[vc_empty_space][vc_empty_space]
Core performance and plutonium production of small long life fast reactor using doping actinides
Permana S.a,b, Suud Z.b
a Research Laboratory for Nuclear Reactors, Tokyo Institute of Technology, O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan
b Department of Physics, Bandung Institute of Technology, Bandung, 40132, Indonesia
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624529070653{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner layout=”boxed”][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1624695412187{border-right-width: 1px !important;border-right-color: #dddddd !important;border-right-style: solid !important;border-radius: 1px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Abstract” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]Developments of reactor technology for decades have tried to improve the fuel cycle feature especially for enhancing utilization of nuclear fuel resource and minimizing spent fuel waste. In addition to nuclear material protection which related to proliferation issue, plutonium production capability of the reactor is also one of the attractive issues. Utilization of minor actinide (MA) as well as uranium and plutonium as recycled fuel should have more attentions in order to maintain the sustainability of nuclear energy utilization as well as improving breeding capability of the reactors. MA for instance, is not popular as waste recently, but while improving fuel cycle technology, it becomes a new “fuel” source which can be used as “partner fuel” with uranium or plutonium for maintaining the reactor operation. Moreover, MA is also can be recognized to be used for improving fuel breeding capability and achieving more protected plutonium production as nuclear proliferation concern. The objective of this study is to evaluate the core performance of small long-life reactor using doping MA which is loaded into blanket region as well as the analysis of plutonium production. Small and medium reactor (SMR) gives a future utilization of nuclear energy for specific purposes which are adopted by IAEA as one of the proposed reactor type (Kuznetsov, 2008). Core optimization calculation of SRAC-CITATION code and nuclear data library of JENDL. 33 have been used for this analysis. Inner blanket and two different core (inner core and outer core) arrangements are adopted for several different power output and core operation time. In the blanket region some MAs are loaded for several doping rate cases. The reactor operation can reaches more than 10 years operation without refueling and shuffling for different power reactors and the obtained excess reactivity are about 1% or less. The effect of MA and Neptunium loadings in the blanket region to the reactor performance is shown by different criticality trends, power density distributions and conversion ratio capabilities in the fuel blanket pins as well as for the whole reactor core. Higher criticality performance of MA loading has been obtained compared with Neptunium loading along the core operation time. Lower criticality has been shown by higher MA loading concentration at the beginning of operation as the initial stage because of the many produced neutrons have been captured by MA; however, it obtains higher criticality for higher MA loading at the end of operation because of higher fissile material production from converted MA. Plutonium production characteristics have been evaluated for both core regions and blanket regions as a function of reactor operation time. It shows a different plutonium production trend for each plutonium isotope, especially in relation to production of even mass number of plutonium isotope. Doping Np-237 is more effective to increase the production of Pu-238, as well as doping MA which is more preferable for increasing the Pu-240 production. The doping rate effect is evaluated for MA doping case, to show the dependence of plutonium production to the doping rate as a function of core operation time.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Author keywords” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text]Loading concentration,Nuclear data library,Nuclear proliferation,Optimization calculation,Plutonium isotopes,Plutonium production,Power density distributions,Reactor performance[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Indexed keywords” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”Funding details” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][vc_empty_space][megatron_heading title=”DOI” size=”size-sm” text_align=”text-left”][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_column_text]Widget Plumx[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1624528584150{padding-top: 25px !important;padding-bottom: 25px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row]