recent experiments have demonstrated that forced lipid phase separation can trigger tube fission, and we demonstrate how this can be understood purely from the difference in elastic constants between the domains. Moreover, the proposed model predicts timescales for fission that agree well with experimental findings.
Jean-Marc Allain; Cornelis Storm; Aurelien Roux; Martine Ben Amar; Jean-Francois Joanny
Safety and power multiplication aspects of mirror fusion-fission hybrids
Recently, in a research project at Uppsala University a simplified neutronic model for a straight field line mirror hybrid has been devised and its most important operation parameters have been calculated under the constraints of a fission power production of 3 GW and that the effective multiplication factor k{sub eff} does not exceed 0.95. The model can be considered as representative for hybrids driven by other types of mirrors too. In order to reduce the demand on the fusion power of the mirror, a modified option of the hybrid has been considered that generates a reduced fission power of 1.5 GW with an increased maximal value k{sub eff}=0.97. The present paper deals with nuclear safety aspects of this type of hybrids. It presents and discusses calculation results of reactivity effects as well as of driver effects.
Noack, Klaus; Agren, Olov; Kaellne, Jan; Hagnestal, Anders; Moiseenko, Vladimir E. [Uppsala University, Angstroem Laboratory, Division of Electricity, Box 534, SE-751 21 Uppsala (Sweden); Institute of Plasma Physics, National Science Center 'Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology', Akademichna St. 1, 61108 Kharkiv (Ukraine)
Validation of ATR Fission Power Deposition Fraction in HEU and LEU Fuel Plates
The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) is a high power (250 MW), high neutron flux research reactor operating in the United States. Powered with highly enriched uranium (HEU), the ATR has a maximum unperturbed thermal neutron flux rating of 1.0 x 1015 n/cm2�s. Because of its high power and large test volumes located in high flux areas, the ATR is an ideal candidate for assessing the feasibility of converting an HEU driven reactor to a low-enriched core. A detailed plate-by-plate MCNP ATR full core model has been developed and validated for the low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel conversion feasibility study. Using this model, an analysis has been performed to determine the LEU density and U-235 enrichment required in the fuel meat to yield equivalent K-eff versus effective full power days (EFPDs) between the HEU and LEU cores. This model has also been used to optimize U-235 content of the LEU core, minimizing the differences in K-eff and heat flux profile between the HEU and LEU cores at 115 MW total core power for 125 EFPDs. The LEU core conversion feasibility study evaluated foil type (U-10Mo) fuel with the LEU reference design of 19.7 wt% U-235 enrichment. The LEU reference design has a fixed fuel meat thickness of 0.330 mm and can sustain the same operating cycle length as the HEU fuel. Heat flux and fission power density are parameters that are proportional to the fraction of fission power deposited in fuel. Thus, the accurate determination of the fraction of fission power deposited in the fuel is important to ATR nuclear safety. In this work, a new approach was developed and validated, the Tally Fuel Cells Only (TFCO) method. This method calculates and compares the fission power deposition fraction between HEU and LEU fuel plates. Due to the high density of the U-10Mo LEU fuel, the fission ?-energy deposition fraction is 37.12%, which is larger than the HEU�s ?-energy deposition fraction of 19.7%. As a result, the fuel decay heat cooling will need to be improved. During the power operation, the total fission energy (200 MeV per fission) deposition fraction of LEU and HEU are 90.9% and 89.1%, respectively.
G. S. Chang
The ABC's of Nuclear Science
Basic Nuclear Science Basic Nuclear Science Cosmic Connection Presentations Experiments Antimatter Make a Nucleus Glossary Safety Credits Praise CPEP Speak With Us Boy Scout Merit Badge Translations Guide to the Nuclear Wall Chart About the Nuclear Wall Chart Privacy and Security Notice Other Interesting Sites Last updated: September 26, 2013 Contact Us The ABC's Of Nuclear Science The ABC's of Nuclear Science is a brief introduction to Nuclear Science. We look at Antimatter, Beta rays, Cosmic connection and much more. Visit here and learn about radioactivity - alpha, beta and gamma decay. Find out the difference between fission and fusion. Learn about the structure of the atomic nucleus. Learn how elements on the earth were produced. Do you know that you are being bombarded constantly by nuclear radiation from the
A process is given for precipitating fission products from a body of water having a pH of above 6.5. Calcium permanganate and ferrous sulfate are added in a molar ratio of l: 3, whereby a mixed precipitate of manganese dioxide, ferric hydroxide and calcium sulfate is formed; the precipitate carries the fisston products and settles to the bottom of the body of water. (AEC)
Rosinski, J.
Delayed-fission properties of neutron-deficient americium nuclei
Characteristics of the delayed-fission decay mode in light americium nuclei have been investigated. Measurements on the unknown isotopes {sup 230}Am and {sup 236}Am were attempted, and upper limits on the delayed-fission branches of these nuclei were determined. Evidence of the existence of {sup 236}Am was observed in radiochemical separations. Total kinetic energy and mass-yield distributions of the electron-capture delayed-fission mode were measured for {sup 232}Am (t{sub 1/2} = 1.31 {plus minus} 0.04 min) and for {sup 234}Am (t{sub 1/2} = 2.32 {plus minus} 0.08 min), and delayed-fission probabilities of 6.9 {times} 10{sup {minus}4} and 6.6 {times} 10{sup {minus}5}, respectively, were determined. The total kinetic energy and the asymmetric mass-yield distributions are typical of fission of mid-range actinides. No discernible influence of the anomalous triple-peaked mass division characteristic of the thorium-radium region was detected. Measurements of the time correlation between the electron-capture x-rays and the subsequent fission conform that the observed fissions arise from the electron-capture delayed-fission mechanism. Delayed fission has provided a unique opportunity to extend the range of low-energy fission studies to previously inaccessible regions. 71 refs., 44 figs., 13 tabs.
Hall, H.L. (California Univ., Berkeley, CA (USA). Dept. of Chemistry)
Pure Nuclear Fusion Bomb Propulsion
Recent progress towards the non-fission ignition of thermonuclear micro-explosions raises the prospect for a revival of the nuclear bomb propulsion idea, both for the fast transport of large payloads within the solar system and the launch into earth orbit without the release of fission products into the atmosphere. To reach this goal three areas of research are of importance: 1)Compact thermonuclear ignition drivers. 2)Fast ignition and deuterium burn. 3)Space-craft architecture involving magnetic insulation and GeV electrostatic potentials
Winterberg, F
A nuclear reactor fuel element comprising high density ceramic fissionable material enclosed in a tubular cladding of corrosion-resistant material is described. The fissionable material is in the form of segments of a tube which have cooperating tapered interfaces which produce outward radial displacement when the segments are urged axially together. A resilient means is provided within the tubular housing to constantly urge the fuel segments axially. This design maintains the fuel material in tight contacting engagement against the inner surface of the outer cladding tube to eliminate any gap therebetween which may be caused by differential thermal expansion between the fuel material and the material of the tube.
Bassett, C.H.
A New Approach for the Permanent Disposal of Long Lived Fission Waste
Nuclear fission can meet humanity's disparate requirements for carbon-free energy throughout this century and for millennia to come - not only for electricity but also as a source of hydrogen for transportation fuels and a heat source for desalination. However, most countries are not pursuing fission as an option for future energy and global climate needs. One paramount reason is diminished public acceptance over concerns of waste disposal. We would also add 'fuel resources' as a major future concern, because fission is not sustainable in the long term with the present 'once-through' fuel that utilizes less than 1% of the mined uranium and consigns its fertile potential to a permanent waste repository. Accordingly, global scale fission will become attainable (i.e., doable) if and when an integrated solution to this overall 'fuel-cycle' problem is realized. It is the back-end of the fuel cycle - i.e., the need for permanent storage of spent fuel and high-level waste - that has become the focus of much of the criticism. In particular, the construction and implementation of permanent waste repositories such as Yucca Mountain is becoming increasingly problematic from a financial and political perspective. The major shortcoming of these conventional repositories is that they must accommodate the whole spent fuel output from once-through fuel cycles. They are thus burdened with very large masses of material but where less than 1% is long-term, hazardous waste and where only a small fraction of the potential nuclear energy has been extracted. Second, such facilities must ensure integrity of waste containment for tens of thousands of years. Given that anything more than a few hundred years hence is unknowable and wholly unpredictable as far as future civilizations are concerned, public perception is that such facilities cannot be guaranteed to be absolutely secure for their envisaged lifetimes of tens of millennia.
Perkins, L J
Pulsed Photofission Delayed Gamma Ray Detection for Nuclear Material Identification
Innovative systems with increased sensitivity and resolution are in great demand to detect diversion and to prevent misuse in support of nuclear materials management for the U.S. fuel cycle. Nuclear fission is the most important multiplicative process involved in non-destructive active interrogation. This process produces the most easily recognizable signature for nuclear materials. High-energy gamma rays can also excite a nucleus and cause fission through a process known as photofission. After photofission reactions, delayed signals are easily distinguishable from the interrogating radiation. Linac-based, advanced inspection techniques utilizing the fission signals after photofission have been extensively studied for homeland security applications. Previous research also showed that a unique delayed gamma ray energy spectrum exists for each fissionable isotope. Isotopic composition measurement methods based on delayed gamma ray spectroscopy will be the primary focus of this work.
John Kavouras; Xianfei Wen; Daren R. Norman; Dante R. Nakazawa; Haori Yang
Chain inflation revisited
This paper represents an in-depth treatment of the chain inflation scenario. We fully determine the evolution of the universe in the model, the necessary conditions in order to have a successful inflationary period, and the matching with the observational results regarding the cosmological perturbations. We study in great detail, and in general, the dynamics of the background, as well as the mechanism of generation of the perturbations. We also find an explicit formula for the spectrum of adiabatic perturbations. Our results prove that chain inflation is a viable model for solving the horizon, entropy and flatness problem of standard cosmology and for generating the right amount of adiabatic cosmological perturbations. The results are radically different from those found in previous works on the subject. Finally, we argue that there is a natural way to embed chain inflation into flux compactified string theory. We discuss the details of the implementation and how to fit observations.
Diego Chialva; Ulf H. Danielsson
Continuous chain bit development
The continuous chain drill is a diamond drill bit in which the cutting surface can be replaced while the bit is still in the hole. The first prototype of the chain drill system was fabricated and tested in 1977. Problems were encountered with the mechanism used to cycle the bit. A second prototype bit was designed to circumvent these problems. An accelerated development and test program has provided field test results on Prototype II in less than 2 years. Field testing at Nevada Test Site has proven the feasibility of the downhole changing mechanism. The development and testing of this prototype are described.
St. Clair, J.A.; Duimstra, F.A.; Varnado, S.G.
Calculations of the anisotropy of the fission fragment angular distribution and neutron emission multiplicities prescission from Langevin dynamics
The anisotropy of the fission fragment angular distribution defined at the saddle point and the neutron multiplicities emitted prior to scission for fissioning nuclei {sup 224}Th, {sup 229}Np, {sup 248}Cf, and {sup 254}Fm are calculated simultaneously by using a set of realistic coupled two-dimensional Langevin equations, where the (c,h,{alpha}=0) nuclear parametrization is employed. In comparison with the one-dimensional stochastic model without neck variation, our two-dimensional model produces results that are in better agreement with the experimental data, and the one-dimensional model is available only for low excitation energies. Indeed, to determine the temperature of the nucleus at the saddle point, we investigate the neutron emission during nucleus oscillation around the saddle point for different friction mechanisms. It is shown that the neutrons emitted during the saddle oscillation cause the temperature of a fissioning nuclear system at the saddle point to decrease and influence the fission fragment angular distribution.
Jia Ying; Bao Jingdong [Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China)
Electron-capture delayed fission properties of 244Es
Electron-capture delayed fission was observed in {sup 244}Es produced via the {sup 237}Np({sup 12}C,5n){sup 244}Es reaction at 81 MeV (on target) with a production cross section of 0.31{+-}0.12 {micro}b. The mass-yield distribution of the fission fragments is highly asymmetric. The average preneutron-emission total kinetic energy of the fragments was measured to be 186{+-}19 MeV. Based on the ratio of the number of fission events to the measured number of {alpha} decays from the electron-capture daughter {sup 244}Cf (100% {alpha} branch), the probability of delayed fission was determined to be (1.2{+-}0.4) x 10{sup -4}. This value for the delayed fission probability fits the experimentally observed trend of increasing delayed fission probability with increasing Q value for electron-capture.
Shaughnessy, Dawn A.; Gregorich, Kenneth E.; Adams, Jeb L.; Lane, Michael R.; Laue, Carola A.; Lee, Diana M.; McGrath, Christopher A.; Ninov, Victor; Patin, Joshua B.; Strellis, Dan A.; Sylwester, Eric R.; Wilk, Philip A.; Hoffman, Darleane C.
Exotic fission properties of highly neutron-rich Uranium isotopes
The series of Uranium isotopes with $N=154 \\sim 172$ around the magic number N=162/164 are identified to be thermally fissile. The thermal neutron fission of a typical representative $^{249}$U of this region amenable to synthesis in the radioactive ion beam facilities is considered here. Semiempirical study of fission barrier height and width shows this nucleus to be infinitely stable against spontaneous fission due to increase in barrier width arising out of excess neutrons. Calculation of probability of fragment mass yields and microscopic study in relativistic mean field theory, show this nucleus to undergo a new mode of thermal fission decay termed {\\it multifragmentation fission} where a number of prompt scission neutrons are simultaneously released along with the two heavy fission fragments.
L. Satpathy; S. K. Patra; R. K. Choudhury
Active-Interrogation Measurements of Induced-Fission Neutrons from Low-Enriched Uranium
Protection and control of nuclear fuels is paramount for nuclear security and safeguards; therefore, it is important to develop fast and robust controlling mechanisms to ensure the safety of nuclear fuels. Through both passive- and active-interrogation methods we can use fast-neutron detection to perform real-time measurements of fission neutrons for process monitoring. Active interrogation allows us to use different ranges of incident neutron energy to probe for different isotopes of uranium. With fast-neutron detectors, such as organic liquid scintillation detectors, we can detect the induced-fission neutrons and photons and work towards quantifying a sample�s mass and enrichment. Using MCNPX-PoliMi, a system was designed to measure induced-fission neutrons from U-235 and U-238. Measurements were then performed in the summer of 2010 at the Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy. Fissions were induced with an associated particle D-T generator and an isotopic Am-Li source. The fission neutrons, as well as neutrons from (n, 2n) and (n, 3n) reactions, were measured with five 5� by 5� EJ-309 organic liquid scintillators. The D-T neutron generator was available as part of a measurement campaign in place by Padova University. The measurement and data-acquisition systems were developed at the University of Michigan utilizing a CAEN V1720 digitizer and pulse-shape discrimination algorithms to differentiate neutron and photon detections. Low-enriched uranium samples of varying mass and enrichment were interrogated. Acquired time-of-flight curves and cross-correlation curves are currently analyzed to draw relationships between detected neutrons and sample mass and enrichment. In the full paper, the promise of active-interrogation measurements and fast-neutron detection will be assessed through the example of this proof-of-concept measurement campaign. Additionally, MCNPX-PoliMi simulation results will be compared to the measured data to validate the MCNPX-PoliMi code when used for active-interrogation simulations.
J. L. Dolan; M. J. Marcath; M. Flaska; S. A. Pozzi; D. L. Chichester; A. Tomanin; P. Peerani; G. Nebbia
June 28, 2005 France to Be Site of World's First Nuclear Fusion Reactor
June 28, 2005 France to Be Site of World's First Nuclear Fusion Reactor By CRAIG S. SMITH PARIS the reactor in the southern French city of Cadarache. Nuclear fusion is the process by which the atomic nuclei than burning fossil fuels or even nuclear fission, which is used in nuclear reactors today but produces
Emergence of Fusion/Fission Cycling and Self-Organized Criticality from a Simulation Model of Early Complex Polities
H. 1999, Chiefdoms and the Fission-Fusion Process, AmericanEmergence of Fusion/Fission Cycling and Self-Organizedthe fusion and subsequent fission of dynamic political
Griffin, Arthur F
Response to 'A comment on "Signatures of fissile materials: High-energy gamma rays following fission," by Zeev B. Alfassi'
high-energy ? rays following fission" by Zeev B. Alfassi ,radionuclides that are not fission products, but which emittemporal variation of the fission product gamma rays should
Neutron flux profile monitor for use in a fission reactor
A neutron flux monitor is provided which consists of a plurality of fission counters arranged as spaced-apart point detectors along a delay line. As a fission event occurs in any one of the counters, two delayed current pulses are generated at the output of the delay line. The time separation of the pulses identifies the counter in which the particular fission event occured. Neutron flux profiles of reactor cores can be more accurately measured as a result.
Kopp, Manfred K. (Oak Ridge, TN); Valentine, Kenneth H. (Lenoir City, TN)
Fission studies with 140 MeV $\\bm?$-Particles
Binary fission i