Fuel Summary Report: Shippingport Light Water Breeder Reactor - Rev. 2

Olson, Gail Lynn; Cardell, Richard Keith Mc; Illum, Douglas Brent

doi:10.2172/910649

Cited by 11 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Actinide dioxides such as UO 2 , PuO 2 and ThO 2 are used as fuel in nuclear reactors because of their high melting point (ThO 2 at 3663 K, PuO 2 at 2660 K, and UO 2 at 3100 K) [1,2] and their significant stability under irradiation [3]. However, these nuclear fuel materials have a considerable disadvantage in that they all have a relatively low thermal conductivity (TC, a measure of the ability of a material to transmit heat) [1,4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Calculations of Thermal Conductivity: A “How-To” for the Beginners

et al. 2020

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The ready availability of codes such as LAMMPS (Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator) for molecular dynamics simulations has opened up the realm of atomistic modelling to novice code users with an interest in computational materials modelling but who lack the appropriate theoretical or computational background. As such, there is significant risk of the “user effect” having a negative impact on the quality of results obtained using such codes. Here, we present a “how-to” procedure for equilibrium molecular dynamics-based nuclear fuel thermal conductivity calculations using the Green–Kubo method with an interatomic potential developed by Cooper et al. [ 1 ]. The various steps of the simulation are identified and explained, along with criteria to assess the quality of the intermediate and final results, discussion of some problems that can arise during a simulation, and some inherent limitations of the method. Calculated thermal conductivities for UO2 and ThO2 will be compared with the available experimental data and also with similar thermal conductivity calculations using nonequilibrium molecular dynamics, reported in the open literature.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Calculations of Thermal Conductivity: A “How-To” for the Beginners

et al. 2020

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“…This thermal breeder reactor operated during 1977 to 1982, produced 2.5 billion kWh of electrical energy. The non-destructive assay of 524 spent fuel pins and destructive analysis of 17 spent fuel pins showed that 1.39% more fissile material was present in the spent fuel compared to that present in the initial fuel 7 , establishing that breeding had indeed occurred in the thermal energy spectrum.…”

Section: Historical Developments For Utilization Of Thoriummentioning

confidence: 98%

Nuclear Power from Thorium:Different Options

2016

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Keywords: Accelerator-driven sub-critical systems, breed and burn reactors, fast reactors, light water reactors, molten salt breeder reactors, pressurized heavy water reactors, thorium fuel cycle.NATURE has provided only one fissile isotope, U 235 , splitting of which in fission chain reaction produces most of the present day nuclear energy. Natural uranium contains 0.7 wt% of U 235 , which is fissile material while the remaining 99.3 wt% U 238 is fertile. In contrast, natural thorium (Th 232 ) is only a fertile material with no fissile content in it. While examining the sustainability of nuclear power, the use of thorium was given due consideration from the early years of the nuclear power generation. In view of the fact that the total inventory of naturally available U 235 is inadequate to provide nuclear energy for a long period (beyond a century or two), the idea of utilizing fertile material by first converting them into fissile and subsequently fissioning them to produce energy was conceived way back in the 1950s. It was also recognized that the fertile to fissile conversion could be made possible only if a steady supply of neutrons can be made economically. The process of nuclear fission produces neutrons in excess of what is required for sustaining the chain reaction and these excess neutrons are utilized for the generation of fresh fissile nuclides. While the fast neutron spectrum fissioning of Pu 239 can generate more fissile nuclides than consumed, U 233 (derived from Th 232 by neutron absorption) can also do the same at a reduced level in a wide neutron energy spectrum from thermal to fast. It is this nuclear property, which was the main incentive of thorium utilization in the early years. Other advantages of the thorium fuel cycle are: reduced generation of higher actinides with long radioactive life and attractive thermo physical properties of ThO 2 (ref. and subsequently fissioning U 233 to produce nuclear energy was demonstrated in several countries, a brief account of which is provided later in this article. However no major power plant has been built with U 233 as the main fuel. This is primarily because driving a thorium-based reactor requires a driver fuel containing any of the fissile nuclides U 235 , U 233 or Pu 239 . The fissile fertile mix U 235 + U 238 in natural and enriched uranium is being used extensively over the last six decades for producing energy and generating fresh fissile nuclides. The capture crosssection of Th 232 is nearly thrice higher than that of U 238 in thermal neutron spectrum, therefore, introduction of thorium will invariably require larger fissile content in

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“…The test materials consist of metallurgical specimens prepared as part of the end-of-life destructive examination of the Shippingport Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR) core (Richardson et al 1987, Olson et al 1999. Figure 76 shows a cross-section through the LWBR core and indicates the approximate locations of the spent rods from which the test materials were extracted.…”

Section: Irradiated Fuelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fabrication and irradiation history of these samples are summarized below to provide background for the corrosion and dissolution results. For more detailed discussions of these samples see Richardson et al (1987) and Olson et al (1999). Pertinent observations made during the LWBR end-of-life destructive analyses program are summarized in Table 39.…”

Section: Irradiated Fuelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advanced Proliferation Resistant, Lower Cost, Uranium-Thorium Dioxide Fuels for Light Water Reactors (Progress report for work through June 2002, 12th quarterly report)

Donald¹,

Elsworth²

2002

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Fuel Summary Report: Shippingport Light Water Breeder Reactor - Rev. 2

Cited by 11 publications

References 8 publications

Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Calculations of Thermal Conductivity: A “How-To” for the Beginners

Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Calculations of Thermal Conductivity: A “How-To” for the Beginners

Nuclear Power from Thorium:Different Options

Advanced Proliferation Resistant, Lower Cost, Uranium-Thorium Dioxide Fuels for Light Water Reactors (Progress report for work through June 2002, 12th quarterly report)

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