A comparative study on the impact of Gd2O3 burnable neutron absorber in UO2 and (U, Th)O2 fuels

Uguru, Edwin Humphrey; Sani, S.F. Abdul; Khandaker, Mayeen Uddin; Rabir, Mohamad Hairie; Karim, Julia Abdul

doi:10.1016/j.net.2019.11.010

Cited by 18 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…By this approach, the fraction of the uranium isotopes remaining after removing 235 U enrichment percent is that of 238 U. The fraction of 238 U isotope was meant to produce certain amount of 238 Pu and 240 Pu whose large neutron absorption cross section together with gadolinium balances the excess neutron production effect as reported in the literature 28 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The core contains 89 robust fuel assemblies in a 17 × 17 square arrays, with each assembly loaded with 264 fuel rods, 24 control rod channels and one instrumentation thimble. Its material components and dimensions are as presented in previous work 28 . Like the AP1000 reactor, the W‐SMR design philosophy is centred on simplicity, advanced passive safety, economy and flexibility, using UO 2 reference fuel with three fissile enrichment zones.…”

Section: Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Burn‐up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium‐uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor

et al. 2020

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Summary Thorium fuel is presently a globally known future nuclear fuel alternative, having good neutronic, physical and chemical properties in addition to its spent nuclear fuel characteristic proliferation resistance. This research focused on the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium‐uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle, utilising three fissile enrichment zones, a departure from the conventional single enrichment. The aim was to determine the range of three fissile zones adequate for thorium‐uranium fuel cycle; investigating the performance efficiency of the fuel neutronic and inherent safety parameters in response to temperature differentials, which determines the viability of the fuel and core composition. Use was made of the MCNPX 2.7 code integrated with the CINDER90 fuel depletion code for steady‐state and burn‐up calculations. The keff, moderator temperature coefficient (MTC) and fuel temperature coefficient (FTC) of reactivity are affected by the range of fissile enrichment and fuel temperature which decreased with their respective increases. The MTC for all the moderator temperatures was within 0 to −40 pcm/K design value for UO2 fuel. Similarly, the FTC was within −3.5 to −1 pcm/K design value for all the fuel temperatures except after 2000 days, where a positive reactivity feedback was introduced. At ~86 MWd/kgHM single discharge burn‐up, the result shows that ~90% of the initial fissile load was utilised for energy production at the normal reactor operating temperature (600 K) with a slight reduction at higher fuel temperature. The total fissile inventory ratio (FIR), 233U/kg‐232Th and 239Pu/kg‐238U inventory ratios were significantly large and increased with burn‐up. It is remarkable that the FIR and the 233U/kg‐232Th inventory ratio did not reach conversion equilibrium until exit burn‐up. The large percentage fuel utilisation supports the advantage of fissile enrichment zoning in a thermal nuclear reactor core, making the chosen novel three fissile enrichment zones for thorium‐uranium fuel cycle reliable.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Burn‐up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium‐uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor

et al. 2020

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“…The decrease in the ThO 2 + UO 2 (20%) mixtures is due to the longer time it takes Th-232 to produce U-237 and U-239 isotopes, which in turn produce Np-237 and Np-239 isotopes through beta decay. 61 Frequently, the existence of both americium and curium isotopes, mainly Am-243 and Cm-244, in Pubased fuels and thus ThO 2 + PuO 2 mixtures is a concern. The neutron capture in Am-243 and the subsequent decay of Am-244 are the primary sources of Cm-244.…”

Section: Depleted Fuel and The Evolution Of Massesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparative analysis of the neutronic performance of thorium mixed with uranium or plutonium in a high‐temperature pebble‐bed reactor

et al. 2021

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“…It is also known to have a large thermal‐neutron capture cross‐section which is exploited in various applications. [ 2,3 ] At room temperature, gadolinium(III) oxide (Gd 2 O 3 ) has a cubic crystal structure with space group

la\bar{3}

. Above 1200 °C, the monoclinic structure (space group C2/m) takes over as being the most stable structure, and also a hexagonal phase (space group P

\bar{4}

m2) exists at temperatures above 2100 °C.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoscale Porosity of High Surface Area Gadolinium Oxide Nanofoam Obtained With Combustion Synthesis

Boer

Chen

Cvejn

et al. 2023

Adv Materials Inter

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water purification, as well as other fields of their implementation. Increasing the specific surface area is therefore an obvious pathway to increase the efficiency of materials used in these processes and technologies. This way, less material is needed making particular technology more costeffective and sustainable. An effective way of increasing the surface area of a material is by making its structure porous. An example of such porous materials are nano foams, which can be made with all kinds of materials including metals and metal oxides. [1] Gadolinium is a lanthanide with a partially filled 4f shell, giving it unique optical as well as magnetic properties. It is also known to have a large thermal-neutron capture cross-section which is exploited in various applications. [2,3] At room temperature, gadolinium(III) oxide (Gd 2 O 3 ) has a cubic crystal structure with space group 3 la . Above 1200 °C, the monoclinic structure (space group C2/m) takes over as being the most stable structure, and also a hexagonal phase (space group P4m2) exists at temperatures above 2100 °C. [4] Nanoscale Gd 2 O 3 can be applied in, among others, sensing applications, [5,6] in catalysis for the improvement of sulfur cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, [7,8] and in the treatment of contaminated water. [9][10][11] For the latter, Nanoscale gadolinium oxide (Gd 2 O 3 ) is a promising nanomaterial with unique physicochemical properties that finds various applications ranging from biomedicine to catalysis. The preparation of highly porous Gd 2 O 3 nanofoam greatly increases its surface area thereby boosting its potential for functional use in applications such as water purification processes and in catalytic applications. By using the combustion synthesis method, a strong exothermic redox reaction between gadolinium nitrate hexahydrate and glycine causes the formation of crystalline nanoporous Gd 2 O 3 . In this study, the synthesis of Gd 2 O 3 nanofoam is achieved with combustion synthesis at large scale (grams). Its nanoscale porosity is investigated by nitrogen physisorption and its nanoscale 3D structure by electron tomography, and the formation process is investigated as well by means of in situ heating inside the transmission electron microscope. The bulk nanofoam product is highly crystalline and porous with a surface area of 67 m 2 g −1 as measured by physisorption, in good agreement with the electron tomographic 3D reconstructions showing an intricate interconnected pore network with pore sizes varying from 2 to 3 nm to tens of nanometers. In situ heating experiments point to many possibilities for tuning the porosity of the Gd 2 O 3 nanofoam by varying the experimental synthesis conditions.

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A comparative study on the impact of Gd2O3 burnable neutron absorber in UO2 and (U, Th)O2 fuels

Cited by 18 publications

References 11 publications

Burn‐up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium‐uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor

Burn‐up calculation of the neutronic and safety parameters of thorium‐uranium mixed oxide fuel cycle in a Westinghouse small modular reactor

A comparative analysis of the neutronic performance of thorium mixed with uranium or plutonium in a high‐temperature pebble‐bed reactor

Nanoscale Porosity of High Surface Area Gadolinium Oxide Nanofoam Obtained With Combustion Synthesis

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