10 CFR 50.46 - Acceptance criteria for emergency core cooling systems for light-water nuclear power reactors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... light-water nuclear power reactors. 50.46 Section 50.46 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION DOMESTIC... reactors. (a)(1)(i) Each boiling or pressurized light-water nuclear power reactor fueled with uranium oxide... evaluation model. This section does not apply to a nuclear power reactor facility for which the...

NEW EQUATIONS OF STATE IN SIMULATIONS OF CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hempel, M.; Liebendoerfer, M.; Fischer, T.

2012-03-20

We discuss three new equations of state (EOS) in core-collapse supernova simulations. The new EOS are based on the nuclear statistical equilibrium model of Hempel and Schaffner-Bielich (HS), which includes excluded volume effects and relativistic mean-field (RMF) interactions. We consider the RMF parameterizations TM1, TMA, and FSUgold. These EOS are implemented into our spherically symmetric core-collapse supernova model, which is based on general relativistic radiation hydrodynamics and three-flavor Boltzmann neutrino transport. The results obtained for the new EOS are compared with the widely used EOS of H. Shen et al. and Lattimer and Swesty. The systematic comparison shows that themore » model description of inhomogeneous nuclear matter is as important as the parameterization of the nuclear interactions for the supernova dynamics and the neutrino signal. Furthermore, several new aspects of nuclear physics are investigated: the HS EOS contains distributions of nuclei, including nuclear shell effects. The appearance of light nuclei, e.g., deuterium and tritium, is also explored, which can become as abundant as alphas and free protons. In addition, we investigate the black hole formation in failed core-collapse supernovae, which is mainly determined by the high-density EOS. We find that temperature effects lead to a systematically faster collapse for the non-relativistic LS EOS in comparison with the RMF EOS. We deduce a new correlation for the time until black hole formation, which allows the determination of the maximum mass of proto-neutron stars, if the neutrino signal from such a failed supernova would be measured in the future. This would give a constraint for the nuclear EOS at finite entropy, complementary to observations of cold neutron stars.« less

Resource Letter NSM-1: New insights into the nuclear shell model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dean, David Jarvis; Hamilton, J. H.

2011-01-01

This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on the spherical shell model as applied to nuclei. The nuclear shell model describes the structure of nuclei starting with a nuclear core developed by the classical neutron and proton magic numbers N,Z=2,8,20,28,50,82, 126, where gaps occur in the single-particle energies as a shell is filled, and the interactions of valence nucleons that reside beyond that core. Various modern extensions of this model for spherical nuclei are likewise described. Significant extensions of the nuclear shell model include new magic numbers for spherical nuclei and now for deformed nuclei as well. Whenmore » both protons and neutrons have shell gaps at the same spherical or deformed shapes, they can reinforce each other to give added stability to that shape and lead to new magic numbers. The vanishings of the classical spherical shell model energy gaps and magic numbers in new neutron-rich nuclei are described. Spherical and deformed shell gaps are seen to be critical for the existence of elements with Z > 100.« less

Promyelocytic Leukemia (Pml) Nuclear Bodies Are Protein Structures That Do Not Accumulate RNA

PubMed Central

Boisvert, François-Michel; Hendzel, Michael J.; Bazett-Jones, David P.

2000-01-01

The promyelocytic leukemia (PML) nuclear body (also referred to as ND10, POD, and Kr body) is involved in oncogenesis and viral infection. This subnuclear domain has been reported to be rich in RNA and a site of nascent RNA synthesis, implicating its direct involvement in the regulation of gene expression. We used an analytical transmission electron microscopic method to determine the structure and composition of PML nuclear bodies and the surrounding nucleoplasm. Electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) demonstrates that the core of the PML nuclear body is a dense, protein-based structure, 250 nm in diameter, which does not contain detectable nucleic acid. Although PML nuclear bodies contain neither chromatin nor nascent RNA, newly synthesized RNA is associated with the periphery of the PML nuclear body, and is found within the chromatin-depleted region of the nucleoplasm immediately surrounding the core of the PML nuclear body. We further show that the RNA does not accumulate in the protein core of the structure. Our results dismiss the hypothesis that the PML nuclear body is a site of transcription, but support the model in which the PML nuclear body may contribute to the formation of a favorable nuclear environment for the expression of specific genes. PMID:10648561

Essential Ingredients in Core-collapse Supernovae

DOE PAGES

Hix, William Raphael; Lentz, E. J.; Endeve, Eirik; ...

2014-03-27

Marking the inevitable death of a massive star, and the birth of a neutron star or black hole, core-collapse supernovae bring together physics at a wide range in spatial scales, from kilometer-sized hydrodynamic motions (eventually growing to gigameter scale) down to femtometer scale nuclear reactions. Carrying 10more » $$^{44}$$ joules of kinetic energy and a rich-mix of newly synthesized atomic nuclei, core-collapse supernovae are the preeminent foundries of the nuclear species which make up ourselves and our solar system. We will discuss our emerging understanding of the convectively unstable, neutrino-driven explosion mechanism, based on increasingly realistic neutrino-radiation hydrodynamic simulations that include progressively better nuclear and particle physics. Recent multi-dimensional models with spectral neutrino transport from several research groups, which slowly develop successful explosions for a range of progenitors, have motivated changes in our understanding of the neutrino reheating mechanism. In a similar fashion, improvements in nuclear physics, most notably explorations of weak interactions on nuclei and the nuclear equation of state, continue to refine our understanding of how supernovae explode. Recent progress on both the macroscopic and microscopic effects that affect core-collapse supernovae are discussed.« less

Understanding Core-Collapse Supernovae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hix, W. R.; Lentz, E. J.; Baird, M.; Messer, O. E. B.; Mezzacappa, A.; Lee, C.-T.; Bruenn, S. W.; Blondin, J. M.; Marronetti, P.

2010-03-01

Our understanding of core-collapse supernovae continues to improve as better microphysics is included in increasingly realistic neutrino-radiationhydrodynamic simulations. Recent multi-dimensional models with spectral neutrino transport, which slowly develop successful explosions for a range of progenitors between 12 and 25 solar mass, have motivated changes in our understanding of the neutrino reheating mechanism. In a similar fashion, improvements in nuclear physics, most notably explorations of weak interactions on nuclei and the nuclear equation of state, continue to refine our understanding of how supernovae explode. Recent progresses on both the macroscopic and microscopic effects that affect core-collapse supernovae are discussed.

Convective cooling in a pool-type research reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sipaun, Susan; Usman, Shoaib

2016-01-01

A reactor produces heat arising from fission reactions in the nuclear core. In the Missouri University of Science and Technology research reactor (MSTR), this heat is removed by natural convection where the coolant/moderator is demineralised water. Heat energy is transferred from the core into the coolant, and the heated water eventually evaporates from the open pool surface. A secondary cooling system was installed to actively remove excess heat arising from prolonged reactor operations. The nuclear core consists of uranium silicide aluminium dispersion fuel (U3Si2Al) in the form of rectangular plates. Gaps between the plates allow coolant to pass through and carry away heat. A study was carried out to map out heat flow as well as to predict the system's performance via STAR-CCM+ simulation. The core was approximated as porous media with porosity of 0.7027. The reactor is rated 200kW and total heat density is approximately 1.07+E7 Wm-3. An MSTR model consisting of 20% of MSTR's nuclear core in a third of the reactor pool was developed. At 35% pump capacity, the simulation results for the MSTR model showed that water is drawn out of the pool at a rate 1.28 kg s-1 from the 4" pipe, and predicted pool surface temperature not exceeding 30°C.

Modeling Transients and Designing a Passive Safety System for a Nuclear Thermal Rocket Using Relap5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khatry, Jivan

Long-term high payload missions necessitate the need for nuclear space propulsion. Several nuclear reactor types were investigated by the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA) program of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Study of planned/unplanned transients on nuclear thermal rockets is important due to the need for long-term missions. A NERVA design known as the Pewee I was selected for this purpose. The following transients were run: (i) modeling of corrosion-induced blockages on the peripheral fuel element coolant channels and their impact on radiation heat transfer in the core, and (ii) modeling of loss-of-flow-accidents (LOFAs) and their impact on radiation heat transfer in the core. For part (i), the radiation heat transfer rate of blocked channels increases while their neighbors' decreases. For part (ii), the core radiation heat transfer rate increases while the flow rate through the rocket system is decreased. However, the radiation heat transfer decreased while there was a complete LOFA. In this situation, the peripheral fuel element coolant channels handle the majority of the radiation heat transfer. Recognizing the LOFA as the most severe design basis accident, a passive safety system was designed in order to respond to such a transient. This design utilizes the already existing tie rod tubes and connects them to a radiator in a closed loop. Hence, this is basically a secondary loop. The size of the core is unchanged. During normal steady-state operation, this secondary loop keeps the moderator cool. Results show that the safety system is able to remove the decay heat and prevent the fuel elements from melting, in response to a LOFA and subsequent SCRAM.

Sub-saturation matter in compact stars: Nuclear modelling in the framework of the extended Thomas-Fermi theory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aymard, François; Gulminelli, Francesca; Margueron, Jérôme

A recently introduced analytical model for the nuclear density profile [1] is implemented in the Extended Thomas-Fermi (ETF) energy density functional. This allows to (i) shed a new light on the issue of the sign of surface symmetry energy in nuclear mass formulas, as well as to (ii) show the importance of the in-medium corrections to the nuclear cluster energies in thermodynamic conditions relevant for the description of core-collapse supernovae and (proto)-neutron star crust.

Sub-saturation matter in compact stars: Nuclear modelling in the framework of the extended Thomas-Fermi theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aymard, François; Gulminelli, Francesca; Margueron, Jérôme

2015-02-01

A recently introduced analytical model for the nuclear density profile [1] is implemented in the Extended Thomas-Fermi (ETF) energy density functional. This allows to (i) shed a new light on the issue of the sign of surface symmetry energy in nuclear mass formulas, as well as to (ii) show the importance of the in-medium corrections to the nuclear cluster energies in thermodynamic conditions relevant for the description of core-collapse supernovae and (proto)-neutron star crust.

SPOC Benchmark Case: SNRE Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vishal Patel; Michael Eades; Claude Russel Joyner II

The Small Nuclear Rocket Engine (SNRE) was modeled in the Center for Space Nuclear Research’s (CSNR) Space Propulsion Optimization Code (SPOC). SPOC aims to create nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) geometries quickly to perform parametric studies on design spaces of historic and new NTP designs. The SNRE geometry was modeled in SPOC and a critical core with a reasonable amount of criticality margin was found. The fuel, tie-tubes, reflector, and control drum masses were predicted rather well. These are all very important for neutronics calculations so the active reactor geometries created with SPOC can continue to be trusted. Thermal calculations ofmore » the average and hot fuel channels agreed very well. The specific impulse calculations used historically and in SPOC disagree so mass flow rates and impulses differed. Modeling peripheral and power balance components that do not affect nuclear characteristics of the core is not a feature of SPOC and as such, these components should continue to be designed using other tools. A full paper detailing the available SNRE data and comparisons with SPOC outputs will be submitted as a follow-up to this abstract.« less

Nuclear Thermal Propulsion: A Joint NASA/DOE/DOD Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, John S. (Editor)

1991-01-01

Papers presented at the joint NASA/DOE/DOD workshop on nuclear thermal propulsion are compiled. The following subject areas are covered: nuclear thermal propulsion programs; Rover/NERVA and NERVA systems; Low Pressure Nuclear Thermal Rocket (LPNTR); particle bed reactor nuclear rocket; hybrid propulsion systems; wire core reactor; pellet bed reactor; foil reactor; Droplet Core Nuclear Rocket (DCNR); open cycle gas core nuclear rockets; vapor core propulsion reactors; nuclear light bulb; Nuclear rocket using Indigenous Martian Fuel (NIMF); mission analysis; propulsion and reactor technology; development plans; and safety issues.

Numerical prediction of an axisymmetric turbulent mixing layer using two turbulence models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Richard W.

1992-01-01

Nuclear power, once considered and then rejected (in the U. S.) for application to space vehicle propulsion, is being reconsidered for powering space rockets, especially for interplanetary travel. The gas core reactor, a high risk, high payoff nuclear engine concept, is one that was considered in the 1960s and 70s. As envisioned then, the gas core reactor would consist of a heavy, slow moving core of fissioning uranium vapor surrounded by a fast moving outer stream of hydrogen propellant. Satisfactory operation of such a configuration would require stable nuclear reaction kinetics to occur simultaneously with a stable, coflowing, probably turbulent fluid system having a dense inner stream and a light outer stream. The present study examines the behavior of two turbulence models in numerically simulating an idealized version of the above coflowing fluid system. The two models are the standard k˜ɛ model and a thin shear algebraic stress model (ASM). The idealized flow system can be described as an axisymmetric mixing layer of constant density. Predictions for the radial distribution of the mean streamwise velocity and shear stress for several axial stations are compared with experiment. Results for the k˜ɛe predictions are broadly satisfactory while those for the ASM are distinctly poorer.

Geoantineutrino spectrum and slow nuclear burning on the boundary of the liquid and solid phases of the Earth's core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusov, V. D.; Pavlovich, V. N.; Vaschenko, V. N.; Tarasov, V. A.; Zelentsova, T. N.; Bolshakov, V. N.; Litvinov, D. A.; Kosenko, S. I.; Byegunova, O. A.

2007-09-01

We give an alternative description of the data produced in the KamLAND experiment. Assuming the existence of a natural nuclear reactor on the boundary of the liquid and solid phases of the Earth's core, a geoantineutrino spectrum is obtained. This assumption is based on the experimental results of V. Anisichkin and his collaborators on the interaction of uranium dioxide and uranium carbide with iron-nickel and silica-alumina melts at high pressure (5-10 GPa) and temperature (1600-2200°C), which led to the proposal of the existence of an actinide shell in the Earth's core. We describe the operating mechanism of this reactor as solitary waves of nuclear burning in 238U and/or 232Th medium, in particular, as neutron fission progressive waves of Feoktistov and/or Teller et al. type. Next, we propose a simplified model for the accumulation and burn-up kinetics in Feoktistov's U-Pu fuel cycle. We also apply this model for numerical simulations of neutron fission wave in a two-phase UO2/Fe medium on the surface of the Earth's solid core. The proposed georeactor model offers a mechanism for the generation of 3He. The 3He/4He distribution in the Earth's interior is calculated, which in turn can be used as a natural quantitative criterion of the georeactor thermal power. Finally, we give a tentative estimation of the geoantineutrino intensity and spectrum on the Earth's surface. For this purpose we use the O'Nions et al. geochemical model of mantle differentiation and crust growth complemented by a nuclear energy source (georeactor with power of 30 TW).

Monte Carlo Analysis of the Battery-Type High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grodzki, Marcin; Darnowski, Piotr; Niewiński, Grzegorz

2017-12-01

The paper presents a neutronic analysis of the battery-type 20 MWth high-temperature gas cooled reactor. The developed reactor model is based on the publicly available data being an `early design' variant of the U-battery. The investigated core is a battery type small modular reactor, graphite moderated, uranium fueled, prismatic, helium cooled high-temperature gas cooled reactor with graphite reflector. The two core alternative designs were investigated. The first has a central reflector and 30×4 prismatic fuel blocks and the second has no central reflector and 37×4 blocks. The SERPENT Monte Carlo reactor physics computer code, with ENDF and JEFF nuclear data libraries, was applied. Several nuclear design static criticality calculations were performed and compared with available reference results. The analysis covered the single assembly models and full core simulations for two geometry models: homogenous and heterogenous (explicit). A sensitivity analysis of the reflector graphite density was performed. An acceptable agreement between calculations and reference design was obtained. All calculations were performed for the fresh core state.

Reducing numerical costs for core wide nuclear reactor CFD simulations by the Coarse-Grid-CFD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viellieber, Mathias; Class, Andreas G.

2013-11-01

Traditionally complete nuclear reactor core simulations are performed with subchannel analysis codes, that rely on experimental and empirical input. The Coarse-Grid-CFD (CGCFD) intends to replace the experimental or empirical input with CFD data. The reactor core consists of repetitive flow patterns, allowing the general approach of creating a parametrized model for one segment and composing many of those to obtain the entire reactor simulation. The method is based on a detailed and well-resolved CFD simulation of one representative segment. From this simulation we extract so-called parametrized volumetric forces which close, an otherwise strongly under resolved, coarsely-meshed model of a complete reactor setup. While the formulation so far accounts for forces created internally in the fluid others e.g. obstruction and flow deviation through spacers and wire wraps, still need to be accounted for if the geometric details are not represented in the coarse mesh. These are modelled with an Anisotropic Porosity Formulation (APF). This work focuses on the application of the CGCFD to a complete reactor core setup and the accomplishment of the parametrization of the volumetric forces.

A new equation of state Based on Nuclear Statistical Equilibrium for Core-Collapse Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furusawa, Shun; Yamada, Shoichi; Sumiyoshi, Kohsuke; Suzuki, Hideyuki

2012-09-01

We calculate a new equation of state for baryons at sub-nuclear densities for the use in core-collapse simulations of massive stars. The formulation is the nuclear statistical equilibrium description and the liquid drop approximation of nuclei. The model free energy to minimize is calculated by relativistic mean field theory for nucleons and the mass formula for nuclei with atomic number up to ~ 1000. We have also taken into account the pasta phase. We find that the free energy and other thermodynamical quantities are not very different from those given in the standard EOSs that adopt the single nucleus approximation. On the other hand, the average mass is systematically different, which may have an important effect on the rates of electron captures and coherent neutrino scatterings on nuclei in supernova cores.

Convective cooling in a pool-type research reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sipaun, Susan, E-mail: susan@nm.gov.my; Usman, Shoaib, E-mail: usmans@mst.edu

2016-01-22

A reactor produces heat arising from fission reactions in the nuclear core. In the Missouri University of Science and Technology research reactor (MSTR), this heat is removed by natural convection where the coolant/moderator is demineralised water. Heat energy is transferred from the core into the coolant, and the heated water eventually evaporates from the open pool surface. A secondary cooling system was installed to actively remove excess heat arising from prolonged reactor operations. The nuclear core consists of uranium silicide aluminium dispersion fuel (U{sub 3}Si{sub 2}Al) in the form of rectangular plates. Gaps between the plates allow coolant to passmore » through and carry away heat. A study was carried out to map out heat flow as well as to predict the system’s performance via STAR-CCM+ simulation. The core was approximated as porous media with porosity of 0.7027. The reactor is rated 200kW and total heat density is approximately 1.07+E7 Wm{sup −3}. An MSTR model consisting of 20% of MSTR’s nuclear core in a third of the reactor pool was developed. At 35% pump capacity, the simulation results for the MSTR model showed that water is drawn out of the pool at a rate 1.28 kg s{sup −1} from the 4” pipe, and predicted pool surface temperature not exceeding 30°C.« less

Scale Model Test and Transient Analysis of Steam Injector Driven Passive Core Injection System for Innovative-Simplified Nuclear Power Plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohmori, Shuichi; Narabayashi, Tadashi; Mori, Michitsugu

A steam injector (SI) is a simple, compact and passive pump and also acts as a high-performance direct-contact compact heater. This provides SI with capability to serve also as a direct-contact feed-water heater that heats up feed-water by using extracted steam from turbine. Our technology development aims to significantly simplify equipment and reduce physical quantities by applying "high-efficiency SI", which are applicable to a wide range of operation regimes beyond the performance and applicable range of existing SIs and enables unprecedented multistage and parallel operation, to the low-pressure feed-water heaters and emergency core cooling system of nuclear power plants, as well as achieve high inherent safety to prevent severe accidents by keeping the core covered with water (a severe accident-free concept). This paper describes the results of the scale model test, and the transient analysis of SI-driven passive core injection system (PCIS).

Few-body semiclassical approach to nucleon transfer and emission reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sultanov, Renat A.; Guster, D.

2014-04-01

A three-body semiclassical model is proposed to describe the nucleon transfer and emission reactions in a heavy-ion collision. In this model the two heavy particles, i.e. nuclear cores A1(ZA1, MA1) and A2(ZA2, MA2), move along classical trajectories {{R}_1}( t ) and {{R}_2}( t ) respectively, while the dynamics of the lighter neutron (n) is considered from a quantum mechanical point of view. Here, Mi are the nucleon masses and Zi are the Coulomb charges of the heavy nuclei (i = 1, 2). A Faddeev-type semiclassical formulation using realistic paired nuclear-nuclear potentials is applied so that all three channels (elastic, rearrangement and break-up) are described in a unified manner. In order to solve the time-dependent equations the Faddeev components of the total three-body wave-function are expanded in terms of the input and output channel target eigenfunctions. In the special case, when the nuclear cores are identical (A1 ≡ A2) and also the two-level approximation in the expansion over the target (subsystem) functions is used, the time-dependent semiclassical Faddeev equations are resolved in an explicit way. To determine the realistic {{R}_1}( t ) and {{R}_2}( t ) trajectories of the nuclear cores, a self-consistent approach based on the Feynman path integral theory is applied.

Nuclear reactor apparatus

DOEpatents

Wade, Elman E.

1978-01-01

A lifting, rotating and sealing apparatus for nuclear reactors utilizing rotating plugs above the nuclear reactor core. This apparatus permits rotation of the plugs to provide under the plug refueling of a nuclear core. It also provides a means by which positive top core holddown can be utilized. Both of these operations are accomplished by means of the apparatus lifting the top core holddown structure off the nuclear core while stationary, and maintaining this structure in its elevated position during plug rotation. During both of these operations, the interface between the rotating member and its supporting member is sealingly maintained.

Roles of nuclear weak rates on the evolution of degenerate cores in stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, Toshio; Tsunodaa, Naofumi; Tsunoda, Yuhsuke; Shimizu, Noritaka; Otsuka, Takaharu

2018-01-01

Electron-capture and β-decay rates in stellar environments are evaluated with the use of new shell-model Hamiltonians for sd-shell and pf-shell nuclei as well as for nuclei belonging to the island of inversion. Important role of the nuclear weak rates on the final evolution of stellar degenerate cores is presented. The weak interaction rates for sd-shell nuclei are calculated to study nuclear Urca processes in O-Ne-Mg cores of stars with 8-10 M⊙ (solar mass) and their effects on the final fate of the stars. Nucleosynthesis of iron-group elements in Type Ia supernova explosions are studied with the weak rates for pf-shell nuclei. The problem of the neutron-rich iron-group isotope over-production compared to the solar abundances is shown to be nearly solved with the use of the new rates and explosion model of slow defraglation with delayed detonation. Evaluation of the weak rates is extended to the island of inversion and the region of neutron-rich nuclei near 78Ni, where two major shells contribute to their configurations.

A Weak Bar Potential and Massive Core in the Seyfert 2 Galaxy NGC 3079: CO(1--0) observations using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koda, J.; Sofue, Y.; Kohno, K.; Okumura, S. K.; Irwin, Judith A.

We present our recent 12CO (1-0) observations in the central molecular disk of the Hα/radio lobe galaxy NGC 3079 with the Nobeyama Millimeter Array. We show four kinematically distinct components in the observed molecular disk: a main disk, spiral arms, a nuclear disk and a nuclear core. We discuss their possible origins using a simple orbit-analysis model in a weak bar potential. We show that three of the four components are well-understood by typical gaseous orbits in a weak bar, such as gaseous x1- and x2-orbits. The main disk and spiral arms are well-understood as the gaseous x1-orbits and their associated crowding, respectively. The nuclear disk is naturally explained by the x2-orbits. However, the nuclear core, showing a high velocity of about 200kmps at a radius of about 100pc, cannot be explained by those gaseous orbits in a bar. Furthermore, no other orbits, derived by bars, cannot be responsible for the nuclear core. Thus we discuss that this component should be attributed to a central massive core with a dynamical mass of about 109Msun within the central 100pc radius. This mass is three orders of magnitude more massive than that of a central black hole in this galaxy. More detailed descriptions are presented in Koda et al. (2002).

77 FR 30435 - In-core Thermocouples at Different Elevations and Radial Positions in Reactor Core

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-23

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 10 CFR Part 50 [Docket No. PRM-50-105; NRC-2012-0056] In-core Thermocouples at Different Elevations and Radial Positions in Reactor Core AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission... of operating licenses for nuclear power plants (``NPP'') to operate NPPs with in-core thermocouples...

Modeling and simulation challenges pursued by the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Turinsky, Paul J., E-mail: turinsky@ncsu.edu; Kothe, Douglas B., E-mail: kothe@ornl.gov

The Consortium for the Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL), the first Energy Innovation Hub of the Department of Energy, was established in 2010 with the goal of providing modeling and simulation (M&S) capabilities that support and accelerate the improvement of nuclear energy's economic competitiveness and the reduction of spent nuclear fuel volume per unit energy, and all while assuring nuclear safety. To accomplish this requires advances in M&S capabilities in radiation transport, thermal-hydraulics, fuel performance and corrosion chemistry. To focus CASL's R&D, industry challenge problems have been defined, which equate with long standing issues of the nuclear powermore » industry that M&S can assist in addressing. To date CASL has developed a multi-physics “core simulator” based upon pin-resolved radiation transport and subchannel (within fuel assembly) thermal-hydraulics, capitalizing on the capabilities of high performance computing. CASL's fuel performance M&S capability can also be optionally integrated into the core simulator, yielding a coupled multi-physics capability with untapped predictive potential. Material models have been developed to enhance predictive capabilities of fuel clad creep and growth, along with deeper understanding of zirconium alloy clad oxidation and hydrogen pickup. Understanding of corrosion chemistry (e.g., CRUD formation) has evolved at all scales: micro, meso and macro. CFD R&D has focused on improvement in closure models for subcooled boiling and bubbly flow, and the formulation of robust numerical solution algorithms. For multiphysics integration, several iterative acceleration methods have been assessed, illuminating areas where further research is needed. Finally, uncertainty quantification and data assimilation techniques, based upon sampling approaches, have been made more feasible for practicing nuclear engineers via R&D on dimensional reduction and biased sampling. Industry adoption of CASL's evolving M&S capabilities, which is in progress, will assist in addressing long-standing and future operational and safety challenges of the nuclear industry. - Highlights: • Complexity of physics based modeling of light water reactor cores being addressed. • Capability developed to help address problems that have challenged the nuclear power industry. • Simulation capabilities that take advantage of high performance computing developed.« less

Assessment of the Neutronic and Fuel Cycle Performance of the Transatomic Power Molten Salt Reactor Design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robertson, Sean; Dewan, Leslie; Massie, Mark

This report presents results from a collaboration between Transatomic Power Corporation (TAP) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to provide neutronic and fuel cycle analysis of the TAP core design through the Department of Energy Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) Nuclear Energy Voucher program. The TAP concept is a molten salt reactor using configurable zirconium hydride moderator rod assemblies to shift the neutron spectrum in the core from mostly epithermal at beginning of life to thermal at end of life. Additional developments in the ChemTriton modeling and simulation tool provide the critical moderator-to-fuel ratio searches and time-dependent parametersmore » necessary to simulate the continuously changing physics in this complex system. The implementation of continuous-energy Monte Carlo transport and depletion tools in ChemTriton provide for full-core three-dimensional modeling and simulation. Results from simulations with these tools show agreement with TAP-calculated performance metrics for core lifetime, discharge burnup, and salt volume fraction, verifying the viability of reducing actinide waste production with this concept. Additional analyses of mass feed rates and enrichments, isotopic removals, tritium generation, core power distribution, core vessel helium generation, moderator rod heat deposition, and reactivity coeffcients provide additional information to make informed design decisions. This work demonstrates capabilities of ORNL modeling and simulation tools for neutronic and fuel cycle analysis of molten salt reactor concepts.« less

An assessment of coupling algorithms for nuclear reactor core physics simulations

DOE PAGES

Hamilton, Steven; Berrill, Mark; Clarno, Kevin; ...

2016-04-01

This paper evaluates the performance of multiphysics coupling algorithms applied to a light water nuclear reactor core simulation. The simulation couples the k-eigenvalue form of the neutron transport equation with heat conduction and subchannel flow equations. We compare Picard iteration (block Gauss–Seidel) to Anderson acceleration and multiple variants of preconditioned Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK). The performance of the methods are evaluated over a range of energy group structures and core power levels. A novel physics-based approximation to a Jacobian-vector product has been developed to mitigate the impact of expensive on-line cross section processing steps. Furthermore, numerical simulations demonstrating the efficiency ofmore » JFNK and Anderson acceleration relative to standard Picard iteration are performed on a 3D model of a nuclear fuel assembly. Both criticality (k-eigenvalue) and critical boron search problems are considered.« less

An assessment of coupling algorithms for nuclear reactor core physics simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hamilton, Steven; Berrill, Mark; Clarno, Kevin

This paper evaluates the performance of multiphysics coupling algorithms applied to a light water nuclear reactor core simulation. The simulation couples the k-eigenvalue form of the neutron transport equation with heat conduction and subchannel flow equations. We compare Picard iteration (block Gauss–Seidel) to Anderson acceleration and multiple variants of preconditioned Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK). The performance of the methods are evaluated over a range of energy group structures and core power levels. A novel physics-based approximation to a Jacobian-vector product has been developed to mitigate the impact of expensive on-line cross section processing steps. Furthermore, numerical simulations demonstrating the efficiency ofmore » JFNK and Anderson acceleration relative to standard Picard iteration are performed on a 3D model of a nuclear fuel assembly. Both criticality (k-eigenvalue) and critical boron search problems are considered.« less

An assessment of coupling algorithms for nuclear reactor core physics simulations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hamilton, Steven, E-mail: hamiltonsp@ornl.gov; Berrill, Mark, E-mail: berrillma@ornl.gov; Clarno, Kevin, E-mail: clarnokt@ornl.gov

This paper evaluates the performance of multiphysics coupling algorithms applied to a light water nuclear reactor core simulation. The simulation couples the k-eigenvalue form of the neutron transport equation with heat conduction and subchannel flow equations. We compare Picard iteration (block Gauss–Seidel) to Anderson acceleration and multiple variants of preconditioned Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK). The performance of the methods are evaluated over a range of energy group structures and core power levels. A novel physics-based approximation to a Jacobian-vector product has been developed to mitigate the impact of expensive on-line cross section processing steps. Numerical simulations demonstrating the efficiency of JFNKmore » and Anderson acceleration relative to standard Picard iteration are performed on a 3D model of a nuclear fuel assembly. Both criticality (k-eigenvalue) and critical boron search problems are considered.« less

Flowing gas, non-nuclear experiments on the gas core reactor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kunze, J. F.; Suckling, D. H.; Copper, C. G.

1972-01-01

Flow tests were conducted on models of the gas core (cavity) reactor. Variations in cavity wall and injection configurations were aimed at establishing flow patterns that give a maximum of the nuclear criticality eigenvalue. Correlation with the nuclear effect was made using multigroup diffusion theory normalized by previous benchmark critical experiments. Air was used to simulate the hydrogen propellant in the flow tests, and smoked air, argon, or freon to simulate the central nuclear fuel gas. All tests were run in the down-firing direction so that gravitational effects simulated the acceleration effect of a rocket. Results show that acceptable flow patterns with high volume fraction for the simulated nuclear fuel gas and high flow rate ratios of propellant to fuel can be obtained. Using a point injector for the fuel, good flow patterns are obtained by directing the outer gas at high velocity along the cavity wall, using louvered or oblique-angle-honeycomb injection schemes.

Influence of flow constraints on the properties of the critical endpoint of symmetric nuclear matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanytskyi, A. I.; Bugaev, K. A.; Sagun, V. V.; Bravina, L. V.; Zabrodin, E. E.

2018-06-01

We propose a novel family of equations of state for symmetric nuclear matter based on the induced surface tension concept for the hard-core repulsion. It is shown that having only four adjustable parameters the suggested equations of state can, simultaneously, reproduce not only the main properties of the nuclear matter ground state, but the proton flow constraint up its maximal particle number densities. Varying the model parameters we carefully examine the range of values of incompressibility constant of normal nuclear matter and its critical temperature, which are consistent with the proton flow constraint. This analysis allows us to show that the physically most justified value of nuclear matter critical temperature is 15.5-18 MeV, the incompressibility constant is 270-315 MeV and the hard-core radius of nucleons is less than 0.4 fm.

Comparison of MELCOR and SCDAP/RELAP5 results for a low-pressure, short-term station blackout at Browns Ferry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carbajo, J.J.

1995-12-31

This study compares results obtained with two U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-sponsored codes, MELCOR version 1.8.3 (1.8PQ) and SCDAP/RELAP5 Mod3.1 release C, for the same transient - a low-pressure, short-term station blackout accident at the Browns Ferry nuclear plant. This work is part of MELCOR assessment activities to compare core damage progression calculations of MELCOR against SCDAP/RELAP5 since the two codes model core damage progression very differently.

Dynamic nuclear polarization assisted spin diffusion for the solid effect case.

PubMed

Hovav, Yonatan; Feintuch, Akiva; Vega, Shimon

2011-02-21

The dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) process in solids depends on the magnitudes of hyperfine interactions between unpaired electrons and their neighboring (core) nuclei, and on the dipole-dipole interactions between all nuclei in the sample. The polarization enhancement of the bulk nuclei has been typically described in terms of a hyperfine-assisted polarization of a core nucleus by microwave irradiation followed by a dipolar-assisted spin diffusion process in the core-bulk nuclear system. This work presents a theoretical approach for the study of this combined process using a density matrix formalism. In particular, solid effect DNP on a single electron coupled to a nuclear spin system is considered, taking into account the interactions between the spins as well as the main relaxation mechanisms introduced via the electron, nuclear, and cross-relaxation rates. The basic principles of the DNP-assisted spin diffusion mechanism, polarizing the bulk nuclei, are presented, and it is shown that the polarization of the core nuclei and the spin diffusion process should not be treated separately. To emphasize this observation the coherent mechanism driving the pure spin diffusion process is also discussed. In order to demonstrate the effects of the interactions and relaxation mechanisms on the enhancement of the nuclear polarization, model systems of up to ten spins are considered and polarization buildup curves are simulated. A linear chain of spins consisting of a single electron coupled to a core nucleus, which in turn is dipolar coupled to a chain of bulk nuclei, is considered. The interaction and relaxation parameters of this model system were chosen in a way to enable a critical analysis of the polarization enhancement of all nuclei, and are not far from the values of (13)C nuclei in frozen (glassy) organic solutions containing radicals, typically used in DNP at high fields. Results from the simulations are shown, demonstrating the complex dependences of the DNP-assisted spin diffusion process on variations of the relevant parameters. In particular, the effect of the spin lattice relaxation times on the polarization buildup times and the resulting end polarization are discussed, and the quenching of the polarizations by the hyperfine interaction is demonstrated.

A New Capability for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amiri, Benjamin W.; Nuclear and Radiological Engineering Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611; Kapernick, Richard J.

2007-01-30

This paper describes a new capability for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) design that has been developed, and presents the results of some analyses performed with this design tool. The purpose of the tool is to design to specified mission and material limits, while maximizing system thrust to weight. The head end of the design tool utilizes the ROCket Engine Transient Simulation (ROCETS) code to generate a system design and system design requirements as inputs to the core analysis. ROCETS is a modular system level code which has been used extensively in the liquid rocket engine industry for many years. Themore » core design tool performs high-fidelity reactor core nuclear and thermal-hydraulic design analysis. At the heart of this process are two codes TMSS-NTP and NTPgen, which together greatly automate the analysis, providing the capability to rapidly produce designs that meet all specified requirements while minimizing mass. A PERL based command script, called CORE DESIGNER controls the execution of these two codes, and checks for convergence throughout the process. TMSS-NTP is executed first, to produce a suite of core designs that meet the specified reactor core mechanical, thermal-hydraulic and structural requirements. The suite of designs consists of a set of core layouts and, for each core layout specific designs that span a range of core fuel volumes. NTPgen generates MCNPX models for each of the core designs from TMSS-NTP. Iterative analyses are performed in NTPgen until a reactor design (fuel volume) is identified for each core layout that meets cold and hot operation reactivity requirements and that is zoned to meet a radial core power distribution requirement.« less

The development of a thermal hydraulic feedback mechanism with a quasi-fixed point iteration scheme for control rod position modeling for the TRIGSIMS-TH application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karriem, Veronica V.

Nuclear reactor design incorporates the study and application of nuclear physics, nuclear thermal hydraulic and nuclear safety. Theoretical models and numerical methods implemented in computer programs are utilized to analyze and design nuclear reactors. The focus of this PhD study's is the development of an advanced high-fidelity multi-physics code system to perform reactor core analysis for design and safety evaluations of research TRIGA-type reactors. The fuel management and design code system TRIGSIMS was further developed to fulfill the function of a reactor design and analysis code system for the Pennsylvania State Breazeale Reactor (PSBR). TRIGSIMS, which is currently in use at the PSBR, is a fuel management tool, which incorporates the depletion code ORIGEN-S (part of SCALE system) and the Monte Carlo neutronics solver MCNP. The diffusion theory code ADMARC-H is used within TRIGSIMS to accelerate the MCNP calculations. It manages the data and fuel isotopic content and stores it for future burnup calculations. The contribution of this work is the development of an improved version of TRIGSIMS, named TRIGSIMS-TH. TRIGSIMS-TH incorporates a thermal hydraulic module based on the advanced sub-channel code COBRA-TF (CTF). CTF provides the temperature feedback needed in the multi-physics calculations as well as the thermal hydraulics modeling capability of the reactor core. The temperature feedback model is using the CTF-provided local moderator and fuel temperatures for the cross-section modeling for ADMARC-H and MCNP calculations. To perform efficient critical control rod calculations, a methodology for applying a control rod position was implemented in TRIGSIMS-TH, making this code system a modeling and design tool for future core loadings. The new TRIGSIMS-TH is a computer program that interlinks various other functional reactor analysis tools. It consists of the MCNP5, ADMARC-H, ORIGEN-S, and CTF. CTF was coupled with both MCNP and ADMARC-H to provide the heterogeneous temperature distribution throughout the core. Each of these codes is written in its own computer language performing its function and outputs a set of data. TRIGSIMS-TH provides an effective use and data manipulation and transfer between different codes. With the implementation of feedback and control- rod-position modeling methodologies, the TRIGSIMS-TH calculations are more accurate and in a better agreement with measured data. The PSBR is unique in many ways and there are no "off-the-shelf" codes, which can model this design in its entirety. In particular, PSBR has an open core design, which is cooled by natural convection. Combining several codes into a unique system brings many challenges. It also requires substantial knowledge of both operation and core design of the PSBR. This reactor is in operation decades and there is a fair amount of studies and developments in both PSBR thermal hydraulics and neutronics. Measured data is also available for various core loadings and can be used for validation activities. The previous studies and developments in PSBR modeling also aids as a guide to assess the findings of the work herein. In order to incorporate new methods and codes into exiting TRIGSIMS, a re-evaluation of various components of the code was performed to assure the accuracy and efficiency of the existing CTF/MCNP5/ADMARC-H multi-physics coupling. A new set of ADMARC-H diffusion coefficients and cross sections was generated using the SERPENT code. This was needed as the previous data was not generated with thermal hydraulic feedback and the ARO position was used as the critical rod position. The B4C was re-evaluated for this update. The data exchange between ADMARC-H and MCNP5 was modified. The basic core model is given a flexibility to allow for various changes within the core model, and this feature was implemented in TRIGSIMS-TH. The PSBR core in the new code model can be expanded and changed. This allows the new code to be used as a modeling tool for design and analyses of future code loadings.

Nuclear thermal propulsion engine system design analysis code development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelaccio, Dennis G.; Scheil, Christine M.; Petrosky, Lyman J.; Ivanenok, Joseph F.

1992-01-01

A Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) Engine System Design Analyis Code has recently been developed to characterize key NTP engine system design features. Such a versatile, standalone NTP system performance and engine design code is required to support ongoing and future engine system and vehicle design efforts associated with proposed Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions of interest. Key areas of interest in the engine system modeling effort were the reactor, shielding, and inclusion of an engine multi-redundant propellant pump feed system design option. A solid-core nuclear thermal reactor and internal shielding code model was developed to estimate the reactor's thermal-hydraulic and physical parameters based on a prescribed thermal output which was integrated into a state-of-the-art engine system design model. The reactor code module has the capability to model graphite, composite, or carbide fuels. Key output from the model consists of reactor parameters such as thermal power, pressure drop, thermal profile, and heat generation in cooled structures (reflector, shield, and core supports), as well as the engine system parameters such as weight, dimensions, pressures, temperatures, mass flows, and performance. The model's overall analysis methodology and its key assumptions and capabilities are summarized in this paper.

Dependence of weak interaction rates on the nuclear composition during stellar core collapse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furusawa, Shun; Nagakura, Hiroki; Sumiyoshi, Kohsuke; Kato, Chinami; Yamada, Shoichi

2017-02-01

We investigate the influences of the nuclear composition on the weak interaction rates of heavy nuclei during the core collapse of massive stars. The nuclear abundances in nuclear statistical equilibrium (NSE) are calculated by some equation of state (EOS) models including in-medium effects on nuclear masses. We systematically examine the sensitivities of electron capture and neutrino-nucleus scattering on heavy nuclei to the nuclear shell effects and the single-nucleus approximation. We find that the washout of the shell effect at high temperatures brings significant change to weak rates by smoothing the nuclear abundance distribution: the electron capture rate decreases by ˜20 % in the early phase and increases by ˜40 % in the late phase at most, while the cross section for neutrino-nucleus scattering is reduced by ˜15 % . This is because the open-shell nuclei become abundant instead of those with closed neutron shells as the shell effects disappear. We also find that the single-nucleus description based on the average values leads to underestimations of weak rates. Electron captures and neutrino coherent scattering on heavy nuclei are reduced by ˜80 % in the early phase and by ˜5 % in the late phase, respectively. These results indicate that NSE like EOS accounting for shell washout is indispensable for the reliable estimation of weak interaction rates in simulations of core-collapse supernovae.

Development and preliminary verification of the 3D core neutronic code: COCO

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lu, H.; Mo, K.; Li, W.

As the recent blooming economic growth and following environmental concerns (China)) is proactively pushing forward nuclear power development and encouraging the tapping of clean energy. Under this situation, CGNPC, as one of the largest energy enterprises in China, is planning to develop its own nuclear related technology in order to support more and more nuclear plants either under construction or being operation. This paper introduces the recent progress in software development for CGNPC. The focus is placed on the physical models and preliminary verification results during the recent development of the 3D Core Neutronic Code: COCO. In the COCO code,more » the non-linear Green's function method is employed to calculate the neutron flux. In order to use the discontinuity factor, the Neumann (second kind) boundary condition is utilized in the Green's function nodal method. Additionally, the COCO code also includes the necessary physical models, e.g. single-channel thermal-hydraulic module, burnup module, pin power reconstruction module and cross-section interpolation module. The preliminary verification result shows that the COCO code is sufficient for reactor core design and analysis for pressurized water reactor (PWR). (authors)« less

Fabrication and Testing of a Modular Micro-Pocket Fission Detector Instrumentation System for Test Nuclear Reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reichenberger, Michael A.; Nichols, Daniel M.; Stevenson, Sarah R.; Swope, Tanner M.; Hilger, Caden W.; Roberts, Jeremy A.; Unruh, Troy C.; McGregor, Douglas S.

2018-01-01

Advancements in nuclear reactor core modeling and computational capability have encouraged further development of in-core neutron sensors. Measurement of the neutron-flux distribution within the reactor core provides a more complete understanding of the operating conditions in the reactor than typical ex-core sensors. Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors have been developed and tested previously but have been limited to single-node operation and have utilized highly specialized designs. The development of a widely deployable, multi-node Micro-Pocket Fission Detector assembly will enhance nuclear research capabilities. A modular, four-node Micro-Pocket Fission Detector array was designed, fabricated, and tested at Kansas State University. The array was constructed from materials that do not significantly perturb the neutron flux in the reactor core. All four sensor nodes were equally spaced axially in the array to span the fuel-region of the reactor core. The array was filled with neon gas, serving as an ionization medium in the small cavities of the Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors. The modular design of the instrument facilitates the testing and deployment of numerous sensor arrays. The unified design drastically improved device ruggedness and simplified construction from previous designs. Five 8-mm penetrations in the upper grid plate of the Kansas State University TRIGA Mk. II research nuclear reactor were utilized to deploy the array between fuel elements in the core. The Micro-Pocket Fission Detector array was coupled to an electronic support system which has been specially developed to support pulse-mode operation. The Micro-Pocket Fission Detector array composed of four sensors was used to monitor local neutron flux at a constant reactor power of 100 kWth at different axial locations simultaneously. The array was positioned at five different radial locations within the core to emulate the deployment of multiple arrays and develop a 2-dimensional measurement of neutron flux in the reactor core.

A toy model for the yield of a tamped fission bomb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, B. Cameron

2018-02-01

A simple expression is developed for estimating the yield of a tamped fission bomb, that is, a basic nuclear weapon comprising a fissile core jacketed by a surrounding neutron-reflecting tamper. This expression is based on modeling the nuclear chain reaction as a geometric progression in combination with a previously published expression for the threshold-criticality condition for such a core. The derivation is especially straightforward, as it requires no knowledge of diffusion theory and should be accessible to students of both physics and policy. The calculation can be set up as a single page spreadsheet. Application to the Little Boy and Fat Man bombs of World War II gives results in reasonable accord with published yield estimates for these weapons.

Integral Full Core Multi-Physics PWR Benchmark with Measured Data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Forget, Benoit; Smith, Kord; Kumar, Shikhar

In recent years, the importance of modeling and simulation has been highlighted extensively in the DOE research portfolio with concrete examples in nuclear engineering with the CASL and NEAMS programs. These research efforts and similar efforts worldwide aim at the development of high-fidelity multi-physics analysis tools for the simulation of current and next-generation nuclear power reactors. Like all analysis tools, verification and validation is essential to guarantee proper functioning of the software and methods employed. The current approach relies mainly on the validation of single physic phenomena (e.g. critical experiment, flow loops, etc.) and there is a lack of relevantmore » multiphysics benchmark measurements that are necessary to validate high-fidelity methods being developed today. This work introduces a new multi-cycle full-core Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) depletion benchmark based on two operational cycles of a commercial nuclear power plant that provides a detailed description of fuel assemblies, burnable absorbers, in-core fission detectors, core loading and re-loading patterns. This benchmark enables analysts to develop extremely detailed reactor core models that can be used for testing and validation of coupled neutron transport, thermal-hydraulics, and fuel isotopic depletion. The benchmark also provides measured reactor data for Hot Zero Power (HZP) physics tests, boron letdown curves, and three-dimensional in-core flux maps from 58 instrumented assemblies. The benchmark description is now available online and has been used by many groups. However, much work remains to be done on the quantification of uncertainties and modeling sensitivities. This work aims to address these deficiencies and make this benchmark a true non-proprietary international benchmark for the validation of high-fidelity tools. This report details the BEAVRS uncertainty quantification for the first two cycle of operations and serves as the final report of the project.« less

A new equation of state for core-collapse supernovae based on realistic nuclear forces and including a full nuclear ensemble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furusawa, S.; Togashi, H.; Nagakura, H.; Sumiyoshi, K.; Yamada, S.; Suzuki, H.; Takano, M.

2017-09-01

We have constructed a nuclear equation of state (EOS) that includes a full nuclear ensemble for use in core-collapse supernova simulations. It is based on the EOS for uniform nuclear matter that two of the authors derived recently, applying a variational method to realistic two- and three-body nuclear forces. We have extended the liquid drop model of heavy nuclei, utilizing the mass formula that accounts for the dependences of bulk, surface, Coulomb and shell energies on density and/or temperature. As for light nuclei, we employ a quantum-theoretical mass evaluation, which incorporates the Pauli- and self-energy shifts. In addition to realistic nuclear forces, the inclusion of in-medium effects on the full ensemble of nuclei makes the new EOS one of the most realistic EOSs, which covers a wide range of density, temperature and proton fraction that supernova simulations normally encounter. We make comparisons with the FYSS EOS, which is based on the same formulation for the nuclear ensemble but adopts the relativistic mean field theory with the TM1 parameter set for uniform nuclear matter. The new EOS is softer than the FYSS EOS around and above nuclear saturation densities. We find that neutron-rich nuclei with small mass numbers are more abundant in the new EOS than in the FYSS EOS because of the larger saturation densities and smaller symmetry energy of nuclei in the former. We apply the two EOSs to 1D supernova simulations and find that the new EOS gives lower electron fractions and higher temperatures in the collapse phase owing to the smaller symmetry energy. As a result, the inner core has smaller masses for the new EOS. It is more compact, on the other hand, due to the softness of the new EOS and bounces at higher densities. It turns out that the shock wave generated by core bounce is a bit stronger initially in the simulation with the new EOS. The ensuing outward propagations of the shock wave in the outer core are very similar in the two simulations, which may be an artifact, though, caused by the use of the same tabulated electron capture rates for heavy nuclei ignoring differences in the nuclear composition between the two EOSs in these computations.

A New Innovative Spherical Cermet Nuclear Fuel Element to Achieve an Ultra-Long Core Life for use in Grid-Appropriate LWRs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Senor, David J.; Painter, Chad L.; Geelhood, Ken J.

2007-12-01

Spherical cermet fuel elements are proposed for use in the Atoms For Peace Reactor (AFPR-100) concept. AFPR-100 is a small-scale, inherently safe, proliferation-resistant reactor that would be ideal for deployment to nations with emerging economies that decide to select nuclear power for the generation of carbon-free electricity. The basic concept of the AFPR core is a water-cooled fixed particle bed, randomly packed with spherical fuel elements. The flow of coolant within the particle bed is at such a low rate that the bed does not fluidize. This report summarizes an approach to fuel fabrication, results associated with fuel performance modeling,more » core neutronics and thermal hydraulics analyses demonstrating a ~20 year core life, and a conclusion that the proliferation resistance of the AFPR reactor concept is high.« less

First in-core simultaneous measurements of nuclear heating and thermal neutron flux obtained with the innovative mobile calorimeter CALMOS inside the OSIRIS reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lepeltier, Valerie; Bubendorff, Jacques; Carcreff, Hubert

2015-07-01

Nuclear heating inside a MTR reactor has to be known in order to design and to run irradiation experiments which have to fulfill target temperature constraints. This measurement is usually carried out by calorimetry. The innovative calorimetric system, CALMOS, has been studied and built in 2011 for the 70 MWth OSIRIS reactor operated by CEA. Thanks to a new type of calorimetric probe, associated to a specific displacement system, it provides measurements along the fissile height and above the core. This development required preliminary modelling and irradiation of mock-ups of the calorimetric probe in the ex-core area, where nuclear heatingmore » rate does not exceed 2 W.g{sup -1}. The calorimeter working modes, the different measurement procedures allowed with such a new probe, the main modeling and experimental results and expected advantages of this new technique have been already presented. However, these first in-core measurements were not performed beyond 6 W.g{sup -1}, due to an inside temperature limitation imposed by a safety authority requirement. In this paper, we present the first in-core simultaneous measurements of nuclear heating and conventional thermal neutron flux obtained by the CALMOS device at the 70 MW nominal reactor power. For the first time, this experimental system was operated in nominal in-core conditions, with nominal neutron flux up to 2.7 10{sup 14} n.cm{sup -2}.s{sup -1} and nuclear heating up to 12 W.g{sup -1}. A comprehensive measurement campaign carried out from 2013 to 2015 inside all accessible irradiation locations of the core, allowed to qualify definitively this new device, not only in terms of measurement ability but also in terms of reliability. After a brief reminder of the calorimetric cell configuration and displacement system specificities, first nuclear heating distributions at nominal power are presented and discussed. In order to reinforce the heating evaluation, a systematic comparison is made between results obtained by different methods, the probe calibration coefficient and the zero method. Thermal neutron flux evaluation from the SPND signal processing required a specific TRIPOLI-4 Monte Carlo calculation which has been performed with the precise CALMOS cell geometry. In addition, the Finite Element model for temperatures map prediction inside the calorimetric cell has been upgraded with the recent experimental data obtained up to 12 W.g{sup -1}. The Kc coefficient, taking into account nonlinearities with regard to the calibration, has been reevaluated so as to make relevant measurements up to the nominal reactor power. Finally, the experience feedback acquired until now with this first CALMOS version led us to improvement perspectives. A second device is currently under manufacturing and main technical options chosen for this second version are presented. (authors)« less

Supernova equations of state including full nuclear ensemble with in-medium effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furusawa, Shun; Sumiyoshi, Kohsuke; Yamada, Shoichi; Suzuki, Hideyuki

2017-01-01

We construct new equations of state for baryons at sub-nuclear densities for the use in core-collapse supernova simulations. The abundance of various nuclei is obtained together with thermodynamic quantities. The formulation is an extension of the previous model, in which we adopted the relativistic mean field theory with the TM1 parameter set for nucleons, the quantum approach for d, t, h and α as well as the liquid drop model for the other nuclei under the nuclear statistical equilibrium. We reformulate the model of the light nuclei other than d, t, h and α based on the quasi-particle description. Furthermore, we modify the model so that the temperature dependences of surface and shell energies of heavy nuclei could be taken into account. The pasta phases for heavy nuclei and the Pauli- and self-energy shifts for d, t, h and α are taken into account in the same way as in the previous model. We find that nuclear composition is considerably affected by the modifications in this work, whereas thermodynamical quantities are not changed much. In particular, the washout of shell effect has a great impact on the mass distribution above T ∼ 1 MeV. This improvement may have an important effect on the rates of electron captures and coherent neutrino scatterings on nuclei in supernova cores.

Adaptive control method for core power control in TRIGA Mark II reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabri Minhat, Mohd; Selamat, Hazlina; Subha, Nurul Adilla Mohd

2018-01-01

The 1MWth Reactor TRIGA PUSPATI (RTP) Mark II type has undergone more than 35 years of operation. The existing core power control uses feedback control algorithm (FCA). It is challenging to keep the core power stable at the desired value within acceptable error bands to meet the safety demand of RTP due to the sensitivity of nuclear research reactor operation. Currently, the system is not satisfied with power tracking performance and can be improved. Therefore, a new design core power control is very important to improve the current performance in tracking and regulate reactor power by control the movement of control rods. In this paper, the adaptive controller and focus on Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) and Self-Tuning Control (STC) were applied to the control of the core power. The model for core power control was based on mathematical models of the reactor core, adaptive controller model, and control rods selection programming. The mathematical models of the reactor core were based on point kinetics model, thermal hydraulic models, and reactivity models. The adaptive control model was presented using Lyapunov method to ensure stable close loop system and STC Generalised Minimum Variance (GMV) Controller was not necessary to know the exact plant transfer function in designing the core power control. The performance between proposed adaptive control and FCA will be compared via computer simulation and analysed the simulation results manifest the effectiveness and the good performance of the proposed control method for core power control.

Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 Accident Progression Uncertainty Analysis and Implications for Decommissioning of Fukushima Reactors - Volume I.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gauntt, Randall O.; Mattie, Patrick D.

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has conducted an uncertainty analysis (UA) on the Fukushima Daiichi unit (1F1) accident progression with the MELCOR code. The model used was developed for a previous accident reconstruction investigation jointly sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). That study focused on reconstructing the accident progressions, as postulated by the limited plant data. This work was focused evaluation of uncertainty in core damage progression behavior and its effect on key figures-of-merit (e.g., hydrogen production, reactor damage state, fraction of intact fuel, vessel lower head failure). The primary intent of this studymore » was to characterize the range of predicted damage states in the 1F1 reactor considering state of knowledge uncertainties associated with MELCOR modeling of core damage progression and to generate information that may be useful in informing the decommissioning activities that will be employed to defuel the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Additionally, core damage progression variability inherent in MELCOR modeling numerics is investigated.« less

Neutron-gamma flux and dose calculations in a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brovchenko, Mariya; Dechenaux, Benjamin; Burn, Kenneth W.; Console Camprini, Patrizio; Duhamel, Isabelle; Peron, Arthur

2017-09-01

The present work deals with Monte Carlo simulations, aiming to determine the neutron and gamma responses outside the vessel and in the basemat of a Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR). The model is based on the Tihange-I Belgian nuclear reactor. With a large set of information and measurements available, this reactor has the advantage to be easily modelled and allows validation based on the experimental measurements. Power distribution calculations were therefore performed with the MCNP code at IRSN and compared to the available in-core measurements. Results showed a good agreement between calculated and measured values over the whole core. In this paper, the methods and hypotheses used for the particle transport simulation from the fission distribution in the core to the detectors outside the vessel of the reactor are also summarized. The results of the simulations are presented including the neutron and gamma doses and flux energy spectra. MCNP6 computational results comparing JEFF3.1 and ENDF-B/VII.1 nuclear data evaluations and sensitivity of the results to some model parameters are presented.

Core filaments of the nuclear matrix

PubMed Central

1990-01-01

The nuclear matrix is concealed by a much larger mass of chromatin, which can be removed selectively by digesting nuclei with DNase I followed by elution of chromatin with 0.25 M ammonium sulfate. This mild procedure removes chromatin almost completely and preserves nuclear matrix morphology. The complete nuclear matrix consists of a nuclear lamina with an interior matrix composed of thick, polymorphic fibers and large masses that resemble remnant nucleoli. Further extraction of the nuclear matrices of HeLa or MCF-7 cells with 2 M sodium chloride uncovered a network of core filaments. A few dark masses remained enmeshed in the filament network and may be remnants of the nuclear matrix thick fibers and nucleoli. The highly branched core filaments had diameters of 9 and 13 nm measured relative to the intermediate filaments. They may serve as the core structure around which the matrix is constructed. The core filaments retained 70% of nuclear RNA. This RNA consisted both of ribosomal RNA precursors and of very high molecular weight hnRNA with a modal size of 20 kb. Treatment with RNase A removed the core filaments. When 2 M sodium chloride was used directly to remove chromatin after DNase I digestion without a preceding 0.25 M ammonium sulfate extraction, the core filaments were not revealed. Instead, the nuclear interior was filled with amorphous masses that may cover the filaments. This reflected a requirement for a stepwise increase in ionic strength because gradual addition of sodium chloride to a final concentration of 2 M without an 0.25 M ammonium sulfate extraction uncovered core filaments. PMID:2307700

An End-To-End Test of A Simulated Nuclear Electric Propulsion System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

VanDyke, Melissa; Hrbud, Ivana; Goddfellow, Keith; Rodgers, Stephen L. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The Safe Affordable Fission Engine (SAFE) test series addresses Phase I Space Fission Systems issues in it particular non-nuclear testing and system integration issues leading to the testing and non-nuclear demonstration of a 400-kW fully integrated flight unit. The first part of the SAFE 30 test series demonstrated operation of the simulated nuclear core and heat pipe system. Experimental data acquired in a number of different test scenarios will validate existing computational models, demonstrated system flexibility (fast start-ups, multiple start-ups/shut downs), simulate predictable failure modes and operating environments. The objective of the second part is to demonstrate an integrated propulsion system consisting of a core, conversion system and a thruster where the system converts thermal heat into jet power. This end-to-end system demonstration sets a precedent for ground testing of nuclear electric propulsion systems. The paper describes the SAFE 30 end-to-end system demonstration and its subsystems.

First In-Core Simultaneous Measurements of Nuclear Heating and Thermal Neutron Flux Obtained With the Innovative Mobile Calorimeter CALMOS Inside the OSIRIS Reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carcreff, Hubert; Salmon, Laurent; Bubendorff, Jacques; Lepeltier, Valérie

2016-10-01

Nuclear heating inside a MTR reactor has to be known in order to design and run irradiation experiments which have to fulfill target temperature constraints. This measurement is usually carried out by calorimetry. The innovative calorimetric system, CALMOS, has been studied and built in 2011 for the 70MWth OSIRIS reactor operated by CEA. Thanks to a new type of calorimetric probe, associated to a specific displacement system, it provides measurements along the fissile height and above the core. Calorimeter working modes, measurement procedures, main modeling and experimental results and expected advantages of this new technique have been already presented in previous papers. However, these first in-core measurements were not performed beyond 6 W · g-1, due to an inside temperature limitation imposed by a safety authority requirement. In this paper, we present the first in-core simultaneous measurements of nuclear heating and conventional thermal neutron flux obtained by the CALMOS device at 70 MW nominal reactor power. For the first time, this experimental system was operated in nominal in-core conditions, with nominal neutron flux up to 2.7 1014 n · cm-2 · s-1 and nuclear heating up to 12 W · g-1. After a brief reminder of the calorimetric cell configuration and displacement system specificities, first nuclear heating distributions at nominal power are presented and discussed. In order to reinforce the heating evaluation, a comparison is made between results obtained by the probe calibration coefficient and the zero methods. Thermal neutron flux evaluation from SPND signal processing required a specific TRIPOLI-4 Monte Carlo calculation which has been performed with the precise CALMOS cell geometry. In addition, the Finite Element model for temperatures map prediction inside the calorimetric cell has been upgraded with recent experimental data obtained up to 12 W · g-1. Finally, the experience feedback led us to improvement perspectives. A second device is currently under manufacturing and main technical options are presented.

Neutrino-pair emission from nuclear de-excitation in core-collapse supernova simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, T.; Langanke, K.; Martínez-Pinedo, G.

2013-12-01

We study the impact of neutrino-pair production from the de-excitation of highly excited heavy nuclei on core-collapse supernova simulations, following the evolution up to several 100 ms after core bounce. Our study is based on the agile-boltztransupernova code, which features general relativistic radiation hydrodynamics and accurate three-flavor Boltzmann neutrino transport in spherical symmetry. In our simulations the nuclear de-excitation process is described in two different ways. At first we follow the approach proposed by Fuller and Meyer [Astrophys. J.AJLEEY0004-637X10.1086/170317 376, 701 (1991)], which is based on strength functions derived in the framework of the nuclear Fermi-gas model of noninteracting nucleons. Second, we parametrize the allowed and forbidden strength distributions in accordance with measurements for selected nuclear ground states. We determine the de-excitation strength by applying the Brink hypothesis and detailed balance. For both approaches, we find that nuclear de-excitation has no effect on the supernova dynamics. However, we find that nuclear de-excitation is the leading source for the production of electron antineutrinos as well as heavy-lepton-flavor (anti)neutrinos during the collapse phase. At sufficiently high densities, the associated neutrino spectra are influenced by interactions with the surrounding matter, making proper simulations of neutrino transport important for the determination of the neutrino-energy loss rate. We find that, even including nuclear de-excitations, the energy loss during the collapse phase is overwhelmingly dominated by electron neutrinos produced by electron capture.

The Impact of Nuclear Reaction Rate Uncertainties on the Evolution of Core-collapse Supernova Progenitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fields, C. E.; Timmes, F. X.; Farmer, R.; Petermann, I.; Wolf, William M.; Couch, S. M.

2018-02-01

We explore properties of core-collapse supernova progenitors with respect to the composite uncertainties in the thermonuclear reaction rates by coupling the probability density functions of the reaction rates provided by the STARLIB reaction rate library with MESA stellar models. We evolve 1000 models of 15{M}ȯ from the pre-main sequence to core O-depletion at solar and subsolar metallicities for a total of 2000 Monte Carlo stellar models. For each stellar model, we independently and simultaneously sample 665 thermonuclear reaction rates and use them in a MESA in situ reaction network that follows 127 isotopes from 1H to 64Zn. With this framework we survey the core mass, burning lifetime, composition, and structural properties at five different evolutionary epochs. At each epoch we measure the probability distribution function of the variations of each property and calculate Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients for each sampled reaction rate to identify which reaction rate has the largest impact on the variations on each property. We find that uncertainties in the reaction rates of {}14{{N}}{({{p}},γ )}15{{O}}, triple-α, {}12{{C}}{(α ,γ )}16{{O}}, 12C(12C,p)23Na, 12C(16O, p)27Al, 16O(16O,n)31S, 16O(16O, p)31P, and 16O(16O,α)28Si dominate the variations of the properties surveyed. We find that variations induced by uncertainties in nuclear reaction rates grow with each passing phase of evolution, and at core H-, He-depletion they are of comparable magnitude to the variations induced by choices of mass resolution and network resolution. However, at core C-, Ne-, and O-depletion, the reaction rate uncertainties can dominate the variation, causing uncertainty in various properties of the stellar model in the evolution toward iron core-collapse.

ELECTRON-CAPTURE AND β-DECAY RATES FOR sd-SHELL NUCLEI IN STELLAR ENVIRONMENTS RELEVANT TO HIGH-DENSITY O–NE–MG CORES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Suzuki, Toshio; Toki, Hiroshi; Nomoto, Ken’ichi, E-mail: suzuki@phys.chs.nihon-u.ac.jp

Electron-capture and β-decay rates for nuclear pairs in the sd-shell are evaluated at high densities and high temperatures relevant to the final evolution of electron-degenerate O–Ne–Mg cores of stars with initial masses of 8–10 M{sub ⊙}. Electron capture induces a rapid contraction of the electron-degenerate O–Ne–Mg core. The outcome of rapid contraction depends on the evolutionary changes in the central density and temperature, which are determined by the competing processes of contraction, cooling, and heating. The fate of the stars is determined by these competitions, whether they end up with electron-capture supernovae or Fe core-collapse supernovae. Since the competing processes aremore » induced by electron capture and β-decay, the accurate weak rates are crucially important. The rates are obtained for pairs with A = 20, 23, 24, 25, and 27 by shell-model calculations in the sd-shell with the USDB Hamiltonian. Effects of Coulomb corrections on the rates are evaluated. The rates for pairs with A = 23 and 25 are important for nuclear Urca processes that determine the cooling rate of the O–Ne–Mg core, while those for pairs with A = 20 and 24 are important for the core contraction and heat generation rates in the core. We provide these nuclear rates at stellar environments in tables with fine enough meshes at various densities and temperatures for studies of astrophysical processes sensitive to the rates. In particular, the accurate rate tables are crucially important for the final fates of not only O–Ne–Mg cores but also a wider range of stars, such as C–O cores of lower-mass stars.« less

Gas Core Reactor Numerical Simulation Using a Coupled MHD-MCNP Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kazeminezhad, F.; Anghaie, S.

2008-01-01

Analysis is provided in this report of using two head-on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) shocks to achieve supercritical nuclear fission in an axially elongated cylinder filled with UF4 gas as an energy source for deep space missions. The motivation for each aspect of the design is explained and supported by theory and numerical simulations. A subsequent report will provide detail on relevant experimental work to validate the concept. Here the focus is on the theory of and simulations for the proposed gas core reactor conceptual design from the onset of shock generations to the supercritical state achieved when the shocks collide. The MHD model is coupled to a standard nuclear code (MCNP) to observe the neutron flux and fission power attributed to the supercritical state brought about by the shock collisions. Throughout the modeling, realistic parameters are used for the initial ambient gaseous state and currents to ensure a resulting supercritical state upon shock collisions.

Neutronics calculation of RTP core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rabir, Mohamad Hairie B.; Zin, Muhammad Rawi B. Mohamed; Karim, Julia Bt. Abdul; Bayar, Abi Muttaqin B. Jalal; Usang, Mark Dennis Anak; Mustafa, Muhammad Khairul Ariff B.; Hamzah, Na'im Syauqi B.; Said, Norfarizan Bt. Mohd; Jalil, Muhammad Husamuddin B.

2017-01-01

Reactor calculation and simulation are significantly important to ensure safety and better utilization of a research reactor. The Malaysian's PUSPATI TRIGA Reactor (RTP) achieved initial criticality on June 28, 1982. The reactor is designed to effectively implement the various fields of basic nuclear research, manpower training, and production of radioisotopes. Since early 90s, neutronics modelling were used as part of its routine in-core fuel management activities. The are several computer codes have been used in RTP since then, based on 1D neutron diffusion, 2D neutron diffusion and 3D Monte Carlo neutron transport method. This paper describes current progress and overview on neutronics modelling development in RTP. Several important parameters were analysed such as keff, reactivity, neutron flux, power distribution and fission product build-up for the latest core configuration. The developed core neutronics model was validated by means of comparison with experimental and measurement data. Along with the RTP core model, the calculation procedure also developed to establish better prediction capability of RTP's behaviour.

Thermal control of high energy nuclear waste, space option. [mathematical models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peoples, J. A.

1979-01-01

Problems related to the temperature and packaging of nuclear waste material for disposal in space are explored. An approach is suggested for solving both problems with emphasis on high energy density waste material. A passive cooling concept is presented which utilized conduction rods that penetrate the inner core. Data are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the rods and the limit of their capability. A computerized thermal model is discussed and developed for the cooling concept.

New Equations of State Based on the Liquid Drop Model of Heavy Nuclei and Quantum Approach to Light Nuclei for Core-collapse Supernova Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furusawa, Shun; Sumiyoshi, Kohsuke; Yamada, Shoichi; Suzuki, Hideyuki

2013-08-01

We construct new equations of state for baryons at subnuclear densities for the use in core-collapse simulations of massive stars. The abundance of various nuclei is obtained together with thermodynamic quantities. A model free energy is constructed, based on the relativistic mean field theory for nucleons and the mass formula for nuclei with the proton number up to ~1000. The formulation is an extension of the previous model, in which we adopted the liquid drop model to all nuclei under the nuclear statistical equilibrium. We reformulate the new liquid drop model so that the temperature dependences of bulk energies could be taken into account. Furthermore, we extend the region in the nuclear chart, in which shell effects are included, by using theoretical mass data in addition to experimental ones. We also adopt a quantum-theoretical mass evaluation of light nuclei, which incorporates the Pauli- and self-energy shifts that are not included in the ordinary liquid drop model. The pasta phases for heavy nuclei are taken into account in the same way as in the previous model. We find that the abundances of heavy nuclei are modified by the shell effects of nuclei and temperature dependence of bulk energies. These changes may have an important effect on the rates of electron captures and coherent neutrino scatterings on nuclei in supernova cores. The abundances of light nuclei are also modified by the new mass evaluation, which may affect the heating and cooling rates of supernova cores and shocked envelopes.

Investigation of the particle-core structure of odd-mass nuclei in the NpNn scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bucurescu, D.; Cata, G.; Cutoiu, D.; Dragulescu, E.; Ivasu, M.; Zamfir, N. V.; Gizon, A.; Gizon, J.

1989-10-01

The NpNn scheme is applied to data related to collective band structures determined by the unique parity shell model orbitals in odd-A nuclei from the mass regions A≌80-100 and A≌130. Simple systematics are obtained which give a synthetic picture of the evolution of the particle-core coupling in these nuclear regions.

THR-TH: a high-temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor core thermal hydraulics code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vondy, D.R.

1984-07-01

The ORNL version of PEBBLE, the (RZ) pebble bed thermal hydraulics code, has been extended for application to a prismatic gas cooled reactor core. The supplemental treatment is of one-dimensional coolant flow in up to a three-dimensional core description. Power density data from a neutronics and exposure calculation are used as the basic information for the thermal hydraulics calculation of heat removal. Two-dimensional neutronics results may be expanded for a three-dimensional hydraulics calculation. The geometric description for the hydraulics problem is the same as used by the neutronics code. A two-dimensional thermal cell model is used to predict temperatures inmore » the fuel channel. The capability is available in the local BOLD VENTURE computation system for reactor core analysis with capability to account for the effect of temperature feedback by nuclear cross section correlation. Some enhancements have also been added to the original code to add pebble bed modeling flexibility and to generate useful auxiliary results. For example, an estimate is made of the distribution of fuel temperatures based on average and extreme conditions regularly calculated at a number of locations.« less

Power control of SAFE reactor using fuzzy logic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irvine, Claude

2002-01-01

Controlling the 100 kW SAFE (Safe Affordable Fission Engine) reactor consists of design and implementation of a fuzzy logic process control system to regulate dynamic variables related to nuclear system power. The first phase of development concentrates primarily on system power startup and regulation, maintaining core temperature equilibrium, and power profile matching. This paper discusses the experimental work performed in those areas. Nuclear core power from the fuel elements is simulated using resistive heating elements while heat rejection is processed by a series of heat pipes. Both axial and radial nuclear power distributions are determined from neuronic modeling codes. The axial temperature profile of the simulated core is matched to the nuclear power profile by varying the resistance of the heating elements. The SAFE model establishes radial temperature profile equivalence by establishing 32 control zones as the nodal coordinates. Control features also allow for slow warm up, since complete shutoff can occur in the heat pipes if heat-source temperatures drop/rise below a certain minimum value, depending on the specific fluid and gas combination in the heat pipe. The entire system is expected to be self-adaptive, i.e., capable of responding to long-range changes in the space environment. Particular attention in the development of the fuzzy logic algorithm shall ensure that the system process remains at set point, virtually eliminating overshoot on start-up and during in-process disturbances. The controller design will withstand harsh environments and applications where it might come in contact with water, corrosive chemicals, radiation fields, etc. .

Comments on the feasibility of developing gas core nuclear reactors. [for manned interplanetary spacecraft propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rom, F. E.

1969-01-01

Recent developments in the fields of gas core hydrodynamics, heat transfer, and neutronics indicate that gas core nuclear rockets may be feasible from the point of view of basic principles. Based on performance predictions using these results, mission analyses indicate that gas core nuclear rockets may have the potential for reducing the initial weight in orbit of manned interplanetary vehicles by a factor of 5 when compared to the best chemical rocket systems. In addition, there is a potential for reducing total trip times from 450 to 500 days for chemical systems to 250 to 300 days for gas core systems. The possibility of demonstrating the feasibility of gas core nuclear rocket engines by means of a logical series of experiments of increasing difficulty that ends with ground tests of full scale gas core reactors is considered.

Nuclear design analysis of square-lattice honeycomb space nuclear rocket engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widargo, Reza; Anghaie, Samim

1999-01-01

The square-lattice honeycomb reactor is designed based on a cylindrical core that is determined to have critical diameter and length of 0.50 m and 0.50 c, respectively. A 0.10-cm thick radial graphite reflector, in addition to a 0.20-m thick axial graphite reflector are used to reduce neutron leakage from the reactor. The core is fueled with solid solution of 93% enriched (U, Zr, Nb)C, which is one of several ternary uranium carbides that are considered for this concept. The fuel is to be fabricated as 2 mm grooved (U, Zr, Nb)C wafers. The fuel wafers are used to form square-lattice honeycomb fuel assemblies, 0.10 m in length with 30% cross-sectional flow area. Five fuel assemblies are stacked up axially to form the reactor core. Based on the 30% void fraction, the width of the square flow channel is about 1.3 mm. The hydrogen propellant is passed through these flow channels and removes the heat from the reactor core. To perform nuclear design analysis, a series of neutron transport and diffusion codes are used. The preliminary results are obtained using a simple four-group cross-section model. To optimize the nuclear design, the fuel densities are varied for each assembly. Tantalum, hafnium and tungsten are considered and used as a replacement for niobium in fuel material to provide water submersion sub-criticality for the reactor. Axial and radial neutron flux and power density distributions are calculated for the core. Results of the neutronic analysis indicate that the core has a relatively fast spectrum. From the results of the thermal hydraulic analyses, eight axial temperature zones are chosen for the calculation of group average cross-sections. An iterative process is conducted to couple the neutronic calculations with the thermal hydraulics calculations. Results of the nuclear design analysis indicate that a compact core can be designed based on ternary uranium carbide square-lattice honeycomb fuel. This design provides a relatively high thrust to weight ratio.

Quasi-periodic oscillations in superfluid, relativistic magnetars with nuclear pasta phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Passamonti, Andrea; Pons, José A.

2016-12-01

We study the torsional magneto-elastic oscillations of relativistic superfluid magnetars and explore the effects of a phase transition in the crust-core interface (nuclear pasta) which results in a weaker elastic response. Exploring various models with different extension of nuclear pasta phases, we find that the differences in the oscillation spectrum present in purely elastic modes (weak magnetic field) are smeared out with increasing strength of the magnetic field. For magnetar conditions, the main characteristic and features of models without nuclear pasta are preserved. We find, in general, two classes of magneto-elastic oscillations which exhibit a different oscillation pattern. For Bp < 4 × 1014 G, the spectrum is characterized by the turning points and edges of the continuum which are mostly confined into the star's core, and have no constant phase. Increasing the magnetic field, we find, in addition, several magneto-elastic oscillations which reach the surface and have an angular structure similar to crustal modes. These global magneto-elastic oscillations show a constant phase and become dominant when Bp > 5 × 1014 G. We do not find any evidence of fundamental pure crustal modes in the low-frequency range (below 200 Hz) for Bp ≥ 1014 G.

Development of an Efficient CFD Model for Nuclear Thermal Thrust Chamber Assembly Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, Gary; Ito, Yasushi; Ross, Doug; Chen, Yen-Sen; Wang, Ten-See

2007-01-01

The objective of this effort is to develop an efficient and accurate computational methodology to predict both detailed thermo-fluid environments and global characteristics of the internal ballistics for a hypothetical solid-core nuclear thermal thrust chamber assembly (NTTCA). Several numerical and multi-physics thermo-fluid models, such as real fluid, chemically reacting, turbulence, conjugate heat transfer, porosity, and power generation, were incorporated into an unstructured-grid, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics solver as the underlying computational methodology. The numerical simulations of detailed thermo-fluid environment of a single flow element provide a mechanism to estimate the thermal stress and possible occurrence of the mid-section corrosion of the solid core. In addition, the numerical results of the detailed simulation were employed to fine tune the porosity model mimic the pressure drop and thermal load of the coolant flow through a single flow element. The use of the tuned porosity model enables an efficient simulation of the entire NTTCA system, and evaluating its performance during the design cycle.

Neutron flux and power in RTP core-15

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rabir, Mohamad Hairie, E-mail: m-hairie@nuclearmalaysia.gov.my; Zin, Muhammad Rawi Md; Usang, Mark Dennis

PUSPATI TRIGA Reactor achieved initial criticality on June 28, 1982. The reactor is designed to effectively implement the various fields of basic nuclear research, manpower training, and production of radioisotopes. This paper describes the reactor parameters calculation for the PUSPATI TRIGA REACTOR (RTP); focusing on the application of the developed reactor 3D model for criticality calculation, analysis of power and neutron flux distribution of TRIGA core. The 3D continuous energy Monte Carlo code MCNP was used to develop a versatile and accurate full model of the TRIGA reactor. The model represents in detailed all important components of the core withmore » literally no physical approximation. The consistency and accuracy of the developed RTP MCNP model was established by comparing calculations to the available experimental results and TRIGLAV code calculation.« less

Performance potential of gas-core and fusion rockets - A mission applications survey.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fishbach, L. H.; Willis, E. A., Jr.

1971-01-01

This paper reports an evaluation of the performance potential of five nuclear rocket engines for four mission classes. These engines are: the regeneratively cooled gas-core nuclear rocket; the light bulb gas-core nuclear rocket; the space-radiator cooled gas-core nuclear rocket; the fusion rocket; and an advanced solid-core nuclear rocket which is included for comparison. The missions considered are: earth-to-orbit launch; near-earth space missions; close interplanetary missions; and distant interplanetary missions. For each of these missions, the capabilities of each rocket engine type are compared in terms of payload ratio for the earth launch mission or by the initial vehicle mass in earth orbit for space missions (a measure of initial cost). Other factors which might determine the engine choice are discussed. It is shown that a 60 day manned round trip to Mars is conceivable.-

The neutrino opacity of neutron rich matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alcain, P. N.; Dorso, C. O.

2017-05-01

The study of neutron rich matter, present in neutron star, proto-neutron stars and core-collapse supernovae, can lead to further understanding of the behavior of nuclear matter in highly asymmetric nuclei. Heterogeneous structures are expected to exist in these systems, often referred to as nuclear pasta. We have carried out a systematic study of neutrino opacity for different thermodynamic conditions in order to assess the impact that the structure has on it. We studied the dynamics of the neutrino opacity of the heterogeneous matter at different thermodynamic conditions with semiclassical molecular dynamics model already used to study nuclear multifragmentation. For different densities, proton fractions and temperature, we calculate the very long range opacity and the cluster distribution. The neutrino opacity is of crucial importance for the evolution of the core-collapse supernovae and the neutrino scattering.

Global risk of radioactive fallout after nuclear reactor accidents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lelieveld, J.; Kunkel, D.; Lawrence, M. G.

2011-11-01

Reactor core meltdowns of nuclear power plants are rare, yet the consequences are catastrophic. But what is meant by "rare"? And what can be learned from the Chernobyl and Fukushima incidents? Here we assess the risk of exposure to radioactivity due to atmospheric dispersion of gases and particles following severe nuclear accidents, using particulate 137Cs and gaseous 131I as proxies for the fallout. It appears that previously the occurrence of major accidents and the risks of radioactive contamination have been underestimated. Using a global model of the atmosphere we compute that on average, in the event of a core melt of any nuclear power plant worldwide, more than 90% of emitted 137Cs would be transported beyond 50km and about 50% beyond 1000 km distance. This corroborates that such accidents have large-scale and trans-boundary impacts. Although the emission strengths and atmospheric removal processes of 137Cs and 131I are quite different, the radioactive contamination patterns over land and the human deposition exposure are computed to be similar. High human exposure risks occur around reactors in densely populated regions, notably in southern Asia where a core melt can subject 55 million people to radioactive contamination. The recent decision by Germany to phase out its nuclear reactors will reduce the national risk, though a large risk will still remain from the reactors in neighbouring countries.

Global risk of radioactive fallout after nuclear reactor accidents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunkel, D.; Lelieveld, J.; Lawrence, M. G.

2012-04-01

Reactor core meltdowns of nuclear power plants are rare, yet the consequences are catastrophic. But what is meant by "rare"? And what can be learned from the Chernobyl and Fukushima incidents? Here we assess the risk of exposure to radioactivity due to atmospheric dispersion of gases and particles following severe nuclear accidents, using particulate 137Cs and gaseous 131I as proxies for the fallout. It appears that previously the occurrence of major accidents and the risks of radioactive contamination have been underestimated. Using a global model of the atmosphere we compute that on average, in the event of a core melt of any nuclear power plant worldwide, more than 90 % of emitted 137Cs would be transported beyond 50 km and about 50 % beyond 1000 km distance. This corroborates that such accidents have large-scale and trans-boundary impacts. Although the emission strengths and atmospheric removal processes of 137Cs and 131I are quite different, the radioactive contamination patterns over land and the human deposition exposure are computed to be similar. High human exposure risks occur around reactors in densely populated regions, notably in southern Asia where a core melt can subject 55 million people to radioactive contamination. The recent decision by Germany to phase out its nuclear reactors will reduce the national risk, though a large risk will still remain from the reactors in neighbouring countries.

Excitation energy shift and size difference of low-energy levels in p -shell Λ hypernuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanada-En'yo, Yoshiko

2018-02-01

Structures of low-lying 0 s -orbit Λ states in p -shell Λ hypernuclei (ZAΛ) are investigated by applying microscopic cluster models for nuclear structure and a single-channel folding potential model for a Λ particle. For A >10 systems, the size reduction of core nuclei is small, and the core polarization effect is regarded as a higher-order perturbation in the Λ binding. The present calculation qualitatively describes the systematic trend of experimental data for excitation energy change from Z-1A to ZAΛ, in A >10 systems. The energy change shows a clear correlation with the nuclear size difference between the ground and excited states. In Li7Λ and Be9Λ, the significant shrinkage of cluster structures occurs consistently with the prediction of other calculations.

Nuclear fuel in a reactor accident.

PubMed

Burns, Peter C; Ewing, Rodney C; Navrotsky, Alexandra

2012-03-09

Nuclear accidents that lead to melting of a reactor core create heterogeneous materials containing hundreds of radionuclides, many with short half-lives. The long-lived fission products and transuranium elements within damaged fuel remain a concern for millennia. Currently, accurate fundamental models for the prediction of release rates of radionuclides from fuel, especially in contact with water, after an accident remain limited. Relatively little is known about fuel corrosion and radionuclide release under the extreme chemical, radiation, and thermal conditions during and subsequent to a nuclear accident. We review the current understanding of nuclear fuel interactions with the environment, including studies over the relatively narrow range of geochemical, hydrological, and radiation environments relevant to geological repository performance, and discuss priorities for research needed to develop future predictive models.

A new baryonic equation of state at sub-nuclear densities for core-collapse simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furusawa, Shun; Yamada, Shoichi; Sumiyoshi, Kohsuke; Suzuki, Hideyuki

2012-11-01

We construct a new equation of state for baryons at sub-nuclear densities for the use in core-collapse simulations of massive stars. The formulation is based on the nuclear statistical equilibrium description and the liquid drop approximation of nuclei. The model free energy to minimize is calculated by using relativistic mean field theory for nucleons and the mass formula for nuclei with atomic number up to ~ 1000. We have also taken into account the pasta phase. We find that the free energy and other thermodynamical quantities are not very different from those given in the standard EOSs that adopt the single nucleus approximation. On the other hand, the average mass is systematically different, which may have an important effect to the rates of electron captures and coherent neutrino scatterings on nuclei in supernova cores. It is also interesting that the root mean square of the mass number is not very different from the average mass number, since the former is important for the evaluation of coherent scattering rates on nuclei but has been unavailable so far.

Turbulence coefficients and stability studies for the coaxial flow or dissimiliar fluids. [gaseous core nuclear reactors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinstein, H.; Lavan, Z.

1975-01-01

Analytical investigations of fluid dynamics problems of relevance to the gaseous core nuclear reactor program are presented. The vortex type flow which appears in the nuclear light bulb concept is analyzed along with the fluid flow in the fuel inlet region for the coaxial flow gaseous core nuclear reactor concept. The development of numerical methods for the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for appropriate geometries is extended to the case of rotating flows and almost completes the gas core program requirements in this area. The investigations demonstrate that the conceptual design of the coaxial flow reactor needs further development.

Ultrahigh temperature vapor core reactor-MHD system for space nuclear electric power

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maya, Isaac; Anghaie, Samim; Diaz, Nils J.; Dugan, Edward T.

1991-01-01

The conceptual design of a nuclear space power system based on the ultrahigh temperature vapor core reactor with MHD energy conversion is presented. This UF4 fueled gas core cavity reactor operates at 4000 K maximum core temperature and 40 atm. Materials experiments, conducted with UF4 up to 2200 K, demonstrate acceptable compatibility with tungsten-molybdenum-, and carbon-based materials. The supporting nuclear, heat transfer, fluid flow and MHD analysis, and fissioning plasma physics experiments are also discussed.

The host galaxy/AGN connection in nearby early-type galaxies. Is there a miniature radio-galaxy in every "core" galaxy?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balmaverde, B.; Capetti, A.

2006-02-01

This is the second of a series of three papers exploring the connection between the multiwavelength properties of AGN in nearby early-type galaxies and the characteristics of their hosts. We selected two samples with 5 GHz VLA radio flux measurements down to 1 mJy, reaching levels of radio luminosity as low as 1036 erg s-1. In Paper I we presented a study of the surface brightness profiles for the 65 objects with available archival HST images out of the 116 radio-detected galaxies. We classified early-type galaxies into "core" and "power-law" galaxies, discriminating on the basis of the slope of their nuclear brightness profiles, following the Nukers scheme. Here we focus on the 29 core galaxies (hereafter CoreG). We used HST and Chandra data to isolate their optical and X-ray nuclear emission. The CoreG invariably host radio-loud nuclei, with an average radio-loudness parameter of Log R = L5 {GHz} / LB ˜ 3.6. The optical and X-ray nuclear luminosities correlate with the radio-core power, smoothly extending the analogous correlations already found for low luminosity radio-galaxies (LLRG) toward even lower power, by a factor of ˜ 1000, covering a combined range of 6 orders of magnitude. This supports the interpretation of a common non-thermal origin of the nuclear emission also for CoreG. The luminosities of the nuclear sources, most likely dominated by jet emission, set firm upper limits, as low as L/L_Edd ˜ 10-9 in both the optical and X-ray band, on any emission from the accretion process. The similarity of CoreG and LLRG when considering the distributions host galaxies luminosities and black hole masses, as well as of the surface brightness profiles, indicates that they are drawn from the same population of early-type galaxies. LLRG represent only the tip of the iceberg associated with (relatively) high activity levels, with CoreG forming the bulk of the population. We do not find any relationship between radio-power and black hole mass. A minimum black hole mass of M_BH = 108 M⊙ is apparently associated with the radio-loud nuclei in both CoreG and LLRG, but this effect must be tested on a sample of less luminous galaxies, likely to host smaller black holes. In the unifying model for BL Lacs and radio-galaxies, CoreG likely represent the counterparts of the large population of low luminosity BL Lac now emerging from the surveys at low radio flux limits. This suggests the presence of relativistic jets also in these quasi-quiescent early-type "core" galaxies.

Implications for Post-processing Nucleosynthesis of Core-collapse Supernova Models with Lagrangian Particles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harris, J. Austin; Hix, W. Raphael; Chertkow, Merek A.

In this paper, we investigate core-collapse supernova (CCSN) nucleosynthesis with self-consistent, axisymmetric (2D) simulations performed using the neutrino hydrodynamics code Chimera. Computational costs have traditionally constrained the evolution of the nuclear composition within multidimensional CCSN models to, at best, a 14-species α-network capable of tracking onlymore » $$(\\alpha ,\\gamma )$$ reactions from 4He to 60Zn. Such a simplified network limits the ability to accurately evolve detailed composition and neutronization or calculate the nuclear energy generation rate. Lagrangian tracer particles are commonly used to extend the nuclear network evolution by incorporating more realistic networks into post-processing nucleosynthesis calculations. However, limitations such as poor spatial resolution of the tracer particles; inconsistent thermodynamic evolution, including misestimation of expansion timescales; and uncertain determination of the multidimensional mass cut at the end of the simulation impose uncertainties inherent to this approach. Finally, we present a detailed analysis of the impact of such uncertainties for four self-consistent axisymmetric CCSN models initiated from solar-metallicity, nonrotating progenitors of 12, 15, 20, and 25 $${M}_{\\odot }$$ and evolved with the smaller α-network to more than 1 s after the launch of an explosion.« less

Implications for Post-processing Nucleosynthesis of Core-collapse Supernova Models with Lagrangian Particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, J. Austin; Hix, W. Raphael; Chertkow, Merek A.; Lee, C. T.; Lentz, Eric J.; Messer, O. E. Bronson

2017-07-01

We investigate core-collapse supernova (CCSN) nucleosynthesis with self-consistent, axisymmetric (2D) simulations performed using the neutrino hydrodynamics code Chimera. Computational costs have traditionally constrained the evolution of the nuclear composition within multidimensional CCSN models to, at best, a 14-species α-network capable of tracking only (α ,γ ) reactions from 4He to 60Zn. Such a simplified network limits the ability to accurately evolve detailed composition and neutronization or calculate the nuclear energy generation rate. Lagrangian tracer particles are commonly used to extend the nuclear network evolution by incorporating more realistic networks into post-processing nucleosynthesis calculations. However, limitations such as poor spatial resolution of the tracer particles inconsistent thermodynamic evolution, including misestimation of expansion timescales and uncertain determination of the multidimensional mass cut at the end of the simulation impose uncertainties inherent to this approach. We present a detailed analysis of the impact of such uncertainties for four self-consistent axisymmetric CCSN models initiated from solar-metallicity, nonrotating progenitors of 12, 15, 20, and 25 {M}⊙ and evolved with the smaller α-network to more than 1 s after the launch of an explosion.

Implications for Post-processing Nucleosynthesis of Core-collapse Supernova Models with Lagrangian Particles

DOE PAGES

Harris, J. Austin; Hix, W. Raphael; Chertkow, Merek A.; ...

2017-06-26

In this paper, we investigate core-collapse supernova (CCSN) nucleosynthesis with self-consistent, axisymmetric (2D) simulations performed using the neutrino hydrodynamics code Chimera. Computational costs have traditionally constrained the evolution of the nuclear composition within multidimensional CCSN models to, at best, a 14-species α-network capable of tracking onlymore » $$(\\alpha ,\\gamma )$$ reactions from 4He to 60Zn. Such a simplified network limits the ability to accurately evolve detailed composition and neutronization or calculate the nuclear energy generation rate. Lagrangian tracer particles are commonly used to extend the nuclear network evolution by incorporating more realistic networks into post-processing nucleosynthesis calculations. However, limitations such as poor spatial resolution of the tracer particles; inconsistent thermodynamic evolution, including misestimation of expansion timescales; and uncertain determination of the multidimensional mass cut at the end of the simulation impose uncertainties inherent to this approach. Finally, we present a detailed analysis of the impact of such uncertainties for four self-consistent axisymmetric CCSN models initiated from solar-metallicity, nonrotating progenitors of 12, 15, 20, and 25 $${M}_{\\odot }$$ and evolved with the smaller α-network to more than 1 s after the launch of an explosion.« less

Equation of state for neutron stars. Some recent developments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haensel, P.; Fortin, M.

2017-12-01

Calculations using the chiral effective field theory (ChEFT) indicate that the four-body force contribution to the equation of state (EOS) of pure neutron matter (PNM) at the nuclear density n 0 is negligibly small. However, the overall uncertainty in the EOS of PNM at n 0 remains ∼ 20%. Relativistic mean field (RMF) calculations with in-medium scaling, and including hyperons and Δ resonances, can be made consistent with recent nuclear and astrophysical constraints. Dirac-Brueckner-Hartree-Fock calculations with some medium dependence of the nuclear interaction yield neutron star (NS) models with hyperonic cores consistent with 2 M⊙ stars and agreeing with the saturation parameters of nuclear matter. Many unified EOS for the NS crust and core were calculated, and are reviewed here. The effect of the finite size of baryons on the EOS, its treatment via the excluded-volume approximation, and its relevance for the hypothetical hybrid-star twins at ∼ 2 M⊙ are dicussed.

End-to-End Demonstrator of the Safe Affordable Fission Engine (SAFE) 30: Power Conversion and Ion Engine Operation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hrbud, Ivana; VanDyke, Melissa; Houts, Mike; Goodfellow, Keith; Schafer, Charles (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The Safe Affordable Fission Engine (SAFE) test series addresses Phase 1 Space Fission Systems issues in particular non-nuclear testing and system integration issues leading to the testing and non-nuclear demonstration of a 400-kW fully integrated flight unit. The first part of the SAFE 30 test series demonstrated operation of the simulated nuclear core and heat pipe system. Experimental data acquired in a number of different test scenarios will validate existing computational models, demonstrated system flexibility (fast start-ups, multiple start-ups/shut downs), simulate predictable failure modes and operating environments. The objective of the second part is to demonstrate an integrated propulsion system consisting of a core, conversion system and a thruster where the system converts thermal heat into jet power. This end-to-end system demonstration sets a precedent for ground testing of nuclear electric propulsion systems. The paper describes the SAFE 30 end-to-end system demonstration and its subsystems.

A computationally simple model for determining the time dependent spectral neutron flux in a nuclear reactor core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, E. A.; Deinert, M. R.; Cady, K. B.

2006-10-01

The balance of isotopes in a nuclear reactor core is key to understanding the overall performance of a given fuel cycle. This balance is in turn most strongly affected by the time and energy-dependent neutron flux. While many large and involved computer packages exist for determining this spectrum, a simplified approach amenable to rapid computation is missing from the literature. We present such a model, which accepts as inputs the fuel element/moderator geometry and composition, reactor geometry, fuel residence time and target burnup and we compare it to OECD/NEA benchmarks for homogeneous MOX and UOX LWR cores. Collision probability approximations to the neutron transport equation are used to decouple the spatial and energy variables. The lethargy dependent neutron flux, governed by coupled integral equations for the fuel and moderator/coolant regions is treated by multigroup thermalization methods, and the transport of neutrons through space is modeled by fuel to moderator transport and escape probabilities. Reactivity control is achieved through use of a burnable poison or adjustable control medium. The model calculates the buildup of 24 actinides, as well as fission products, along with the lethargy dependent neutron flux and the results of several simulations are compared with benchmarked standards.

α Centauri A as a potential stellar model calibrator: establishing the nature of its core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nsamba, B.; Monteiro, M. J. P. F. G.; Campante, T. L.; Cunha, M. S.; Sousa, S. G.

2018-05-01

Understanding the physical process responsible for the transport of energy in the core of α Centauri A is of the utmost importance if this star is to be used in the calibration of stellar model physics. Adoption of different parallax measurements available in the literature results in differences in the interferometric radius constraints used in stellar modelling. Further, this is at the origin of the different dynamical mass measurements reported for this star. With the goal of reproducing the revised dynamical mass derived by Pourbaix & Boffin, we modelled the star using two stellar grids varying in the adopted nuclear reaction rates. Asteroseismic and spectroscopic observables were complemented with different interferometric radius constraints during the optimisation procedure. Our findings show that best-fit models reproducing the revised dynamical mass favour the existence of a convective core (≳ 70% of best-fit models), a result that is robust against changes to the model physics. If this mass is accurate, then α Centauri A may be used to calibrate stellar model parameters in the presence of a convective core.

Magnetic nuclear core restraint and control

DOEpatents

Cooper, Martin H.

1979-01-01

A lateral restraint and control system for a nuclear reactor core adaptable to provide an inherent decrease of core reactivity in response to abnormally high reactor coolant fluid temperatures. An electromagnet is associated with structure for radially compressing the core during normal reactor conditions. A portion of the structures forming a magnetic circuit are composed of ferromagnetic material having a curie temperature corresponding to a selected coolant fluid temperature. Upon a selected signal, or inherently upon a preselected rise in coolant temperature, the magnetic force is decreased a given amount sufficient to relieve the compression force so as to allow core radial expansion. The expanded core configuration provides a decreased reactivity, tending to shut down the nuclear reaction.

Magnetic nuclear core restraint and control

DOEpatents

Cooper, Martin H.

1978-01-01

A lateral restraint and control system for a nuclear reactor core adaptable to provide an inherent decrease of core reactivity in response to abnormally high reactor coolant fluid temperatures. An electromagnet is associated with structure for radially compressing the core during normal reactor conditions. A portion of the structures forming a magnetic circuit are composed of ferromagnetic material having a curie temperature corresponding to a selected coolant fluid temperature. Upon a selected signal, or inherently upon a preselected rise in coolant temperature, the magnetic force is decreased a given amount sufficient to relieve the compression force so as to allow core radial expansion. The expanded core configuration provides a decreased reactivity, tending to shut down the nuclear reaction.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EARTH PENETRATION

DOEpatents

Adams, W.M.

1963-12-24

A nuclear reactor apparatus for penetrating into the earth's crust is described. The apparatus comprises a cylindrical nuclear core operating at a temperature that is higher than the melting temperature of rock. A high-density ballast member is coupled to the nuclear core such that the overall density of the core-ballast assembly is greater than the density of molten rock. The nuclear core is thermally insulated so that its heat output is constrained to flow axially, with radial heat flow being minimized. In operation, the apparatus is placed in contact with the earth's crust at the point desired to be penetrated. The heat output of the reactor melts the underlying rock, and the apparatus sinks through the resulting magma. The fuel loading of the reactor core determines the ultimate depth of crust penetration. (AEC)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sattison, M.B.; Thatcher, T.A.; Knudsen, J.K.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has been using full-power. Level 1, limited-scope risk models for the Accident Sequence Precursor (ASP) program for over fifteen years. These models have evolved and matured over the years, as have probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) and computer technologies. Significant upgrading activities have been undertaken over the past three years, with involvement from the Offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR), Analysis and Evaluation of Operational Data (AEOD), and Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES), and several national laboratories. Part of these activities was an RES-sponsored feasibility study investigating the ability to extend the ASP models to includemore » contributors to core damage from events initiated with the reactor at low power or shutdown (LP/SD), both internal events and external events. This paper presents only the LP/SD internal event modeling efforts.« less

Multiphysics Analysis of a Solid-Core Nuclear Thermal Engine Thrust Chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Ten-See; Canabal, Francisco; Cheng, Gary; Chen, Yen-Sen

2006-01-01

The objective of this effort is to develop an efficient and accurate thermo-fluid computational methodology to predict environments for a hypothetical solid-core, nuclear thermal engine thrust chamber. The computational methodology is based on an unstructured-grid, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics methodology. Formulations for heat transfer in solids and porous media were implemented and anchored. A two-pronged approach was employed in this effort: A detailed thermo-fluid analysis on a multi-channel flow element for mid-section corrosion investigation; and a global modeling of the thrust chamber to understand the effect of hydrogen dissociation and recombination on heat transfer and thrust performance. The formulations and preliminary results on both aspects are presented.

Impact of intermediate and high energy nuclear data on the neutronic safety parameters of MYRRHA accelerator driven system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stankovskiy, Alexey; Çelik, Yurdunaz; Eynde, Gert Van den

2017-09-01

Perturbation of external neutron source can cause significant local power changes transformed into undesired safety-related events in an accelerator driven system. Therefore for the accurate design of MYRRHA sub-critical core it is important to evaluate the uncertainty of power responses caused by the uncertainties in nuclear reaction models describing the particle transport from primary proton energy down to the evaluated nuclear data table range. The calculations with a set of models resulted in quite low uncertainty on the local power caused by significant perturbation of primary neutron yield from proton interactions with lead and bismuth isotopes. The considered accidental event of prescribed proton beam shape loss causes drastic increase in local power but does not practically change the total core thermal power making this effect difficult to detect. In the same time the results demonstrate a correlation between perturbed local power responses in normal operation and misaligned beam conditions indicating that generation of covariance data for proton and neutron induced neutron multiplicities for lead and bismuth isotopes is needed to obtain reliable uncertainties for local power responses.

Distribution of nuclei in equilibrium stellar matter from the free-energy density in a Wigner-Seitz cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grams, G.; Giraud, S.; Fantina, A. F.; Gulminelli, F.

2018-03-01

The aim of the present study is to calculate the nuclear distribution associated at finite temperature to any given equation of state of stellar matter based on the Wigner-Seitz approximation, for direct applications in core-collapse simulations. The Gibbs free energy of the different configurations is explicitly calculated, with special care devoted to the calculation of rearrangement terms, ensuring thermodynamic consistency. The formalism is illustrated with two different applications. First, we work out the nuclear statistical equilibrium cluster distribution for the Lattimer and Swesty equation of state, widely employed in supernova simulations. Secondly, we explore the effect of including shell structure, and consider realistic nuclear mass tables from the Brussels-Montreal Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov model (specifically, HFB-24). We show that the whole collapse trajectory is dominated by magic nuclei, with extremely spread and even bimodal distributions of the cluster probability around magic numbers, demonstrating the importance of cluster distributions with realistic mass models in core-collapse simulations. Simple analytical expressions are given, allowing further applications of the method to any relativistic or nonrelativistic subsaturation equation of state.

Hybrid Reduced Order Modeling Algorithms for Reactor Physics Calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bang, Youngsuk

Reduced order modeling (ROM) has been recognized as an indispensable approach when the engineering analysis requires many executions of high fidelity simulation codes. Examples of such engineering analyses in nuclear reactor core calculations, representing the focus of this dissertation, include the functionalization of the homogenized few-group cross-sections in terms of the various core conditions, e.g. burn-up, fuel enrichment, temperature, etc. This is done via assembly calculations which are executed many times to generate the required functionalization for use in the downstream core calculations. Other examples are sensitivity analysis used to determine important core attribute variations due to input parameter variations, and uncertainty quantification employed to estimate core attribute uncertainties originating from input parameter uncertainties. ROM constructs a surrogate model with quantifiable accuracy which can replace the original code for subsequent engineering analysis calculations. This is achieved by reducing the effective dimensionality of the input parameter, the state variable, or the output response spaces, by projection onto the so-called active subspaces. Confining the variations to the active subspace allows one to construct an ROM model of reduced complexity which can be solved more efficiently. This dissertation introduces a new algorithm to render reduction with the reduction errors bounded based on a user-defined error tolerance which represents the main challenge of existing ROM techniques. Bounding the error is the key to ensuring that the constructed ROM models are robust for all possible applications. Providing such error bounds represents one of the algorithmic contributions of this dissertation to the ROM state-of-the-art. Recognizing that ROM techniques have been developed to render reduction at different levels, e.g. the input parameter space, the state space, and the response space, this dissertation offers a set of novel hybrid ROM algorithms which can be readily integrated into existing methods and offer higher computational efficiency and defendable accuracy of the reduced models. For example, the snapshots ROM algorithm is hybridized with the range finding algorithm to render reduction in the state space, e.g. the flux in reactor calculations. In another implementation, the perturbation theory used to calculate first order derivatives of responses with respect to parameters is hybridized with a forward sensitivity analysis approach to render reduction in the parameter space. Reduction at the state and parameter spaces can be combined to render further reduction at the interface between different physics codes in a multi-physics model with the accuracy quantified in a similar manner to the single physics case. Although the proposed algorithms are generic in nature, we focus here on radiation transport models used in support of the design and analysis of nuclear reactor cores. In particular, we focus on replacing the traditional assembly calculations by ROM models to facilitate the generation of homogenized cross-sections for downstream core calculations. The implication is that assembly calculations could be done instantaneously therefore precluding the need for the expensive evaluation of the few-group cross-sections for all possible core conditions. Given the generic natures of the algorithms, we make an effort to introduce the material in a general form to allow non-nuclear engineers to benefit from this work.

Single HIV-1 Imaging Reveals Progression of Infection through CA-Dependent Steps of Docking at the Nuclear Pore, Uncoating, and Nuclear Transport.

PubMed

Francis, Ashwanth C; Melikyan, Gregory B

2018-04-11

The HIV-1 core consists of capsid proteins (CA) surrounding viral genomic RNA. After virus-cell fusion, the core enters the cytoplasm and the capsid shell is lost through uncoating. CA loss precedes nuclear import and HIV integration into the host genome, but the timing and location of uncoating remain unclear. By visualizing single HIV-1 infection, we find that CA is required for core docking at the nuclear envelope (NE), whereas early uncoating in the cytoplasm promotes proteasomal degradation of viral complexes. Only docked cores exhibiting accelerated loss of CA at the NE enter the nucleus. Interestingly, a CA mutation (N74D) altering virus engagement of host factors involved in nuclear transport does not alter the uncoating site at the NE but reduces the nuclear penetration depth. Thus, CA protects HIV-1 complexes from degradation, mediates docking at the nuclear pore before uncoating, and determines the depth of nuclear penetration en route to integration. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) / Emergency Core Coolant System (ECCS Evaluation of Risk-Informed Margins Management Strategies for a Representative Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Szilard, Ronaldo Henriques

A Risk Informed Safety Margin Characterization (RISMC) toolkit and methodology are proposed for investigating nuclear power plant core, fuels design and safety analysis, including postulated Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) analysis. This toolkit, under an integrated evaluation model framework, is name LOCA toolkit for the US (LOTUS). This demonstration includes coupled analysis of core design, fuel design, thermal hydraulics and systems analysis, using advanced risk analysis tools and methods to investigate a wide range of results.

The Last Minutes of Oxygen Shell Burning in a Massive Star

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Bernhard; Viallet, Maxime; Heger, Alexander; Janka, Hans-Thomas

2016-12-01

We present the first 4π-three-dimensional (3D) simulation of the last minutes of oxygen shell burning in an 18 M ⊙ supernova progenitor up to the onset of core collapse. A moving inner boundary is used to accurately model the contraction of the silicon and iron core according to a one-dimensional stellar evolution model with a self-consistent treatment of core deleptonization and nuclear quasi-equilibrium. The simulation covers the full solid angle to allow the emergence of large-scale convective modes. Due to core contraction and the concomitant acceleration of nuclear burning, the convective Mach number increases to ˜0.1 at collapse, and an ℓ = 2 mode emerges shortly before the end of the simulation. Aside from a growth of the oxygen shell from 0.51 M ⊙ to 0.56 M ⊙ due to entrainment from the carbon shell, the convective flow is reasonably well described by mixing-length theory, and the dominant scales are compatible with estimates from linear stability analysis. We deduce that artificial changes in the physics, such as accelerated core contraction, can have precarious consequences for the state of convection at collapse. We argue that scaling laws for the convective velocities and eddy sizes furnish good estimates for the state of shell convection at collapse and develop a simple analytic theory for the impact of convective seed perturbations on shock revival in the ensuing supernova. We predict a reduction of the critical luminosity for explosion by 12%-24% due to seed asphericities for our 3D progenitor model relative to the case without large seed perturbations.

Muscle spindles exhibit core lesions and extensive degeneration of intrafusal fibers in the Ryr1{sup I4895T/wt} mouse model of core myopathy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zvaritch, Elena; MacLennan, David H., E-mail: david.maclennan@utoronto.ca

Muscle spindles from the hind limb muscles of adult Ryr1{sup I4895T/wt} (IT/+) mice exhibit severe structural abnormalities. Up to 85% of the spindles are separated from skeletal muscle fascicles by a thick layer of connective tissue. Many intrafusal fibers exhibit degeneration, with Z-line streaming, compaction and collapse of myofibrillar bundles, mitochondrial clumping, nuclear shrinkage and pyknosis. The lesions resemble cores observed in the extrafusal myofibers of this animal model and of core myopathy patients. Spindle abnormalities precede those in extrafusal fibers, indicating that they are a primary pathological feature in this murine Ryr1-related core myopathy. Muscle spindle involvement, if confirmedmore » for human core myopathy patients, would provide an explanation for an array of devastating clinical features characteristic of these diseases and provide novel insights into the pathology of RYR1-related myopathies. - Highlights: • Muscle spindles exhibit structural abnormalities in a mouse model of core myopathy. • Myofibrillar collapse and mitochondrial clumping is observed in intrafusal fibers. • Myofibrillar degeneration follows a pattern similar to core formation in extrafusal myofibers. • Muscle spindle abnormalities are a part of the pathological phenotype in the mouse model of core myopathy. • Direct involvement of muscle spindles in the pathology of human RYR1-related myopathies is proposed.« less

Two-Dimensional Neutronic and Fuel Cycle Analysis of the Transatomic Power Molten Salt Reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Betzler, Benjamin R.; Powers, Jeffrey J.; Worrall, Andrew

2017-01-15

This status report presents the results from the first phase of the collaboration between Transatomic Power Corporation (TAP) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to provide neutronic and fuel cycle analysis of the TAP core design through the Department of Energy Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear, Nuclear Energy Voucher program. The TAP design is a molten salt reactor using movable moderator rods to shift the neutron spectrum in the core from mostly epithermal at beginning of life to thermal at end of life. Additional developments in the ChemTriton modeling and simulation tool provide the critical moderator-to-fuel ratio searches andmore » time-dependent parameters necessary to simulate the continuously changing physics in this complex system. Results from simulations with these tools show agreement with TAP-calculated performance metrics for core lifetime, discharge burnup, and salt volume fraction, verifying the viability of reducing actinide waste production with this design. Additional analyses of time step sizes, mass feed rates and enrichments, and isotopic removals provide additional information to make informed design decisions. This work further demonstrates capabilities of ORNL modeling and simulation tools for analysis of molten salt reactor designs and strongly positions this effort for the upcoming three-dimensional core analysis.« less

Analysis of the nuclear dependence of the νμ charged current inclusive cross section with MINERvA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ransome, Ronald

2014-03-01

Neutrino experiments use heavy nuclei (Fe, Pb, C) to achieve necessary statistics. However, the use of heavy nuclei exposes these experiments to the nuclear dependence of neutrino-nucleus cross sections, which are poorly known and difficult to model. The MINERvA (Main INjector ExpeRiment for ?-A), a few-GeV neutrino nucleus scattering experiment at Fermilab, seeks to remedy the situation by directly studying the A-dependence of exclusive and inclusive channels. The MINERvA detector contains an 8 ton fully active fine-grained scintillator tracking core and targets of carbon, iron, lead, water and liquid helium which sit upstream of the tracking core. We present results from our analysis using the nuclear targets: ratios of the ?? charged-current inclusive cross section in carbon, iron, lead and plastic scintillator (CH). Supported in part by the US National Science Foundation and the Dept. of Energy.

Advancing Nucleosynthesis in Core-Collapse Supernovae Models Using 2D CHIMERA Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, J. A.; Hix, W. R.; Chertkow, M. A.; Bruenn, S. W.; Lentz, E. J.; Messer, O. B.; Mezzacappa, A.; Blondin, J. M.; Marronetti, P.; Yakunin, K.

2014-01-01

The deaths of massive stars as core-collapse supernovae (CCSN) serve as a crucial link in understanding galactic chemical evolution since the birth of the universe via the Big Bang. We investigate CCSN in polar axisymmetric simulations using the multidimensional radiation hydrodynamics code CHIMERA. Computational costs have traditionally constrained the evolution of the nuclear composition in CCSN models to, at best, a 14-species α-network. However, the limited capacity of the α-network to accurately evolve detailed composition, the neutronization and the nuclear energy generation rate has fettered the ability of prior CCSN simulations to accurately reproduce the chemical abundances and energy distributions as known from observations. These deficits can be partially ameliorated by "post-processing" with a more realistic network. Lagrangian tracer particles placed throughout the star record the temporal evolution of the initial simulation and enable the extension of the nuclear network evolution by incorporating larger systems in post-processing nucleosynthesis calculations. We present post-processing results of the four ab initio axisymmetric CCSN 2D models of Bruenn et al. (2013) evolved with the smaller α-network, and initiated from stellar metallicity, non-rotating progenitors of mass 12, 15, 20, and 25 M⊙ from Woosley & Heger (2007). As a test of the limitations of post-processing, we provide preliminary results from an ongoing simulation of the 15 M⊙ model evolved with a realistic 150 species nuclear reaction network in situ. With more accurate energy generation rates and an improved determination of the thermodynamic trajectories of the tracer particles, we can better unravel the complicated multidimensional "mass-cut" in CCSN simulations and probe for less energetically significant nuclear processes like the νp-process and the r-process, which require still larger networks.

Box model of radionuclide dispersion and radiation risk estimation for population in case of radioactivity release from nuclear submarine {number_sign}601 dumped in the Kara Sea

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yefimov, E.I.; Pankratov, D.V.; Ignatiev, S.V.

1997-12-31

When ships with nuclear reactors or nuclear materials aboard suffer shipwreck or in the case of burial or dumping of radioactive wastes, atmospheric fallout, etc., radionuclides may be released and spread in the sea, contaminating the sea water and the sea bottom. When a nuclear submarine (NS) is dumped this spread of activity may occur due to gradual core destruction by corrosion over many years. The objective of this paper is to develop a mathematical model of radionuclide dispersion and to assess the population dose and radiation risk for radionuclide release from the NS No. 601, with Pb-Bi coolant thatmore » was dumped in the Kara Sea.« less

Nuclear modules for space electric propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Difilippo, F. C.

1998-01-01

Analysis of interplanetary cargo and piloted missions requires calculations of the performances and masses of subsystems to be integrated in a final design. In a preliminary and scoping stage the designer needs to evaluate options iteratively by using fast computer simulations. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been involved in the development of models and calculational procedures for the analysis (neutronic and thermal hydraulic) of power sources for nuclear electric propulsion. The nuclear modules will be integrated into the whole simulation of the nuclear electric propulsion system. The vehicles use either a Brayton direct-conversion cycle, using the heated helium from a NERVA-type reactor, or a potassium Rankine cycle, with the working fluid heated on the secondary side of a heat exchanger and lithium on the primary side coming from a fast reactor. Given a set of input conditions, the codes calculate composition. dimensions, volumes, and masses of the core, reflector, control system, pressure vessel, neutron and gamma shields, as well as the thermal hydraulic conditions of the coolant, clad and fuel. Input conditions are power, core life, pressure and temperature of the coolant at the inlet of the core, either the temperature of the coolant at the outlet of the core or the coolant mass flow and the fluences and integrated doses at the cargo area. Using state-of-the-art neutron cross sections and transport codes, a database was created for the neutronic performance of both reactor designs. The free parameters of the models are the moderator/fuel mass ratio for the NERVA reactor and the enrichment and the pitch of the lattice for the fast reactor. Reactivity and energy balance equations are simultaneously solved to find the reactor design. Thermalhydraulic conditions are calculated by solving the one-dimensional versions of the equations of conservation of mass, energy, and momentum with compressible flow.

Multiphysics Thrust Chamber Modeling for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Ten-See; Cheng, Gary; Chen, Yen-Sen

2006-01-01

The objective of this effort is to develop an efficient and accurate thermo-fluid computational methodology to predict environments for a solid-core, nuclear thermal engine thrust chamber. The computational methodology is based on an unstructured-grid, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics formulation. A two-pronged approach is employed in this effort: A detailed thermo-fluid analysis on a multi-channel flow element for mid-section corrosion investigation; and a global modeling of the thrust chamber to understand the effect of heat transfer on thrust performance. Preliminary results on both aspects are presented.

STEADY STATE MODELING OF THE MINIMUM CRITICAL CORE OF THE TRANSIENT REACTOR TEST FACILITY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anthony L. Alberti; Todd S. Palmer; Javier Ortensi

2016-05-01

With the advent of next generation reactor systems and new fuel designs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has identified the need for the resumption of transient testing of nuclear fuels. The DOE has decided that the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is best suited for future testing. TREAT is a thermal neutron spectrum, air-cooled, nuclear test facility that is designed to test nuclear fuels in transient scenarios. These specific scenarios range from simple temperature transients to full fuel melt accidents. DOE has expressed a desire to develop a simulation capability that will accurately modelmore » the experiments before they are irradiated at the facility. It is the aim for this capability to have an emphasis on effective and safe operation while minimizing experimental time and cost. The multi physics platform MOOSE has been selected as the framework for this project. The goals for this work are to identify the fundamental neutronics properties of TREAT and to develop an accurate steady state model for future multiphysics transient simulations. In order to minimize computational cost, the effect of spatial homogenization and angular discretization are investigated. It was found that significant anisotropy is present in TREAT assemblies and to capture this effect, explicit modeling of cooling channels and inter-element gaps is necessary. For this modeling scheme, single element calculations at 293 K gave power distributions with a root mean square difference of 0.076% from those of reference SERPENT calculations. The minimum critical core configuration with identical gap and channel treatment at 293 K resulted in a root mean square, total core, radial power distribution 2.423% different than those of reference SERPENT solutions.« less

Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS). Volume 1: Program user's guide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelaccio, Dennis G.; Scheil, Christine M.; Petrosky, Lyman J.

1993-03-01

A Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engine system design analysis tool is required to support current and future Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) propulsion and vehicle design studies. Currently available NTP engine design models are those developed during the NERVA program in the 1960's and early 1970's and are highly unique to that design or are modifications of current liquid propulsion system design models. To date, NTP engine-based liquid design models lack integrated design of key NTP engine design features in the areas of reactor, shielding, multi-propellant capability, and multi-redundant pump feed fuel systems. Additionally, since the SEI effort is in the initial development stage, a robust, verified NTP analysis design tool could be of great use to the community. This effort developed an NTP engine system design analysis program (tool), known as the Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS) program, to support ongoing and future engine system and stage design study efforts. In this effort, Science Applications International Corporation's (SAIC) NTP version of the Expanded Liquid Engine Simulation (ELES) program was modified extensively to include Westinghouse Electric Corporation's near-term solid-core reactor design model. The ELES program has extensive capability to conduct preliminary system design analysis of liquid rocket systems and vehicles. The program is modular in nature and is versatile in terms of modeling state-of-the-art component and system options as discussed. The Westinghouse reactor design model, which was integrated in the NESS program, is based on the near-term solid-core ENABLER NTP reactor design concept. This program is now capable of accurately modeling (characterizing) a complete near-term solid-core NTP engine system in great detail, for a number of design options, in an efficient manner. The following discussion summarizes the overall analysis methodology, key assumptions, and capabilities associated with the NESS presents an example problem, and compares the results to related NTP engine system designs. Initial installation instructions and program disks are in Volume 2 of the NESS Program User's Guide.

Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS). Volume 1: Program user's guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pelaccio, Dennis G.; Scheil, Christine M.; Petrosky, Lyman J.

1993-01-01

A Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engine system design analysis tool is required to support current and future Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) propulsion and vehicle design studies. Currently available NTP engine design models are those developed during the NERVA program in the 1960's and early 1970's and are highly unique to that design or are modifications of current liquid propulsion system design models. To date, NTP engine-based liquid design models lack integrated design of key NTP engine design features in the areas of reactor, shielding, multi-propellant capability, and multi-redundant pump feed fuel systems. Additionally, since the SEI effort is in the initial development stage, a robust, verified NTP analysis design tool could be of great use to the community. This effort developed an NTP engine system design analysis program (tool), known as the Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS) program, to support ongoing and future engine system and stage design study efforts. In this effort, Science Applications International Corporation's (SAIC) NTP version of the Expanded Liquid Engine Simulation (ELES) program was modified extensively to include Westinghouse Electric Corporation's near-term solid-core reactor design model. The ELES program has extensive capability to conduct preliminary system design analysis of liquid rocket systems and vehicles. The program is modular in nature and is versatile in terms of modeling state-of-the-art component and system options as discussed. The Westinghouse reactor design model, which was integrated in the NESS program, is based on the near-term solid-core ENABLER NTP reactor design concept. This program is now capable of accurately modeling (characterizing) a complete near-term solid-core NTP engine system in great detail, for a number of design options, in an efficient manner. The following discussion summarizes the overall analysis methodology, key assumptions, and capabilities associated with the NESS presents an example problem, and compares the results to related NTP engine system designs. Initial installation instructions and program disks are in Volume 2 of the NESS Program User's Guide.

NUCLEAR REACTOR CORE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Preece, G.E.; Bell, F.R.; Page, R.W.

1963-03-01

A nuclear reactor core is described. It contains fuel in the form of blocks or pellets that have a grooved, wrinkled, or corrugated surface to provide a greater radiating surface area. The surfaces of spaces in the core are correspondingly corrugated for maximum heat exchange area. (C.E.S.)

The origin of the mid-infrared nuclear polarization of active galactic nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lopez-Rodriguez, E.; Alonso-Herrero, A.; Diaz-Santos, T.; Gonzalez-Martin, O.; Ichikawa, K.; Levenson, N. A.; Martinez-Paredes, M.; Nikutta, R.; Packham, C.; Perlman, E.; Almeida, C. Ramos; Rodriguez-Espinosa, J. M.; Telesco, C. M.

2018-05-01

We combine new (NGC 1275, NGC 4151, and NGC 5506) and previously published (Cygnus A, Mrk 231, and NGC 1068) sub-arcsecond resolution mid-infrared (MIR; 8-13 μm) imaging- and spectro-polarimetric observations of six Seyfert galaxies using CanariCam on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio CANARIAS. These observations reveal a diverse set of physical processes responsible for the nuclear polarization, and permit characterization of the origin of the MIR nuclear polarimetric signature of active galactic nuclei (AGN). For all radio quiet objects, we found that the nuclear polarization is low (<1 per cent), and the degree of polarization is often a few per cent over extended regions of the host galaxy where we have sensitivity to detect such extended emission (i.e., NGC 1068 and NGC 4151). We suggest that the higher degree of polarization previously found in lower resolution data arises only on the larger-than-nuclear scales. Only the radio-loud Cygnus A exhibits significant nuclear polarization (˜11 per cent), attributable to synchrotron emission from the pc-scale jet close to the core. We present polarization models that suggest that the MIR nuclear polarization for highly obscured objects arises from a self-absorbed MIR polarized clumpy torus and/or dichroism from the host galaxy, while for unabsorbed cores, MIR polarization arises from dust scattering in the torus and/or surrounding nuclear dust.

The scheme for evaluation of isotopic composition of fast reactor core in closed nuclear fuel cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saldikov, I. S.; Ternovykh, M. Yu; Fomichenko, P. A.; Gerasimov, A. S.

2017-01-01

The PRORYV (i.e. «Breakthrough» in Russian) project is currently under development. Within the framework of this project, fast reactors BN-1200 and BREST-OD-300 should be built to, inter alia, demonstrate possibility of the closed nuclear fuel cycle technologies with plutonium as a main source of power. Russia has a large inventory of plutonium which was accumulated in the result of reprocessing of spent fuel of thermal power reactors and conversion of nuclear weapons. This kind of plutonium will be used for development of initial fuel assemblies for fast reactors. To solve the closed nuclear fuel modeling tasks REPRORYV code was developed. It simulates the mass flow for nuclides in the closed fuel cycle. This paper presents the results of modeling of a closed nuclear fuel cycle, nuclide flows considering the influence of the uncertainty on the outcome of neutron-physical characteristics of the reactor.

Fabrication and testing of a 4-node micro-pocket fission detector array for the Kansas State University TRIGA Mk. II research nuclear reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reichenberger, Michael A.; Nichols, Daniel M.; Stevenson, Sarah R.; Swope, Tanner M.; Hilger, Caden W.; Unruh, Troy C.; McGregor, Douglas S.; Roberts, Jeremy A.

2017-08-01

Advancements in nuclear reactor core modeling and computational capability have encouraged further development of in-core neutron sensors. Micro-Pocket Fission Detectors (MPFDs) have been fabricated and tested previously, but successful testing of these prior detectors was limited to single-node operation with specialized designs. Described in this work is a modular, four-node MPFD array fabricated and tested at Kansas State University (KSU). The four sensor nodes were equally spaced to span the length of the fuel-region of the KSU TRIGA Mk. II research nuclear reactor core. The encapsulated array was filled with argon gas, serving as an ionization medium in the small cavities of the MPFDs. The unified design improved device ruggedness and simplified construction over previous designs. A 0.315-in. (8-mm) penetration in the upper grid plate of the KSU TRIGA Mk. II research nuclear reactor was used to deploy the array between fuel elements in the core. The MPFD array was coupled to an electronic support system which has been developed to support pulse-mode operation. Neutron-induced pulses were observed on all four sensor channels. Stable device operation was confirmed by testing under steady-state reactor conditions. Each of the four sensors in the array responded to changes in reactor power between 10 kWth and full power (750 kWth). Reactor power transients were observed in real-time including positive transients with periods of 5, 15, and 30 s. Finally, manual reactor power oscillations were observed in real-time.

Convergence studies of deterministic methods for LWR explicit reflector methodology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Canepa, S.; Hursin, M.; Ferroukhi, H.

2013-07-01

The standard approach in modem 3-D core simulators, employed either for steady-state or transient simulations, is to use Albedo coefficients or explicit reflectors at the core axial and radial boundaries. In the latter approach, few-group homogenized nuclear data are a priori produced with lattice transport codes using 2-D reflector models. Recently, the explicit reflector methodology of the deterministic CASMO-4/SIMULATE-3 code system was identified to potentially constitute one of the main sources of errors for core analyses of the Swiss operating LWRs, which are all belonging to GII design. Considering that some of the new GIII designs will rely on verymore » different reflector concepts, a review and assessment of the reflector methodology for various LWR designs appeared as relevant. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to first recall the concepts of the explicit reflector modelling approach as employed by CASMO/SIMULATE. Then, for selected reflector configurations representative of both GII and GUI designs, a benchmarking of the few-group nuclear data produced with the deterministic lattice code CASMO-4 and its successor CASMO-5, is conducted. On this basis, a convergence study with regards to geometrical requirements when using deterministic methods with 2-D homogenous models is conducted and the effect on the downstream 3-D core analysis accuracy is evaluated for a typical GII deflector design in order to assess the results against available plant measurements. (authors)« less

An analytical study on excitation of nuclear-coupled thermal-hydraulic instability due to seismically induced resonance in BWR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hirano, Masashi

1997-07-01

This paper describes the results of a scoping study on seismically induced resonance of nuclear-coupled thermal-hydraulic instability in BWRs, which was conducted by using TRAC-BF1 within a framework of a point kinetics model. As a result of the analysis, it is shown that a reactivity insertion could occur accompanied by in-surge of coolant into the core resulted from the excitation of the nuclear-coupled instability by the external acceleration. In order to analyze this phenomenon more in detail, it is necessary to couple a thermal-hydraulic code with a three-dimensional nuclear kinetics code.

Quark-Meson-Coupling (QMC) model for finite nuclei, nuclear matter and beyond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guichon, P. A. M.; Stone, J. R.; Thomas, A. W.

2018-05-01

The Quark-Meson-Coupling model, which self-consistently relates the dynamics of the internal quark structure of a hadron to the relativistic mean fields arising in nuclear matter, provides a natural explanation to many open questions in low energy nuclear physics, including the origin of many-body nuclear forces and their saturation, the spin-orbit interaction and properties of hadronic matter at a wide range of densities up to those occurring in the cores of neutron stars. Here we focus on four aspects of the model (i) a full comprehensive survey of the theory, including the latest developments, (ii) extensive application of the model to ground state properties of finite nuclei and hypernuclei, with a discussion of similarities and differences between the QMC and Skyrme energy density functionals, (iii) equilibrium conditions and composition of hadronic matter in cold and warm neutron stars and their comparison with the outcome of relativistic mean-field theories and, (iv) tests of the fundamental idea that hadron structure changes in-medium.

IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO NUCLEAR REACTOR CORE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bell, F.R.

1963-03-01

A nuclear reactor core composed of a number of stacked horizontal layers is described. Each layer is made up of elements of moderator material of equal height and of generally hexagonal cross-section. Each element has holes containing nuclear fuel and separate ones for coolant. (C.E.S.)

Evidence for a link between atmospheric thermonuclear detonations and nitric acid.

PubMed

Holdsworth, G

1986-12-11

Suitably located glacier cores, obtained from high-altitude, low-temperature sites, can reveal detailed information about atmospheric air chemistry at sub-annual resolution 1 . Such data may provide input to climate-change models, the study of acid precipitation patterns and many other phenomena. Here I present data from an ice core which show that during the era of intense atmospheric thermonuclear weapons testing (ATWT) a significant part of the nitrate content in the snow was modulated by the intensity of the nuclear detonations. The fixation of nitrogen by nuclear fireballs leads to NO x gases in the atmosphere 2 and ultimately to nitric acid in precipitation. At certain concentrations, these gases and the associated aerosols may perturb the climate 3,4 .

Modeling and simulation challenges pursued by the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turinsky, Paul J.; Kothe, Douglas B.

2016-05-01

The Consortium for the Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL), the first Energy Innovation Hub of the Department of Energy, was established in 2010 with the goal of providing modeling and simulation (M&S) capabilities that support and accelerate the improvement of nuclear energy's economic competitiveness and the reduction of spent nuclear fuel volume per unit energy, and all while assuring nuclear safety. To accomplish this requires advances in M&S capabilities in radiation transport, thermal-hydraulics, fuel performance and corrosion chemistry. To focus CASL's R&D, industry challenge problems have been defined, which equate with long standing issues of the nuclear power industry that M&S can assist in addressing. To date CASL has developed a multi-physics ;core simulator; based upon pin-resolved radiation transport and subchannel (within fuel assembly) thermal-hydraulics, capitalizing on the capabilities of high performance computing. CASL's fuel performance M&S capability can also be optionally integrated into the core simulator, yielding a coupled multi-physics capability with untapped predictive potential. Material models have been developed to enhance predictive capabilities of fuel clad creep and growth, along with deeper understanding of zirconium alloy clad oxidation and hydrogen pickup. Understanding of corrosion chemistry (e.g., CRUD formation) has evolved at all scales: micro, meso and macro. CFD R&D has focused on improvement in closure models for subcooled boiling and bubbly flow, and the formulation of robust numerical solution algorithms. For multiphysics integration, several iterative acceleration methods have been assessed, illuminating areas where further research is needed. Finally, uncertainty quantification and data assimilation techniques, based upon sampling approaches, have been made more feasible for practicing nuclear engineers via R&D on dimensional reduction and biased sampling. Industry adoption of CASL's evolving M&S capabilities, which is in progress, will assist in addressing long-standing and future operational and safety challenges of the nuclear industry.

Heat Pipe Reactor Dynamic Response Tests: SAFE-100 Reactor Core Prototype

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M.

2005-01-01

The SAFE-I00a test article at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center was used to simulate a variety of potential reactor transients; the SAFEl00a is a resistively heated, stainless-steel heat-pipe (HP)-reactor core segment, coupled to a gas-flow heat exchanger (HX). For these transients the core power was controlled by a point kinetics model with reactivity feedback based on core average temperature; the neutron generation time and the temperature feedback coefficient are provided as model inputs. This type of non-nuclear test is expected to provide reasonable approximation of reactor transient behavior because reactivity feedback is very simple in a compact fast reactor (simple, negative, and relatively monotonic temperature feedback, caused mostly by thermal expansion) and calculations show there are no significant reactivity effects associated with fluid in the HP (the worth of the entire inventory of Na in the core is .

Nuclear waste disposal utilizing a gaseous core reactor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paternoster, R. R.

1975-01-01

The feasibility of a gaseous core nuclear reactor designed to produce power to also reduce the national inventories of long-lived reactor waste products through nuclear transmutation was examined. Neutron-induced transmutation of radioactive wastes is shown to be an effective means of shortening the apparent half life.

Nuclear Power Plant Mechanical Component Flooding Fragility Experiments Status

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pope, C. L.; Savage, B.; Johnson, B.

This report describes progress on Nuclear Power Plant mechanical component flooding fragility experiments and supporting research. The progress includes execution of full scale fragility experiments using hollow-core doors, design of improvements to the Portal Evaluation Tank, equipment procurement and initial installation of PET improvements, designation of experiments exploiting the improved PET capabilities, fragility mathematical model development, Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamic simulations, wave impact simulation device research, and pipe rupture mechanics research.

Structure and reconstitution of yeast Mpp6-nuclear exosome complexes reveals that Mpp6 stimulates RNA decay and recruits the Mtr4 helicase.

PubMed

Wasmuth, Elizabeth V; Zinder, John C; Zattas, Dimitrios; Das, Mom; Lima, Christopher D

2017-07-25

Nuclear RNA exosomes catalyze a range of RNA processing and decay activities that are coordinated in part by cofactors, including Mpp6, Rrp47, and the Mtr4 RNA helicase. Mpp6 interacts with the nine-subunit exosome core, while Rrp47 stabilizes the exoribonuclease Rrp6 and recruits Mtr4, but it is less clear if these cofactors work together. Using biochemistry with Saccharomyces cerevisiae proteins, we show that Rrp47 and Mpp6 stimulate exosome-mediated RNA decay, albeit with unique dependencies on elements within the nuclear exosome. Mpp6-exosomes can recruit Mtr4, while Mpp6 and Rrp47 each contribute to Mtr4-dependent RNA decay, with maximal Mtr4-dependent decay observed with both cofactors. The 3.3 Å structure of a twelve-subunit nuclear Mpp6 exosome bound to RNA shows the central region of Mpp6 bound to the exosome core, positioning its Mtr4 recruitment domain next to Rrp6 and the exosome central channel. Genetic analysis reveals interactions that are largely consistent with our model.

THE LAST MINUTES OF OXYGEN SHELL BURNING IN A MASSIVE STAR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Müller, Bernhard; Viallet, Maxime; Janka, Hans-Thomas

We present the first  4 π– three-dimensional (3D) simulation of the last minutes of oxygen shell burning in an 18 M {sub ⊙} supernova progenitor up to the onset of core collapse. A moving inner boundary is used to accurately model the contraction of the silicon and iron core according to a one-dimensional stellar evolution model with a self-consistent treatment of core deleptonization and nuclear quasi-equilibrium. The simulation covers the full solid angle to allow the emergence of large-scale convective modes. Due to core contraction and the concomitant acceleration of nuclear burning, the convective Mach number increases to ∼0.1 at collapse,more » and an ℓ  = 2 mode emerges shortly before the end of the simulation. Aside from a growth of the oxygen shell from 0.51 M {sub ⊙} to 0.56 M {sub ⊙} due to entrainment from the carbon shell, the convective flow is reasonably well described by mixing-length theory, and the dominant scales are compatible with estimates from linear stability analysis. We deduce that artificial changes in the physics, such as accelerated core contraction, can have precarious consequences for the state of convection at collapse. We argue that scaling laws for the convective velocities and eddy sizes furnish good estimates for the state of shell convection at collapse and develop a simple analytic theory for the impact of convective seed perturbations on shock revival in the ensuing supernova. We predict a reduction of the critical luminosity for explosion by 12% – 24% due to seed asphericities for our 3D progenitor model relative to the case without large seed perturbations.« less

Improved models of stellar core collapse and still no explosions: what is missing?

PubMed

Buras, R; Rampp, M; Janka, H-Th; Kifonidis, K

2003-06-20

Two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of stellar core collapse are presented which for the first time were performed by solving the Boltzmann equation for the neutrino transport including a state-of-the-art description of neutrino interactions. Stellar rotation is also taken into account. Although convection develops below the neutrinosphere and in the neutrino-heated region behind the supernova shock, the models do not explode. This suggests missing physics, possibly with respect to the nuclear equation of state and weak interactions in the subnuclear regime. However, it might also indicate a fundamental problem with the neutrino-driven explosion mechanism.

Industry Application ECCS / LOCA Integrated Cladding/Emergency Core Cooling System Performance: Demonstration of LOTUS-Baseline Coupled Analysis of the South Texas Plant Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Hongbin; Szilard, Ronaldo; Epiney, Aaron

Under the auspices of the DOE LWRS Program RISMC Industry Application ECCS/LOCA, INL has engaged staff from both South Texas Project (STP) and the Texas A&M University (TAMU) to produce a generic pressurized water reactor (PWR) model including reactor core, clad/fuel design and systems thermal hydraulics based on the South Texas Project (STP) nuclear power plant, a 4-Loop Westinghouse PWR. A RISMC toolkit, named LOCA Toolkit for the U.S. (LOTUS), has been developed for use in this generic PWR plant model to assess safety margins for the proposed NRC 10 CFR 50.46c rule, Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) performance duringmore » LOCA. This demonstration includes coupled analysis of core design, fuel design, thermalhydraulics and systems analysis, using advanced risk analysis tools and methods to investigate a wide range of results. Within this context, a multi-physics best estimate plus uncertainty (MPBEPU) methodology framework is proposed.« less

CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVA EQUATIONS OF STATE BASED ON NEUTRON STAR OBSERVATIONS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Steiner, A. W.; Hempel, M.; Fischer, T.

2013-09-01

Many of the currently available equations of state for core-collapse supernova simulations give large neutron star radii and do not provide large enough neutron star masses, both of which are inconsistent with some recent neutron star observations. In addition, one of the critical uncertainties in the nucleon-nucleon interaction, the nuclear symmetry energy, is not fully explored by the currently available equations of state. In this article, we construct two new equations of state which match recent neutron star observations and provide more flexibility in studying the dependence on nuclear matter properties. The equations of state are also provided in tabularmore » form, covering a wide range in density, temperature, and asymmetry, suitable for astrophysical simulations. These new equations of state are implemented into our spherically symmetric core-collapse supernova model, which is based on general relativistic radiation hydrodynamics with three-flavor Boltzmann neutrino transport. The results are compared with commonly used equations of state in supernova simulations of 11.2 and 40 M{sub Sun} progenitors. We consider only equations of state which are fitted to nuclear binding energies and other experimental and observational constraints. We find that central densities at bounce are weakly correlated with L and that there is a moderate influence of the symmetry energy on the evolution of the electron fraction. The new models also obey the previously observed correlation between the time to black hole formation and the maximum mass of an s = 4 neutron star.« less

Nuclear reactor internals alignment configuration

DOEpatents

Gilmore, Charles B [Greensburg, PA; Singleton, Norman R [Murrysville, PA

2009-11-10

An alignment system that employs jacking block assemblies and alignment posts around the periphery of the top plate of a nuclear reactor lower internals core shroud to align an upper core plate with the lower internals and the core shroud with the core barrel. The distal ends of the alignment posts are chamfered and are closely received within notches machined in the upper core plate at spaced locations around the outer circumference of the upper core plate. The jacking block assemblies are used to center the core shroud in the core barrel and the alignment posts assure the proper orientation of the upper core plate. The alignment posts may alternately be formed in the upper core plate and the notches may be formed in top plate.

Nuclear fuel elements having a composite cladding

DOEpatents

Gordon, Gerald M.; Cowan, II, Robert L.; Davies, John H.

1983-09-20

An improved nuclear fuel element is disclosed for use in the core of nuclear reactors. The improved nuclear fuel element has a composite cladding of an outer portion forming a substrate having on the inside surface a metal layer selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, iron and alloys of the foregoing with a gap between the composite cladding and the core of nuclear fuel. The nuclear fuel element comprises a container of the elongated composite cladding, a central core of a body of nuclear fuel material disposed in and partially filling the container and forming an internal cavity in the container, an enclosure integrally secured and sealed at each end of said container and a nuclear fuel material retaining means positioned in the cavity. The metal layer of the composite cladding prevents perforations or failures in the cladding substrate from stress corrosion cracking or from fuel pellet-cladding interaction or both. The substrate of the composite cladding is selected from conventional cladding materials and preferably is a zirconium alloy.

Utilization of thorium and U-ZrH1.6 fuels in various heterogeneous cores for TRIGA PUSPATI Reactor (RTP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Damahuri, Abdul Hannan Bin; Mohamed, Hassan; Aziz Mohamed, Abdul; Idris, Faridah

2018-01-01

The use of thorium as nuclear fuel has been an appealing prospect for many years and will be great significance to nuclear power generation. There is an increasing need for more research on thorium as Malaysian government is currently active in the national Thorium Flagship Project, which was launched in 2014. The thorium project, which is still in phase 1, focuses on the research and development of the thorium extraction from mineral processing ore. Thus, the aim of the study is to investigate other alternative TRIGA PUSPATI Reactor (RTP) core designs that can fully utilize thorium. Currently, the RTP reactor has an average neutron flux of 2.797 x 1012 cm-2/s-1 and an effective multiplication factor, k eff, of 1.001. The RTP core has a circular array core configuration with six circular rings. Each ring consists of 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 or 36 U-ZrH1.6 fuel rods. There are three main type of uranium weight, namely 8.5, 12 and 20 wt.%. For this research, uranium zirconium hydride (U-ZrH1.6) fuel rods in the RTP core were replaced by thorium (ThO2) fuel rods. Seven core configurations with different thorium fuel rods placements were modelled in a 2D structure and simulated using Monte Carlo n-particle (MCNPX) code. Results show that the highest initial criticality obtained is around 1.35101. Additionally there is a significant discrepancy between results from previous study and the work because of the large estimated leakage probability of approximately 21.7% and 2D model simplification.

Nuclear design of a vapor core reactor for space nuclear propulsion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dugan, Edward T.; Watanabe, Yoichi; Kuras, Stephen A.; Maya, Isaac; Diaz, Nils J.

1993-01-01

Neutronic analysis methodology and results are presented for the nuclear design of a vapor core reactor for space nuclear propulsion. The Nuclear Vapor Thermal Reactor (NVTR) Rocket Engine uses modified NERVA geometry and systems which the solid fuel replaced by uranium tetrafluoride vapor. The NVTR is an intermediate term gas core thermal rocket engine with specific impulse in the range of 1000-1200 seconds; a thrust of 75,000 lbs for a hydrogen flow rate of 30 kg/s; average core exit temperatures of 3100 K to 3400 K; and reactor thermal powers of 1400 to 1800 MW. Initial calculations were performed on epithermal NVTRs using ZrC fuel elements. Studies are now directed at thermal NVTRs that use fuel elements made of C-C composite. The large ZrC-moderated reactors resulted in thrust-to-weight ratios of only 1 to 2; the compact C-C composite systems yield thrust-to-weight ratios of 3 to 5.

Nucleosynthesis in Core-Collapse Supernovae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stevenson, Taylor Shannon; Viktoria Ohstrom, Eva; Harris, James Austin; Hix, William R.

2018-01-01

The nucleosynthesis which occurs in core-collapse supernovae (CCSN) is one of the most important sources of elements in the universe. Elements from Oxygen through Iron come predominantly from supernovae, and contributions of heavier elements are also possible through processes like the weak r-process, the gamma process and the light element primary process. The composition of the ejecta depends on the mechanism of the explosion, thus simulations of high physical fidelity are needed to explore what elements and isotopes CCSN can contribute to Galactic Chemical Evolution. We will analyze the nucleosynthesis results from self-consistent CCSN simulations performed with CHIMERA, a multi-dimensional neutrino radiation-hydrodynamics code. Much of our understanding of CCSN nucleosynthesis comes from parameterized models, but unlike CHIMERA these fail to address essential physics, including turbulent flow/instability and neutrino-matter interaction. We will present nucleosynthesis predictions for the explosion of a 9.6 solar mass first generation star, relying both on results of the 160 species nuclear reaction network used in CHIMERA within this model and on post-processing with a more extensive network. The lowest mass iron core-collapse supernovae, like this model, are distinct from their more massive brethren, with their explosion mechanism and nucleosynthesis being more like electron capture supernovae resulting from Oxygen-Neon white dwarves. We will highlight the differences between the nucleosynthesis in this model and more massive supernovae. The inline 160 species network is a feature unique to CHIMERA, making this the most sophisticated model to date for a star of this type. We will discuss the need and mechanism to extrapolate the post-processing to times post-simulation and analyze the uncertainties this introduces for supernova nucleosynthesis. We will also compare the results from the inline 160 species network to the post-processing results to study further uncertainties introduced by post-processing. This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics, and the National Science Foundation Nuclear Theory Program (PHY-1516197).

Deflection Measurements of a Thermally Simulated Nuclear Core Using a High-Resolution CCD-Camera

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stanojev, B. J.; Houts, M.

2004-01-01

Space fission systems under consideration for near-term missions all use compact. fast-spectrum reactor cores. Reactor dimensional change with increasing temperature, which affects neutron leakage. is the dominant source of reactivity feedback in these systems. Accurately measuring core dimensional changes during realistic non-nuclear testing is therefore necessary in predicting the system nuclear equivalent behavior. This paper discusses one key technique being evaluated for measuring such changes. The proposed technique is to use a Charged Couple Device (CCD) sensor to obtain deformation readings of electrically heated prototypic reactor core geometry. This paper introduces a technique by which a single high spatial resolution CCD camera is used to measure core deformation in Real-Time (RT). Initial system checkout results are presented along with a discussion on how additional cameras could be used to achieve a three- dimensional deformation profile of the core during test.

Monte Carlo modelling of TRIGA research reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El Bakkari, B.; Nacir, B.; El Bardouni, T.; El Younoussi, C.; Merroun, O.; Htet, A.; Boulaich, Y.; Zoubair, M.; Boukhal, H.; Chakir, M.

2010-10-01

The Moroccan 2 MW TRIGA MARK II research reactor at Centre des Etudes Nucléaires de la Maâmora (CENM) achieved initial criticality on May 2, 2007. The reactor is designed to effectively implement the various fields of basic nuclear research, manpower training, and production of radioisotopes for their use in agriculture, industry, and medicine. This study deals with the neutronic analysis of the 2-MW TRIGA MARK II research reactor at CENM and validation of the results by comparisons with the experimental, operational, and available final safety analysis report (FSAR) values. The study was prepared in collaboration between the Laboratory of Radiation and Nuclear Systems (ERSN-LMR) from Faculty of Sciences of Tetuan (Morocco) and CENM. The 3-D continuous energy Monte Carlo code MCNP (version 5) was used to develop a versatile and accurate full model of the TRIGA core. The model represents in detailed all components of the core with literally no physical approximation. Continuous energy cross-section data from the more recent nuclear data evaluations (ENDF/B-VI.8, ENDF/B-VII.0, JEFF-3.1, and JENDL-3.3) as well as S( α, β) thermal neutron scattering functions distributed with the MCNP code were used. The cross-section libraries were generated by using the NJOY99 system updated to its more recent patch file "up259". The consistency and accuracy of both the Monte Carlo simulation and neutron transport physics were established by benchmarking the TRIGA experiments. Core excess reactivity, total and integral control rods worth as well as power peaking factors were used in the validation process. Results of calculations are analysed and discussed.

Dynamic Response Testing in an Electrically Heated Reactor Test Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M.; Morton, T. J.

2006-01-01

Non-nuclear testing can be a valuable tool in the development of a space nuclear power or propulsion system. In a non-nuclear test bed, electric heaters are used to simulate the heat from nuclear fuel. Standard testing allows one to fully assess thermal, heat transfer, and stress related attributes of a given system, but fails to demonstrate the dynamic response that would be present in an integrated, fueled reactor system. The integration of thermal hydraulic hardware tests with simulated neutronic response provides a bridge between electrically heated testing and fueled nuclear testing. By implementing a neutronic response model to simulate the dynamic response that would be expected in a fueled reactor system, one can better understand system integration issues, characterize integrated system response times and response characteristics, and assess potential design improvements at a relatively small fiscal investment. Initial system dynamic response testing was demonstrated on the integrated SAFE-100a heat pipe (HP) cooled, electrically heated reactor and heat exchanger hardware, utilizing a one-group solution to the point kinetics equations to simulate the expected neutronic response of the system. Reactivity feedback calculations were then based on a bulk reactivity feedback coefficient and measured average core temperature. This paper presents preliminary results from similar dynamic testing of a direct drive gas cooled reactor system (DDG), demonstrating the applicability of the testing methodology to any reactor type and demonstrating the variation in system response characteristics in different reactor concepts. Although the HP and DDG designs both utilize a fast spectrum reactor, the method of cooling the reactor differs significantly, leading to a variable system response that can be demonstrated and assessed in a non-nuclear test facility. Planned system upgrades to allow implementation of higher fidelity dynamic testing are also discussed. Proposed DDG testing will utilize a higher fidelity point kinetics model to control core power transients, and reactivity feedback will be based on localized feedback coefficients and several independent temperature measurements taken within the core block. This paper presents preliminary test results and discusses the methodology that will be implemented in follow-on DDG testing and the additional instrumentation required to implement high fidelity dynamic testing.

Validating neural-network refinements of nuclear mass models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Utama, R.; Piekarewicz, J.

2018-01-01

Background: Nuclear astrophysics centers on the role of nuclear physics in the cosmos. In particular, nuclear masses at the limits of stability are critical in the development of stellar structure and the origin of the elements. Purpose: We aim to test and validate the predictions of recently refined nuclear mass models against the newly published AME2016 compilation. Methods: The basic paradigm underlining the recently refined nuclear mass models is based on existing state-of-the-art models that are subsequently refined through the training of an artificial neural network. Bayesian inference is used to determine the parameters of the neural network so that statistical uncertainties are provided for all model predictions. Results: We observe a significant improvement in the Bayesian neural network (BNN) predictions relative to the corresponding "bare" models when compared to the nearly 50 new masses reported in the AME2016 compilation. Further, AME2016 estimates for the handful of impactful isotopes in the determination of r -process abundances are found to be in fairly good agreement with our theoretical predictions. Indeed, the BNN-improved Duflo-Zuker model predicts a root-mean-square deviation relative to experiment of σrms≃400 keV. Conclusions: Given the excellent performance of the BNN refinement in confronting the recently published AME2016 compilation, we are confident of its critical role in our quest for mass models of the highest quality. Moreover, as uncertainty quantification is at the core of the BNN approach, the improved mass models are in a unique position to identify those nuclei that will have the strongest impact in resolving some of the outstanding questions in nuclear astrophysics.

Nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Wade, Elman E.

1979-01-01

A nuclear reactor including two rotatable plugs and a positive top core holddown structure. The top core holddown structure is divided into two parts: a small core cover, and a large core cover. The small core cover, and the upper internals associated therewith, are attached to the small rotating plug, and the large core cover, with its associated upper internals, is attached to the large rotating plug. By so splitting the core holddown structures, under-the-plug refueling is accomplished without the necessity of enlarging the reactor pressure vessel to provide a storage space for the core holddown structure during refueling. Additionally, the small and large rotating plugs, and their associated core covers, are arranged such that the separation of the two core covers to permit rotation is accomplished without the installation of complex lifting mechanisms.

Feasibility study of full-reactor gas core demonstration test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kunze, J. F.; Lofthouse, J. H.; Shaffer, C. J.; Macbeth, P. J.

1973-01-01

Separate studies of nuclear criticality, flow patterns, and thermodynamics for the gas core reactor concept have all given positive indications of its feasibility. However, before serious design for a full scale gas core application can be made, feasibility must be shown for operation with full interaction of the nuclear, thermal, and hydraulic effects. A minimum sized, and hence minimum expense, test arrangement is considered for a full gas core configuration. It is shown that the hydrogen coolant scattering effects dominate the nuclear considerations at elevated temperatures. A cavity diameter of somewhat larger than 4 ft (122 cm) will be needed if temperatures high enough to vaporize uranium are to be achieved.

Solid0Core Heat-Pipe Nuclear Batterly Type Reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ehud Greenspan

This project was devoted to a preliminary assessment of the feasibility of designing an Encapsulated Nuclear Heat Source (ENHS) reactor to have a solid core from which heat is removed by liquid-metal heat pipes (HP).

Validation of updated neutronic calculation models proposed for Atucha-II PHWR. Part I: Benchmark comparisons of WIMS-D5 and DRAGON cell and control rod parameters with MCNP5

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mollerach, R.; Leszczynski, F.; Fink, J.

2006-07-01

In 2005 the Argentine Government took the decision to complete the construction of the Atucha-II nuclear power plant, which has been progressing slowly during the last ten years. Atucha-II is a 745 MWe nuclear station moderated and cooled with heavy water, of German (Siemens) design located in Argentina. It has a pressure-vessel design with 451 vertical coolant channels, and the fuel assemblies (FA) are clusters of 37 natural UO{sub 2} rods with an active length of 530 cm. For the reactor physics area, a revision and update calculation methods and models (cell, supercell and reactor) was recently carried out coveringmore » cell, supercell (control rod) and core calculations. As a validation of the new models some benchmark comparisons were done with Monte Carlo calculations with MCNP5. This paper presents comparisons of cell and supercell benchmark problems based on a slightly idealized model of the Atucha-I core obtained with the WIMS-D5 and DRAGON codes with MCNP5 results. The Atucha-I core was selected because it is smaller, similar from a neutronic point of view, and more symmetric than Atucha-II Cell parameters compared include cell k-infinity, relative power levels of the different rings of fuel rods, and some two-group macroscopic cross sections. Supercell comparisons include supercell k-infinity changes due to the control rods (tubes) of steel and hafnium. (authors)« less

THE DEPENDENCE OF THE NEUTRINO MECHANISM OF CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVAE ON THE EQUATION OF STATE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Couch, Sean M., E-mail: smc@flash.uchicago.edu

2013-03-01

We study the dependence of the delayed neutrino-heating mechanism for core-collapse supernovae on the equation of state (EOS). Using a simplified treatment of the neutrino physics with a parameterized neutrino luminosity, we explore the relationship between explosion time, mass accretion rate, and neutrino luminosity for a 15 M {sub Sun} progenitor in 1D and 2D. We test the EOS most commonly used in core-collapse simulations: the models of Lattimer and Swesty and the model of Shen et al. We find that for a given neutrino luminosity, 'stiffer' EOS, where stiffness is determined by a combination of nuclear matter properties notmore » just incompressibility, K, explode later than 'softer' EOS. The EOS of Shen et al., being the stiffest EOS, by virtue of larger incompressibility and symmetry energy slope, L, explodes later than any of the Lattimer and Swesty EOS models. Amongst the Lattimer and Swesty EOS that all share the same value of L, the explosion time increases with increasing nuclear incompressibility, K. We find that this holds in both 1D and 2D, while for all of the models, explosions are obtained more easily in 2D than in 1D. We argue that this EOS dependence is due in part to a greater amount of acoustic flux from denser proto-neutron star atmospheres that result from a softer EOS. We also discuss the relevance of approximate instability criteria to realistic simulations.« less

Comparison of ENDF/B-VII.1 and JEFF-3.2 in VVER-1000 operational data calculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frybort, Jan

2017-09-01

Safe operation of a nuclear reactor requires an extensive calculational support. Operational data are determined by full-core calculations during the design phase of a fuel loading. Loading pattern and design of fuel assemblies are adjusted to meet safety requirements and optimize reactor operation. Nodal diffusion code ANDREA is used for this task in case of Czech VVER-1000 reactors. Nuclear data for this diffusion code are prepared regularly by lattice code HELIOS. These calculations are conducted in 2D on fuel assembly level. There is also possibility to calculate these macroscopic data by Monte-Carlo Serpent code. It can make use of alternative evaluated libraries. All calculations are affected by inherent uncertainties in nuclear data. It is useful to see results of full-core calculations based on two sets of diffusion data obtained by Serpent code calculations with ENDF/B-VII.1 and JEFF-3.2 nuclear data including also decay data library and fission yields data. The comparison is based directly on fuel assembly level macroscopic data and resulting operational data. This study illustrates effect of evaluated nuclear data library on full-core calculations of a large PWR reactor core. The level of difference which results exclusively from nuclear data selection can help to understand the level of inherent uncertainties of such full-core calculations.

Advanced nuclear thermal propulsion concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howe, Steven D.

1993-01-01

In 1989, a Presidential directive created the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) which had a goal of placing mankind on Mars in the early 21st century. The SEI was effectively terminated in 1992 with the election of a new administration. Although the initiative did not exist long enough to allow substantial technology development, it did provide a venue, for the first time in 20 years, to comprehensively evaluate advanced propulsion concepts which could enable fast, manned transits to Mars. As part of the SEI based investigations, scientists from NASA, DoE National Laboratories, universities, and industry met regularly and proceeded to examine a variety of innovative ideas. Most of the effort was directed toward developing a solid-core, nuclear thermal rocket and examining a high-power nuclear electric propulsion system. In addition, however, an Innovative Concepts committee was formed and charged with evaluating concepts that offered a much higher performance but were less technologically mature. The committee considered several concepts and eventually recommended that further work be performed in the areas of gas core fission rockets, inertial confinement fusion systems, antimatter based rockets, and gas core fission electric systems. Following the committee's recommendations, some computational modeling work has been performed at Los Alamos in certain of these areas and critical issues have been identified.

An Update on Improvements to NiCE Support for PROTEUS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bennett, Andrew; McCaskey, Alexander J.; Billings, Jay Jay

2015-09-01

The Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy's Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program has supported the development of the NEAMS Integrated Computational Environment (NiCE), a modeling and simulation workflow environment that provides services and plugins to facilitate tasks such as code execution, model input construction, visualization, and data analysis. This report details the development of workflows for the reactor core neutronics application, PROTEUS. This advanced neutronics application (primarily developed at Argonne National Laboratory) aims to improve nuclear reactor design and analysis by providing an extensible and massively parallel, finite-element solver for current and advanced reactor fuel neutronicsmore » modeling. The integration of PROTEUS-specific tools into NiCE is intended to make the advanced capabilities that PROTEUS provides more accessible to the nuclear energy research and development community. This report will detail the work done to improve existing PROTEUS workflow support in NiCE. We will demonstrate and discuss these improvements, including the development of flexible IO services, an improved interface for input generation, and the addition of advanced Fortran development tools natively in the platform.« less

Nuclear cardiology core syllabus of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI).

PubMed

Gimelli, Alessia; Neglia, Danilo; Schindler, Thomas H; Cosyns, Bernard; Lancellotti, Patrizio; Kitsiou, Anastasia

2015-04-01

The European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) Core Syllabus for Nuclear Cardiology is now available online. The syllabus lists key elements of knowledge in nuclear cardiology. It represents a framework for the development of training curricula and provides expected knowledge-based learning outcomes to the nuclear cardiology trainees. Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2015. For permissions please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Effective-range parameters and vertex constants for Λ-nuclear systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakityansky, S. A.; Gopane, I. M.

For a wide range of the core-nuclei (6 ≤ A ≤ 207), the scattering lengths, effective radii, and the other effective-range parameters (up to the order ˜ k8) for the angular momentum ℓ = 0, 1, 2 are calculated within a two-body ΛA-model. For the same hypernuclear systems, the S-matrix residues as well as the corresponding Nuclear-Vertex and Asymptotic-Normalization constants (NVC’s and ANC’s) for the bound states are also found.

Interpretation of the results of the CORA-33 dry core BWR test

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ott, L.J.; Hagen, S.

All BWR degraded core experiments performed prior to CORA-33 were conducted under ``wet`` core degradation conditions for which water remains within the core and continuous steaming feeds metal/steam oxidation reactions on the in-core metallic surfaces. However, one dominant set of accident scenarios would occur with reduced metal oxidation under ``dry`` core degradation conditions and, prior to CORA-33, this set had been neglected experimentally. The CORA-33 experiment was designed specifically to address this dominant set of BWR ``dry`` core severe accident scenarios and to partially resolve phenomenological uncertainties concerning the behavior of relocating metallic melts draining into the lower regions ofmore » a ``dry`` BWR core. CORA-33 was conducted on October 1, 1992, in the CORA tests facility at KfK. Review of the CORA-33 data indicates that the test objectives were achieved; that is, core degradation occurred at a core heatup rate and a test section axial temperature profile that are prototypic of full-core nuclear power plant (NPP) simulations at ``dry`` core conditions. Simulations of the CORA-33 test at ORNL have required modification of existing control blade/canister materials interaction models to include the eutectic melting of the stainless steel/Zircaloy interaction products and the heat of mixing of stainless steel and Zircaloy. The timing and location of canister failure and melt intrusion into the fuel assembly appear to be adequately simulated by the ORNL models. This paper will present the results of the posttest analyses carried out at ORNL based upon the experimental data and the posttest examination of the test bundle at KfK. The implications of these results with respect to degraded core modeling and the associated safety issues are also discussed.« less

High-resolution 129I bomb peak profile in an ice core from SE-Dome site, Greenland.

PubMed

Bautista, Angel T; Miyake, Yasuto; Matsuzaki, Hiroyuki; Iizuka, Yoshinori; Horiuchi, Kazuho

2018-04-01

129 I in natural archives, such as ice cores, can be used as a proxy for human nuclear activities, age marker, and environmental tracer. Currently, there is only one published record of 129 I in ice core (i.e., from Fiescherhorn Glacier, Swiss Alps) and its limited time resolution (1-2 years) prevents the full use of 129 I for the mentioned applications. Here we show 129 I concentrations in an ice core from SE-Dome, Greenland, covering years 1956-1976 at a time resolution of ∼6 months, the most detailed record to date. Results revealed 129 I bomb peaks in years 1959, 1962, and 1963, associated to tests performed by the former Soviet Union, one year prior, in its Novaya Zemlya test site. All 129 I bomb peaks were observed in winter (1958.9, 1962.1, and 1963.0), while tritium bomb peaks, another prominent radionuclide associated with nuclear bomb testing, were observed in spring or summer (1959.3, and 1963.6; Iizuka et al., 2017). These results indicate that 129 I bomb peaks can be used as annual and seasonal age markers for these years. Furthermore, we found that 129 I recorded nuclear fuel reprocessing signals and that these can be potentially used to correct timing of estimated 129 I releases during years 1964-1976. Comparisons with other published records of 129 I in natural archives showed that 129 I can be used as common age marker and tracer for different types of records. Most notably, the 1963 129 I bomb peak can be used as common age marker for ice and coral cores, providing the means to reconcile age models and associated trends from the polar and tropical regions, respectively. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of nuclear structure in the spin-dependent scattering of weakly interacting massive particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolaev, M. A.; Klapdor-Kleingrothaus, H. V.

1993-06-01

We present calculations of the nuclear from factors for spin-dependent elastic scattering of dark matter WIMPs from123Te and131Xe isotopes, proposed to be used for dark matter detection. A method based on the theory of finite Fermi systems was used to describe the reduction of the single-particle spin-dependent matrix elements in the nuclear medium. Nucleon single-particle states were calculated in a realistic shell model potential; pairing effects were treated within the BCS model. The coupling of the lowest single-particle levels in123Te to collective 2+ excitations of the core was taken into account phenomenologically. The calculated nuclear form factors are considerably less then the single-particle ones for low momentum transfer. At high momentum transfer some dynamical amplification takes place due to the pion exchange term in the effective nuclear interaction. But as the momentum transfer increases, the difference disappears, the momentum transfer increases and the quenching effect disappears. The shape of the nuclear form factor for the131Xe isotope differs from the one obtained using an oscillator basis.

Structure and reconstitution of yeast Mpp6-nuclear exosome complexes reveals that Mpp6 stimulates RNA decay and recruits the Mtr4 helicase

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wasmuth, Elizabeth V.; Zinder, John C.; Zattas, Dimitrios

Nuclear RNA exosomes catalyze a range of RNA processing and decay activities that are coordinated in part by cofactors, including Mpp6, Rrp47, and the Mtr4 RNA helicase. Mpp6 interacts with the nine-subunit exosome core, while Rrp47 stabilizes the exoribonuclease Rrp6 and recruits Mtr4, but it is less clear if these cofactors work together. Using biochemistry with Saccharomyces cerevisiae proteins, we show that Rrp47 and Mpp6 stimulate exosome-mediated RNA decay, albeit with unique dependencies on elements within the nuclear exosome. Mpp6-exosomes can recruit Mtr4, while Mpp6 and Rrp47 each contribute to Mtr4-dependent RNA decay, with maximal Mtr4-dependent decay observed with bothmore » cofactors. The 3.3 Å structure of a twelve-subunit nuclear Mpp6 exosome bound to RNA shows the central region of Mpp6 bound to the exosome core, positioning its Mtr4 recruitment domain next to Rrp6 and the exosome central channel. Genetic analysis reveals interactions that are largely consistent with our model.« less

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Relaxation and Imaging Studies on Water Flow in Soil Cores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pohlmeier, Andreas; Haber-Pohlmeier, Sabina; Stapf, Siegfried

2010-05-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is applied to the study of flow processes in a model and a natural soils core. Since flow velocities in soils are mostly too slow to be monitored directly by MRI flow velocity imaging, Gd-DTPA was used as contrast agent for the first time for flow processes in soils. Apart from its chemical stability the main advantage is the anionic net charge in neutral aqueous solution. Here we can show that this property hinders the adsorption at soil mineral surfaces and therefore retardation. Gd-DTPA turns out to be a very convenient conservative tracer for the investigation of flow processes in model and natural soil cores. With respect to the flow processes in the coaxial model soil column and the natural soil column we found total different flow patterns: In the first case tracer plume moves quite homogeneously only in the inner highly conductive core. No penetration into the outer fine material takes place. In contrast, the natural soil core shows a flow pattern which is characterized by preferential paths avoiding dense regions and preferring loose structures. In the case of the simpler model column also the local flow velocities are calculated by the application of a peak tracking algorithm.

Probabilistic risk assessment for a loss of coolant accident in McMaster Nuclear Reactor and application of reliability physics model for modeling human reliability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ha, Taesung

A probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) was conducted for a loss of coolant accident, (LOCA) in the McMaster Nuclear Reactor (MNR). A level 1 PRA was completed including event sequence modeling, system modeling, and quantification. To support the quantification of the accident sequence identified, data analysis using the Bayesian method and human reliability analysis (HRA) using the accident sequence evaluation procedure (ASEP) approach were performed. Since human performance in research reactors is significantly different from that in power reactors, a time-oriented HRA model (reliability physics model) was applied for the human error probability (HEP) estimation of the core relocation. This model is based on two competing random variables: phenomenological time and performance time. The response surface and direct Monte Carlo simulation with Latin Hypercube sampling were applied for estimating the phenomenological time, whereas the performance time was obtained from interviews with operators. An appropriate probability distribution for the phenomenological time was assigned by statistical goodness-of-fit tests. The human error probability (HEP) for the core relocation was estimated from these two competing quantities: phenomenological time and operators' performance time. The sensitivity of each probability distribution in human reliability estimation was investigated. In order to quantify the uncertainty in the predicted HEPs, a Bayesian approach was selected due to its capability of incorporating uncertainties in model itself and the parameters in that model. The HEP from the current time-oriented model was compared with that from the ASEP approach. Both results were used to evaluate the sensitivity of alternative huinan reliability modeling for the manual core relocation in the LOCA risk model. This exercise demonstrated the applicability of a reliability physics model supplemented with a. Bayesian approach for modeling human reliability and its potential usefulness of quantifying model uncertainty as sensitivity analysis in the PRA model.

Optimize out-of-core thermionic energy conversion for nuclear electric propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, J. F.

1977-01-01

Current designs for out of core thermionic energy conversion (TEC) to power nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) were evaluated. Approaches to improve out of core TEC are emphasized and probabilities for success are indicated. TEC gains are available with higher emitter temperatures and greater power densities. Good potentialities for accommodating external high temperature, high power density TEC with heat pipe cooled reactors exist.

Nuclear Data Needs for Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rullhusen, Peter

2006-04-01

Nuclear data needs for generation IV systems. Future of nuclear energy and the role of nuclear data / P. Finck. Nuclear data needs for generation IV nuclear energy systems-summary of U.S. workshop / T. A. Taiwo, H. S. Khalil. Nuclear data needs for the assessment of gen. IV systems / G. Rimpault. Nuclear data needs for generation IV-lessons from benchmarks / S. C. van der Marck, A. Hogenbirk, M. C. Duijvestijn. Core design issues of the supercritical water fast reactor / M. Mori ... [et al.]. GFR core neutronics studies at CEA / J. C. Bosq ... [et al]. Comparative study on different phonon frequency spectra of graphite in GCR / Young-Sik Cho ... [et al.]. Innovative fuel types for minor actinides transmutation / D. Haas, A. Fernandez, J. Somers. The importance of nuclear data in modeling and designing generation IV fast reactors / K. D. Weaver. The GIF and Mexico-"everything is possible" / C. Arrenondo Sánchez -- Benmarks, sensitivity calculations, uncertainties. Sensitivity of advanced reactor and fuel cycle performance parameters to nuclear data uncertainties / G. Aliberti ... [et al.]. Sensitivity and uncertainty study for thermal molten salt reactors / A. Biduad ... [et al.]. Integral reactor physics benchmarks- The International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project (ICSBEP) and the International Reactor Physics Experiment Evaluation Project (IRPHEP) / J. B. Briggs, D. W. Nigg, E. Sartori. Computer model of an error propagation through micro-campaign of fast neutron gas cooled nuclear reactor / E. Ivanov. Combining differential and integral experiments on [symbol] for reducing uncertainties in nuclear data applications / T. Kawano ... [et al.]. Sensitivity of activation cross sections of the Hafnium, Tanatalum and Tungsten stable isotopes to nuclear reaction mechanisms / V. Avrigeanu ... [et al.]. Generating covariance data with nuclear models / A. J. Koning. Sensitivity of Candu-SCWR reactors physics calculations to nuclear data files / K. S. Kozier, G. R. Dyck. The lead cooled fast reactor benchmark BREST-300: analysis with sensitivity method / V. Smirnov ... [et al.]. Sensitivity analysis of neutron cross-sections considered for design and safety studies of LFR and SFR generation IV systems / K. Tucek, J. Carlsson, H. Wider -- Experiments. INL capabilities for nuclear data measurements using the Argonne intense pulsed neutron source facility / J. D. Cole ... [et al.]. Cross-section measurements in the fast neutron energy range / A. Plompen. Recent measurements of neutron capture cross sections for minor actinides by a JNC and Kyoto University Group / H. Harada ... [et al.]. Determination of minor actinides fission cross sections by means of transfer reactions / M. Aiche ... [et al.] -- Evaluated data libraries. Nuclear data services from the NEA / H. Henriksson, Y. Rugama. Nuclear databases for energy applications: an IAEA perspective / R. Capote Noy, A. L. Nichols, A. Trkov. Nuclear data evaluation for generation IV / G. Noguère ... [et al.]. Improved evaluations of neutron-induced reactions on americium isotopes / P. Talou ... [et al.]. Using improved ENDF-based nuclear data for candu reactor calculations / J. Prodea. A comparative study on the graphite-moderated reactors using different evaluated nuclear data / Do Heon Kim ... [et al.].

Coupling Schemes for Multiphysics Reactor Simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vijay Mahadeven; Jean Ragusa

2007-11-01

This report documents the progress of the student Vijay S. Mahadevan from the Nuclear Engineering Department of Texas A&M University over the summer of 2007 during his visit to the INL. The purpose of his visit was to investigate the physics-based preconditioned Jacobian-free Newton-Krylov method applied to physics relevant to nuclear reactor simulation. To this end he studied two test problems that represented reaction-diffusion and advection-reaction. These two test problems will provide the basis for future work in which neutron diffusion, nonlinear heat conduction, and a twophase flow model will be tightly coupled to provide an accurate model of amore » BWR core.« less

System Design for a Nuclear Electric Spacecraft Utilizing Out-of-core Thermionic Conversion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estabrook, W. C.; Phillips, W. M.; Hsieh, T.

1976-01-01

Basic guidelines are presented for a nuclear space power system which utilizes heat pipes to transport thermal power from a fast nuclear reactor to an out of core thermionic converter array. Design parameters are discussed for the nuclear reactor, heat pipes, thermionic converters, shields (neutron and gamma), waste heat rejection systems, and the electrical bus bar-cable system required to transport the high current/low voltage power to the processing equipment. Dimensions are compatible with shuttle payload bay constraints.

Implementing a Nuclear Power Plant Model for Evaluating Load-Following Capability on a Small Grid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arda, Samet Egemen

A pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plant (NPP) model is introduced into Positive Sequence Load Flow (PSLF) software by General Electric in order to evaluate the load-following capability of NPPs. The nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) consists of a reactor core, hot and cold legs, plenums, and a U-tube steam generator. The physical systems listed above are represented by mathematical models utilizing a state variable lumped parameter approach. A steady-state control program for the reactor, and simple turbine and governor models are also developed. Adequacy of the isolated reactor core, the isolated steam generator, and the complete PWR models are tested in Matlab/Simulink and dynamic responses are compared with the test results obtained from the H. B. Robinson NPP. Test results illustrate that the developed models represents the dynamic features of real-physical systems and are capable of predicting responses due to small perturbations of external reactivity and steam valve opening. Subsequently, the NSSS representation is incorporated into PSLF and coupled with built-in excitation system and generator models. Different simulation cases are run when sudden loss of generation occurs in a small power system which includes hydroelectric and natural gas power plants besides the developed PWR NPP. The conclusion is that the NPP can respond to a disturbance in the power system without exceeding any design and safety limits if appropriate operational conditions, such as achieving the NPP turbine control by adjusting the speed of the steam valve, are met. In other words, the NPP can participate in the control of system frequency and improve the overall power system performance.

Human Cytomegalovirus Nuclear Capsids Associate with the Core Nuclear Egress Complex and the Viral Protein Kinase pUL97

PubMed Central

Sonntag, Eric; Wagner, Sabrina; Strojan, Hanife; Wangen, Christina; Lenac Rovis, Tihana; Lisnic, Berislav; Jonjic, Stipan; Schlötzer-Schrehardt, Ursula; Marschall, Manfred

2018-01-01

The nuclear phase of herpesvirus replication is regulated through the formation of regulatory multi-component protein complexes. Viral genomic replication is followed by nuclear capsid assembly, DNA encapsidation and nuclear egress. The latter has been studied intensely pointing to the formation of a viral core nuclear egress complex (NEC) that recruits a multimeric assembly of viral and cellular factors for the reorganization of the nuclear envelope. To date, the mechanism of the association of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) capsids with the NEC, which in turn initiates the specific steps of nuclear capsid budding, remains undefined. Here, we provide electron microscopy-based data demonstrating the association of both nuclear capsids and NEC proteins at nuclear lamina budding sites. Specifically, immunogold labelling of the core NEC constituent pUL53 and NEC-associated viral kinase pUL97 suggested an intranuclear NEC-capsid interaction. Staining patterns with phospho-specific lamin A/C antibodies are compatible with earlier postulates of targeted capsid egress at lamina-depleted areas. Important data were provided by co-immunoprecipitation and in vitro kinase analyses using lysates from HCMV-infected cells, nuclear fractions, or infectious virions. Data strongly suggest that nuclear capsids interact with pUL53 and pUL97. Combined, the findings support a refined concept of HCMV nuclear trafficking and NEC-capsid interaction. PMID:29342872

Human Cytomegalovirus Nuclear Capsids Associate with the Core Nuclear Egress Complex and the Viral Protein Kinase pUL97.

PubMed

Milbradt, Jens; Sonntag, Eric; Wagner, Sabrina; Strojan, Hanife; Wangen, Christina; Lenac Rovis, Tihana; Lisnic, Berislav; Jonjic, Stipan; Sticht, Heinrich; Britt, William J; Schlötzer-Schrehardt, Ursula; Marschall, Manfred

2018-01-13

The nuclear phase of herpesvirus replication is regulated through the formation of regulatory multi-component protein complexes. Viral genomic replication is followed by nuclear capsid assembly, DNA encapsidation and nuclear egress. The latter has been studied intensely pointing to the formation of a viral core nuclear egress complex (NEC) that recruits a multimeric assembly of viral and cellular factors for the reorganization of the nuclear envelope. To date, the mechanism of the association of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) capsids with the NEC, which in turn initiates the specific steps of nuclear capsid budding, remains undefined. Here, we provide electron microscopy-based data demonstrating the association of both nuclear capsids and NEC proteins at nuclear lamina budding sites. Specifically, immunogold labelling of the core NEC constituent pUL53 and NEC-associated viral kinase pUL97 suggested an intranuclear NEC-capsid interaction. Staining patterns with phospho-specific lamin A/C antibodies are compatible with earlier postulates of targeted capsid egress at lamina-depleted areas. Important data were provided by co-immunoprecipitation and in vitro kinase analyses using lysates from HCMV-infected cells, nuclear fractions, or infectious virions. Data strongly suggest that nuclear capsids interact with pUL53 and pUL97. Combined, the findings support a refined concept of HCMV nuclear trafficking and NEC-capsid interaction.

Core Versus Nuclear Gauge Methods of Determining Soil Bulk Density and Moisture Content

Treesearch

Jacqueline G. Steele; Jerry L. Koger; Albert C. Trouse; Donald L. Sirois

1983-01-01

Soil bulk and moisture content measurements were obtained using two nuclear gauge systems and those compared to those obtained from soil cores. The soils, a Hiwassee sandy loam, a Lakeland loamy sand, and a Loyd clay, were free of organic matter and uniform in mechanical composition. The regression equations developed for the nuclear guages for the first phase of the...

Coarse graining of NN inelastic interactions up to 3 GeV: Repulsive versus structural core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández-Soler, P.; Ruiz Arriola, E.

2017-07-01

The repulsive short-distance core is one of the main paradigms of nuclear physics which even seems confirmed by QCD lattice calculations. On the other hand nuclear potentials at short distances are motivated by high energy behavior where inelasticities play an important role. We analyze NN interactions up to 3 GeV in terms of simple coarse grained complex and energy dependent interactions. We discuss two possible and conflicting scenarios which share the common feature of a vanishing wave function at the core location in the particular case of S waves. We find that the optical potential with a repulsive core exhibits a strong energy dependence whereas the optical potential with the structural core is characterized by a rather adiabatic energy dependence which allows one to treat inelasticity perturbatively. We discuss the possible implications for nuclear structure calculations of both alternatives.

Method for automatically scramming a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Ougouag, Abderrafi M.; Schultz, Richard R.; Terry, William K.

2005-12-27

An automatically scramming nuclear reactor system. One embodiment comprises a core having a coolant inlet end and a coolant outlet end. A cooling system operatively associated with the core provides coolant to the coolant inlet end and removes heated coolant from the coolant outlet end, thus maintaining a pressure differential therebetween during a normal operating condition of the nuclear reactor system. A guide tube is positioned within the core with a first end of the guide tube in fluid communication with the coolant inlet end of the core, and a second end of the guide tube in fluid communication with the coolant outlet end of the core. A control element is positioned within the guide tube and is movable therein between upper and lower positions, and automatically falls under the action of gravity to the lower position when the pressure differential drops below a safe pressure differential.

A solid reactor core thermal model for nuclear thermal rockets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rider, William J.; Cappiello, Michael W.; Liles, Dennis R.

1991-01-01

A Helium/Hydrogen Cooled Reactor Analysis (HERA) computer code has been developed. HERA has the ability to model arbitrary geometries in three dimensions, which allows the user to easily analyze reactor cores constructed of prismatic graphite elements. The code accounts for heat generation in the fuel, control rods, and other structures; conduction and radiation across gaps; convection to the coolant; and a variety of boundary conditions. The numerical solution scheme has been optimized for vector computers, making long transient analyses economical. Time integration is either explicit or implicit, which allows the use of the model to accurately calculate both short- or long-term transients with an efficient use of computer time. Both the basic spatial and temporal integration schemes have been benchmarked against analytical solutions.

Particle bed reactor modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sapyta, Joe; Reid, Hank; Walton, Lew

1993-01-01

The topics are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: particle bed reactor (PBR) core cross section; PBR bleed cycle; fuel and moderator flow paths; PBR modeling requirements; characteristics of PBR and nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) modeling; challenges for PBR and NTP modeling; thermal hydraulic computer codes; capabilities for PBR/reactor application; thermal/hydralic codes; limitations; physical correlations; comparison of predicted friction factor and experimental data; frit pressure drop testing; cold frit mask factor; decay heat flow rate; startup transient simulation; and philosophy of systems modeling.

Fissioning uranium plasmas and nuclear-pumped lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, R. T.; Thom, K.

1975-01-01

Current research into uranium plasmas, gaseous-core (cavity) reactors, and nuclear-pumped lasers is discussed. Basic properties of fissioning uranium plasmas are summarized together with potential space and terrestrial applications of gaseous-core reactors and nuclear-pumped lasers. Conditions for criticality of a uranium plasma are outlined, and it is shown that the nonequilibrium state and the optical thinness of a fissioning plasma can be exploited for the direct conversion of fission fragment energy into coherent light (i.e., for nuclear-pumped lasers). Successful demonstrations of nuclear-pumped lasers are described together with gaseous-fuel reactor experiments using uranium hexafluoride.

Inorganic biochemistry with short-lived radioisotopes as nuclear probes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tröger, W.; Butz, T.

2000-12-01

Metal ions are ubiquitous in the biosphere. In living organisms metalloproteins with specifically designed metal cores perform vital chemical processes. On the other hand, several heavy metals are detrimental to living organisms and nature has developed effective enzymatic detoxification systems which convert toxic metal ions to less toxic species. The nuclear spectroscopy technique Time Differential Perturbed Angular Correlation (TDPAC) of γ-rays uses radioactive isotopes as nuclear probes in these metal cores to obtain a better understanding of the structural and functional significance of these metal cores by monitoring the nuclear quadrupole interaction of the TDPAC probe. Since this technique is based on the nuclear decay, it is also applicable under physiological conditions, i.e., especially at picomolar concentrations. For these studies an indispensable prerequisite is the production of the TDPAC probes with highest possible specific activity and purity as is done by the on-line mass separator ISOLDE at CERN in Geneva.

Equations of state for real gases on the nuclear scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vovchenko, Volodymyr

2017-07-01

The formalism to augment the classical models of the equation of state for real gases with quantum statistical effects is presented. It allows an arbitrary excluded volume procedure to model repulsive interactions, and an arbitrary density-dependent mean field to model attractive interactions. Variations on the excluded volume mechanism include van der Waals (VDW) and Carnahan-Starling models, while the mean fields are based on VDW, Redlich-Kwong-Soave, Peng-Robinson, and Clausius equations of state. The VDW parameters of the nucleon-nucleon interaction are fitted in each model to the properties of the ground state of nuclear matter, and the following range of values is obtained: a =330 -430 MeV fm3 and b =2.5 -4.4 fm3 . In the context of the excluded volume approach, the fits to the nuclear ground state disfavor the values of the effective hard-core radius of a nucleon significantly smaller than 0.5 fm , at least for the nuclear matter region of the phase diagram. Modifications to the standard VDW repulsion and attraction terms allow one to improve significantly the value of the nuclear incompressibility factor K0, bringing it closer to empirical estimates. The generalization to include the baryon-baryon interactions into the hadron resonance gas model is performed. The behavior of the baryon-related lattice QCD observables at zero chemical potential is shown to be strongly correlated to the nuclear matter properties: an improved description of the nuclear incompressibility also yields an improved description of the lattice data at μ =0 .

Three-dimensional NDE of VHTR core components via simulation-based testing. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guzina, Bojan; Kunerth, Dennis

2014-09-30

A next generation, simulation-driven-and-enabled testing platform is developed for the 3D detection and characterization of defects and damage in nuclear graphite and composite structures in Very High Temperature Reactors (VHTRs). The proposed work addresses the critical need for the development of high-fidelity Non-Destructive Examination (NDE) technologies for as-manufactured and replaceable in-service VHTR components. Centered around the novel use of elastic (sonic and ultrasonic) waves, this project deploys a robust, non-iterative inverse solution for the 3D defect reconstruction together with a non-contact, laser-based approach to the measurement of experimental waveforms in VHTR core components. In particular, this research (1) deploys three-dimensionalmore » Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry (3D SLDV) as a means to accurately and remotely measure 3D displacement waveforms over the accessible surface of a VHTR core component excited by mechanical vibratory source; (2) implements a powerful new inverse technique, based on the concept of Topological Sensitivity (TS), for non-iterative elastic waveform tomography of internal defects - that permits robust 3D detection, reconstruction and characterization of discrete damage (e.g. holes and fractures) in nuclear graphite from limited-aperture NDE measurements; (3) implements state-of-the art computational (finite element) model that caters for accurately simulating elastic wave propagation in 3D blocks of nuclear graphite; (4) integrates the SLDV testing methodology with the TS imaging algorithm into a non-contact, high-fidelity NDE platform for the 3D reconstruction and characterization of defects and damage in VHTR core components; and (5) applies the proposed methodology to VHTR core component samples (both two- and three-dimensional) with a priori induced, discrete damage in the form of holes and fractures. Overall, the newly established SLDV-TS testing platform represents a next-generation NDE tool that surpasses all existing techniques for the 3D ultrasonic imaging of material damage from non-contact, limited-aperture waveform measurements. Outlook. The next stage in the development of this technology includes items such as (a) non-contact generation of mechanical vibrations in VHTR components via thermal expansion created by high-intensity laser; (b) development and incorporation of Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) for elevating the accuracy of 3D imaging in highly noisy environments with minimal accessible surface; (c) further analytical and computational developments to facilitate the reconstruction of diffuse damage (e.g. microcracks) in nuclear graphite as they lead to the dispersion of elastic waves, (d) concept of model updating for accurate tracking of the evolution of material damage via periodic inspections; (d) adoption of the Bayesian framework to obtain information on the certainty of obtained images; and (e) optimization of the computational scheme toward real-time, model-based imaging of damage in VHTR core components.« less

Deuteration of ammonia in the starless core Ophiuchus/H-MM1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harju, J.; Daniel, F.; Sipilä, O.; Caselli, P.; Pineda, J. E.; Friesen, R. K.; Punanova, A.; Güsten, R.; Wiesenfeld, L.; Myers, P. C.; Faure, A.; Hily-Blant, P.; Rist, C.; Rosolowsky, E.; Schlemmer, S.; Shirley, Y. L.

2017-04-01

Context. Ammonia and its deuterated isotopologues probe physical conditions in dense molecular cloud cores. The time-dependence of deuterium fractionation and the relative abundances of different nuclear spin modifications are supposed to provide a means of determining the evolutionary stages of these objects. Aims: We aim to test the current understanding of spin-state chemistry of deuterated species by determining the abundances and spin ratios of NH2D, NHD2 and ND3 in a quiescent, dense cloud. Methods: Spectral lines of NH3, NH2D, NHD2, ND3 and N2D+ were observed towards a dense, starless core in Ophiuchus with the APEX, GBT and IRAM 30-m telescopes. The observations were interpreted using a gas-grain chemistry model combined with radiative transfer calculations. The chemistry model distinguishes between the different nuclear spin states of light hydrogen molecules, ammonia and their deuterated forms. Different desorption schemes can be considered. Results: High deuterium fractionation ratios with NH2D/NH3 0.4, NHD2/ NH2D 0.2 and ND3/ NHD2 0.06 are found in the core. The observed ortho/para ratios of NH2D and NHD2 are close to the corresponding nuclear spin statistical weights. The chemistry model can approximately reproduce the observed abundances, but consistently predicts too low ortho/para-NH2D, and too large ortho/para-NHD2 ratios. The longevity of N2H+ and NH3 in dense gas, which is prerequisite to their strong deuteration, can be attributed to the chemical inertia of N2 on grain surfaces. Conclusions: The discrepancies between the chemistry model and the observations are likely to be caused by the fact that the model assumes complete scrambling in principal gas-phase deuteration reactions of ammonia, which means that all the nuclei are mixed in reactive collisions. If, instead, these reactions occur through proton hop/hydrogen abstraction processes, statistical spin ratios are to be expected. The present results suggest that while the deuteration of ammonia changes with physical conditions and time, the nuclear spin ratios of ammonia isotopologues do not probe the evolutionary stage of a cloud. Based on observations carried out with The Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT), and the IRAM 30 m Telescope. APEX is a collaboration between Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR), Onsala Space Observatory (OSO), and the European Southern Observatory (ESO). GBT is managed by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. IRAM is supported by INSU/CNRS (France), MPG (Germany), and IGN (Spain).

Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS). Version 2.0: Program user's guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pelaccio, Dennis G.; Scheil, Christine M.; Petrosky, Lyman

1993-01-01

This Program User's Guide discusses the Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engine system design features and capabilities modeled in the Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS): Version 2.0 program (referred to as NESS throughout the remainder of this document), as well as its operation. NESS was upgraded to include many new modeling capabilities not available in the original version delivered to NASA LeRC in Dec. 1991, NESS's new features include the following: (1) an improved input format; (2) an advanced solid-core NERVA-type reactor system model (ENABLER 2); (3) a bleed-cycle engine system option; (4) an axial-turbopump design option; (5) an automated pump-out turbopump assembly sizing option; (6) an off-design gas generator engine cycle design option; (7) updated hydrogen properties; (8) an improved output format; and (9) personal computer operation capability. Sample design cases are presented in the user's guide that demonstrate many of the new features associated with this upgraded version of NESS, as well as design modeling features associated with the original version of NESS.

Simulating an Exploding Fission-Bomb Core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, Cameron

2016-03-01

A time-dependent desktop-computer simulation of the core of an exploding fission bomb (nuclear weapon) has been developed. The simulation models a core comprising a mixture of two isotopes: a fissile one (such as U-235) and an inert one (such as U-238) that captures neutrons and removes them from circulation. The user sets the enrichment percentage and scattering and fission cross-sections of the fissile isotope, the capture cross-section of the inert isotope, the number of neutrons liberated per fission, the number of ``initiator'' neutrons, the radius of the core, and the neutron-reflection efficiency of a surrounding tamper. The simulation, which is predicated on ordinary kinematics, follows the three-dimensional motions and fates of neutrons as they travel through the core. Limitations of time and computer memory render it impossible to model a real-life core, but results of numerous runs clearly demonstrate the existence of a critical mass for a given set of parameters and the dramatic effects of enrichment and tamper efficiency on the growth (or decay) of the neutron population. The logic of the simulation will be described and results of typical runs will be presented and discussed.

Benchmark Evaluation of HTR-PROTEUS Pebble Bed Experimental Program

DOE PAGES

Bess, John D.; Montierth, Leland; Köberl, Oliver; ...

2014-10-09

Benchmark models were developed to evaluate 11 critical core configurations of the HTR-PROTEUS pebble bed experimental program. Various additional reactor physics measurements were performed as part of this program; currently only a total of 37 absorber rod worth measurements have been evaluated as acceptable benchmark experiments for Cores 4, 9, and 10. Dominant uncertainties in the experimental keff for all core configurations come from uncertainties in the ²³⁵U enrichment of the fuel, impurities in the moderator pebbles, and the density and impurity content of the radial reflector. Calculations of k eff with MCNP5 and ENDF/B-VII.0 neutron nuclear data aremore » greater than the benchmark values but within 1% and also within the 3σ uncertainty, except for Core 4, which is the only randomly packed pebble configuration. Repeated calculations of k eff with MCNP6.1 and ENDF/B-VII.1 are lower than the benchmark values and within 1% (~3σ) except for Cores 5 and 9, which calculate lower than the benchmark eigenvalues within 4σ. The primary difference between the two nuclear data libraries is the adjustment of the absorption cross section of graphite. Simulations of the absorber rod worth measurements are within 3σ of the benchmark experiment values. The complete benchmark evaluation details are available in the 2014 edition of the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments.« less

Thermal Hydraulics Design and Analysis Methodology for a Solid-Core Nuclear Thermal Rocket Engine Thrust Chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Ten-See; Canabal, Francisco; Chen, Yen-Sen; Cheng, Gary; Ito, Yasushi

2013-01-01

Nuclear thermal propulsion is a leading candidate for in-space propulsion for human Mars missions. This chapter describes a thermal hydraulics design and analysis methodology developed at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, in support of the nuclear thermal propulsion development effort. The objective of this campaign is to bridge the design methods in the Rover/NERVA era, with a modern computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer methodology, to predict thermal, fluid, and hydrogen environments of a hypothetical solid-core, nuclear thermal engine the Small Engine, designed in the 1960s. The computational methodology is based on an unstructured-grid, pressure-based, all speeds, chemically reacting, computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer platform, while formulations of flow and heat transfer through porous and solid media were implemented to describe those of hydrogen flow channels inside the solid24 core. Design analyses of a single flow element and the entire solid-core thrust chamber of the Small Engine were performed and the results are presented herein

Nuclear fuel element

DOEpatents

Armijo, Joseph S.; Coffin, Jr., Louis F.

1980-04-29

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.

Nuclear reactor downcomer flow deflector

DOEpatents

Gilmore, Charles B [Greensburg, PA; Altman, David A [Pittsburgh, PA; Singleton, Norman R [Murrysville, PA

2011-02-15

A nuclear reactor having a coolant flow deflector secured to a reactor core barrel in line with a coolant inlet nozzle. The flow deflector redirects incoming coolant down an annulus between the core barrel and the reactor vessel. The deflector has a main body with a front side facing the fluid inlet nozzle and a rear side facing the core barrel. The rear side of the main body has at least one protrusion secured to the core barrel so that a gap exists between the rear side of the main body adjacent the protrusion and the core barrel. Preferably, the protrusion is a relief that circumscribes the rear side of the main body.

HIGH TEMPERATURE, HIGH POWER HETEROGENEOUS NUCLEAR REACTOR

DOEpatents

Hammond, R.P.; Wykoff, W.R.; Busey, H.M.

1960-06-14

A heterogeneous nuclear reactor is designed comprising a stationary housing and a rotatable annular core being supported for rotation about a vertical axis in the housing, the core containing a plurality of radial fuel- element supporting channels, the cylindrical empty space along the axis of the core providing a central plenum for the disposal of spent fuel elements, the core cross section outer periphery being vertically gradated in radius one end from the other to provide a coolant duct between the core and the housing, and means for inserting fresh fuel elements in the supporting channels under pressure and while the reactor is in operation.

A probabilisitic based failure model for components fabricated from anisotropic graphite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Chengfeng

The nuclear moderator for high temperature nuclear reactors are fabricated from graphite. During reactor operations graphite components are subjected to complex stress states arising from structural loads, thermal gradients, neutron irradiation damage, and seismic events. Graphite is a quasi-brittle material. Two aspects of nuclear grade graphite, i.e., material anisotropy and different behavior in tension and compression, are explicitly accounted for in this effort. Fracture mechanic methods are useful for metal alloys, but they are problematic for anisotropic materials with a microstructure that makes it difficult to identify a "critical" flaw. In fact cracking in a graphite core component does not necessarily result in the loss of integrity of a nuclear graphite core assembly. A phenomenological failure criterion that does not rely on flaw detection has been derived that accounts for the material behaviors mentioned. The probability of failure of components fabricated from graphite is governed by the scatter in strength. The design protocols being proposed by international code agencies recognize that design and analysis of reactor core components must be based upon probabilistic principles. The reliability models proposed herein for isotropic graphite and graphite that can be characterized as being transversely isotropic are another set of design tools for the next generation very high temperature reactors (VHTR) as well as molten salt reactors. The work begins with a review of phenomenologically based deterministic failure criteria. A number of this genre of failure models are compared with recent multiaxial nuclear grade failure data. Aspects in each are shown to be lacking. The basic behavior of different failure strengths in tension and compression is exhibited by failure models derived for concrete, but attempts to extend these concrete models to anisotropy were unsuccessful. The phenomenological models are directly dependent on stress invariants. A set of invariants, known as an integrity basis, was developed for a non-linear elastic constitutive model. This integrity basis allowed the non-linear constitutive model to exhibit different behavior in tension and compression and moreover, the integrity basis was amenable to being augmented and extended to anisotropic behavior. This integrity basis served as the starting point in developing both an isotropic reliability model and a reliability model for transversely isotropic materials. At the heart of the reliability models is a failure function very similar in nature to the yield functions found in classic plasticity theory. The failure function is derived and presented in the context of a multiaxial stress space. States of stress inside the failure envelope denote safe operating states. States of stress on or outside the failure envelope denote failure. The phenomenological strength parameters associated with the failure function are treated as random variables. There is a wealth of failure data in the literature that supports this notion. The mathematical integration of a joint probability density function that is dependent on the random strength variables over the safe operating domain defined by the failure function provides a way to compute the reliability of a state of stress in a graphite core component fabricated from graphite. The evaluation of the integral providing the reliability associated with an operational stress state can only be carried out using a numerical method. Monte Carlo simulation with importance sampling was selected to make these calculations. The derivation of the isotropic reliability model and the extension of the reliability model to anisotropy are provided in full detail. Model parameters are cast in terms of strength parameters that can (and have been) characterized by multiaxial failure tests. Comparisons of model predictions with failure data is made and a brief comparison is made to reliability predictions called for in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. Future work is identified that would provide further verification and augmentation of the numerical methods used to evaluate model predictions.

The Effect of Nickel on Iron Isotope Fractionation and Implications for the Earth's Core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reagan, M. M.; Shahar, A.; Elardo, S. M.; Liu, J.; Xiao, Y.; Mao, W. L.

2017-12-01

The Earth's core is thought to be composed mainly of an iron-rich iron nickel (FeNi) alloy. Therefore, determining the behavior of these alloys at core conditions is crucial for interpreting and constraining geophysical and geochemical models. Understanding the effect of nickel on iron isotope fractionation can shed light on planetary core formation. We collected a series of phonon excitation spectra using nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (NRIXS) on 57Fe-enriched FeNi alloys with varying (Fe0.9Ni0.1, Fe0.8Ni0.2, Fe0.7Ni0.3) nickel content in a diamond anvil cell at pressures up to 50 GPa. All three alloys studied exhibited differences from pure Fe, indicating that increasing nickel content could have an effect on iron isotope fractionation which would have implications for planetary core formation and provide constraints the bulk composition for terrestrial planets.

Nuclear Thermal Rocket Simulation in NPSS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belair, Michael L.; Sarmiento, Charles J.; Lavelle, Thomas M.

2013-01-01

Four nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) models have been created in the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) framework. The models are divided into two categories. One set is based upon the ZrC-graphite composite fuel element and tie tube-style reactor developed during the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA) project in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The other reactor set is based upon a W-UO2 ceramic-metallic (CERMET) fuel element. Within each category, a small and a large thrust engine are modeled. The small engine models utilize RL-10 turbomachinery performance maps and have a thrust of approximately 33.4 kN (7,500 lbf ). The large engine models utilize scaled RL-60 turbomachinery performance maps and have a thrust of approximately 111.2 kN (25,000 lbf ). Power deposition profiles for each reactor were obtained from a detailed Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP5) model of the reactor cores. Performance factors such as thermodynamic state points, thrust, specific impulse, reactor power level, and maximum fuel temperature are analyzed for each engine design.

Nuclear Thermal Rocket Simulation in NPSS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belair, Michael L.; Sarmiento, Charles J.; Lavelle, Thomas L.

2013-01-01

Four nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) models have been created in the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) framework. The models are divided into two categories. One set is based upon the ZrC-graphite composite fuel element and tie tube-style reactor developed during the Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application (NERVA) project in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The other reactor set is based upon a W-UO2 ceramic- metallic (CERMET) fuel element. Within each category, a small and a large thrust engine are modeled. The small engine models utilize RL-10 turbomachinery performance maps and have a thrust of approximately 33.4 kN (7,500 lbf ). The large engine models utilize scaled RL-60 turbomachinery performance maps and have a thrust of approximately 111.2 kN (25,000 lbf ). Power deposition profiles for each reactor were obtained from a detailed Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP5) model of the reactor cores. Performance factors such as thermodynamic state points, thrust, specific impulse, reactor power level, and maximum fuel temperature are analyzed for each engine design.

Unified equation of state for neutron stars on a microscopic basis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, B. K.; Centelles, M.; Viñas, X.; Baldo, M.; Burgio, G. F.

2015-12-01

We derive a new equation of state (EoS) for neutron stars (NS) from the outer crust to the core based on modern microscopic calculations using the Argonne v18 potential plus three-body forces computed with the Urbana model. To deal with the inhomogeneous structures of matter in the NS crust, we use a recent nuclear energy density functional that is directly based on the same microscopic calculations, and which is able to reproduce the ground-state properties of nuclei along the periodic table. The EoS of the outer crust requires the masses of neutron-rich nuclei, which are obtained through Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov calculations with the new functional when they are unknown experimentally. To compute the inner crust, Thomas-Fermi calculations in Wigner-Seitz cells are performed with the same functional. Existence of nuclear pasta is predicted in a range of average baryon densities between ≃0.067 fm-3 and ≃0.0825 fm-3, where the transition to the core takes place. The NS core is computed from the new nuclear EoS assuming non-exotic constituents (core of npeμ matter). In each region of the star, we discuss the comparison of the new EoS with previous EoSs for the complete NS structure, widely used in astrophysical calculations. The new microscopically derived EoS fulfills at the same time a NS maximum mass of 2 M⊙ with a radius of 10 km, and a 1.5 M⊙ NS with a radius of 11.6 km.

Spectroscopic properties of 130Sb, 132Te and 134I nuclei in 100-132Sn magic cores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benrachi, Fatima; Khiter, Meriem; Laouet, Nadjet

2017-09-01

We have performed shell model calculations by means of Oxbash nuclear structure code using recent experimental single particle (spes) and single hole (shes) energies with valence space models above the 100sn and 132sn doubly magic cores. The two-body matrix elements (tbme) of original CD-Bonn realistic interaction are introduced after have been modified taking into account the three-body forces. We have focused our study on spectroscopic properties evaluation of 130Sb, 132Te and 134I nuclei, in particular their energy spectra, transition probabilities and moments have been determined. The getting spectra are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data.

NUCLEAR REACTOR

DOEpatents

Treshow, M.

1961-09-01

A boiling-water nuclear reactor is described wherein control is effected by varying the moderator-to-fuel ratio in the reactor core. This is accomplished by providing control tubes containing a liquid control moderator in the reactor core and providing means for varying the amount of control moderatcr within the control tubes.

Nuclear core positioning system

DOEpatents

Garkisch, Hans D.; Yant, Howard W.; Patterson, John F.

1979-01-01

A structural support system for the core of a nuclear reactor which achieves relatively restricted clearances at operating conditions and yet allows sufficient clearance between fuel assemblies at refueling temperatures. Axially displaced spacer pads having variable between pad spacing and a temperature compensated radial restraint system are utilized to maintain clearances between the fuel elements. The core support plates are constructed of metals specially chosen such that differential thermal expansion produces positive restraint at operating temperatures.

Fission control system for nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Conley, G.H.; Estes, G.P.

Control system for nuclear reactor comprises a first set of reactivity modifying rods fixed in a reactor core with their upper ends stepped in height across the core, and a second set of reactivity modifying rods movable vertically within the reactor core and having their lower ends stepped to correspond with the stepped arrangement of the first set of rods, pairs of the rods of the first and second sets being in coaxial alignment.

Nuclear Data Uncertainties for Typical LWR Fuel Assemblies and a Simple Reactor Core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rochman, D.; Leray, O.; Hursin, M.; Ferroukhi, H.; Vasiliev, A.; Aures, A.; Bostelmann, F.; Zwermann, W.; Cabellos, O.; Diez, C. J.; Dyrda, J.; Garcia-Herranz, N.; Castro, E.; van der Marck, S.; Sjöstrand, H.; Hernandez, A.; Fleming, M.; Sublet, J.-Ch.; Fiorito, L.

2017-01-01

The impact of the current nuclear data library covariances such as in ENDF/B-VII.1, JEFF-3.2, JENDL-4.0, SCALE and TENDL, for relevant current reactors is presented in this work. The uncertainties due to nuclear data are calculated for existing PWR and BWR fuel assemblies (with burn-up up to 40 GWd/tHM, followed by 10 years of cooling time) and for a simplified PWR full core model (without burn-up) for quantities such as k∞, macroscopic cross sections, pin power or isotope inventory. In this work, the method of propagation of uncertainties is based on random sampling of nuclear data, either from covariance files or directly from basic parameters. Additionally, possible biases on calculated quantities are investigated such as the self-shielding treatment. Different calculation schemes are used, based on CASMO, SCALE, DRAGON, MCNP or FISPACT-II, thus simulating real-life assignments for technical-support organizations. The outcome of such a study is a comparison of uncertainties with two consequences. One: although this study is not expected to lead to similar results between the involved calculation schemes, it provides an insight on what can happen when calculating uncertainties and allows to give some perspectives on the range of validity on these uncertainties. Two: it allows to dress a picture of the state of the knowledge as of today, using existing nuclear data library covariances and current methods.

Performance Capability of Single-Cavity Vortex Gaseous Nuclear Rockets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ragsdale, Robert G.

1963-01-01

An analysis was made to determine the maximum powerplant thrust-to-weight ratio possible with a single-cavity vortex gaseous reactor in which all the hydrogen propellant must diffuse through a fuel-rich region. An assumed radial temperature profile was used to represent conduction, convection, and radiation heat-transfer effects. The effect of hydrogen property changes due to dissociation and ionization was taken into account in a hydrodynamic computer program. It is shown that, even for extremely optimistic assumptions of reactor criticality and operating conditions, such a system is limited to reactor thrust-to-weight ratios of about 1.2 x 10(exp -3) for laminar flow. For turbulent flow, the maximum thrust-to-weight ratio is less than 10(exp -3). These low thrusts result from the fact that the hydrogen flow rate is limited by the diffusion process. The performance of a gas-core system with a specific impulse of 3000 seconds and a powerplant thrust-to-weight ratio of 10(exp -2) is shown to be equivalent to that of a 1000-second advanced solid-core system. It is therefore concluded that a single-cavity vortex gaseous reactor in which all the hydrogen must diffuse through the nuclear fuel is a low-thrust device and offers no improvement over a solid-core nuclear-rocket engine. To achieve higher thrust, additional hydrogen flow must be introduced in such a manner that it will by-pass the nuclear fuel. Obviously, such flow must be heated by thermal radiation. An illustrative model of a single-cavity vortex system employing supplementary flow of hydrogen through the core region is briefly examined. Such a system appears capable of thrust-to-weight ratios of approximately 1 to 10. For a high-impulse engine, this capability would be a considerable improvement over solid-core performance. Limits imposed by thermal radiation heat transfer to cavity walls are acknowledged but not evaluated. Alternate vortex concepts that employ many parallel vortices to achieve higher hydrogen flow rates offer the possibility of sufficiently high thrust-to-weight ratios, if they are not limited by short thermal-radiation path lengths.

Spring design for use in the core of a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Willard, Jr., H. James

1993-01-01

A spring design particularly suitable for use in the core of a nuclear reactor includes one surface having a first material oriented in a longitudinal direction, and another surface having a second material oriented in a transverse direction. The respective surfaces exhibit different amounts of irraditation induced strain.

Liquid level, void fraction, and superheated steam sensor for nuclear-reactor cores. [PWR; BWR

DOEpatents

Tokarz, R.D.

1981-10-27

This disclosure relates to an apparatus for monitoring the presence of coolant in liquid or mixed liquid and vapor, and superheated gaseous phases at one or more locations within an operating nuclear reactor core, such as pressurized water reactor or a boiling water reactor.

Preliminary analysis of loss-of-coolant accident in Fukushima nuclear accident

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Su'ud, Zaki; Anshari, Rio

Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) in Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) especially on Fukushima Nuclear Accident will be discussed in this paper. The Tohoku earthquake triggered the shutdown of nuclear power reactors at Fukushima Nuclear Power station. Though shutdown process has been completely performed, cooling process, at much smaller level than in normal operation, is needed to remove decay heat from the reactor core until the reactor reach cold-shutdown condition. If LOCA happen at this condition, it will cause the increase of reactor fuel and other core temperatures and can lead to reactor core meltdown and exposure of radioactive material to the environmentmore » such as in the Fukushima Dai Ichi nuclear accident case. In this study numerical simulation has been performed to calculate pressure composition, water level and temperature distribution on reactor during this accident. There are two coolant regulating system that operational on reactor unit 1 at this accident, Isolation Condensers (IC) system and Safety Relief Valves (SRV) system. Average mass flow of steam to the IC system in this event is 10 kg/s and could keep reactor core from uncovered about 3,2 hours and fully uncovered in 4,7 hours later. There are two coolant regulating system at operational on reactor unit 2, Reactor Core Isolation Condenser (RCIC) System and Safety Relief Valves (SRV). Average mass flow of coolant that correspond this event is 20 kg/s and could keep reactor core from uncovered about 73 hours and fully uncovered in 75 hours later. There are three coolant regulating system at operational on reactor unit 3, Reactor Core Isolation Condenser (RCIC) system, High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) system and Safety Relief Valves (SRV). Average mass flow of water that correspond this event is 15 kg/s and could keep reactor core from uncovered about 37 hours and fully uncovered in 40 hours later.« less

Preliminary analysis of loss-of-coolant accident in Fukushima nuclear accident

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su'ud, Zaki; Anshari, Rio

2012-06-01

Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) in Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) especially on Fukushima Nuclear Accident will be discussed in this paper. The Tohoku earthquake triggered the shutdown of nuclear power reactors at Fukushima Nuclear Power station. Though shutdown process has been completely performed, cooling process, at much smaller level than in normal operation, is needed to remove decay heat from the reactor core until the reactor reach cold-shutdown condition. If LOCA happen at this condition, it will cause the increase of reactor fuel and other core temperatures and can lead to reactor core meltdown and exposure of radioactive material to the environment such as in the Fukushima Dai Ichi nuclear accident case. In this study numerical simulation has been performed to calculate pressure composition, water level and temperature distribution on reactor during this accident. There are two coolant regulating system that operational on reactor unit 1 at this accident, Isolation Condensers (IC) system and Safety Relief Valves (SRV) system. Average mass flow of steam to the IC system in this event is 10 kg/s and could keep reactor core from uncovered about 3,2 hours and fully uncovered in 4,7 hours later. There are two coolant regulating system at operational on reactor unit 2, Reactor Core Isolation Condenser (RCIC) System and Safety Relief Valves (SRV). Average mass flow of coolant that correspond this event is 20 kg/s and could keep reactor core from uncovered about 73 hours and fully uncovered in 75 hours later. There are three coolant regulating system at operational on reactor unit 3, Reactor Core Isolation Condenser (RCIC) system, High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) system and Safety Relief Valves (SRV). Average mass flow of water that correspond this event is 15 kg/s and could keep reactor core from uncovered about 37 hours and fully uncovered in 40 hours later.

Space nuclear reactors — A post-operational disposal strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angelo, Joseph A.; Buden, David

If 100-kWe and multimegawatt-electric class space nuclear reactors are to play a significant role in humanity's push into cislunar and heliocentric space in the next millennium, the obvious advantages of space nuclear power plants should not be denied to space mission planners due to a failure to develop internationally-acceptable post-operational disposal strategies for spent reactor cores. This is true whether the space reactor has shut down at the end of its normal mission lifetime or in response to an onboard system failure/emergency which causes a premature mission termination. Up until now the great majority of aerospace nuclear safety efforts have concentrated on prelaunch, launch and reactor startup activities. In fact, with the exception of the development of the "nuclear safe orbit" (NSO) concept, little technical attention has yet been given to the post-operational disposal of future space reactors. This paper describes the technical alternatives available for the safe, acceptable disposal of space reactors that could be used in a wide variety of space applications in the 21st Century. Post-operational core radioactivity levels for typical advanced design (hundred kWe-class) space reactors are presented as a function of decay time and contrasted to the spent core radionuclide inventory of the SNAP-10A system, the only nuclear reactor operated in space by the United States. The role of a permanent space station, smart robotic systems, and an operating lunar base in support of spent core disposal strategies is also presented, including use of a selected portion of the lunar surface as an internationally-designated spent reactor core repository.

Bimodal Nuclear Thermal Rocket Analysis Developments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belair, Michael; Lavelle, Thomas; Saimento, Charles; Juhasz, Albert; Stewart, Mark

2014-01-01

Nuclear thermal propulsion has long been considered an enabling technology for human missions to Mars and beyond. One concept of operations for these missions utilizes the nuclear reactor to generate electrical power during coast phases, known as bimodal operation. This presentation focuses on the systems modeling and analysis efforts for a NERVA derived concept. The NERVA bimodal operation derives the thermal energy from the core tie tube elements. Recent analysis has shown potential temperature distributions in the tie tube elements that may limit the thermodynamic efficiency of the closed Brayton cycle used to generate electricity with the current design. The results of this analysis are discussed as well as the potential implications to a bimodal NERVA type reactor.

Accuracy of Reaction Cross Section for Exotic Nuclei in Glauber Model Based on MCMC Diagnostics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rueter, Keiti; Novikov, Ivan

2017-01-01

Parameters of a nuclear density distribution for an exotic nuclei with halo or skin structures can be determined from the experimentally measured reaction cross-section. In the presented work, to extract parameters such as nuclear size information for a halo and core, we compare experimental data on reaction cross-sections with values obtained using expressions of the Glauber Model. These calculations are performed using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithm. We discuss the accuracy of the Monte Carlo approach and its dependence on k*, the power law turnover point in the discreet power spectrum of the random number sequence and on the lag-1 autocorrelation time of the random number sequence.

Application of ATHLET/DYN3D coupled codes system for fast liquid metal cooled reactor steady state simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, V.; Samokhin, A.; Danicheva, I.; Khrennikov, N.; Bouscuet, J.; Velkov, K.; Pasichnyk, I.

2017-01-01

In this paper the approaches used for developing of the BN-800 reactor test model and for validation of coupled neutron-physic and thermohydraulic calculations are described. Coupled codes ATHLET 3.0 (code for thermohydraulic calculations of reactor transients) and DYN3D (3-dimensional code of neutron kinetics) are used for calculations. The main calculation results of reactor steady state condition are provided. 3-D model used for neutron calculations was developed for start reactor BN-800 load. The homogeneous approach is used for description of reactor assemblies. Along with main simplifications, the main reactor BN-800 core zones are described (LEZ, MEZ, HEZ, MOX, blankets). The 3D neutron physics calculations were provided with 28-group library, which is based on estimated nuclear data ENDF/B-7.0. Neutron SCALE code was used for preparation of group constants. Nodalization hydraulic model has boundary conditions by coolant mass-flow rate for core inlet part, by pressure and enthalpy for core outlet part, which can be chosen depending on reactor state. Core inlet and outlet temperatures were chosen according to reactor nominal state. The coolant mass flow rate profiling through the core is based on reactor power distribution. The test thermohydraulic calculations made with using of developed model showed acceptable results in coolant mass flow rate distribution through the reactor core and in axial temperature and pressure distribution. The developed model will be upgraded in future for different transient analysis in metal-cooled fast reactors of BN type including reactivity transients (control rods withdrawal, stop of the main circulation pump, etc.).

Multiple Core Galaxies: Implications for M31

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, B. F.; Miller, R. H.; Cuzzi, Jeffrey N. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

It is generally perceived that two cores cannot survive very long within the nuclear regions of a galaxy. The recent HST discovery of a double nucleus in M31 brings this question into prominence. Physical conditions in the nuclear regions of a typical galaxy help a second core survive so it can orbit for a long time, possibly for thousands of orbits. Given the nearly uniform mass density in a core, tidal forces within a core radius are compressive in all directions and help the core survive the buffeting it takes as it orbits near the center of the galaxy. We use numerical experiments to illustrate these physical principles. Modifications to the experimental method allow the full power of the experiments to be concentrated on the nuclear regions. Spatial resolution of about 0.2 parsec comfortably resolves detail within the 1.4 parsec core radius of the second, but brighter, core (P1) in M31. The same physical principles apply in other astronomical situations, such as dumbbell galaxies, galaxies orbiting near the center of a galaxy cluster, and subclustering in galaxy clusters. The experiments also illustrate that galaxy encounters and merging are quite sensitive to external tidal forces, such as those produced by the gravitational potential in a group or cluster of galaxies.

Reflector and Protections in a Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor: Modelling and Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blanchet, David; Fontaine, Bruno

2017-09-01

The ASTRID project (Advanced Sodium Technological Reactor for Industrial Demonstration) is a Generation IV nuclear reactor concept under development in France [1]. In this frame, studies are underway to optimize radial reflectors and protections. Considering radial protections made in natural boron carbide, this study is conducted to assess the neutronic performances of the MgO as the reference choice for reflector material, in comparison with other possible materials including a more conventional stainless steel. The analysis is based upon a simplified 1-D and 2-D deterministic modelling of the reactor, providing simplified interfaces between core, reflector and protections. Such models allow examining detailed reaction rate distributions; they also provide physical insights into local spectral effects occurring at the Core-Reflector and at the Reflector-Protection interfaces.

Substructure of the inner core of the Earth.

PubMed Central

Herndon, J M

1996-01-01

The rationale is disclosed for a substructure within the Earth's inner core, consisting of an actinide subcore at the center of the Earth, surrounded by a subshell composed of the products of nuclear fission and radioactive decay. Estimates are made as to possible densities, physical dimensions, and chemical compositions. The feasibility for self-sustaining nuclear fission within the subcore is demonstrated, and implications bearing on the structure and geodynamic activity of the inner core are discussed. PMID:11607625

Emergency heat removal system for a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Dunckel, Thomas L.

1976-01-01

A heat removal system for nuclear reactors serving as a supplement to an Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) during a Loss of Coolant Accident (LOCA) comprises a plurality of heat pipes having one end in heat transfer relationship with either the reactor pressure vessel, the core support grid structure or other in-core components and the opposite end located in heat transfer relationship with a heat exchanger having heat transfer fluid therein. The heat exchanger is located external to the pressure vessel whereby excessive core heat is transferred from the above reactor components and dissipated within the heat exchanger fluid.

Fuel handling system for a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Saiveau, James G.; Kann, William J.; Burelbach, James P.

1986-01-01

A pool type nuclear fission reactor has a core, with a plurality of core elements and a redan which confines coolant as a hot pool at a first end of the core separated from a cold pool at a second end of the core by the redan. A fuel handling system for use with such reactors comprises a core element storage basket located outside of the redan in the cold pool. An access passage is formed in the redan with a gate for opening and closing the passage to maintain the temperature differential between the hot pool and the cold pool. A mechanism is provided for opening and closing the gate. A lifting arm is also provided for manipulating the fuel core elements through the access passage between the storage basket and the core when the redan gate is open.

Fuel handling system for a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Saiveau, James G.; Kann, William J.; Burelbach, James P.

1986-12-02

A pool type nuclear fission reactor has a core, with a plurality of core elements and a redan which confines coolant as a hot pool at a first end of the core separated from a cold pool at a second end of the core by the redan. A fuel handling system for use with such reactors comprises a core element storage basket located outside of the redan in the cold pool. An access passage is formed in the redan with a gate for opening and closing the passage to maintain the temperature differential between the hot pool and the cold pool. A mechanism is provided for opening and closing the gate. A lifting arm is also provided for manipulating the fuel core elements through the access passage between the storage basket and the core when the redan gate is open.

Prevent, Counter, and Respond - A Strategic Plan to Reduce Global Nuclear Threats (FY 2016-FY2020)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2015-03-01

NNSA’s second core mission is reducing global nuclear dangers by preventing the acquisition of nuclear weapons or weapons-usable materials, countering efforts to acquire such weapons or materials, and responding to nuclear or radiological incidents. In 2015, NNSA reorganized its nonproliferation activities based on core competencies and realigned its counterterrorism and counterproliferation functions to more efficiently address both current and emerging threats and challenges. The reorganization accompanied the March 2015 release of the first ever Prevent, Counter, and Respond – A Strategic Plan to Reduce Global Nuclear Threats. This report, which NNSA will update annually, highlights key nuclear threat trends andmore » describes NNSA’s integrated threat reduction strategy.« less

Seismic isolation of nuclear power plants using elastomeric bearings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Manish

Seismic isolation using low damping rubber (LDR) and lead-rubber (LR) bearings is a viable strategy for mitigating the effects of extreme earthquake shaking on safety-related nuclear structures. Although seismic isolation has been deployed in nuclear structures in France and South Africa, it has not seen widespread use because of limited new build nuclear construction in the past 30 years and a lack of guidelines, codes and standards for the analysis, design and construction of isolation systems specific to nuclear structures. The nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi in March 2011 has led the nuclear community to consider seismic isolation for new large light water and small modular reactors to withstand the effects of extreme earthquakes. The mechanical properties of LDR and LR bearings are not expected to change substantially in design basis shaking. However, under shaking more intense than design basis, the properties of the lead cores in lead-rubber bearings may degrade due to heating associated with energy dissipation, some bearings in an isolation system may experience net tension, and the compression and tension stiffness may be affected by the horizontal displacement of the isolation system. The effects of intra-earthquake changes in mechanical properties on the response of base-isolated nuclear power plants (NPPs) were investigated using an advanced numerical model of a lead-rubber bearing that has been verified and validated, and implemented in OpenSees and ABAQUS. A series of experiments were conducted at University at Buffalo to characterize the behavior of elastomeric bearings in tension. The test data was used to validate a phenomenological model of an elastomeric bearing in tension. The value of three times the shear modulus of rubber in elastomeric bearing was found to be a reasonable estimate of the cavitation stress of a bearing. The sequence of loading did not change the behavior of an elastomeric bearing under cyclic tension, and there was no significant change in the shear modulus, compressive stiffness, and buckling load of a bearing following cavitation. Response-history analysis of base-isolated NPPs was performed using a two-node macro model and a lumped-mass stick model. A comparison of responses obtained from analysis using simplified and advanced isolator models showed that the variation in buckling load due to horizontal displacement and strength degradation due to heating of lead cores affect the responses of a base-isolated NPP most significantly. The two-node macro model can be used to estimate the horizontal displacement response of a base-isolated NPP, but a three-dimensional model that explicitly considers all of the bearings in the isolation system will be required to estimate demands on individual bearings, and to investigate rocking and torsional responses. The use of the simplified LR bearing model underestimated the torsional and rocking response of the base-isolated NPP. Vertical spectral response at the top of containment building was very sensitive to how damping was defined for the response-history analysis.

Nuclear reactor spacer grid and ductless core component

DOEpatents

Christiansen, David W.; Karnesky, Richard A.

1989-01-01

The invention relates to a nuclear reactor spacer grid member for use in a liquid cooled nuclear reactor and to a ductless core component employing a plurality of these spacer grid members. The spacer grid member is of the egg-shell type and is constructed so that the walls of the cell members of the grid member are formed of a single thickness of metal to avoid tolerance problems. Within each cell member is a hydraulic spring which laterally constrains the nuclear material bearing rod which passes through each cell member against a hardstop in response to coolant flow through the cell member. This hydraulic spring is also suitable for use in a water cooled nuclear reactor. A core component constructed of, among other components, a plurality of these spacer grid members, avoids the use of a full length duct by providing spacer sleeves about the sodium tubes passing through the spacer grid members at locations between the grid members, thereby maintaining a predetermined space between adjacent grid members.

The Impact of the Nuclear Equation of State in Core Collapse Supernovae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baird, M. L.; Lentz, E. J.; Hix, W. R.; Mezzacappa, A.; Messer, O. E. B.; Liebendoerfer, M.; TeraScale Supernova Initiative Collaboration

2005-12-01

One of the key ingredients to the core collapse supernova mechanism is the physics of matter at or near nuclear density. Included in simulations as part of the Equation of State (EOS), nuclear repulsion experienced at high densities are responsible for the bounce shock, which initially causes the outer envelope of the supernova to expand, as well as determining the structure of the newly formed proto-neutron star. Recent years have seen renewed interest in this fundamental piece of supernova physics, resulting in several promising candidate EOS parameterizations. We will present the impact of these variations in the nuclear EOS using spherically symmetric, Newtonian and General Relativistic neutrino transport simulations of stellar core collapse and bounce. This work is supported in part by SciDAC grants to the TeraScale Supernovae Initiative from the DOE Office of Science High Energy, Nuclear, and Advanced Scientific Computing Research Programs. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for U.S. Department of Energy under contract DEAC05-00OR22725

On the nuclear halo of a proton pencil beam stopping in water.

PubMed

Gottschalk, Bernard; Cascio, Ethan W; Daartz, Juliane; Wagner, Miles S

2015-07-21

The dose distribution of a proton beam stopping in water has components due to basic physics and may have others from beam contamination. We propose the concise terms core for the primary beam, halo (see Pedroni et al 2005 Phys. Med. Biol. 50 541-61) for the low dose region from charged secondaries, aura for the low dose region from neutrals, and spray for beam contamination. We have measured the dose distribution in a water tank at 177 MeV under conditions where spray, therefore radial asymmetry, is negligible. We used an ADCL calibrated thimble chamber and a Faraday cup calibrated integral beam monitor so as to obtain immediately the absolute dose per proton. We took depth scans at fixed distances from the beam centroid rather than radial scans at fixed depths. That minimizes the signal range for each scan and better reveals the structure of the core and halo. Transitions from core to halo to aura are already discernible in the raw data. The halo has components attributable to coherent and incoherent nuclear reactions. Due to elastic and inelastic scattering by the nuclear force, the Bragg peak persists to radii larger than can be accounted for by Molière single scattering. The radius of the incoherent component, a dose bump around midrange, agrees with the kinematics of knockout reactions. We have fitted the data in two ways. The first is algebraic or model dependent (MD) as far as possible, and has 25 parameters. The second, using 2D cubic spline regression, is model independent. Optimal parameterization for treatment planning will probably be a hybrid of the two, and will of course require measurements at several incident energies. The MD fit to the core term resembles that of the PSI group (Pedroni et al 2005), which has been widely emulated. However, we replace their T(w), a mass stopping power which mixes electromagnetic (EM) and nuclear effects, with one that is purely EM, arguing that protons that do not undergo hard single scatters continue to lose energy according to the Beth-Bloch formula. If that is correct, it is no longer necessary to measure T(w), and the dominant role played by the 'Bragg peak chamber' vanishes. For mathematical and other details we will refer to Gottschalk et al (2014, arXiv: 1409.1938v1), a long technical report of this project.

On the nuclear halo of a proton pencil beam stopping in water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gottschalk, Bernard; Cascio, Ethan W.; Daartz, Juliane; Wagner, Miles S.

2015-07-01

The dose distribution of a proton beam stopping in water has components due to basic physics and may have others from beam contamination. We propose the concise terms core for the primary beam, halo (see Pedroni et al 2005 Phys. Med. Biol. 50 541-61) for the low dose region from charged secondaries, aura for the low dose region from neutrals, and spray for beam contamination. We have measured the dose distribution in a water tank at 177 MeV under conditions where spray, therefore radial asymmetry, is negligible. We used an ADCL calibrated thimble chamber and a Faraday cup calibrated integral beam monitor so as to obtain immediately the absolute dose per proton. We took depth scans at fixed distances from the beam centroid rather than radial scans at fixed depths. That minimizes the signal range for each scan and better reveals the structure of the core and halo. Transitions from core to halo to aura are already discernible in the raw data. The halo has components attributable to coherent and incoherent nuclear reactions. Due to elastic and inelastic scattering by the nuclear force, the Bragg peak persists to radii larger than can be accounted for by Molière single scattering. The radius of the incoherent component, a dose bump around midrange, agrees with the kinematics of knockout reactions. We have fitted the data in two ways. The first is algebraic or model dependent (MD) as far as possible, and has 25 parameters. The second, using 2D cubic spline regression, is model independent. Optimal parameterization for treatment planning will probably be a hybrid of the two, and will of course require measurements at several incident energies. The MD fit to the core term resembles that of the PSI group (Pedroni et al 2005), which has been widely emulated. However, we replace their T(w), a mass stopping power which mixes electromagnetic (EM) and nuclear effects, with one that is purely EM, arguing that protons that do not undergo hard single scatters continue to lose energy according to the Beth-Bloch formula. If that is correct, it is no longer necessary to measure T(w), and the dominant role played by the ‘Bragg peak chamber’ vanishes. For mathematical and other details we will refer to Gottschalk et al (2014, arXiv: 1409.1938v1), a long technical report of this project.

Physics and potentials of fissioning plasmas for space power and propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thom, K.; Schwenk, F. C.; Schneider, R. T.

1976-01-01

Fissioning uranium plasmas are the nuclear fuel in conceptual high-temperature gaseous-core reactors for advanced rocket propulsion in space. A gaseous-core nuclear rocket would be a thermal reactor in which an enriched uranium plasma at about 10,000 K is confined in a reflector-moderator cavity where it is nuclear critical and transfers its fission power to a confining propellant flow for the production of thrust at a specific impulse up to 5000 sec. With a thrust-to-engine weight ratio approaching unity, the gaseous-core nuclear rocket could provide for propulsion capabilities needed for manned missions to the nearby planets and for economical cislunar ferry services. Fueled with enriched uranium hexafluoride and operated at temperatures lower than needed for propulsion, the gaseous-core reactor scheme also offers significant benefits in applications for space and terrestrial power. They include high-efficiency power generation at low specific mass, the burnup of certain fission products and actinides, the breeding of U-233 from thorium with short doubling times, and improved convenience of fuel handling and processing in the gaseous phase.

Summary of the thermal evaluation of LWBR (LWBR Development Program)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lerner, S.; McWilliams, K.D.; Stout, J.W.

1980-03-01

This report describes the thermal evaluation of the core for the Shippingport Light Water Breeder Reactor. This core contains unique thermal-hydraulic features such as (1) close rod-to-rod proximity, (2) an open-lattice array of fuel rods with two different diameters and rod-to-rod spacings in the same flow region, (3) triplate orifices located at both the entrance and exit of fuel modules and (4) a hydraulically-balanced movable-fuel system coupled with (5) axial-and-radial fuel zoning for reactivity control. Performance studies used reactor thermal principles such as the hot-and-nominal channel concept and related nuclear/engineering design allowances. These were applied to models of three-dimensional roddedmore » arrays comprising the core fuel regions.« less

Protein kinases responsible for the phosphorylation of the nuclear egress core complex of human cytomegalovirus.

PubMed

Sonntag, Eric; Milbradt, Jens; Svrlanska, Adriana; Strojan, Hanife; Häge, Sigrun; Kraut, Alexandra; Hesse, Anne-Marie; Amin, Bushra; Sonnewald, Uwe; Couté, Yohann; Marschall, Manfred

2017-10-01

Nuclear egress of herpesvirus capsids is mediated by a multi-component nuclear egress complex (NEC) assembled by a heterodimer of two essential viral core egress proteins. In the case of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), this core NEC is defined by the interaction between the membrane-anchored pUL50 and its nuclear cofactor, pUL53. NEC protein phosphorylation is considered to be an important regulatory step, so this study focused on the respective role of viral and cellular protein kinases. Multiply phosphorylated pUL50 varieties were detected by Western blot and Phos-tag analyses as resulting from both viral and cellular kinase activities. In vitro kinase analyses demonstrated that pUL50 is a substrate of both PKCα and CDK1, while pUL53 can also be moderately phosphorylated by CDK1. The use of kinase inhibitors further illustrated the importance of distinct kinases for core NEC phosphorylation. Importantly, mass spectrometry-based proteomic analyses identified five major and nine minor sites of pUL50 phosphorylation. The functional relevance of core NEC phosphorylation was confirmed by various experimental settings, including kinase knock-down/knock-out and confocal imaging, in which it was found that (i) HCMV core NEC proteins are not phosphorylated solely by viral pUL97, but also by cellular kinases; (ii) both PKC and CDK1 phosphorylation are detectable for pUL50; (iii) no impact of PKC phosphorylation on NEC functionality has been identified so far; (iv) nonetheless, CDK1-specific phosphorylation appears to be required for functional core NEC interaction. In summary, our findings provide the first evidence that the HCMV core NEC is phosphorylated by cellular kinases, and that the complex pattern of NEC phosphorylation has functional relevance.

High resolution imaging of galaxy cores

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crane, P.; Stiavelli, M.; King, I. R.; Deharveng, J. M.; Albrecht, R.; Barbieri, C.; Blades, J. C.; Boksenberg, A.; Disney, M. J.; Jakobsen, P.

1993-01-01

Surface photometry data obtained with the Faint Object Camera of the Hubble Space Telescope in the cores of ten galaxies is presented. The major results are: (1) none of the galaxies show truly 'isothermal' cores, (2) galaxies with nuclear activity show very similar light profiles, (3) all objects show central mass densities above 10 exp 3 solar masses/cu pc3, and (4) four of the galaxies (M87, NGC 3862, NGC 4594, NGC 6251) show evidence for exceptional nuclear mass concentrations.

Horizontal baffle for nuclear reactors

DOEpatents

Rylatt, John A.

1978-01-01

A horizontal baffle disposed in the annulus defined between the core barrel and the thermal liner of a nuclear reactor thereby physically separating the outlet region of the core from the annular area below the horizontal baffle. The horizontal baffle prevents hot coolant that has passed through the reactor core from thermally damaging apparatus located in the annulus below the horizontal baffle by utilizing the thermally induced bowing of the horizontal baffle to enhance sealing while accommodating lateral motion of the baffle base plate.

Exploratory study of several advanced nuclear-MHD power plant systems.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, J. R.; Clement, J. D.; Rosa, R. J.; Yang, Y. Y.

1973-01-01

In order for efficient multimegawatt closed cycle nuclear-MHD systems to become practical, long-life gas cooled reactors with exit temperatures of about 2500 K or higher must be developed. Four types of nuclear reactors which have the potential of achieving this goal are the NERVA-type solid core reactor, the colloid core (rotating fluidized bed) reactor, the 'light bulb' gas core reactor, and the 'coaxial flow' gas core reactor. Research programs aimed at developing these reactors have progressed rapidly in recent years so that prototype power reactors could be operating by 1980. Three types of power plant systems which use these reactors have been analyzed to determine the operating characteristics, critical parameters and performance of these power plants. Overall thermal efficiencies as high as 80% are projected, using an MHD turbine-compressor cycle with steam bottoming, and slightly lower efficiencies are projected for an MHD motor-compressor cycle.

An improved heat transfer configuration for a solid-core nuclear thermal rocket engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, John S.; Walton, James T.; Mcguire, Melissa L.

1992-01-01

Interrupted flow, impingement cooling, and axial power distribution are employed to enhance the heat-transfer configuration of a solid-core nuclear thermal rocket engine. Impingement cooling is introduced to increase the local heat-transfer coefficients between the reactor material and the coolants. Increased fuel loading is used at the inlet end of the reactor to enhance heat-transfer capability where the temperature differences are the greatest. A thermal-hydraulics computer program for an unfueled NERVA reactor core is employed to analyze the proposed configuration with attention given to uniform fuel loading, number of channels through the impingement wafers, fuel-element length, mass-flow rate, and wafer gap. The impingement wafer concept (IWC) is shown to have heat-transfer characteristics that are better than those of the NERVA-derived reactor at 2500 K. The IWC concept is argued to be an effective heat-transfer configuration for solid-core nuclear thermal rocket engines.

Reactor moderator, pressure vessel, and heat rejection system of an open-cycle gas core nuclear rocket concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, M. F.; Whitmarsh, C. L., Jr.; Sirocky, P. J., Jr.; Iwanczyke, L. C.

1973-01-01

A preliminary design study of a conceptual 6000-megawatt open-cycle gas-core nuclear rocket engine system was made. The engine has a thrust of 196,600 newtons (44,200 lb) and a specific impulse of 4400 seconds. The nuclear fuel is uranium-235 and the propellant is hydrogen. Critical fuel mass was calculated for several reactor configurations. Major components of the reactor (reflector, pressure vessel, and waste heat rejection system) were considered conceptually and were sized.

Nup153 and Nup98 bind the HIV-1 core and contribute to the early steps of HIV-1 replication

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Di Nunzio, Francesca, E-mail: francesca.di-nunzio@pasteur.fr; Fricke, Thomas; Miccio, Annarita

The early steps of HIV-1 replication involve the entry of HIV-1 into the nucleus, which is characterized by viral interactions with nuclear pore components. HIV-1 developed an evolutionary strategy to usurp the nuclear pore machinery and chromatin in order to integrate and efficiently express viral genes. In the current work, we studied the role of nucleoporins 153 and 98 (Nup153 and Nup98) in infection of human Jurkat lymphocytes by HIV-1. We showed that Nup153-depleted cells exhibited a defect in nuclear import, while depletion of Nup 98 caused a slight defect in HIV integration. To explore the biochemical viral determinants formore » the requirement of Nup153 and Nup98 during HIV-1 infection, we tested the ability of these nucleoporins to interact with HIV-1 cores. Our findings showed that both nucleoporins bind HIV-1 cores suggesting that this interaction is important for HIV-1 nuclear import and/or integration. Distribution analysis of integration sites in Nup153-depleted cells revealed a reduced tendency of HIV-1 to integrate in intragenic sites, which in part could account for the large infectivity defect observed in Nup153-depleted cells. Our work strongly supports a role for Nup153 in HIV-1 nuclear import and integration. - Highlights: ► We studied the role of Nup98 and Nup153 in HIV-1 infection. ► Nup98 binds the HIV-1 core and is involved in HIV-1 integration. ► Nup153 binds the HIV-1 core and is involved in HIV-1 nuclear import. ► Depletion of Nup153 decreased the integration of HIV-1 in transcriptionally active sites.« less

Advanced Test Reactor Core Modeling Update Project Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2011

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

David W. Nigg; Devin A. Steuhm

2011-09-01

Legacy computational reactor physics software tools and protocols currently used for support of Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) core fuel management and safety assurance and, to some extent, experiment management are obsolete, inconsistent with the state of modern nuclear engineering practice, and are becoming increasingly difficult to properly verify and validate (V&V). Furthermore, the legacy staff knowledge required for application of these tools and protocols from the 1960s and 1970s is rapidly being lost due to staff turnover and retirements. In 2009 the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) initiated a focused effort to address this situation through the introduction of modern high-fidelitymore » computational software and protocols, with appropriate V&V, within the next 3-4 years via the ATR Core Modeling and Simulation and V&V Update (or 'Core Modeling Update') Project. This aggressive computational and experimental campaign will have a broad strategic impact on the operation of the ATR, both in terms of improved computational efficiency and accuracy for support of ongoing DOE programs as well as in terms of national and international recognition of the ATR National Scientific User Facility (NSUF). The ATR Core Modeling Update Project, targeted for full implementation in phase with the anticipated ATR Core Internals Changeout (CIC) in the 2014 time frame, began during the last quarter of Fiscal Year 2009, and has just completed its first full year. Key accomplishments so far have encompassed both computational as well as experimental work. A new suite of stochastic and deterministic transport theory based reactor physics codes and their supporting nuclear data libraries (SCALE, KENO-6, HELIOS, NEWT, and ATTILA) have been installed at the INL under various permanent sitewide license agreements and corresponding baseline models of the ATR and ATRC are now operational, demonstrating the basic feasibility of these code packages for their intended purpose. Furthermore, a capability for rigorous sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification based on the TSUNAMI system is being implemented and initial computational results have been obtained. This capability will have many applications in 2011 and beyond as a tool for understanding the margins of uncertainty in the new models as well as for validation experiment design and interpretation. Finally we note that although full implementation of the new computational models and protocols will extend over a period 3-4 years as noted above, interim applications in the much nearer term have already been demonstrated. In particular, these demonstrations included an analysis that was useful for understanding the cause of some issues in December 2009 that were triggered by a larger than acceptable discrepancy between the measured excess core reactivity and a calculated value that was based on the legacy computational methods. As the Modeling Update project proceeds we anticipate further such interim, informal, applications in parallel with formal qualification of the system under the applicable INL Quality Assurance procedures and standards.« less

On M31's Double Nucleus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, R. H.; Smith, B. F.; Cuzzi, Jeffrey (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

The recent HST discovery of a double nucleus in M31 brings into prominence the question how long, a second core can survive within the nuclear regions of a galaxy. Physical conditions in the nuclear regions of a typical galaxy help a second core survive, so it can orbit for a long time. possibly for thousands of orbits. Given the nearly uniform mass density in a core, tidal forces within a core radius are compressive in all directions and help the core survive the buffeting it takes as it orbits near the center of the galaxy. We use numerical experiments to illustrate these physical principles. Our method allows the full power of the experiments to be concentrated on the nuclear regions. Spatial resolution of about 0.2 pc comfortably resolves detail within the 1.4 parsec core radius of the second, but brighter core (P1) in M31. We use these physical principles to discuss M31's double nucleus, but they apply to other galaxies as well. and in other astronomical situations such as dumbbell galaxies. galaxies orbiting near the center of a galaxy cluster, and subclustering in galaxy clusters. The experiments also illustrate that galaxy encounters and merging are quite sensitive to external tidal forces, such as those produced by the gravitational potential in a group or cluster of galaxies.

Uranium droplet core nuclear rocket

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anghaie, Samim

1991-01-01

Uranium droplet nuclear rocket is conceptually designed to utilize the broad temperature range ofthe liquid phase of metallic uranium in droplet configuration which maximizes the energy transfer area per unit fuel volume. In a baseline system dissociated hydrogen at 100 bar is heated to 6000 K, providing 2000 second of Isp. Fission fragments and intense radian field enhance the dissociation of molecular hydrogen beyond the equilibrium thermodynamic level. Uranium droplets in the core are confined and separated by an axisymmetric vortex flow generated by high velocity tangential injection of hydrogen in the mid-core regions. Droplet uranium flow to the core is controlled and adjusted by a twin flow nozzle injection system.

Fast-acting nuclear reactor control device

DOEpatents

Kotlyar, Oleg M.; West, Phillip B.

1993-01-01

A fast-acting nuclear reactor control device for moving and positioning a fety control rod to desired positions within the core of the reactor between a run position in which the safety control rod is outside the reactor core, and a shutdown position in which the rod is fully inserted in the reactor core. The device employs a hydraulic pump/motor, an electric gear motor, and solenoid valve to drive the safety control rod into the reactor core through the entire stroke of the safety control rod. An overrunning clutch allows the safety control rod to freely travel toward a safe position in the event of a partial drive system failure.

Gamow-Teller response in the configuration space of a density-functional-theory-rooted no-core configuration-interaction model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konieczka, M.; Kortelainen, M.; Satuła, W.

2018-03-01

Background: The atomic nucleus is a unique laboratory in which to study fundamental aspects of the electroweak interaction. This includes a question concerning in medium renormalization of the axial-vector current, which still lacks satisfactory explanation. Study of spin-isospin or Gamow-Teller (GT) response may provide valuable information on both the quenching of the axial-vector coupling constant as well as on nuclear structure and nuclear astrophysics. Purpose: We have performed a seminal calculation of the GT response by using the no-core configuration-interaction approach rooted in multireference density functional theory (DFT-NCCI). The model treats properly isospin and rotational symmetries and can be applied to calculate both the nuclear spectra and transition rates in atomic nuclei, irrespectively of their mass and particle-number parity. Methods: The DFT-NCCI calculation proceeds as follows: First, one builds a configuration space by computing relevant, for a given physical problem, (multi)particle-(multi)hole Slater determinants. Next, one applies the isospin and angular-momentum projections and performs the isospin and K mixing in order to construct a model space composed of linearly dependent states of good angular momentum. Eventually, one mixes the projected states by solving the Hill-Wheeler-Griffin equation. Results: The method is applied to compute the GT strength distribution in selected N ≈Z nuclei including the p -shell 8Li and 8Be nuclei and the s d -shell well-deformed nucleus 24Mg. In order to demonstrate a flexibility of the approach we present also a calculation of the superallowed GT β decay in doubly-magic spherical 100Sn and the low-spin spectrum in 100In. Conclusions: It is demonstrated that the DFT-NCCI model is capable of capturing the GT response satisfactorily well by using a relatively small configuration space, exhausting simultaneously the GT sum rule. The model, due to its flexibility and broad range of applicability, may either serve as a complement or even as an alternative to other theoretical approaches, including the conventional nuclear shell model.

MODERATOR ELEMENTS FOR UNIFORM POWER NUCLEAR REACTOR

DOEpatents

Balent, R.

1963-03-12

This patent describes a method of obtaining a flatter flux and more uniform power generation across the core of a nuclear reactor. The method comprises using moderator elements having differing moderating strength. The elements have an increasing amount of the better moderating material as a function of radial and/or axial distance from the reactor core center. (AEC)

Reactivity control assembly for nuclear reactor. [LMFBR

DOEpatents

Bollinger, L.R.

1982-03-17

This invention, which resulted from a contact with the United States Department of Energy, relates to a control mechanism for a nuclear reactor and, more particularly, to an assembly for selectively shifting different numbers of reactivity modifying rods into and out of the core of a nuclear reactor. It has been proposed heretofore to control the reactivity of a breeder reactor by varying the depth of insertion of control rods (e.g., rods containing a fertile material such as ThO/sub 2/) in the core of the reactor, thereby varying the amount of neutron-thermalizing coolant and the amount of neutron-capturing material in the core. This invention relates to a mechanism which can advantageously be used in this type of reactor control system.

Comparative assessment of out-of-core nuclear thermionic power systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Estabrook, W. C.; Koenig, D. R.; Prickett, W. Z.

1975-01-01

The hardware selections available for fabrication of a nuclear electric propulsion stage for planetary exploration were explored. The investigation was centered around a heat-pipe-cooled, fast-spectrum nuclear reactor for an out-of-core power conversion system with sufficient detail for comparison with the in-core system studies completed previously. A survey of competing power conversion systems still indicated that the modular reliability of thermionic converters makes them the desirable choice to provide the 240-kWe end-of-life power for at least 20,000 full power hours. The electrical energy will be used to operate a number of mercury ion bombardment thrusters with a specific impulse in the range of about 4,000-5,000 seconds.

A 1055 ft/sec impact test of a two foot diameter model nuclear reactor containment system without fracture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Puthoff, R. L.

1972-01-01

A study to determine the feasibility of containing the fission products of a mobile reactor in the event of an impact is presented. The model simulated the reactor core, energy absorbing gamma shielding, neutron shielding and the containment vessel. It was impacted against an 18,000 pound reinforced concrete block at 1055 ft/sec. The model was significantly deformed and the concrete block demolished. No leaks were detected nor were any cracks observed in the model after impact.

Initial Coupling of the RELAP-7 and PRONGHORN Applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

J. Ortensi; D. Andrs; A.A. Bingham

2012-10-01

Modern nuclear reactor safety codes require the ability to solve detailed coupled neutronic- thermal fluids problems. For larger cores, this implies fully coupled higher dimensionality spatial dynamics with appropriate feedback models that can provide enough resolution to accurately compute core heat generation and removal during steady and unsteady conditions. The reactor analysis code PRONGHORN is being coupled to RELAP-7 as a first step to extend RELAP’s current capabilities. This report details the mathematical models, the type of coupling, and the testing results from the integrated system. RELAP-7 is a MOOSE-based application that solves the continuity, momentum, and energy equations inmore » 1-D for a compressible fluid. The pipe and joint capabilities enable it to model parts of the power conversion unit. The PRONGHORN application, also developed on the MOOSE infrastructure, solves the coupled equations that define the neutron diffusion, fluid flow, and heat transfer in a full core model. The two systems are loosely coupled to simplify the transition towards a more complex infrastructure. The integration is tested on a simplified version of the OECD/NEA MHTGR-350 Coupled Neutronics-Thermal Fluids benchmark model.« less

Fundamental approaches for analysis thermal hydraulic parameter for Puspati Research Reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashim, Zaredah; Lanyau, Tonny Anak; Farid, Mohamad Fairus Abdul; Kassim, Mohammad Suhaimi; Azhar, Noraishah Syahirah

2016-01-01

The 1-MW PUSPATI Research Reactor (RTP) is the one and only nuclear pool type research reactor developed by General Atomic (GA) in Malaysia. It was installed at Malaysian Nuclear Agency and has reached the first criticality on 8 June 1982. Based on the initial core which comprised of 80 standard TRIGA fuel elements, the very fundamental thermal hydraulic model was investigated during steady state operation using the PARET-code. The main objective of this paper is to determine the variation of temperature profiles and Departure of Nucleate Boiling Ratio (DNBR) of RTP at full power operation. The second objective is to confirm that the values obtained from PARET-code are in agreement with Safety Analysis Report (SAR) for RTP. The code was employed for the hot and average channels in the core in order to calculate of fuel's center and surface, cladding, coolant temperatures as well as DNBR's values. In this study, it was found that the results obtained from the PARET-code showed that the thermal hydraulic parameters related to safety for initial core which was cooled by natural convection was in agreement with the designed values and safety limit in SAR.

Model Calculations with Excited Nuclear Fragmentations and Implications of Current GCR Spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saganti, Premkumar

As a result of the fragmentation process in nuclei, energy from the excited states may also contribute to the radiation damage on the cell structure. Radiation induced damage to the human body from the excited states of oxygen and several other nuclei and its fragments are of a concern in the context of the measured abundance of the current galactic cosmic rays (GCR) environment. Nuclear Shell model based calculations of the Selective-Core (Saganti-Cucinotta) approach are being expanded for O-16 nuclei fragments into N-15 with a proton knockout and O-15 with a neutron knockout are very promising. In our on going expansions of these nuclear fragmentation model calculations and assessments, we present some of the prominent nuclei interactions from a total of 190 isotopes that were identified for the current model expansion based on the Quantum Multiple Scattering Fragmentation Model (QMSFRG) of Cucinotta. Radiation transport model calculations with the implementation of these energy level spectral characteristics are expected to enhance the understanding of radiation damage at the cellular level. Implications of these excited energy spectral calculations in the assessment of radiation damage to the human body may provide enhanced understanding of the space radiation risk assessment.

Light clusters in nuclear matter: Excluded volume versus quantum many-body approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hempel, Matthias; Schaffner-Bielich, Jürgen; Typel, Stefan; Röpke, Gerd

2011-11-01

The formation of clusters in nuclear matter is investigated, which occurs, e.g., in low-energy heavy-ion collisions or core-collapse supernovae. In astrophysical applications, the excluded volume concept is commonly used for the description of light clusters. Here we compare a phenomenological excluded volume approach to two quantum many-body models, the quantum statistical model and the generalized relativistic mean-field model. All three models contain bound states of nuclei with mass number A≤4. It is explored to which extent the complex medium effects can be mimicked by the simpler excluded volume model, regarding the chemical composition and thermodynamic variables. Furthermore, the role of heavy nuclei and excited states is investigated by use of the excluded volume model. At temperatures of a few MeV the excluded volume model gives a poor description of the medium effects on the light clusters, but there the composition is actually dominated by heavy nuclei. At larger temperatures there is a rather good agreement, whereas some smaller differences and model dependencies remain.

Ranking of sabotage/tampering avoidance technology alternatives

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Andrews, W.B.; Tabatabai, A.S.; Powers, T.B.

1986-01-01

Pacific Northwest Laboratory conducted a study to evaluate alternatives to the design and operation of nuclear power plants, emphasizing a reduction of their vulnerability to sabotage. Estimates of core melt accident frequency during normal operations and from sabotage/tampering events were used to rank the alternatives. Core melt frequency for normal operations was estimated using sensitivity analysis of results of probabilistic risk assessments. Core melt frequency for sabotage/tampering was estimated by developing a model based on probabilistic risk analyses, historic data, engineering judgment, and safeguards analyses of plant locations where core melt events could be initiated. Results indicate the most effectivemore » alternatives focus on large areas of the plant, increase safety system redundancy, and reduce reliance on single locations for mitigation of transients. Less effective options focus on specific areas of the plant, reduce reliance on some plant areas for safe shutdown, and focus on less vulnerable targets.« less

Numerical Simulations of Single Flow Element in a Nuclear Thermal Thrust Chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, Gary; Ito, Yasushi; Ross, Doug; Chen, Yen-Sen; Wang, Ten-See

2007-01-01

The objective of this effort is to develop an efficient and accurate computational methodology to predict both detailed and global thermo-fluid environments of a single now element in a hypothetical solid-core nuclear thermal thrust chamber assembly, Several numerical and multi-physics thermo-fluid models, such as chemical reactions, turbulence, conjugate heat transfer, porosity, and power generation, were incorporated into an unstructured-grid, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics solver. The numerical simulations of a single now element provide a detailed thermo-fluid environment for thermal stress estimation and insight for possible occurrence of mid-section corrosion. In addition, detailed conjugate heat transfer simulations were employed to develop the porosity models for efficient pressure drop and thermal load calculations.

How Well Do We Know The Supernova Equation of State?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hempel, Matthias; Oertel, Micaela; Typel, Stefan; Klähn, Thomas

We give an overview about equations of state (EOS) which are currently available for simulations of core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers. A few selected important aspects of the EOS, such as the symmetry energy, the maximum mass of neutron stars, and cluster formation, are confronted with constraints from experiments and astrophysical observations. There are just very few models which are compatible even with this very restricted set of constraints. These remaining models illustrate the uncertainty of the uniform nuclear matter EOS at high densities. In addition, at finite temperatures the medium modifications of nuclear clusters represent a conceptual challenge. In conclusion, there has been significant development in the recent years, but there is still need for further improved general purpose EOS tables.

Analysis of the return to power scenario following a LBLOCA in a PWR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Macian, R.; Tyler, T.N.; Mahaffy, J.H.

1995-09-01

The risk of reactivity accidents has been considered an important safety issue since the beginning of the nuclear power industry. In particular, several events leading to such scenarios for PWR`s have been recognized and studied to assess the potential risk of fuel damage. The present paper analyzes one such event: the possible return to power during the reflooding phase following a LBLOCA. TRAC-PF1/MOD2 coupled with a three-dimensional neutronic model of the core based on the Nodal Expansion Method (NEM) was used to perform the analysis. The system computer model contains a detailed representation of a complete typical 4-loop PWR. Thus,more » the simulation can follow complex system interactions during reflooding, which may influence the neutronics feedback in the core. Analyses were made with core models bases on cross sections generated by LEOPARD. A standard and a potentially more limiting case, with increased pressurizer and accumulator inventories, were run. In both simulations, the reactor reaches a stable state after the reflooding is completed. The lower core region, filled with cold water, generates enough power to boil part of the incoming liquid, thus preventing the core average liquid fraction from reaching a value high enough to cause a return to power. At the same time, the mass flow rate through the core is adequate to maintain the rod temperature well below the fuel damage limit.« less

Application of a Virtual Reactivity Feedback Control Loop in Non-Nuclear Testing of a Fast Spectrum Reactor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bragg-Sitton, Shannon M.; Forsbacka, Matthew

2004-01-01

For a compact, fast-spectrum reactor, reactivity feedback is dominated by core deformation at elevated temperature. Given the use of accurate deformation measurement techniques, it is possible to simulate nuclear feedback in non-nuclear electrically heated reactor tests. Implementation of simulated reactivity feedback in response to measured deflection is being tested at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Early Flight Fission Test Facility (EFF-TF). During tests of the SAFE-100 reactor prototype, core deflection was monitored using a high resolution camera. "virtual" reactivity feedback was accomplished by applying the results of Monte Carlo calculations (MCNPX) to core deflection measurements; the computational analysis was used to establish the reactivity worth of van'ous core deformations. The power delivered to the SAFE-100 prototype was then dusted accordingly via kinetics calculations, The work presented in this paper will demonstrate virtual reactivity feedback as core power was increased from 1 kilowatt(sub t), to 10 kilowatts(sub t), held approximately constant at 10 kilowatts (sub t), and then allowed to decrease based on the negative thermal reactivity coefficient.

Xenon-induced power oscillations in a generic small modular reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kitcher, Evans Damenortey

As world demand for energy continues to grow at unprecedented rates, the world energy portfolio of the future will inevitably include a nuclear energy contribution. It has been suggested that the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) could play a significant role in the spread of civilian nuclear technology to nations previously without nuclear energy. As part of the design process, the SMR design must be assessed for the threat to operations posed by xenon-induced power oscillations. In this research, a generic SMR design was analyzed with respect to just such a threat. In order to do so, a multi-physics coupling routine was developed with MCNP/MCNPX as the neutronics solver. Thermal hydraulic assessments were performed using a single channel analysis tool developed in Python. Fuel and coolant temperature profiles were implemented in the form of temperature dependent fuel cross sections generated using the SIGACE code and reactor core coolant densities. The Power Axial Offset (PAO) and Xenon Axial Offset (XAO) parameters were chosen to quantify any oscillatory behavior observed. The methodology was benchmarked against results from literature of startup tests performed at a four-loop PWR in Korea. The developed benchmark model replicated the pertinent features of the reactor within ten percent of the literature values. The results of the benchmark demonstrated that the developed methodology captured the desired phenomena accurately. Subsequently, a high fidelity SMR core model was developed and assessed. Results of the analysis revealed an inherently stable SMR design at beginning of core life and end of core life under full-power and half-power conditions. The effect of axial discretization, stochastic noise and convergence of the Monte Carlo tallies in the calculations of the PAO and XAO parameters was investigated. All were found to be quite small and the inherently stable nature of the core design with respect to xenon-induced power oscillations was confirmed. Finally, a preliminary investigation into excess reactivity control options for the SMR design was conducted confirming the generally held notion that existing PWR control mechanisms can be used in iPWR SMRs with similar effectiveness. With the desire to operate the SMR under the boron free coolant condition, erbium oxide fuel integral burnable absorber rods were identified as a possible means to retain the dispersed absorber effect of soluble boron in the reactor coolant in replacement.

An underground nuclear power station using self-regulating heat-pipe controlled reactors

DOEpatents

Hampel, V.E.

1988-05-17

A nuclear reactor for generating electricity is disposed underground at the bottom of a vertical hole that can be drilled using conventional drilling technology. The primary coolant of the reactor core is the working fluid in a plurality of thermodynamically coupled heat pipes emplaced in the hole between the heat source at the bottom of the hole and heat exchange means near the surface of the earth. Additionally, the primary coolant (consisting of the working fluid in the heat pipes in the reactor core) moderates neutrons and regulates their reactivity, thus keeping the power of the reactor substantially constant. At the end of its useful life, the reactor core may be abandoned in place. Isolation from the atmosphere in case of accident or for abandonment is provided by the operation of explosive closures and mechanical valves emplaced along the hole. This invention combines technology developed and tested for small, highly efficient, space-based nuclear electric power plants with the technology of fast- acting closure mechanisms developed and used for underground testing of nuclear weapons. This invention provides a nuclear power installation which is safe from the worst conceivable reactor accident, namely, the explosion of a nuclear weapon near the ground surface of a nuclear power reactor. 5 figs.

Underground nuclear power station using self-regulating heat-pipe controlled reactors

DOEpatents

Hampel, Viktor E.

1989-01-01

A nuclear reactor for generating electricity is disposed underground at the bottom of a vertical hole that can be drilled using conventional drilling technology. The primary coolant of the reactor core is the working fluid in a plurality of thermodynamically coupled heat pipes emplaced in the hole between the heat source at the bottom of the hole and heat exchange means near the surface of the earth. Additionally, the primary coolant (consisting of the working flud in the heat pipes in the reactor core) moderates neutrons and regulates their reactivity, thus keeping the power of the reactor substantially constant. At the end of its useful life, the reactor core may be abandoned in place. Isolation from the atmosphere in case of accident or for abandonment is provided by the operation of explosive closures and mechanical valves emplaced along the hole. This invention combines technology developed and tested for small, highly efficient, space-based nuclear electric power plants with the technology of fast-acting closure mechanisms developed and used for underground testing of nuclear weapons. This invention provides a nuclear power installation which is safe from the worst conceivable reactor accident, namely, the explosion of a nuclear weapon near the ground surface of a nuclear power reactor.

Particle Filter-Based Recursive Data Fusion With Sensor Indexing for Large Core Neutron Flux Estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tamboli, Prakash Kumar; Duttagupta, Siddhartha P.; Roy, Kallol

2017-06-01

We introduce a sequential importance sampling particle filter (PF)-based multisensor multivariate nonlinear estimator for estimating the in-core neutron flux distribution for pressurized heavy water reactor core. Many critical applications such as reactor protection and control rely upon neutron flux information, and thus their reliability is of utmost importance. The point kinetic model based on neutron transport conveniently explains the dynamics of nuclear reactor. The neutron flux in the large core loosely coupled reactor is sensed by multiple sensors measuring point fluxes located at various locations inside the reactor core. The flux values are coupled to each other through diffusion equation. The coupling facilitates redundancy in the information. It is shown that multiple independent data about the localized flux can be fused together to enhance the estimation accuracy to a great extent. We also propose the sensor anomaly handling feature in multisensor PF to maintain the estimation process even when the sensor is faulty or generates data anomaly.

Simulation numerique de l'effet du reflecteur radial sur les cellules rep en utilisant les codes DRAGON et DONJON

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bejaoui, Najoua

The pressurized water nuclear reactors (PWRs) is the largest fleet of nuclear reactors in operation around the world. Although these reactors have been studied extensively by designers and operators using efficient numerical methods, there are still some calculation weaknesses, given the geometric complexity of the core, still unresolved such as the analysis of the neutron flux's behavior at the core-reflector interface. The standard calculation scheme is a two steps process. In the first step, a detailed calculation at the assembly level with reflective boundary conditions, provides homogenized cross-sections for the assemblies, condensed to a reduced number of groups; this step is called the lattice calculation. The second step uses homogenized properties in each assemblies to calculate reactor properties at the core level. This step is called the full-core calculation or whole-core calculation. This decoupling of the two calculation steps is the origin of methodological bias particularly at the interface core reflector: the periodicity hypothesis used to calculate cross section librairies becomes less pertinent for assemblies that are adjacent to the reflector generally represented by these two models: thus the introduction of equivalent reflector or albedo matrices. The reflector helps to slowdown neutrons leaving the reactor and returning them to the core. This effect leads to two fission peaks in fuel assemblies localised at the core/reflector interface, the fission rate increasing due to the greater proportion of reentrant neutrons. This change in the neutron spectrum arises deep inside the fuel located on the outskirts of the core. To remedy this we simulated a peripheral assembly reflected with TMI-PWR reflector and developed an advanced calculation scheme that takes into account the environment of the peripheral assemblies and generate equivalent neutronic properties for the reflector. This scheme is tested on a core without control mechanisms and charged with fresh fuel. The results of this study showed that explicit representation of reflector and calculation of peripheral assembly with our advanced scheme allow corrections to the energy spectrum at the core interface and increase the peripheral power by up to 12% compared with that of the reference scheme.

Modeling and simulation of CANDU reactor and its regulating system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Javidnia, Hooman

Analytical computer codes are indispensable tools in design, optimization, and control of nuclear power plants. Numerous codes have been developed to perform different types of analyses related to the nuclear power plants. A large number of these codes are designed to perform safety analyses. In the context of safety analyses, the control system is often neglected. Although there are good reasons for such a decision, that does not mean that the study of control systems in the nuclear power plants should be neglected altogether. In this thesis, a proof of concept code is developed as a tool that can be used in the design. optimization. and operation stages of the control system. The main objective in the design of this computer code is providing a tool that is easy to use by its target audience and is capable of producing high fidelity results that can be trusted to design the control system and optimize its performance. Since the overall plant control system covers a very wide range of processes, in this thesis the focus has been on one particular module of the the overall plant control system, namely, the reactor regulating system. The center of the reactor regulating system is the CANDU reactor. A nodal model for the reactor is used to represent the spatial neutronic kinetics of the core. The nodal model produces better results compared to the point kinetics model which is often used in the design and analysis of control system for nuclear reactors. The model can capture the spatial effects to some extent. although it is not as detailed as the finite difference methods. The criteria for choosing a nodal model of the core are: (1) the model should provide more detail than point kinetics and capture spatial effects, (2) it should not be too complex or overly detailed to slow down the simulation and provide details that are extraneous or unnecessary for a control engineer. Other than the reactor itself, there are auxiliary models that describe dynamics of different phenomena related to the transfer of the energy from the core. The main function of the reactor regulating system is to control the power of the reactor. This is achieved by using a set of detectors. reactivity devices. and digital control algorithms. Three main reactivity devices that are activated during short-term or intermediate-term transients are modeled in this thesis. The main elements of the digital control system are implemented in accordance to the program specifications for the actual control system in CANDU reactors. The simulation results are validated against requirements of the reactor regulating system. actual plant data. and pre-validated data from other computer codes. The validation process shows that the simulation results can be trusted in making engineering decisions regarding the reactor regulating system and prediction of the system performance in response to upset conditions or disturbances. KEYWORDS: CANDU reactors. reactor regulating system. nodal model. spatial kinetics. reactivity devices. simulation.

Modeling Core Collapse Supernovae

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mezzacappa, Anthony

2017-01-01

Core collapse supernovae, or the death throes of massive stars, are general relativistic, neutrino-magneto-hydrodynamic events. The core collapse supernova mechanism is still not in hand, though key components have been illuminated, and the potential for multiple mechanisms for different progenitors exists. Core collapse supernovae are the single most important source of elements in the Universe, and serve other critical roles in galactic chemical and thermal evolution, the birth of neutron stars, pulsars, and stellar mass black holes, the production of a subclass of gamma-ray bursts, and as potential cosmic laboratories for fundamental nuclear and particle physics. Given this, the so called ``supernova problem'' is one of the most important unsolved problems in astrophysics. It has been fifty years since the first numerical simulations of core collapse supernovae were performed. Progress in the past decade, and especially within the past five years, has been exponential, yet much work remains. Spherically symmetric simulations over nearly four decades laid the foundation for this progress. Two-dimensional modeling that assumes axial symmetry is maturing. And three-dimensional modeling, while in its infancy, has begun in earnest. I will present some of the recent work from the ``Oak Ridge'' group, and will discuss this work in the context of the broader work by other researchers in the field. I will then point to future requirements and challenges. Connections with other experimental, observational, and theoretical efforts will be discussed, as well.

Higher-order symmetry energy and neutron star core-crust transition with Gogny forces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez-Boquera, C.; Centelles, M.; Viñas, X.; Rios, A.

2017-12-01

Background: An accurate determination of the core-crust transition is necessary in the modeling of neutron stars for astrophysical purposes. The transition is intimately related to the isospin dependence of the nuclear force at low baryon densities. Purpose: To study the symmetry energy and the core-crust transition in neutron stars using the finite-range Gogny nuclear interaction and to examine the deduced crustal thickness and crustal moment of inertia. Methods: The second-, fourth-, and sixth-order coefficients of the Taylor expansion of the energy per particle in powers of the isospin asymmetry are analyzed for Gogny forces. These coefficients provide information about the departure of the symmetry energy from the widely used parabolic law. The neutron star core-crust transition is evaluated by looking at the onset of thermodynamical instability of the liquid core. The calculation is performed with the exact Gogny equation of state (EoS) (i.e., the Gogny EoS with the full isospin dependence) for the β -equilibrated matter of the core, and also with the Taylor expansion of the Gogny EoS in order to assess the influence of isospin expansions on locating the inner edge of neutron star crusts. Results: The properties of the core-crust transition derived from the exact EoS differ from the predictions of the Taylor expansion even when the expansion is carried through sixth order in the isospin asymmetry. Gogny forces, using the exact EoS, predict the ranges 0.094 fm-3≲ρt≲0.118 fm-3 for the transition density and 0.339 MeVfm-3≲Pt≲0.665 MeVfm-3 for the transition pressure. The transition densities show an anticorrelation with the slope parameter L of the symmetry energy. The transition pressures are not found to correlate with L . Neutron stars obtained with Gogny forces have maximum masses below 1.74 M⊙ and relatively small moments of inertia. The crustal mass and moment of inertia are evaluated and comparisons are made with the constraints from observed glitches in pulsars. Conclusions: The finite-range exchange contribution of the nuclear force, and its associated nontrivial isospin dependence, is key in determining the core-crust transition properties. Finite-order isospin expansions do not reproduce the core-crust transition results of the exact EoS. The predictions of the Gogny D1M force for the stellar crust are overall in broad agreement with those obtained using the Skyrme-Lyon EoS.

Apparatus for controlling nuclear core debris

DOEpatents

Jones, Robert D.

1978-01-01

Nuclear reactor apparatus for containing, cooling, and dispersing reactor debris assumed to flow from the core area in the unlikely event of an accident causing core meltdown. The apparatus includes a plurality of horizontally disposed vertically spaced plates, having depressions to contain debris in controlled amounts, and a plurality of holes therein which provide natural circulation cooling and a path for debris to continue flowing downward to the plate beneath. The uppermost plates may also include generally vertical sections which form annular-like flow areas which assist the natural circulation cooling.

Gfr Core Neutronics Studies at CEA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bosq, J. C.; Brun-Magaud, V.; Rimpault, G.; Tommasi, J.; Conti, A.; Garnier, J. C.

2006-04-01

The Gas cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) is a high priority in the CEA R&D program on Future Nuclear Energy Systems. After preliminary neutronics and thermo-aerolic studies, a first He-cooled 2400MWth core design based on a series of carbide CERCER plates arranged in an hexagonal wrapper were selected. Although GFR subassembly and core design studies are still at an early stage of development, it is nonetheless possible to identify a number of nuclear data needs that could have some impact on the actual design: new materials, decay heat contributors….

Structure of neutron star crusts from new Skyrme effective interactions constrained by chiral effective field theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, Yeunhwan; Holt, Jeremy W.

2017-06-01

We investigate the structure of neutron star crusts, including the crust-core boundary, based on new Skyrme mean field models constrained by the bulk-matter equation of state from chiral effective field theory and the ground-state energies of doubly-magic nuclei. Nuclear pasta phases are studied using both the liquid drop model as well as the Thomas-Fermi approximation. We compare the energy per nucleon for each geometry (spherical nuclei, cylindrical nuclei, nuclear slabs, cylindrical holes, and spherical holes) to obtain the ground state phase as a function of density. We find that the size of the Wigner-Seitz cell depends strongly on the model parameters, especially the coefficients of the density gradient interaction terms. We employ also the thermodynamic instability method to check the validity of the numerical solutions based on energy comparisons.

Engine System Model Development for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, Karl W.; Simpson, Steven P.

2006-01-01

In order to design, analyze, and evaluate conceptual Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engine systems, an improved NTP design and analysis tool has been developed. The NTP tool utilizes the Rocket Engine Transient Simulation (ROCETS) system tool and many of the routines from the Enabler reactor model found in Nuclear Engine System Simulation (NESS). Improved non-nuclear component models and an external shield model were added to the tool. With the addition of a nearly complete system reliability model, the tool will provide performance, sizing, and reliability data for NERVA-Derived NTP engine systems. A new detailed reactor model is also being developed and will replace Enabler. The new model will allow more flexibility in reactor geometry and include detailed thermal hydraulics and neutronics models. A description of the reactor, component, and reliability models is provided. Another key feature of the modeling process is the use of comprehensive spreadsheets for each engine case. The spreadsheets include individual worksheets for each subsystem with data, plots, and scaled figures, making the output very useful to each engineering discipline. Sample performance and sizing results with the Enabler reactor model are provided including sensitivities. Before selecting an engine design, all figures of merit must be considered including the overall impacts on the vehicle and mission. Evaluations based on key figures of merit of these results and results with the new reactor model will be performed. The impacts of clustering and external shielding will also be addressed. Over time, the reactor model will be upgraded to design and analyze other NTP concepts with CERMET and carbide fuel cores.

Three-dimensional pin-to-pin analyses of VVER-440 cores by the MOBY-DICK code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lehmann, M.; Mikolas, P.

1994-12-31

Nuclear design for the Dukovany (EDU) VVER-440s nuclear power plant is routinely performed by the MOBY-DICK system. After its implementation on Hewlett Packard series 700 workstations, it is able to perform routinely three-dimensional pin-to-pin core analyses. For purposes of code validation, the benchmark prepared from EDU operational data was solved.

Packed rod neutron shield for fast nuclear reactors

DOEpatents

Eck, John E.; Kasberg, Alvin H.

1978-01-01

A fast neutron nuclear reactor including a core and a plurality of vertically oriented neutron shield assemblies surrounding the core. Each assembly includes closely packed cylindrical rods within a polygonal metallic duct. The shield assemblies are less susceptible to thermal stresses and are less massive than solid shield assemblies, and are cooled by liquid coolant flow through interstices among the rods and duct.

GAS COOLED NUCLEAR REACTORS

DOEpatents

Long, E.; Rodwell, W.

1958-06-10

A gas-cooled nuclear reactor consisting of a graphite reacting core and reflector structure supported in a containing vessel is described. A gas sealing means is included for sealing between the walls of the graphite structure and containing vessel to prevent the gas coolant by-passing the reacting core. The reacting core is a multi-sided right prismatic structure having a pair of parallel slots around its periphery. The containing vessel is cylindrical and has a rib on its internal surface which supports two continuous ring shaped flexible web members with their radially innermost ends in sealing engagement within the radially outermost portion of the slots. The core structure is supported on ball bearings. This design permits thermal expansion of the core stracture and vessel while maintainirg a peripheral seal between the tvo elements.

Supernova shock breakout from a red supergiant.

PubMed

Schawinski, Kevin; Justham, Stephen; Wolf, Christian; Podsiadlowski, Philipp; Sullivan, Mark; Steenbrugge, Katrien C; Bell, Tony; Röser, Hermann-Josef; Walker, Emma S; Astier, Pierre; Balam, Dave; Balland, Christophe; Carlberg, Ray; Conley, Alex; Fouchez, Dominique; Guy, Julien; Hardin, Delphine; Hook, Isobel; Howell, D Andrew; Pain, Reynald; Perrett, Kathy; Pritchet, Chris; Regnault, Nicolas; Yi, Sukyoung K

2008-07-11

Massive stars undergo a violent death when the supply of nuclear fuel in their cores is exhausted, resulting in a catastrophic "core-collapse" supernova. Such events are usually only detected at least a few days after the star has exploded. Observations of the supernova SNLS-04D2dc with the Galaxy Evolution Explorer space telescope reveal a radiative precursor from the supernova shock before the shock reached the surface of the star and show the initial expansion of the star at the beginning of the explosion. Theoretical models of the ultraviolet light curve confirm that the progenitor was a red supergiant, as expected for this type of supernova. These observations provide a way to probe the physics of core-collapse supernovae and the internal structures of their progenitor stars.

From the crust to the core of neutron stars on a microscopic basis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baldo, M.; Burgio, G. F.; Centelles, M.; Sharma, B. K.; Viñas, X.

2014-09-01

Within a microscopic approach the structure of Neutron Stars is usually studied by modelling the homogeneous nuclear matter of the core by a suitable Equation of State, based on a many-body theory, and the crust by a functional based on a more phenomenological approach. We present the first calculation of Neutron Star overall structure by adopting for the core an Equation of State derived from the Brueckner-Hartree-Fock theory and for the crust, including the pasta phase, an Energy Density Functional based on the same Equation of State, and which is able to describe accurately the binding energy of nuclei throughout the mass table. Comparison with other approaches is discussed. The relevance of the crust Equation of State for the Neutron Star radius is particularly emphasised.

Parameter study of dual-mode space nuclear fission solid core power and propulsion systems, NUROC3A. AMS report No. 1239c

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, W.W.; Layton, J.P.

1976-09-13

The three-volume report describes a dual-mode nuclear space power and propulsion system concept that employs an advanced solid-core nuclear fission reactor coupled via heat pipes to one of several electric power conversion systems. The NUROC3A systems analysis code was designed to provide the user with performance characteristics of the dual-mode system. Volume 3 describes utilization of the NUROC3A code to produce a detailed parameter study of the system.

Air Force Nuclear Enterprise Organization: A Case Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-09-15

will improve the performance of the AFNE. Based on analysis of commercial and industrial business models, what organizational structure , or...Business Dictionary 2015). Organizational structures will be developed based on decisions made with regards to design. The core of an...work flows. Based on design parameter decisions, senior leaders will establish an organizational structure that includes the layout of the

Impact of thorium based molten salt reactor on the closure of the nuclear fuel cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaradat, Safwan Qasim Mohammad

Molten salt reactor (MSR) is one of six reactors selected by the Generation IV International Forum (GIF). The liquid fluoride thorium reactor (LFTR) is a MSR concept based on thorium fuel cycle. LFTR uses liquid fluoride salts as a nuclear fuel. It uses 232Th and 233U as the fertile and fissile materials, respectively. Fluoride salt of these nuclides is dissolved in a mixed carrier salt of lithium and beryllium (FLiBe). The objective of this research was to complete feasibility studies of a small commercial thermal LFTR. The focus was on neutronic calculations in order to prescribe core design parameter such as core size, fuel block pitch (p), fuel channel radius, fuel path, reflector thickness, fuel salt composition, and power. In order to achieve this objective, the applicability of Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport Code (MCNP) to MSR modeling was verified. Then, a prescription for conceptual small thermal reactor LFTR and relevant calculations were performed using MCNP to determine the main neutronic parameters of the core reactor. The MCNP code was used to study the reactor physics characteristics for the FUJI-U3 reactor. The results were then compared with the results obtained from the original FUJI-U3 using the reactor physics code SRAC95 and the burnup analysis code ORIPHY2. The results were comparable with each other. Based on the results, MCNP was found to be a reliable code to model a small thermal LFTR and study all the related reactor physics characteristics. The results of this study were promising and successful in demonstrating a prefatory small commercial LFTR design. The outcome of using a small core reactor with a diameter/height of 280/260 cm that would operate for more than five years at a power level of 150 MWth was studied. The fuel system 7LiF - BeF2 - ThF4 - UF4 with a (233U/ 232Th) = 2.01 % was the candidate fuel for this reactor core.

Spindle pole body-anchored Kar3 drives the nucleus along microtubules from another nucleus in preparation for nuclear fusion during yeast karyogamy.

PubMed

Gibeaux, Romain; Politi, Antonio Z; Nédélec, François; Antony, Claude; Knop, Michael

2013-02-01

Nuclear migration during yeast karyogamy, termed nuclear congression, is required to initiate nuclear fusion. Congression involves a specific regulation of the microtubule minus end-directed kinesin-14 motor Kar3 and a rearrangement of the cytoplasmic microtubule attachment sites at the spindle pole bodies (SPBs). However, how these elements interact to produce the forces necessary for nuclear migration is less clear. We used electron tomography, molecular genetics, quantitative imaging, and first principles modeling to investigate how cytoplasmic microtubules are organized during nuclear congression. We found that Kar3, with the help of its light chain, Cik1, is anchored during mating to the SPB component Spc72 that also serves as a nucleator and anchor for microtubules via their minus ends. Moreover, we show that no direct microtubule-microtubule interactions are required for nuclear migration. Instead, SPB-anchored Kar3 exerts the necessary pulling forces laterally on microtubules emanating from the SPB of the mating partner nucleus. Therefore, a twofold symmetrical application of the core principle that drives nuclear migration in higher cells is used in yeast to drive nuclei toward each other before nuclear fusion.

Spindle pole body-anchored Kar3 drives the nucleus along microtubules from another nucleus in preparation for nuclear fusion during yeast karyogamy

PubMed Central

Gibeaux, Romain; Politi, Antonio Z.; Nédélec, François; Antony, Claude; Knop, Michael

2013-01-01

Nuclear migration during yeast karyogamy, termed nuclear congression, is required to initiate nuclear fusion. Congression involves a specific regulation of the microtubule minus end-directed kinesin-14 motor Kar3 and a rearrangement of the cytoplasmic microtubule attachment sites at the spindle pole bodies (SPBs). However, how these elements interact to produce the forces necessary for nuclear migration is less clear. We used electron tomography, molecular genetics, quantitative imaging, and first principles modeling to investigate how cytoplasmic microtubules are organized during nuclear congression. We found that Kar3, with the help of its light chain, Cik1, is anchored during mating to the SPB component Spc72 that also serves as a nucleator and anchor for microtubules via their minus ends. Moreover, we show that no direct microtubule–microtubule interactions are required for nuclear migration. Instead, SPB-anchored Kar3 exerts the necessary pulling forces laterally on microtubules emanating from the SPB of the mating partner nucleus. Therefore, a twofold symmetrical application of the core principle that drives nuclear migration in higher cells is used in yeast to drive nuclei toward each other before nuclear fusion. PMID:23388829

Comparison of Models for Spacer Grid Pressure Loss in Nuclear Fuel Bundles for One and Two-Phase Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maskal, Alan B.

Spacer grids maintain the structural integrity of the fuel rods within fuel bundles of nuclear power plants. They can also improve flow characteristics within the nuclear reactor core. However, spacer grids add reactor coolant pressure losses, which require estimation and engineering into the design. Several mathematical models and computer codes were developed over decades to predict spacer grid pressure loss. Most models use generalized characteristics, measured by older, less precise equipment. The study of OECD/US-NRC BWR Full-Size Fine Mesh Bundle Tests (BFBT) provides updated and detailed experimental single and two-phase results, using technically advanced flow measurements for a wide range of boundary conditions. This thesis compares the predictions from the mathematical models to the BFBT experimental data by utilizing statistical formulae for accuracy and precision. This thesis also analyzes the effects of BFBT flow characteristics on spacer grids. No single model has been identified as valid for all flow conditions. However, some models' predictions perform better than others within a range of flow conditions, based on the accuracy and precision of the models' predictions. This study also demonstrates that pressure and flow quality have a significant effect on two-phase flow spacer grid models' biases.

A 640 foot per second impact test of a two foot diameter model nuclear reactor containment system without fracture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Puthoff, R. L.

1971-01-01

An impact test was conducted on an 1142 pound 2 foot diameter sphere model. The purpose of this test was to determine the feasibility of containing the fission products of a mobile reactor in an impact. The model simulated the reactor core, energy absorbing gamma shielding, neutron shielding and the containment vessel. It was impacted against an 18,000 pound reinforced concrete block. The model was significantly deformed and the concrete block demolished. No leaks were detected nor cracks observed in the model after impact.

Dual annular rotating "windowed" nuclear reflector reactor control system

DOEpatents

Jacox, Michael G.; Drexler, Robert L.; Hunt, Robert N. M.; Lake, James A.

1994-01-01

A nuclear reactor control system is provided in a nuclear reactor having a core operating in the fast neutron energy spectrum where criticality control is achieved by neutron leakage. The control system includes dual annular, rotatable reflector rings. There are two reflector rings: an inner reflector ring and an outer reflector ring. The reflectors are concentrically assembled, surround the reactor core, and each reflector ring includes a plurality of openings. The openings in each ring are capable of being aligned or non-aligned with each other. Independent driving means for each of the annular reflector rings is provided so that reactor criticality can be initiated and controlled by rotation of either reflector ring such that the extent of alignment of the openings in each ring controls the reflection of neutrons from the core.

Three-cluster dynamics within an ab initio framework

DOE PAGES

Quaglioni, Sofia; Romero-Redondo, Carolina; Navratil, Petr

2013-09-26

In this study, we introduce a fully antisymmetrized treatment of three-cluster dynamics within the ab initio framework of the no-core shell model/resonating-group method. Energy-independent nonlocal interactions among the three nuclear fragments are obtained from realistic nucleon-nucleon interactions and consistent ab initio many-body wave functions of the clusters. The three-cluster Schrödinger equation is solved with bound-state boundary conditions by means of the hyperspherical-harmonic method on a Lagrange mesh. We discuss the formalism in detail and give algebraic expressions for systems of two single nucleons plus a nucleus. Using a soft similarity-renormalization-group evolved chiral nucleon-nucleon potential, we apply the method to amore » 4He+n+n description of 6He and compare the results to experiment and to a six-body diagonalization of the Hamiltonian performed within the harmonic-oscillator expansions of the no-core shell model. Differences between the two calculations provide a measure of core ( 4He) polarization effects.« less

77 FR 36014 - Initial Test Program of Emergency Core Cooling Systems for Boiling-Water Reactors

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-15

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2012-0134] Initial Test Program of Emergency Core Cooling... for public comment draft regulatory guide (DG), DG-1277, ``Initial Test Program of Emergency Core... acceptable to implement with regard to initial testing features of emergency core cooling systems (ECCSs) for...

Reconstructed plutonium fallout in the GV7 firn core from Northern Victoria Land, East Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwang, H.; Han, Y.; Kang, J.; Lee, K.; Hong, S.; Hur, S. D.; Narcisi, B.; Frezzotti, M.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric nuclear explosions during the period from the 1940s to the 1980s are the major anthropogenic source of plutonium (Pu) in the environment. In this work, we analyzed fg g-1 levels of artificial Pu, released predominantly by atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. We measured 351 samples which collected a 78 m-depth fire core at the site of GV7 (S 70°41'17.1", E 158°51'48.9", 1950 m a.s.l.), Northern Victoria Land, East Antarctica. To determine the Pu concentration in the samples, we used an inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry coupled with an Apex high-efficiency sample introduction system, which has the advantages of small sample consumption and simple sample preparation. We reconstructed the firn core Pu fallout record for the period after 1954 CE shows a significant fluctuation in agreement with past atmospheric nuclear testing. These data will contribute to ice core research by providing depth-age information.

A review of carbide fuel corrosion for nuclear thermal propulsion applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelaccio, Dennis G.; El-Genk, Mohamed S.; Butt, Darryl P.

1993-10-01

At the operation conditions of interest in nuclear thermal propulsion reactors, carbide materials have been known to exhibit a number of life limiting phenomena. These include the formation of liquid, loss by vaporization, creep and corresponding gas flow restrictions, and local corrosion and fuel structure degradation due to excessive mechanical and/or thermal loading. In addition, the radiation environment in the reactor core can produce a substantial change in its local physical properties, which can produce high thermal stresses and corresponding stress fractures (cracking). Time-temperature history and cyclic operation of the nuclear reactor can also accelerate some of these processes. The University of New Mexico's Institute for Space Nuclear Power Studies, under NASA sponsorship has recently initiated a study to model the complicated hydrogen corrosion process. In support of this effort, an extensive review of the open literature was performed, and a technical expert workshop was conducted. This paper summarizes the results of this review.

A Review of Carbide Fuel Corrosion for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelaccio, Dennis G.; El-Genk, Mohamed S.; Butt, Darryl P.

1994-07-01

At the operation conditions of interest in nuclear thermal propulsion reactors, carbide materials have been known to exhibit a number of life limiting phenomena. These include the formation of liquid, loss by vaporization, creep and corresponding gas flow restrictions, and local corrosion and fuel structure degradation due to excessive mechanical and/or thermal loading. In addition, the radiation environment in the reactor core can produce a substantial change in its local physical properties, which can produce high thermal stresses and corresponding stress fractures (cracking). Time-temperature history and cyclic operation of the nuclear reactor can also accelerate some of these processes. The University of New Mexico's Institute for Space Nuclear Power Studies, under NASA sponsorship has recently initiated a study to model the complicated hydrogen corrosion process. In support of this effort, an extensive review of the open literature was performed, and a technical expert workshop was conducted. This paper summarizes the results of this review.

Fines migration during CO 2 injection: Experimental results interpreted using surface forces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Quan; Saeedi, Ali; Delle Piane, Claudio

The South West Hub project is one of the Australian Flagship Carbon Capture and Storage projects located in the south-west of Western Australia. To evaluate the injectivity potential during the forthcoming full-scale CO 2 injection, we conducted three core-flooding experiments using reservoir core plugs from the well Harvey-1. We aimed to investigate in this paper whether the injection of CO 2 leads to fines migration and permeability reduction due to the relatively high kaolinite content (up to 13%) in the injection interval of the target formation (i.e. the Wonnerup Member of the Lesueur Formation). We imaged the core samples beforemore » flooding to verify the presence of kaolinite at the pore-scale using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We also examined the pore network of the core plugs before and after the core-flooding experiments using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Moreover, to gain a better understanding of any kaolinite fines migration, we delineated surface force using two models based on Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (denoted by DLVO) theory coupled hydrodynamic force: (1) sphere/flat model representing interaction between kaolinite/quartz, and (2) flat/flat model representing interaction between kaolinite/kaolinite. Our core-flooding experimental results showed that CO 2/brine injection triggered moderate to significant reduction in the permeability of the core samples with a negligible porosity change. NMR measurements supported the core-flooding results, suggesting that the relatively large pores disappeared in favour of a higher proportion of the medium to small pores after flooding. The DLVO calculations showed that some kaolinite particles probably lifted off and detached from neighbouring kaolinite particles rather than quartz grains. Moreover, the modelling results showed that the kaolinite fines migration would not occur under normal reservoir multiphase flow conditions. This is not because of the low hydrodynamic force. It is rather because the geometries of the particles dominate their interplay. Finally and overall, both of the experimental and analytical modelling results point to the fines migration to be the most likely cause of the permeability impairment observed during core-flooding experiments.« less

Fines migration during CO 2 injection: Experimental results interpreted using surface forces

DOE PAGES

Xie, Quan; Saeedi, Ali; Delle Piane, Claudio; ...

2017-09-04

The South West Hub project is one of the Australian Flagship Carbon Capture and Storage projects located in the south-west of Western Australia. To evaluate the injectivity potential during the forthcoming full-scale CO 2 injection, we conducted three core-flooding experiments using reservoir core plugs from the well Harvey-1. We aimed to investigate in this paper whether the injection of CO 2 leads to fines migration and permeability reduction due to the relatively high kaolinite content (up to 13%) in the injection interval of the target formation (i.e. the Wonnerup Member of the Lesueur Formation). We imaged the core samples beforemore » flooding to verify the presence of kaolinite at the pore-scale using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We also examined the pore network of the core plugs before and after the core-flooding experiments using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Moreover, to gain a better understanding of any kaolinite fines migration, we delineated surface force using two models based on Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (denoted by DLVO) theory coupled hydrodynamic force: (1) sphere/flat model representing interaction between kaolinite/quartz, and (2) flat/flat model representing interaction between kaolinite/kaolinite. Our core-flooding experimental results showed that CO 2/brine injection triggered moderate to significant reduction in the permeability of the core samples with a negligible porosity change. NMR measurements supported the core-flooding results, suggesting that the relatively large pores disappeared in favour of a higher proportion of the medium to small pores after flooding. The DLVO calculations showed that some kaolinite particles probably lifted off and detached from neighbouring kaolinite particles rather than quartz grains. Moreover, the modelling results showed that the kaolinite fines migration would not occur under normal reservoir multiphase flow conditions. This is not because of the low hydrodynamic force. It is rather because the geometries of the particles dominate their interplay. Finally and overall, both of the experimental and analytical modelling results point to the fines migration to be the most likely cause of the permeability impairment observed during core-flooding experiments.« less

A prototype experiment for cooperative monitoring of nuclear reactors with cubic meter scale antineutrino detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bernstein, A.; Allen, M.; Bowden, N.; Brennan, J.; Carr, D. J.; Estrada, J.; Hagmann, C.; Lund, J. C.; Madden, N. W.; Winant, C. D.

2005-09-01

Our Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory/Sandia National Laboratories collaboration has deployed a cubic-meter-scale antineutrino detector to demonstrate non-intrusive and automatic monitoring of the power levels and plutonium content of a nuclear reactor. Reactor monitoring of this kind is required for all non-nuclear weapons states under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), and is implemented by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Since the antineutrino count rate and energy spectrum depend on the relative yields of fissioning isotopes in the reactor core, changes in isotopic composition can be observed without ever directly accessing the core. Data from a cubic meter scale antineutrino detector, coupled with the well-understood principles that govern the core's evolution in time, can be used to determine whether the reactor is being operated in an illegitimate way. Our group has deployed a detector at the San Onofre reactor site in California to demonstrate this concept. This paper describes the concept and shows preliminary results from 8 months of operation.

Experimental investigations of a uranium plasma pertinent to a self-sustaining plasma source

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, R. T.

1971-01-01

The research is pertinent to the realization of a self-sustained fissioning plasma for applications such as nuclear propulsion, closed cycle MHD power generation using a plasma core reactor, and heat engines such as the nuclear piston engine, as well as the direct conversion of fission energy into optical radiation (nuclear pumped lasers). Diagnostic measurement methods and experimental devices simulating plasma core reactor conditions are discussed. Studies on the following topics are considered: (1) ballistic piston compressor (U-235); (2) high pressure uranium plasma (natural uranium); (3) sliding spark discharge (natural uranium); (4) fission fragment interaction (He-3 and U-235); and (5) nuclear pumped lasers (He-3 and U-235).

Pasta phases in core-collapse supernova matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pais, Helena; Chiacchiera, Silvia; Providência, Constança

2016-04-01

The pasta phase in core-collapse supernova matter (finite temperatures and fixed proton fractions) is studied within relativistic mean field models. Three different calculations are used for comparison, the Thomas-Fermi (TF), the Coexisting Phases (CP) and the Compressible Liquid Drop (CLD) approximations. The effects of including light clusters in nuclear matter and the densities at which the transitions between pasta configurations and to uniform matter occur are also investigated. The free energy and pressure, in the space of particle number densities and temperatures expected to cover the pasta region, are calculated. Finally, a comparison with a finite temperature Skyrme-Hartree-Fock calculation is drawn.

Double-clad nuclear fuel safety rod

DOEpatents

McCarthy, William H.; Atcheson, Donald B.; Vaidyanathan, Swaminathan

1984-01-01

A device for shutting down a nuclear reactor during an undercooling or overpower event, whether or not the reactor's scram system operates properly. This is accomplished by double-clad fuel safety rods positioned at various locations throughout the reactor core, wherein melting of a secondary internal cladding of the rod allows the fuel column therein to shift from the reactor core to place the reactor in a subcritical condition.

Double-clad nuclear-fuel safety rod

DOEpatents

McCarthy, W.H.; Atcheson, D.B.

1981-12-30

A device for shutting down a nuclear reactor during an undercooling or overpower event, whether or not the reactor's scram system operates properly. This is accomplished by double-clad fuel safety rods positioned at various locations throughout the reactor core, wherein melting of a secondary internal cladding of the rod allows the fuel column therein to shift from the reactor core to place the reactor in a subcritical condition.

Evaluation of isotopic composition of fast reactor core in closed nuclear fuel cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tikhomirov, Georgy; Ternovykh, Mikhail; Saldikov, Ivan; Fomichenko, Peter; Gerasimov, Alexander

2017-09-01

The strategy of the development of nuclear power in Russia provides for use of fast power reactors in closed nuclear fuel cycle. The PRORYV (i.e. «Breakthrough» in Russian) project is currently under development. Within the framework of this project, fast reactors BN-1200 and BREST-OD-300 should be built to, inter alia, demonstrate possibility of the closed nuclear fuel cycle technologies with plutonium as a main source of energy. Russia has a large inventory of plutonium which was accumulated in the result of reprocessing of spent fuel of thermal power reactors and conversion of nuclear weapons. This kind of plutonium will be used for development of initial fuel assemblies for fast reactors. The closed nuclear fuel cycle concept of the PRORYV assumes self-supplied mode of operation with fuel regeneration by neutron capture reaction in non-enriched uranium, which is used as a raw material. Operating modes of reactors and its characteristics should be chosen so as to provide the self-sufficient mode by using of fissile isotopes while refueling by depleted uranium and to support this state during the entire period of reactor operation. Thus, the actual issue is modeling fuel handling processes. To solve these problems, the code REPRORYV (Recycle for PRORYV) has been developed. It simulates nuclide streams in non-reactor stages of the closed fuel cycle. At the same time various verified codes can be used to evaluate in-core characteristics of a reactor. By using this approach various options for nuclide streams and assess the impact of different plutonium content in the fuel, fuel processing conditions, losses during fuel processing, as well as the impact of initial uncertainties on neutron-physical characteristics of reactor are considered in this study.

Herschel spectroscopic observations of the compact obscured nucleus in Zw 049.057

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falstad, N.; González-Alfonso, E.; Aalto, S.; van der Werf, P. P.; Fischer, J.; Veilleux, S.; Meléndez, M.; Farrah, D.; Smith, H. A.

2015-08-01

Context. The luminous infrared galaxy Zw 049.057 contains a compact obscured nucleus where a considerable amount of the galaxy's luminosity is generated. This nucleus contains a dusty environment that is rich in molecular gas. One approach to probing this kind of environment and to revealing what is hidden behind the dust is to study the rotational lines of molecules that couple well with the infrared radiation emitted by the dust. Aims: We probe the physical conditions in the core of Zw 049.057 and establish the nature of its nuclear power source (starburst or active galactic nucleus). Methods: We observed Zw 049.057 with the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) and the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) onboard the Herschel Space Observatory in rotational lines of H2O, H218O, OH, 18OH, and [O I]. We modeled the unresolved core of the galaxy using a spherically symmetric radiative transfer code. To account for the different excitation requirements of the various molecular transitions, we use multiple components and different physical conditions. Results: We present the full high-resolution SPIRE FTS spectrum of Zw 049.057, along with relevant spectral scans in the PACS range. We find that a minimum of two different components (nuclear and extended) are required in order to account for the rich molecular line spectrum of Zw 049.057. The nuclear component has a radius of 10-30 pc, a very high infrared surface brightness (~1014L⊙kpc-2), warm dust (Td > 100 K), and a very large H2 column density (NH2 = 1024-1025 cm-2). The modeling also indicates high nuclear H2O (~5 × 10-6) and OH (~4 × 10-6) abundances relative to H2 as well as a low 16O/18O-ratio of 50-100. We also find a prominent infall signature in the [O I] line. We tentatively detect a 500 km s-1 outflow in the H2O 313 → 202 line. Conclusions: The high surface brightness of the core indicates the presence of either a buried active galactic nucleus or a very dense nuclear starburst. The estimated column density towards the core of Zw 049.057 indicates that it is Compton-thick, making a buried X-ray source difficult to detect even in hard X-rays. We discuss the elevated H2O abundance in the nucleus in the context of warm grain and gas-phase chemistry. The H2O abundance is comparable to that of other compact (ultra-)luminous infrared galaxies such as NGC 4418 and Arp 220 - and also to hot cores in the Milky Way. The enhancement of 18O is a possible indicator that the nucleus of Zw 049.057 is in a similar evolutionary stage as the nuclei of Arp 220 - and more advanced than NGC 4418. We discuss the origin of the extreme nuclear gas concentration and note that the infalling gas detected in [O I] implies that the gas reservoir in the central region of Zw 049.057 is being replenished. If confirmed, the H2O outflow suggests that the nucleus is in a stage of rapid evolution. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.

Thermal barrier and support for nuclear reactor fuel core

DOEpatents

Betts, Jr., William S.; Pickering, J. Larry; Black, William E.

1987-01-01

A thermal barrier/core support for the fuel core of a nuclear reactor having a metallic cylinder secured to the reactor vessel liner and surrounded by fibrous insulation material. A top cap is secured to the upper end of the metallic cylinder that locates and orients a cover block and post seat. Under normal operating conditions, the metallic cylinder supports the entire load exerted by its associated fuel core post. Disposed within the metallic cylinder is a column of ceramic material, the height of which is less than that of the metallic cylinder, and thus is not normally load bearing. In the event of a temperature excursion beyond the design limits of the metallic cylinder and resulting in deformation of the cylinder, the ceramic column will abut the top cap to support the fuel core post.

78 FR 63516 - Initial Test Program of Emergency Core Cooling Systems for New Boiling-Water Reactors

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-24

... NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION [NRC-2012-0134] Initial Test Program of Emergency Core Cooling....79.1, ``Initial Test Program of Emergency Core Cooling Systems for New Boiling-Water Reactors.'' This... emergency core cooling systems (ECCSs) for boiling- water reactors (BWRs) whose licenses are issued after...

10 CFR Appendix A to Part 110 - Illustrative List of Nuclear Reactor Equipment Under NRC Export Licensing Authority

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Illustrative List of Nuclear Reactor Equipment Under NRC... List of Nuclear Reactor Equipment Under NRC Export Licensing Authority Note: A nuclear reactor... core of a nuclear reactor and capable of withstanding the operating pressure of the primary coolant. (2...

Operator evolution for ab initio electric dipole transitions of 4He

DOE PAGES

Schuster, Micah D.; Quaglioni, Sofia; Johnson, Calvin W.; ...

2015-07-24

A goal of nuclear theory is to make quantitative predictions of low-energy nuclear observables starting from accurate microscopic internucleon forces. A major element of such an effort is applying unitary transformations to soften the nuclear Hamiltonian and hence accelerate the convergence of ab initio calculations as a function of the model space size. The consistent simultaneous transformation of external operators, however, has been overlooked in applications of the theory, particularly for nonscalar transitions. We study the evolution of the electric dipole operator in the framework of the similarity renormalization group method and apply the renormalized matrix elements to the calculationmore » of the 4He total photoabsorption cross section and electric dipole polarizability. All observables are calculated within the ab initio no-core shell model. Furthermore, we find that, although seemingly small, the effects of evolved operators on the photoabsorption cross section are comparable in magnitude to the correction produced by including the chiral three-nucleon force and cannot be neglected.« less

Dual annular rotating [open quotes]windowed[close quotes] nuclear reflector reactor control system

DOEpatents

Jacox, M.G.; Drexler, R.L.; Hunt, R.N.M.; Lake, J.A.

1994-03-29

A nuclear reactor control system is provided in a nuclear reactor having a core operating in the fast neutron energy spectrum where criticality control is achieved by neutron leakage. The control system includes dual annular, rotatable reflector rings. There are two reflector rings: an inner reflector ring and an outer reflector ring. The reflectors are concentrically assembled, surround the reactor core, and each reflector ring includes a plurality of openings. The openings in each ring are capable of being aligned or non-aligned with each other. Independent driving means for each of the annular reflector rings is provided so that reactor criticality can be initiated and controlled by rotation of either reflector ring such that the extent of alignment of the openings in each ring controls the reflection of neutrons from the core. 4 figures.

Severe accident modeling of a PWR core with different cladding materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, S. C.; Henry, R. E.; Paik, C. Y.

2012-07-01

The MAAP v.4 software has been used to model two severe accident scenarios in nuclear power reactors with three different materials as fuel cladding. The TMI-2 severe accident was modeled with Zircaloy-2 and SiC as clad material and a SBO accident in a Zion-like, 4-loop, Westinghouse PWR was modeled with Zircaloy-2, SiC, and 304 stainless steel as clad material. TMI-2 modeling results indicate that lower peak core temperatures, less H 2 (g) produced, and a smaller mass of molten material would result if SiC was substituted for Zircaloy-2 as cladding. SBO modeling results indicate that the calculated time to RCSmore » rupture would increase by approximately 20 minutes if SiC was substituted for Zircaloy-2. Additionally, when an extended SBO accident (RCS creep rupture failure disabled) was modeled, significantly lower peak core temperatures, less H 2 (g) produced, and a smaller mass of molten material would be generated by substituting SiC for Zircaloy-2 or stainless steel cladding. Because the rate of SiC oxidation reaction with elevated temperature H{sub 2}O (g) was set to 0 for this work, these results should be considered preliminary. However, the benefits of SiC as a more accident tolerant clad material have been shown and additional investigation of SiC as an LWR core material are warranted, specifically investigations of the oxidation kinetics of SiC in H{sub 2}O (g) over the range of temperatures and pressures relevant to severe accidents in LWR 's. (authors)« less

POWER GENERATION FROM LIQUID METAL NUCLEAR FUEL

DOEpatents

Dwyer, O.E.

1958-12-23

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.

Bayesian network representing system dynamics in risk analysis of nuclear systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varuttamaseni, Athi

2011-12-01

A dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) model is used in conjunction with the alternating conditional expectation (ACE) regression method to analyze the risk associated with the loss of feedwater accident coupled with a subsequent initiation of the feed and bleed operation in the Zion-1 nuclear power plant. The use of the DBN allows the joint probability distribution to be factorized, enabling the analysis to be done on many simpler network structures rather than on one complicated structure. The construction of the DBN model assumes conditional independence relations among certain key reactor parameters. The choice of parameter to model is based on considerations of the macroscopic balance statements governing the behavior of the reactor under a quasi-static assumption. The DBN is used to relate the peak clad temperature to a set of independent variables that are known to be important in determining the success of the feed and bleed operation. A simple linear relationship is then used to relate the clad temperature to the core damage probability. To obtain a quantitative relationship among different nodes in the DBN, surrogates of the RELAP5 reactor transient analysis code are used. These surrogates are generated by applying the ACE algorithm to output data obtained from about 50 RELAP5 cases covering a wide range of the selected independent variables. These surrogates allow important safety parameters such as the fuel clad temperature to be expressed as a function of key reactor parameters such as the coolant temperature and pressure together with important independent variables such as the scram delay time. The time-dependent core damage probability is calculated by sampling the independent variables from their probability distributions and propagate the information up through the Bayesian network to give the clad temperature. With the knowledge of the clad temperature and the assumption that the core damage probability has a one-to-one relationship to it, we have calculated the core damage probably as a function of transient time. The use of the DBN model in combination with ACE allows risk analysis to be performed with much less effort than if the analysis were done using the standard techniques.

Radiation chemistry related to nuclear power technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishigure, Kenkichi

A brief review is given to the radiation chemical problems, especially with the emphasis on water radiolysis, in the nuclear power technology. Radiation chemistry in aqueous system is pointed out to be closely related to the problems such as corrosion of Zircaloy, the formation of insoluble corrosion products or crud, stress corrosion cracking of stainless steel in BWR and the radioactive waste managements. The results of the constant extention rate tests on sensitized 304 stainless steel under irradiation are shown, and the computer calculations were carried out to simulate the model experiments on the release of crud from the corroding surface under irradiation and also the water radiolysis in core of BWR.

Effect of Central Mass Concentration on the Formation of Nuclear Spirals in Barred Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thakur, Parijat; Ann, H. B.; Jiang, Ing-Guey

2009-03-01

We have performed smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations to study the response of the central kiloparsec region of a gaseous disk to the imposition of nonaxisymmetric bar potentials. The model galaxies are composed of three axisymmetric components (halo, disk, and bulge) and a nonaxisymmetric bar. These components are assumed to be invariant in time in the frame corotating with the bar. The potential of spherical γ-models of Dehnen is adopted for the bulge component whose density varies as r -γ near the center and r -4 at larger radii and, hence, possesses a central density core for γ = 0 and cusps for γ>0. Since the central mass concentration of the model galaxies increases with the cusp parameter γ, we have examined here the effect of the central mass concentration by varying the cusp parameter γ on the mechanism responsible for the formation of the symmetric two-armed nuclear spirals in barred galaxies. Our simulations show that the symmetric two-armed nuclear spirals are formed by hydrodynamic spiral shocks driven by the gravitational torque of the bar for the models with γ = 0 and 0.5. On the other hand, the symmetric two-armed nuclear spirals in the models with γ = 1 and 1.5 are explained by gas density waves. Thus, we conclude that the mechanism responsible for the formation of symmetric two-armed nuclear spirals in barred galaxies changes from hydrodynamic shocks to gas density waves as the central mass concentration increases from γ = 0 to 1.5.

Dynamical onset of superconductivity and retention of magnetic fields in cooling neutron stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ho, Wynn C. G.; Andersson, Nils; Graber, Vanessa

2017-12-01

A superconductor of paired protons is thought to form in the core of neutron stars soon after their birth. Minimum energy conditions suggest magnetic flux is expelled from the superconducting region due to the Meissner effect, such that the neutron star core is largely devoid of magnetic fields for some nuclear equation of state and proton pairing models. We show via neutron star cooling simulations that the superconducting region expands faster than flux is expected to be expelled because cooling timescales are much shorter than timescales of magnetic field diffusion. Thus magnetic fields remain in the bulk of the neutron star core for at least 106-107yr . We estimate the size of flux free regions at 107yr to be ≲100 m for a magnetic field of 1011G and possibly smaller for stronger field strengths. For proton pairing models that are narrow, magnetic flux may be completely expelled from a thin shell of approximately the above size after 105yr . This shell may insulate lower conductivity outer layers, where magnetic fields can diffuse and decay faster, from fields maintained in the highly conducting deep core.

Evaluation of Neutron Radiography Reactor LEU-Core Start-Up Measurements

DOE PAGES

Bess, John D.; Maddock, Thomas L.; Smolinski, Andrew T.; ...

2014-11-04

Benchmark models were developed to evaluate the cold-critical start-up measurements performed during the fresh core reload of the Neutron Radiography (NRAD) reactor with Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel. Experiments include criticality, control-rod worth measurements, shutdown margin, and excess reactivity for four core loadings with 56, 60, 62, and 64 fuel elements. The worth of four graphite reflector block assemblies and an empty dry tube used for experiment irradiations were also measured and evaluated for the 60-fuel-element core configuration. Dominant uncertainties in the experimental k eff come from uncertainties in the manganese content and impurities in the stainless steel fuel claddingmore » as well as the 236U and erbium poison content in the fuel matrix. Calculations with MCNP5 and ENDF/B-VII.0 neutron nuclear data are approximately 1.4% (9σ) greater than the benchmark model eigenvalues, which is commonly seen in Monte Carlo simulations of other TRIGA reactors. Simulations of the worth measurements are within the 2σ uncertainty for most of the benchmark experiment worth values. The complete benchmark evaluation details are available in the 2014 edition of the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments.« less

Evaluation of Neutron Radiography Reactor LEU-Core Start-Up Measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bess, John D.; Maddock, Thomas L.; Smolinski, Andrew T.

Benchmark models were developed to evaluate the cold-critical start-up measurements performed during the fresh core reload of the Neutron Radiography (NRAD) reactor with Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel. Experiments include criticality, control-rod worth measurements, shutdown margin, and excess reactivity for four core loadings with 56, 60, 62, and 64 fuel elements. The worth of four graphite reflector block assemblies and an empty dry tube used for experiment irradiations were also measured and evaluated for the 60-fuel-element core configuration. Dominant uncertainties in the experimental k eff come from uncertainties in the manganese content and impurities in the stainless steel fuel claddingmore » as well as the 236U and erbium poison content in the fuel matrix. Calculations with MCNP5 and ENDF/B-VII.0 neutron nuclear data are approximately 1.4% (9σ) greater than the benchmark model eigenvalues, which is commonly seen in Monte Carlo simulations of other TRIGA reactors. Simulations of the worth measurements are within the 2σ uncertainty for most of the benchmark experiment worth values. The complete benchmark evaluation details are available in the 2014 edition of the International Handbook of Evaluated Reactor Physics Benchmark Experiments.« less

A new method of evaluating tight gas sands pore structure from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Liang; Mao, Zhi-qiang; Xie, Xiu-hong

2016-04-01

Tight gas sands always display such characteristics of ultra-low porosity, permeability, high irreducible water, low resistivity contrast, complicated pore structure and strong heterogeneity, these make that the conventional methods are invalid. Many effective gas bearing formations are considered as dry zones or water saturated layers, and cannot be identified and exploited. To improve tight gas sands evaluation, the best method is quantitative characterizing rock pore structure. The mercury injection capillary pressure (MICP) curves are advantageous in predicting formation pore structure. However, the MICP experimental measurements are limited due to the environment and economy factors, this leads formation pore structure cannot be consecutively evaluated. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logs are considered to be promising in evaluating rock pore structure. Generally, to consecutively quantitatively evaluate tight gas sands pore structure, the best method is constructing pseudo Pc curves from NMR logs. In this paper, based on the analysis of lab experimental results for 20 core samples, which were drilled from tight gas sandstone reservoirs of Sichuan basin, and simultaneously applied for lab MICP and NMR measurements, the relationships of piecewise power function between nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) transverse relaxation T2 time and pore-throat radius Rc are established. A novel method, which is used to transform NMR reverse cumulative curve as pseudo capillary pressure (Pc) curve is proposed, and the corresponding model is established based on formation classification. By using this model, formation pseudo Pc curves can be consecutively synthesized. The pore throat radius distribution, and pore structure evaluation parameters, such as the average pore throat radius (Rm), the threshold pressure (Pd), the maximum pore throat radius (Rmax) and so on, can also be precisely extracted. After this method is extended into field applications, several tight gas sandstone reservoirs are processed, and the predicted results are compared with core derived results. Good consistency between evaluated results with core derived results illustrates the dependability of the proposed method. Comparing with the previous methods, this presented model is much more theoretical, and the applicability is much improved. Combining with the evaluated results, our target tight gas sands are well evaluated, and many potential gas-bearing layers are effectively identified.

Temperature Profile in Fuel and Tie-Tubes for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vishal Patel

A finite element method to calculate temperature profiles in heterogeneous geometries of tie-tube moderated LEU nuclear thermal propulsion systems and HEU designs with tie-tubes is developed and implemented in MATLAB. This new method is compared to previous methods to demonstrate shortcomings in those methods. Typical methods to analyze peak fuel centerline temperature in hexagonal geometries rely on spatial homogenization to derive an analytical expression. These methods are not applicable to cores with tie-tube elements because conduction to tie-tubes cannot be accurately modeled with the homogenized models. The fuel centerline temperature directly impacts safety and performance so it must be predictedmore » carefully. The temperature profile in tie-tubes is also important when high temperatures are expected in the fuel because conduction to the tie-tubes may cause melting in tie-tubes, which may set maximum allowable performance. Estimations of maximum tie-tube temperature can be found from equivalent tube methods, however this method tends to be approximate and overly conservative. A finite element model of heat conduction on a unit cell can model spatial dependence and non-linear conductivity for fuel and tie-tube systems allowing for higher design fidelity of Nuclear Thermal Propulsion.« less

Multiphysics Nuclear Thermal Rocket Thrust Chamber Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Ten-See

2005-01-01

The objective of this effort is t o develop an efficient and accurate thermo-fluid computational methodology to predict environments for hypothetical thrust chamber design and analysis. The current task scope is to perform multidimensional, multiphysics analysis of thrust performance and heat transfer analysis for a hypothetical solid-core, nuclear thermal engine including thrust chamber and nozzle. The multiphysics aspects of the model include: real fluid dynamics, chemical reactivity, turbulent flow, and conjugate heat transfer. The model will be designed to identify thermal, fluid, and hydrogen environments in all flow paths and materials. This model would then be used to perform non- nuclear reproduction of the flow element failures demonstrated in the Rover/NERVA testing, investigate performance of specific configurations and assess potential issues and enhancements. A two-pronged approach will be employed in this effort: a detailed analysis of a multi-channel, flow-element, and global modeling of the entire thrust chamber assembly with a porosity modeling technique. It is expected that the detailed analysis of a single flow element would provide detailed fluid, thermal, and hydrogen environments for stress analysis, while the global thrust chamber assembly analysis would promote understanding of the effects of hydrogen dissociation and heat transfer on thrust performance. These modeling activities will be validated as much as possible by testing performed by other related efforts.

Thermionic nuclear reactor with internal heat distribution and multiple duct cooling

DOEpatents

Fisher, C.R.; Perry, L.W. Jr.

1975-11-01

A Thermionic Nuclear Reactor is described having multiple ribbon-like coolant ducts passing through the core, intertwined among the thermionic fuel elements to provide independent cooling paths. Heat pipes are disposed in the core between and adjacent to the thermionic fuel elements and the ribbon ducting, for the purpose of more uniformly distributing the heat of fission among the thermionic fuel elements and the ducts.

FUEL ELEMENTS FOR THERMAL-FISSION NUCLEAR REACTORS

DOEpatents

Flint, O.

1961-01-10

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.

An historical collection of papers on nuclear thermal propulsion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

The present volume of historical papers on nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) encompasses NTP technology development regarding solid-core NTP technology, advanced concepts from the early years of NTP research, and recent activities in the field. Specific issues addressed include NERVA rocket-engine technology, the development of nuclear rocket propulsion at Los Alamos, fuel-element development, reactor testing for the Rover program, and an overview of NTP concepts and research emphasizing two decades of NASA research. Also addressed are the development of the 'nuclear light bulb' closed-cycle gas core and a demonstration of a fissioning UF6 gas in an argon vortex. The recent developments reviewed include the application of NTP to NASA's Lunar Space Transportation System, the use of NTP for the Space Exploration Initiative, and the development of nuclear rocket engines in the former Soviet Union.

Development and experimental qualification of a calculation scheme for the evaluation of gamma heating in experimental reactors. Application to MARIA and Jules Horowitz (JHR) MTR Reactors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tarchalski, M.; Pytel, K.; Wroblewska, M.

2015-07-01

Precise computational determination of nuclear heating which consists predominantly of gamma heating (more than 80 %) is one of the challenges in material testing reactor exploitation. Due to sophisticated construction and conditions of experimental programs planned in JHR it became essential to use most accurate and precise gamma heating model. Before the JHR starts to operate, gamma heating evaluation methods need to be developed and qualified in other experimental reactor facilities. This is done inter alia using OSIRIS, MINERVE or EOLE research reactors in France. Furthermore, MARIA - Polish material testing reactor - has been chosen to contribute to themore » qualification of gamma heating calculation schemes/tools. This reactor has some characteristics close to those of JHR (beryllium usage, fuel element geometry). To evaluate gamma heating in JHR and MARIA reactors, both simulation tools and experimental program have been developed and performed. For gamma heating simulation, new calculation scheme and gamma heating model of MARIA have been carried out using TRIPOLI4 and APOLLO2 codes. Calculation outcome has been verified by comparison to experimental measurements in MARIA reactor. To have more precise calculation results, model of MARIA in TRIPOLI4 has been made using the whole geometry of the core. This has been done for the first time in the history of MARIA reactor and was complex due to cut cone shape of all its elements. Material composition of burnt fuel elements has been implemented from APOLLO2 calculations. An experiment for nuclear heating measurements and calculation verification has been done in September 2014. This involved neutron, photon and nuclear heating measurements at selected locations in MARIA reactor using in particular Rh SPND, Ag SPND, Ionization Chamber (all three from CEA), KAROLINA calorimeter (NCBJ) and Gamma Thermometer (CEA/SCK CEN). Measurements were done in forty points using four channels. Maximal nuclear heating evaluated from measurements is of the order of 2.5 W/g at half of the possible MARIA power - 15 MW. The approach and the detailed program for experimental verification of calculations will be presented. The following points will be discussed: - Development of a gamma heating model of MARIA reactor with TRIPOLI 4 (coupled neutron-photon mode) and APOLLO2 model taking into account the key parameters like: configuration of the core, experimental loading, control rod location, reactor power, fuel depletion); - Design of specific measurement tools for MARIA experiments including for instance a new single-cell calorimeter called KAROLINA calorimeter; - MARIA experimental program description and a preliminary analysis of results; - Comparison of calculations for JHR and MARIA cores with experimental verification analysis, calculation behavior and n-γ 'environments'. (authors)« less

Precise Maps of RNA Polymerase Reveal How Promoters Direct Initiation and Pausing

PubMed Central

Kwak, Hojoong; Fuda, Nicholas J.; Core, Leighton J.; Lis, John T.

2014-01-01

Transcription regulation occurs frequently through promoter-associated pausing of RNA polymerase II (Pol II). We developed a Precision nuclear Run-On and sequencing assay (PRO-seq) to map the genome-wide distribution of transcriptionally-engaged Pol II at base-pair resolution. Pol II accumulates immediately downstream of promoters, at intron-exon junctions that are efficiently used for splicing, and over 3' poly-adenylation sites. Focused analyses of promoters reveal that pausing is not fixed relative to initiation sites nor is it specified directly by the position of a particular core promoter element or the first nucleosome. Core promoter elements function beyond initiation, and when optimally positioned they act collectively to dictate the position and strength of pausing. We test this ‘Complex Interaction’ model with insertional mutagenesis of the Drosophila Hsp70 core promoter. PMID:23430654

COLA. III. Radio Detection of Active Galactic Nucleus in Compact Moderate Luminosity Infrared Galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parra, R.; Conway, J. E.; Aalto, S.; Appleton, P. N.; Norris, R. P.; Pihlström, Y. M.; Kewley, L. J.

2010-09-01

We present results from 4.8 GHz Very Large Array (VLA) and global very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of the northern half of the moderate FIR luminosity (median L IR = 1011.01 L sun) COLA sample of star-forming galaxies. VLBI sources are detected in a high fraction (20/90) of the galaxies observed. The radio luminosities of these cores (~1021 W Hz-1) are too large to be explained by radio supernovae or supernova remnants and we argue that they are instead powered by active galactic nuclei (AGNs). These sub-parsec scale radio cores are preferentially detected toward galaxies whose VLA maps show bright 100-500 parsec scale nuclear radio components. Since these latter structures tightly follow the FIR to radio-continuum correlation for star formation, we conclude that the AGN-powered VLBI sources are associated with compact nuclear starburst environments. The implications for possible starburst-AGN connections are discussed. The detected VLBI sources have a relatively narrow range of radio luminosity consistent with models in which intense compact Eddington-limited starbursts regulate the gas supply onto a central supermassive black hole. The high incidence of AGN radio cores in compact starbursts suggests little or no delay between the starburst phase and the onset of AGN activity.

Failure Predictions for VHTR Core Components using a Probabilistic Contiuum Damage Mechanics Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fok, Alex

2013-10-30

The proposed work addresses the key research need for the development of constitutive models and overall failure models for graphite and high temperature structural materials, with the long-term goal being to maximize the design life of the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). To this end, the capability of a Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) model, which has been used successfully for modeling fracture of virgin graphite, will be extended as a predictive and design tool for the core components of the very high- temperature reactor (VHTR). Specifically, irradiation and environmental effects pertinent to the VHTR will be incorporated into the modelmore » to allow fracture of graphite and ceramic components under in-reactor conditions to be modeled explicitly using the finite element method. The model uses a combined stress-based and fracture mechanics-based failure criterion, so it can simulate both the initiation and propagation of cracks. Modern imaging techniques, such as x-ray computed tomography and digital image correlation, will be used during material testing to help define the baseline material damage parameters. Monte Carlo analysis will be performed to address inherent variations in material properties, the aim being to reduce the arbitrariness and uncertainties associated with the current statistical approach. The results can potentially contribute to the current development of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) codes for the design and construction of VHTR core components.« less

Neutron stars interiors: Theory and reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stone, J. R.

2016-03-01

There are many fascinating processes in the universe which we observe in more detail thanks to increasingly sophisticated technology. One of the most interesting phenomena is the life cycle of stars, their birth, evolution and death. If the stars are massive enough, they end their lives in a core-collapse supernova explosion, one of the most violent events in the universe. As a result, the densest objects in the universe, neutron stars and/or black holes, are created. The physical basis of these events should be understood in line with observation. Unfortunately, available data do not provide adequate constraints for many theoretical models of dense matter. One of the most open areas of research is the composition of matter in the cores of neutron stars. Unambiguous fingerprints for the appearance and evolution of particular components, such as strange baryons and mesons, with increasing density, have not been identified. In particular, the hadron-quark phase transition remains a subject of intensive research. In this contribution we briefly survey the most promising observational and theoretical directions leading to progress in understanding high density matter in neutron stars. A possible way forward in modeling high-density matter is outlined, exemplified by the quark-meson-coupling model (QMC). This model makes connection between hadronic structure and the underlying quark make-up. It offers a natural explanation for the saturation of nuclear force and treats high-density matter, containing the full baryon octet, in terms of four uniquely defined parameters adjusted to properties of symmetric nuclear matter at saturation.

Impact of thermal spectrum small modular reactors on performance of once-through nuclear fuel cycles with low-enriched uranium

DOE PAGES

Brown, Nicholas R.; Worrall, Andrew; Todosow, Michael

2016-11-18

Small modular reactors (SMRs) offer potential benefits, such as enhanced operational flexibility. However, it is vital to understand the holistic impact of SMRs on nuclear fuel cycle performance. The focus of this paper is the fuel cycle impacts of light water SMRs in a once-through fuel cycle with low-enriched uranium fuel. A key objective of this paper is to describe preliminary example reactor core physics and fuel cycle analyses conducted in support of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Fuel Cycle Options Campaign. The hypothetical light water SMR example case considered in these preliminary scoping studies ismore » a cartridge type one-batch core with slightly less than 5.0% enrichment. Challenges associated with SMRs include increased neutron leakage, fewer assemblies in the core (and therefore fewer degrees of freedom in the core design), complex enrichment and burnable absorber loadings, full power operation with inserted control rods, the potential for frequent load-following operation, and shortened core height. Each of these will impact the achievable discharge burnup in the reactor and the fuel cycle performance. This paper summarizes a list of the factors relevant to SMR fuel, core, and operation that will impact fuel cycle performance. The high-level issues identified and preliminary scoping calculations in this paper are intended to inform on potential fuel cycle impacts of one-batch thermal spectrum SMRs. In particular, this paper highlights the impact of increased neutron leakage and reduced number of batches on the achievable burnup of the reactor. Fuel cycle performance metrics for a hypothetical example SMR are compared with those for a conventional three-batch light water reactor in the following areas: nuclear waste management, environmental impact, and resource utilization. The metrics performance for such an SMR is degraded for the mass of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste disposed of, mass of depleted uranium disposed of, land use per energy generated, and carbon emissions per energy generated. Finally, it is noted that the features of some SMR designs impact three main aspects of fuel cycle performance: (1) small cores which means high leakage (there is a radial and axial component), (2) no boron which means heterogeneous core and extensive use of control rods and BPs, and (3) single batch cores. But not all of the SMR designs have all of these traits. As a result, the approach used in this study is therefore a bounding case and not all SMRs may be affected to the same extent.« less

High-Pressure Geophysical Properties of Fcc Phase FeHX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, E. C.; Davis, A. H.; Bi, W.; Zhao, J.; Alp, E. E.; Zhang, D.; Greenberg, E.; Prakapenka, V. B.; Campbell, A. J.

2018-01-01

Face centered cubic (fcc) FeHX was synthesized at pressures of 18-68 GPa and temperatures exceeding 1,500 K. Thermally quenched samples were evaluated using synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nuclear resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (NRIXS) to determine sample composition and sound velocities to 82 GPa. To aid in the interpretation of nonideal (X ≠ 1) stoichiometries, two equations of state for fcc FeHX were developed, combining an empirical equation of state for iron with two distinct synthetic compression curves for interstitial hydrogen. Matching the density deficit of the Earth's core using these equations of state requires 0.8-1.1 wt % hydrogen at the core-mantle boundary and 0.2-0.3 wt % hydrogen at the interface of the inner and outer cores. Furthermore, a comparison of Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM) to a Birch's law extrapolation of our experimental results suggests that an iron alloy containing ˜0.8-1.3 wt % hydrogen could reproduce both the density and compressional velocity (VP) of the Earth's outer core.

Perispeckles are major assembly sites for the exon junction core complex

PubMed Central

Daguenet, Elisabeth; Baguet, Aurélie; Degot, Sébastien; Schmidt, Ute; Alpy, Fabien; Wendling, Corinne; Spiegelhalter, Coralie; Kessler, Pascal; Rio, Marie-Christine; Le Hir, Hervé; Bertrand, Edouard; Tomasetto, Catherine

2012-01-01

The exon junction complex (EJC) is loaded onto mRNAs as a consequence of splicing and regulates multiple posttranscriptional events. MLN51, Magoh, Y14, and eIF4A3 form a highly stable EJC core, but where this tetrameric complex is assembled in the cell remains unclear. Here we show that EJC factors are enriched in domains that we term perispeckles and are visible as doughnuts around nuclear speckles. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer analyses and EJC assembly mutants show that perispeckles do not store free subunits, but instead are enriched for assembled cores. At the ultrastructural level, perispeckles are distinct from interchromatin granule clusters that may function as storage sites for splicing factors and intermingle with perichromatin fibrils, where nascent RNAs and active RNA Pol II are present. These results support a model in which perispeckles are major assembly sites for the tetrameric EJC core. This subnuclear territory thus represents an intermediate region important for mRNA maturation, between transcription sites and splicing factor reservoirs and assembly sites. PMID:22419818

Modeling and Testing of Non-Nuclear, Highpower Simulated Nuclear Thermal Rocket Reactor Elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirk, Daniel R.

2005-01-01

When the President offered his new vision for space exploration in January of 2004, he said, "Our third goal is to return to the moon by 2020, as the launching point for missions beyond," and, "With the experience and knowledge gained on the moon, we will then be ready to take the next steps of space exploration: human missions to Mars and to worlds beyond." A human mission to Mars implies the need to move large payloads as rapidly as possible, in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Furthermore, with the scientific advancements possible with Project Prometheus and its Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO), (these use electric propulsion), there is a renewed interest in deep space exploration propulsion systems. According to many mission analyses, nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP), with its relatively high thrust and high specific impulse, is a serious candidate for such missions. Nuclear rockets utilize fission energy to heat a reactor core to very high temperatures. Hydrogen gas flowing through the core then becomes superheated and exits the engine at very high exhaust velocities. The combination of temperature and low molecular weight results in an engine with specific impulses above 900 seconds. This is almost twice the performance of the LOX/LH2 space shuttle engines, and the impact of this performance would be to reduce the trip time of a manned Mars mission from the 2.5 years, possible with chemical engines, to about 12-14 months.

Impact of New Nuclear Data Libraries on Small Sized Long Life CANDLE HTGR Design Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liem, Peng Hong; Hartanto, Donny; Tran, Hoai Nam

2017-01-01

The impact of new evaluated nuclear data libraries (JENDL-4.0, ENDF/B-VII.0 and JEFF-3.1) on the core characteristics of small-sized long-life CANDLE High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs) with uranium and thorium fuel cycles was investigated. The most important parameters of the CANDLE core characteristics investigated here covered (1) infinite multiplication factor of the fresh fuel containing burnable poison, (2) the effective multiplication factor of the equilibrium core, (3) the moving velocity of the burning region, (4) the attained discharge burnup, and (5) the maximum power density. The reference case was taken from the current JENDL-3.3 results. For the uranium fuel cycle, the impact of the new libraries was small, while significant impact was found for thorium fuel cycle. The findings indicated the needs of more accurate nuclear data libraries for nuclides involved in thorium fuel cycle in the future.

The radio emission from the ultraluminous far-infrared galaxy NGC 6240

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colbert, Edward J. M.; Wilson, Andrew S.; Bland-Hawthorn, Jonathan

1994-01-01

We present new radio observations of the 'prototypical' ultraluminous far-infrared galaxy NGC 6240, obtained using the Very Large Array (VLA) at lambda = 20 cm in B-configuration and at lambda = 3.6 cm in A-configuration. These data, along with those from four previous VLA observations, are used to perform a comprehensive study of the radio emission from NGC 6240. Approximately 70% (approximately 3 x 10(exp 23) W/Hz) of the total radio power at 20 cm originates from the nuclear region (approximately less than 1.5 kpc), of which half is emitted by two unresolved (R approximately less than 36 pc) cores and half by a diffuse component. The radio spectrum of the nuclear emission is relatively flat (alpha approximately equals 0.6; S(sub nu) proportional to nu(exp -alpha). The supernova rate required to power the diffuse component is consistent with that predicted by the stellar evolution models of Rieke et al. (1985). If the radio emission from the two compact cores is powered by supernova remnants, then either the remnants overlap and form hot bubbles in the cores, or they are very young (approximately less than 100 yr.) Nearly all of the remaining 30% of the total radio power comes from an 'armlike' region extending westward from the nuclear region. The western arm emission has a steep spectrum (alpha approximately equals 1.0), suggestive of aging effects from synchrotron or inverse-Compton losses, and is not correlated with starlight; we suggest that it is synchrotron emission from a shell of material driven by a galactic superwind. Inverse Compton scattering of far-infrared photons in the radio sources is expected to produce an X-ray flux of approximately 2 - 6 x 10(exp -14) ergs/s/sq cm in the 2 - 10 keV band. No significant radio emission is detected from or near the possible ultramassive 'dark core'.

Thermionic fast spectrum reactor-converter on the basis of multi-cell TFE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponomarev-Stepnoi, N. N.; Kompaniets, G. V.; Poliakov, D. N.; Stepennov, B. S.; Andreev, P. V.; Zhabotinsky, E. E.; Nikolaev, Yu. V.; Lapochkin, N. V.

2001-02-01

Today Russian experts have technological experience in development of in-core thermionic converters for reactors of space nuclear power plants. Such a converter contains nuclear fuel inside and really represents a fuel element of a reactor. Two types of reactors can be considered on the basis of these thermionic fuel elements: with thermal or intermediate neutron spectrum, and with fast neutron spectrum. The first type is characterized by the presence of moderator in core that ensures most economical usage of nuclear fuel. The estimation shows that moderated system is the most effective in the power range of about 5 ... 100 kWe. The power systems of higher level are characterized by larger dimensions due to the presence of moderator. The second type of reactor is considered for higher power levels. This power range is about hundreds kWe. Dimensions of the fast reactor and core configuration are determined by the necessity to ensure the required net output power, on the one hand, and the necessity to ensure critical state on the other hand. In the case of using in-core thermionic fuel elements of the specified design, minimal reactor output power is determined by reactor criticality condition, and maximum reactor power output is determined by specifications and launcher capabilities. In the present paper the effective multiplication factor of a fast spectrum reactor on the basis of a multi-cell TFE developed by ``Lutch'' is considered a function of the total number of TFEs in the reactor. The MCU Monte-Carlo code, developed in Russia (Alekseev, et al., 1991), was used for computations. TFE computational models are placed in the nodes of a uniform triangular lattice and surrounded with pressure vessel and a side reflector. Ordinary fuel pins without thermionic converters were used instead of some TFEs to optimize criticality parameters, dimensions and output power of the reactor. General weight parameters of the reactor are presented in the paper. .

Development concept for a small, split-core, heat-pipe-cooled nuclear reactor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lantz, E.; Breitwieser, R.; Niederauer, G. F.

1974-01-01

There have been two main deterrents to the development of semiportable nuclear reactors. One is the high development costs; the other is the inability to satisfy with assurance the questions of operational safety. This report shows how a split-core, heat-pipe cooled reactor could conceptually eliminate these deterrents, and examines and summarizes recent work on split-core, heat-pipe reactors. A concept for a small reactor that could be developed at a comparatively low cost is presented. The concept would extend the technology of subcritical radioisotope thermoelectric generators using 238 PuO2 to the evolution of critical space power reactors using 239 PuO2.

Nuclear RNA Exosome at 3.1 Å Reveals Substrate Specificities, RNA Paths, and Allosteric Inhibition of Rrp44/Dis3.

PubMed

Zinder, John C; Wasmuth, Elizabeth V; Lima, Christopher D

2016-11-17

The eukaryotic RNA exosome is an essential and conserved 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease complex that degrades or processes nearly every class of cellular RNA. The nuclear RNA exosome includes a 9-subunit non-catalytic core that binds Rrp44 (Dis3) and Rrp6 subunits to modulate their processive and distributive 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease activities, respectively. Here we utilize an engineered RNA with two 3' ends to obtain a crystal structure of an 11-subunit nuclear exosome bound to RNA at 3.1 Å. The structure reveals an extended RNA path to Rrp6 that penetrates into the non-catalytic core; contacts between the non-catalytic core and Rrp44, which inhibit exoribonuclease activity; and features of the Rrp44 exoribonuclease site that support its ability to degrade 3' phosphate RNA substrates. Using reconstituted exosome complexes, we show that 3' phosphate RNA is not a substrate for Rrp6 but is readily degraded by Rrp44 in the nuclear exosome. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

ICP-MS analysis of fission product diffusion in graphite for High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Lukas M.

Release of radioactive fission products from nuclear fuel during normal reactor operation or in accident scenarios is a fundamental safety concern. Of paramount importance are the understanding and elucidation of mechanisms of chemical interaction, nuclear interaction, and transport phenomena involving fission products. Worldwide efforts to reduce fossil fuel dependence coupled with an increasing overall energy demand have generated renewed enthusiasm toward nuclear power technologies, and as such, these mechanisms continue to be the subjects of vigorous research. High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs or VHTRs) remain one of the most promising candidates for the next generation of nuclear power reactors. An extant knowledge gap specific to HTGR technology derives from an incomplete understanding of fission product transport in major core materials under HTGR operational conditions. Our specific interest in the current work is diffusion in reactor graphite. Development of methods for analysis of diffusion of multiple fission products is key to providing accurate models for fission product release from HTGR core components and the reactor as a whole. In the present work, a specialized diffusion cell has been developed and constructed to facilitate real-time diffusion measurements via ICP-MS. The cell utilizes a helium gas-jet system which transports diffusing fission products to the mass spectrometer using carbon nanoparticles. The setup was designed to replicate conditions present in a functioning HTGR, and can be configured for real-time release or permeation measurements of single or multiple fission products from graphite or other core materials. In the present work, we have analyzed release rates of cesium in graphite grades IG-110, NBG-18, and a commercial grade of graphite, as well as release of iodine in IG-110. Additionally we have investigated infusion of graphite samples with Cs, I, Sr, Ag, and other surrogate fission products for use in release or profile measurements of diffusion coefficients.

Needs of Accurate Prompt and Delayed γ-spectrum and Multiplicity for Nuclear Reactor Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rimpault, G.; Bernard, D.; Blanchet, D.; Vaglio-Gaudard, C.; Ravaux, S.; Santamarina, A.

The local energy photon deposit must be accounted accurately for Gen-IV fast reactors, advanced light-water nuclear reactors (Gen-III+) and the new experimental Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR). The γ energy accounts for about 10% of the total energy released in the core of a thermal or fast reactor. The γ-energy release is much greater in the core of the reactor than in its structural sub-assemblies (such as reflector, control rod followers, dummy sub-assemblies). However, because of the propagation of γ from the core regions to the neighboring fuel-free assemblies, the contribution of γ energy to the total heating can be dominant. For reasons related to their performance, power reactors require a 7.5% (1σ) uncertainty for the energy deposition in non-fuelled zones. For the JHR material-testing reactor, a 5% (1 s) uncertainty is required in experimental positions. In order to verify the adequacy of the calculation of γ-heating, TLD and γ-fission chambers were used to derive the experimental heating values. Experimental programs were and are still conducted in different Cadarache facilities such as MASURCA (for SFR), MINERVE and EOLE (for JHR and Gen-III+ reactors). The comparison of calculated and measured γ-heating values shows an underestimation in all experimental programs indicating that for the most γ-production data from 239Pu in current nuclear-data libraries is highly suspicious.The first evaluation priority is for prompt γ-multiplicity for U and Pu fission but similar values for otheractinides such as Pu and U are also required. The nuclear data library JEFF3.1.1 contains most of the photon production data. However, there are some nuclei for which there are missing or erroneous data which need to be completed or modified. A review of the data available shows a lack of measurements for conducting serious evaluation efforts. New measurements are needed to guide new evaluation efforts which benefit from consolidated modeling techniques.

Enrichment Zoning Options for the Small Nuclear Rocket Engine (SNRE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bruce G. Schnitzler; Stanley K. Borowski

2010-07-01

Advancement of U.S. scientific, security, and economic interests through a robust space exploration program requires high performance propulsion systems to support a variety of robotic and crewed missions beyond low Earth orbit. In NASA’s recent Mars Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0 study (NASA-SP-2009-566, July 2009), nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) was again selected over chemical propulsion as the preferred in-space transportation system option because of its high thrust and high specific impulse (-900 s) capability, increased tolerance to payload mass growth and architecture changes, and lower total initial mass in low Earth orbit. An extensive nuclear thermal rocket technology development effortmore » was conducted from 1955-1973 under the Rover/NERVA Program. The Small Nuclear Rocket Engine (SNRE) was the last engine design studied by the Los Alamos National Laboratory during the program. At the time, this engine was a state-of-the-art design incorporating lessons learned from the very successful technology development program. Past activities at the NASA Glenn Research Center have included development of highly detailed MCNP Monte Carlo transport models of the SNRE and other small engine designs. Preliminary core configurations typically employ fuel elements with fixed fuel composition and fissile material enrichment. Uniform fuel loadings result in undesirable radial power and temperature profiles in the engines. Engine performance can be improved by some combination of propellant flow control at the fuel element level and by varying the fuel composition. Enrichment zoning at the fuel element level with lower enrichments in the higher power elements at the core center and on the core periphery is particularly effective. Power flattening by enrichment zoning typically results in more uniform propellant exit temperatures and improved engine performance. For the SNRE, element enrichment zoning provided very flat radial power profiles with 551 of the 564 fuel elements within 1% of the average element power. Results for this and alternate enrichment zoning options for the SNRE are compared.« less

Phase transitions in core-collapse supernova matter at sub-saturation densities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pais, Helena; Newton, William G.; Stone, Jirina R.

2014-12-01

Phase transitions in hot, dense matter in the collapsing cores of massive stars have an important impact on the core-collapse supernova mechanism as they absorb heat, disrupt homology, and so weaken the developing shock. We perform a three-dimensional, finite temperature Skyrme-Hartree-Fock (SHF) study of inhomogeneous nuclear matter to determine the critical density and temperature for the phase transition between the pasta phase and homogeneous matter and its properties. We employ four different parametrizations of the Skyrme nuclear energy-density functional, SkM*, SLy4, NRAPR, and SQMC700, which span a range of saturation-density symmetry energy behaviors constrained by a variety of nuclear experimental probes. For each of these interactions we calculate free energy, pressure, entropy, and chemical potentials in the range of particle number densities where the nuclear pasta phases are expected to exist, 0.02-0.12 fm-3, temperatures 2-8 MeV, and a proton fraction of 0.3. We find unambiguous evidence for a first-order phase transition to uniform matter, unsoftened by the presence of the pasta phases. No conclusive signs of a first-order phase transition between the pasta phases is observed, and it is argued that the thermodynamic quantities vary continuously right up to the first-order phase transition to uniform matter. We compare our results with thermodynamic spinodals calculated using the same Skyrme parametrizations, finding that the effect of short-range Coulomb correlations and quantum shell effects included in our model leads to the pasta phases existing at densities up to 0.01 fm-3 above the spinodal boundaries, thus increasing the transition density to uniform matter by the same amount. The transition density is otherwise shown to be insensitive to the symmetry energy at saturation density within the range constrained by the concordance of a variety of experimental constraints, and can be taken to be a well determined quantity.

MELCOR computer code manuals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Summers, R.M.; Cole, R.K. Jr.; Smith, R.C.

1995-03-01

MELCOR is a fully integrated, engineering-level computer code that models the progression of severe accidents in light water reactor nuclear power plants. MELCOR is being developed at Sandia National Laboratories for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a second-generation plant risk assessment tool and the successor to the Source Term Code Package. A broad spectrum of severe accident phenomena in both boiling and pressurized water reactors is treated in MELCOR in a unified framework. These include: thermal-hydraulic response in the reactor coolant system, reactor cavity, containment, and confinement buildings; core heatup, degradation, and relocation; core-concrete attack; hydrogen production, transport, andmore » combustion; fission product release and transport; and the impact of engineered safety features on thermal-hydraulic and radionuclide behavior. Current uses of MELCOR include estimation of severe accident source terms and their sensitivities and uncertainties in a variety of applications. This publication of the MELCOR computer code manuals corresponds to MELCOR 1.8.3, released to users in August, 1994. Volume 1 contains a primer that describes MELCOR`s phenomenological scope, organization (by package), and documentation. The remainder of Volume 1 contains the MELCOR Users Guides, which provide the input instructions and guidelines for each package. Volume 2 contains the MELCOR Reference Manuals, which describe the phenomenological models that have been implemented in each package.« less

Nuclear safety considerations in the conceptual design of a fast reactor for space electric power and propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hsieh, T.-M.; Koenig, D. R.

1977-01-01

Some nuclear safety aspects of a 3.2 mWt heat pipe cooled fast reactor with out-of-core thermionic converters are discussed. Safety related characteristics of the design including a thin layer of B4C surrounding the core, the use of heat pipes and BeO reflector assembly, the elimination of fuel element bowing, etc., are highlighted. Potential supercriticality hazards and countermeasures are considered. Impacts of some safety guidelines of space transportation system are also briefly discussed, since the currently developing space shuttle would be used as the primary launch vehicle for the nuclear electric propulsion spacecraft.

Droplet Core Nuclear Rocket (DCNR)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anghaie, Samim

1991-01-01

The most basic design feature of the droplet core nuclear reactor is to spray liquid uranium into the core in the form of droplets on the order of five to ten microns in size, to bring the reactor to critical conditions. The liquid uranium fuel ejector is driven by hydrogen, and more hydrogen is injected from the side of the reactor to about one and a half meters from the top. High temperature hydrogen is expanded through a nozzle to produce thrust. The hydrogen pressure in the system can be somewhere between 50 and 500 atmospheres; the higher pressure is more desirable. In the lower core region, hydrogen is tangentially injected to serve two purposes: (1) to provide a swirling flow to protect the wall from impingement of hot uranium droplets: (2) to generate a vortex flow that can be used for fuel separation. The reactor is designed to maximize the energy generation in the upper region of the core. The system can result in and Isp of 2000 per second, and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.6 for the shielded reactor. The nuclear engine system can reduce the Mars mission duration to less than 200 days. It can reduce the hydrogen consumption by a factor of 2 to 3, which reduces the hydrogen load by about 130 to 150 metric tons.

DESIGN CHARACTERISTICS OF THE IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY HIGH-TEMPERATURE GAS-COOLED TEST REACTOR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sterbentz, James; Bayless, Paul; Strydom, Gerhard

2016-11-01

Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis is an indispensable element of any substantial attempt in reactor simulation validation. The quantification of uncertainties in nuclear engineering has grown more important and the IAEA Coordinated Research Program (CRP) on High-Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTGR) initiated in 2012 aims to investigate the various uncertainty quantification methodologies for this type of reactors. The first phase of the CRP is dedicated to the estimation of cell and lattice model uncertainties due to the neutron cross sections co-variances. Phase II is oriented towards the investigation of propagated uncertainties from the lattice to the coupled neutronics/thermal hydraulics core calculations.more » Nominal results for the prismatic single block (Ex.I-2a) and super cell models (Ex.I-2c) have been obtained using the SCALE 6.1.3 two-dimensional lattice code NEWT coupled to the TRITON sequence for cross section generation. In this work, the TRITON/NEWT-flux-weighted cross sections obtained for Ex.I-2a and various models of Ex.I-2c is utilized to perform a sensitivity analysis of the MHTGR-350 core power densities and eigenvalues. The core solutions are obtained with the INL coupled code PHISICS/RELAP5-3D, utilizing a fixed-temperature feedback for Ex. II-1a.. It is observed that the core power density does not vary significantly in shape, but the magnitude of these variations increases as the moderator-to-fuel ratio increases in the super cell lattice models.« less

Re-refinement of the spliceosomal U4 snRNP core-domain structure

PubMed Central

Li, Jade; Leung, Adelaine K.; Kondo, Yasushi; Oubridge, Chris; Nagai, Kiyoshi

2016-01-01

The core domain of small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP), comprised of a ring of seven paralogous proteins bound around a single-stranded RNA sequence, functions as the assembly nucleus in the maturation of U1, U2, U4 and U5 spliceosomal snRNPs. The structure of the human U4 snRNP core domain was initially solved at 3.6 Å resolution by experimental phasing using data with tetartohedral twinning. Molecular replacement from this model followed by density modification using untwinned data recently led to a structure of the minimal U1 snRNP at 3.3 Å resolution. With the latter structure providing a search model for molecular replacement, the U4 core-domain structure has now been re-refined. The U4 Sm site-sequence AAUUUUU has been shown to bind to the seven Sm proteins SmF–SmE–SmG–SmD3–SmB–SmD1–SmD2 in an identical manner as the U1 Sm-site sequence AAUUUGU, except in SmD1 where the bound U replaces G. The progression from the initial to the re-refined structure exemplifies a tortuous route to accuracy: where well diffracting crystals of complex assemblies are initially unavailable, the early model errors are rectified by exploiting preliminary interpretations in further experiments involving homologous structures. New insights are obtained from the more accurate model. PMID:26894541

WHEN MODEL MEETS REALITY – A REVIEW OF SPAR LEVEL 2 MODEL AGAINST FUKUSHIMA ACCIDENT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhegang Ma

The Standardized Plant Analysis Risk (SPAR) models are a set of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) models used by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to evaluate the risk of operations at U.S. nuclear power plants and provide inputs to risk informed regulatory process. A small number of SPAR Level 2 models have been developed mostly for feasibility study purpose. They extend the Level 1 models to include containment systems, group plant damage states, and model containment phenomenology and accident progression in containment event trees. A severe earthquake and tsunami hit the eastern coast of Japan in March 2011 and caused significantmore » damages on the reactors in Fukushima Daiichi site. Station blackout (SBO), core damage, containment damage, hydrogen explosion, and intensive radioactivity release, which have been previous analyzed and assumed as postulated accident progression in PRA models, now occurred with various degrees in the multi-units Fukushima Daiichi site. This paper reviews and compares a typical BWR SPAR Level 2 model with the “real” accident progressions and sequences occurred in Fukushima Daiichi Units 1, 2, and 3. It shows that the SPAR Level 2 model is a robust PRA model that could very reasonably describe the accident progression for a real and complicated nuclear accident in the world. On the other hand, the comparison shows that the SPAR model could be enhanced by incorporating some accident characteristics for better representation of severe accident progression.« less

Analysis of loss-of-coolant accident for a fast-spectrum lithium-cooled nuclear reactor for space-power applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turney, G. E.; Petrik, E. J.; Kieffer, A. W.

1972-01-01

A two-dimensional, transient, heat-transfer analysis was made to determine the temperature response in the core of a conceptual space-power nuclear reactor following a total loss of reactor coolant. With loss of coolant from the reactor, the controlling mode of heat transfer is thermal radiation. In one of the schemes considered for removing decay heat from the core, it was assumed that the 4 pi shield which surrounds the core acts as a constant-temperature sink (temperature, 700 K) for absorption of thermal radiation from the core. Results based on this scheme of heat removal show that melting of fuel in the core is possible only when the emissivity of the heat-radiating surfaces in the core is less than about 0.40. In another scheme for removing the afterheat, the core centerline fuel pin was replaced by a redundant, constant temperature, coolant channel. Based on an emissivity of 0.20 for all material surfaces in the core, the calculated maximum fuel temperature for this scheme of heat removal was 2840 K, or about 90 K less than the melting temperature of the UN fuel.

Topics in Core-Collapse Supernova Theory: The Formation of Black Holes and the Transport of Neutrinos

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Connor, Evan Patrick

Core-Collapse Supernovae are one of the most complex astrophysical systems in the universe. They deeply entwine aspects of physics and astrophysics that are rarely side by side in nature. To accurately model core-collapse supernovae one must self-consistently combine general relativity, nuclear physics, neutrino physics, and magneto-hydrodynamics in a symmetry-free computational environment. This is a challenging task, as each one of these aspects on its own is an area of great study. We take an open approach in an effort to encourage collaboration in the core-collapse supernovae community. In this thesis, we develop a new open-source general-relativistic spherically-symmetric Eulerian hydrodynamics code for studying stellar collapse, protoneutron star formation, and evolution until black hole formation. GR1D includes support for finite temperature equations of state and an efficient and qualitatively accurate treatment of neutrino leakage. GR1D implements spherically-symmetric rotation, allowing for the study of slowly rotating stellar collapse. GR1D is available at http://www.stellarcollapse.org. We use GR1D to perform an extensive study of black hole formation in failing core-collapse supernovae. Over 100 presupernova models from various sources are used in over 700 total simulations. We systematically explore the dependence of black hole formation on the input physics: initial zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) mass and metallicity, nuclear equation of state, rotation, and stellar mass loss rates. Assuming the core-collapse supernova mechanism fails and a black hole forms, we find that the outcome, for a given equation of state, can be estimated, to first order, by a single parameter, the compactness of the stellar core at bounce. By comparing the protoneutron star structure at the onset of gravitational instability with solutions of the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkof equations, we find that thermal pressure support in the outer protoneutron star core is responsible for raising the maximum protoneutron star mass by up to 25% above the cold neutron star value. By artificially increasing neutrino heating, we find the critical neutrino heating efficiency required for exploding a given progenitor structure and connect these findings with ZAMS conditions. This establishes, albeit approximately, for the first time based on actual collapse simulations, the mapping between ZAMS parameters and the outcome of core collapse. We also use GR1D to study proposed progenitors of long-duration gamma-ray bursts. We find that many of the proposed progenitors have core structures similar to garden-variety core-collapse supernovae. These are not expected to form black holes, a key ingredient of the collapsar model of long-duration gamma-ray bursts. The small fraction of proposed progenitors that are compact enough to form black holes have fast rotating iron cores, making them prone to a magneto-rotational explosion and the formation of a protomagnetar rather than a black hole. Finally, we present preliminary work on a fully general-relativistic neutrino transport code and neutrino-interaction library. Following along with the trends explored in our black hole formation study, we look at the dependence of the neutrino observables on the bounce compactness. We find clear relationships that will allow us to extract details of the core structure from the next galactic supernova. Following the open approach of GR1D, the neutrino transport code will be made open-source upon completion. The open-source neutrino-interaction library, NuLib, is already available at http://www.nulib.org.

Constraining Initiation and Onset Time of Plate Tectonics on Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roller, G.

2014-12-01

The onset time for modern-style plate tectonics is still heavily debated among geoscientists. Proposed timings range from the Phanerozoic to the Hadean. Here I present a new theoretical approach to tackle this question. I combine ideas of nuclear astrophysics and geochronology and apply the concept of sudden nucleosynthesis to calculate so-called nucleogeochronometric Rhenium-Osmium model ages. Sudden nucleosynthesis has been suggested by nuclear theory [1-2] as a possible mechanism for the creation of the heavy isotopes. Hence, this concept may generally be used to identify rapid (r-) neutron-capture process events. For Earth, nucleogeochronometric model age calculations based upon published pyroxenite and komatiite data [3-5] point to an r-process event around 3 Ga. Since the r-process requires high neutron densities and temperatures within seconds, a gravitational core collapse forming at least a part of the inner core is discussed as a possible cause, thus initiating modern-style plate tectonics at that time. This age is in line with an earlier proposed value of 2.7 Ga for an inner core forming event [6], pronounced changes in the magnitude of the geomagnetic field and geological evidence like the onset of extensive plutonism and crust formation starting around the Archean-Proterozoic transition. Besides, results from nucleogeochronometric age calculations for published peridotitic pentlandites [7] lead to corrections as to their previously inconsistent model ages: These are now in good agreement with their Proterozoic 1.43 Ga isochronous regression line, supporting the model. [1] Burbidge et al. (1957) Revs. Mod. Phys. 29, 547 - 650. [2] Hoyle et al. (1960) ApJ 132, 565 - 590. [3] Reisberg et al. (1991) Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 105, 196 - 213. [4] Roy-Barman et al. (1996) Chem. Geol. 130, 55 - 64. [5] Luck et al. (1984) Earth Planet Sci. Lett. 68, 205 - 208. [6] Hale (1987) Nature 329, 233 -237. [7] Smit et al. (2010) Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 74, 3292 - 3306.

The behaviour of transuranic mixed oxide fuel in a Candu-900 reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morreale, A. C.; Ball, M. R.; Novog, D. R.

2012-07-01

The production of transuranic actinide fuels for use in current thermal reactors provides a useful intermediary step in closing the nuclear fuel cycle. Extraction of actinides reduces the longevity, radiation and heat loads of spent material. The burning of transuranic fuels in current reactors for a limited amount of cycles reduces the infrastructure demand for fast reactors and provides an effective synergy that can result in a reduction of as much as 95% of spent fuel waste while reducing the fast reactor infrastructure needed by a factor of almost 13.5 [1]. This paper examines the features of actinide mixed oxidemore » fuel, TRUMOX, in a CANDU{sup R}* nuclear reactor. The actinide concentrations used were based on extraction from 30 year cooled spent fuel and mixed with natural uranium in 3.1 wt% actinide MOX fuel. Full lattice cell modeling was performed using the WIMS-AECL code, super-cell calculations were analyzed in DRAGON and full core analysis was executed in the RFSP 2-group diffusion code. A time-average full core model was produced and analyzed for reactor coefficients, reactivity device worth and online fuelling impacts. The standard CANDU operational limits were maintained throughout operations. The TRUMOX fuel design achieved a burnup of 27.36 MWd/kg HE. A full TRUMOX fuelled CANDU was shown to operate within acceptable limits and provided a viable intermediary step for burning actinides. The recycling, reprocessing and reuse of spent fuels produces a much more sustainable and efficient nuclear fuel cycle. (authors)« less

10 CFR 50.46 - Acceptance criteria for emergency core cooling systems for light-water nuclear power reactors.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... light-water nuclear power reactors. 50.46 Section 50.46 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION DOMESTIC... reactors. (a)(1)(i) Each boiling or pressurized light-water nuclear power reactor fueled with uranium oxide... behavior of the reactor system during a loss-of-coolant accident. Comparisons to applicable experimental...

Constraining the astrophysical origin of the p-nuclei through nuclear physics and meteoritic data.

PubMed

Rauscher, T; Dauphas, N; Dillmann, I; Fröhlich, C; Fülöp, Zs; Gyürky, Gy

2013-06-01

A small number of naturally occurring, proton-rich nuclides (the p-nuclei) cannot be made in the s- and r-processes. Their origin is not well understood. Massive stars can produce p-nuclei through photodisintegration of pre-existing intermediate and heavy nuclei. This so-called γ-process requires high stellar plasma temperatures and occurs mainly in explosive O/Ne burning during a core-collapse supernova. Although the γ-process in massive stars has been successful in producing a large range of p-nuclei, significant deficiencies remain. An increasing number of processes and sites has been studied in recent years in search of viable alternatives replacing or supplementing the massive star models. A large number of unstable nuclei, however, with only theoretically predicted reaction rates are included in the reaction network and thus the nuclear input may also bear considerable uncertainties. The current status of astrophysical models, nuclear input and observational constraints is reviewed. After an overview of currently discussed models, the focus is on the possibility to better constrain those models through different means. Meteoritic data not only provide the actual isotopic abundances of the p-nuclei but can also put constraints on the possible contribution of proton-rich nucleosynthesis. The main part of the review focuses on the nuclear uncertainties involved in the determination of the astrophysical reaction rates required for the extended reaction networks used in nucleosynthesis studies. Experimental approaches are discussed together with their necessary connection to theory, which is especially pronounced for reactions with intermediate and heavy nuclei in explosive nuclear burning, even close to stability.

No-core configuration-interaction model for the isospin- and angular-momentum-projected states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satuła, W.; Båczyk, P.; Dobaczewski, J.; Konieczka, M.

2016-08-01

Background: Single-reference density functional theory is very successful in reproducing bulk nuclear properties like binding energies, radii, or quadrupole moments throughout the entire periodic table. Its extension to the multireference level allows for restoring symmetries and, in turn, for calculating transition rates. Purpose: We propose a new variant of the no-core-configuration-interaction (NCCI) model treating properly isospin and rotational symmetries. The model is applicable to any nucleus irrespective of its mass and neutron- and proton-number parity. It properly includes polarization effects caused by an interplay between the long- and short-range forces acting in the atomic nucleus. Methods: The method is based on solving the Hill-Wheeler-Griffin equation within a model space built of linearly dependent states having good angular momentum and properly treated isobaric spin. The states are generated by means of the isospin and angular-momentum projection applied to a set of low-lying (multi)particle-(multi)hole deformed Slater determinants calculated using the self-consistent Skyrme-Hartree-Fock approach. Results: The theory is applied to calculate energy spectra in N ≈Z nuclei that are relevant from the point of view of a study of superallowed Fermi β decays. In particular, a new set of the isospin-symmetry-breaking corrections to these decays is given. Conclusions: It is demonstrated that the NCCI model is capable of capturing main features of low-lying energy spectra in light and medium-mass nuclei using relatively small model space and without any local readjustment of its low-energy coupling constants. Its flexibility and a range of applicability makes it an interesting alternative to the conventional nuclear shell model.

10 CFR Appendix A to Part 50 - General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Heat Removal 34 Emergency Core Cooling 35 Inspection of Emergency Core Cooling System 36 Testing of Emergency Core Cooling System 37 Containment Heat Removal 38 Inspection of Containment Heat Removal System 39 Testing of Containment Heat Removal System 40 Containment Atmosphere Cleanup 41 Inspection of...

10 CFR Appendix A to Part 50 - General Design Criteria for Nuclear Power Plants

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Heat Removal 34 Emergency Core Cooling 35 Inspection of Emergency Core Cooling System 36 Testing of Emergency Core Cooling System 37 Containment Heat Removal 38 Inspection of Containment Heat Removal System 39 Testing of Containment Heat Removal System 40 Containment Atmosphere Cleanup 41 Inspection of...

Numeric simulation of relativistic stellar core collapse and the formation of Reissner-Nordstroem black holes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghezzi, Cristian R.; Letelier, Patricio S.

2007-01-15

The time evolution of a set of 22M{sub {center_dot}} unstable charged stars that collapse is computed integrating the Einstein-Maxwell equations. The model simulates the collapse of a spherical star that had exhausted its nuclear fuel and has or acquires a net electric charge in its core while collapsing. When the charge-to-mass ratio is Q/{radical}(G)M{>=}1, the star does not collapse but spreads. On the other hand, a different physical behavior is observed with a charge-to-mass ratio of 1>Q/{radical}(G)M>0.1. In this case, the collapsing matter forms a bubble enclosing a lower density core. We discuss an immediate astrophysical consequence of these resultsmore » that is a more efficient neutrino trapping during the stellar collapse and an alternative mechanism for powerful supernova explosions. The outer space-time of the star is the Reissner-Nordstroem solution that matches smoothly with our interior numerical solution; thus the collapsing models form Reissner-Nordstroem black holes.« less

Core Flood study for enhanced oil recovery through ex-situ bioaugmentation with thermo- and halo-tolerant rhamnolipid produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa NCIM 5514.

PubMed

Varjani, Sunita J; Upasani, Vivek N

2016-11-01

The aim of this work was to study the Microbial Enhanced Oil Recovery (MEOR) employing core field model ex-situ bioaugmenting a thermo- and halo-tolerant rhamnolipid produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) revealed that the biosurfactant produced was rhamnolipid type. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance analysis showed that the purified rhamnolipids comprised two principal rhamnolipid homologues, i.e., Rha-Rha-C10-C14:1 and Rha-C8-C10. The rhamnolipid was stable under wide range of temperature (4°C, 30-100°C), pH (2.0-10.0) and NaCl concentration (0-18%, w/v). Core Flood model was designed for oil recovery operations using rhamnolipid. The oil recovery enhancement over Residual Oil Saturation was 8.82% through ex-situ bioaugmentation with rhamnolipid. The thermal stability of rhamnolipid shows promising scope for its application at conditions where high temperatures prevail in oil recovery processes, whereas its halo-tolerant nature increases its application in marine environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emergency deployable core catcher

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rosewell, M.P.

An emergency melt down core catcher apparatus for a nuclear reactor having a retrofitable eutectic solute holding vessel connected to a core containment vessel with particle transferring fluid and particles or granules of solid eutectic solute materials contained therein and transferable by automatically operated valve means to transport and position the solid eutectic solute material in a position below the core to catch and react with any partial or complete melt down of the fuel core.

The SAS4A/SASSYS-1 Safety Analysis Code System, Version 5

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fanning, T. H.; Brunett, A. J.; Sumner, T.

The SAS4A/SASSYS-1 computer code is developed by Argonne National Laboratory for thermal, hydraulic, and neutronic analysis of power and flow transients in liquidmetal- cooled nuclear reactors (LMRs). SAS4A was developed to analyze severe core disruption accidents with coolant boiling and fuel melting and relocation, initiated by a very low probability coincidence of an accident precursor and failure of one or more safety systems. SASSYS-1, originally developed to address loss-of-decay-heat-removal accidents, has evolved into a tool for margin assessment in design basis accident (DBA) analysis and for consequence assessment in beyond-design-basis accident (BDBA) analysis. SAS4A contains detailed, mechanistic models of transientmore » thermal, hydraulic, neutronic, and mechanical phenomena to describe the response of the reactor core, its coolant, fuel elements, and structural members to accident conditions. The core channel models in SAS4A provide the capability to analyze the initial phase of core disruptive accidents, through coolant heat-up and boiling, fuel element failure, and fuel melting and relocation. Originally developed to analyze oxide fuel clad with stainless steel, the models in SAS4A have been extended and specialized to metallic fuel with advanced alloy cladding. SASSYS-1 provides the capability to perform a detailed thermal/hydraulic simulation of the primary and secondary sodium coolant circuits and the balance-ofplant steam/water circuit. These sodium and steam circuit models include component models for heat exchangers, pumps, valves, turbines, and condensers, and thermal/hydraulic models of pipes and plena. SASSYS-1 also contains a plant protection and control system modeling capability, which provides digital representations of reactor, pump, and valve controllers and their response to input signal changes.« less

Seed and blanket fuel arrangement for dual-phase nuclear reactors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Congdon, S.P.; Fawcett, R.M.

1992-09-22

This patent describes a fuel management method for a dual-phase nuclear reactor, it comprises: installing a fuel bundle at a first core location accessed by coolant through a relatively small aperture, each of the bundles having a predetermined group of fuel elements; operating the reactor a first time; shutting down the reactor; reinstalling the fuel bundle at a second core location accessed by coolant through a relatively large aperture; and operating the reactor a second time.

Anisn-Dort Neutron-Gamma Flux Intercomparison Exercise for a Simple Testing Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boehmer, B.; Konheiser, J.; Borodkin, G.; Brodkin, E.; Egorov, A.; Kozhevnikov, A.; Zaritsky, S.; Manturov, G.; Voloschenko, A.

2003-06-01

The ability of transport codes ANISN, DORT, ROZ-6, MCNP and TRAMO, as well as nuclear data libraries BUGLE-96, ABBN-93, VITAMIN-B6 and ENDF/B-6 to deliver consistent gamma and neutron flux results was tested in the calculation of a one-dimensional cylindrical model consisting of a homogeneous core and an outer zone with a single material. Model variants with H2O, Fe, Cr and Ni in the outer zones were investigated. The results are compared with MCNP-ENDF/B-6 results. Discrepancies are discussed. The specified test model is proposed as a computational benchmark for testing calculation codes and data libraries.

Compact Stars with Sequential QCD Phase Transitions.

PubMed

Alford, Mark; Sedrakian, Armen

2017-10-20

Compact stars may contain quark matter in their interiors at densities exceeding several times the nuclear saturation density. We explore models of such compact stars where there are two first-order phase transitions: the first from nuclear matter to a quark-matter phase, followed at a higher density by another first-order transition to a different quark-matter phase [e.g., from the two-flavor color-superconducting (2SC) to the color-flavor-locked (CFL) phase]. We show that this can give rise to two separate branches of hybrid stars, separated from each other and from the nuclear branch by instability regions, and, therefore, to a new family of compact stars, denser than the ordinary hybrid stars. In a range of parameters, one may obtain twin hybrid stars (hybrid stars with the same masses but different radii) and even triplets where three stars, with inner cores of nuclear matter, 2SC matter, and CFL matter, respectively, all have the same mass but different radii.

Contributions Regarding the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mitrica, Bogdan; Petre, Marian; Dima, Mihai Octavian

2010-01-21

The possibility to use a nuclear reactor for airplanes propulsion was investigated taking in to account 2 possible solutions: the direct cycle (where the fluid pass through the reactor's core) and the indirect cycle (where the fluid is passing through a heat exchanger). Taking in to account the radioprotection problems, the only realistic solution seems to be the indirect cycle, where the energy transfer should be performed by a heat exchanger that must work at very high speed of the fluid. The heat exchanger will replace the classical burning room. We had performed a more precise theoretical study for themore » nuclear jet engine regarding the performances of the nuclear reactor, of the heat exchanger and of the jet engine. It was taken in to account that in the moment when the burning room is replaced by a heat exchanger, a new model for gasodynamic process from the engine must be performed. Studies regarding the high flow speed heat transfer were performed.« less

Pom121 links two essential subcomplexes of the nuclear pore complex core to the membrane

PubMed Central

Mitchell, Jana M.; Mansfeld, Jörg; Capitanio, Juliana; Kutay, Ulrike

2010-01-01

Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) control the movement of molecules across the nuclear envelope (NE). We investigated the molecular interactions that exist at the interface between the NPC scaffold and the pore membrane. We show that key players mediating these interactions in mammalian cells are the nucleoporins Nup155 and Nup160. Nup155 depletion massively alters NE structure, causing a dramatic decrease in NPC numbers and the improper targeting of membrane proteins to the inner nuclear membrane. The role of Nup155 in assembly is likely closely linked to events at the membrane as we show that Nup155 interacts with pore membrane proteins Pom121 and NDC1. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the N terminus of Pom121 directly binds the β-propeller regions of Nup155 and Nup160. We propose a model in which the interactions of Pom121 with Nup155 and Nup160 are predicted to assist in the formation of the nuclear pore and the anchoring of the NPC to the pore membrane. PMID:20974814

Do All Dinoflagellates have an Extranuclear Spindle?

PubMed

Moon, Eunyoung; Nam, Seung Won; Shin, Woongghi; Park, Myung Gil; Coats, D Wayne

2015-11-01

The syndinean dinoflagellates are a diverse assemblage of alveolate endoparasites that branch basal to the core dinoflagellates. Because of their phylogenetic position, the syndineans are considered key model microorganisms in understanding early evolution in the dinoflagellates. Closed mitosis with an extranuclear spindle that traverses the nucleus in cytoplasmic grooves or tunnels is viewed as one of the morphological features shared by syndinean and core dinoflagellates. Here we describe nuclear morphology and mitosis in the syndinean dinoflagellate Amoebophrya sp. from Akashiwo sanguinea, a member of the A. ceratii complex, as revealed by protargol silver impregnation, DNA specific fluorochromes, and transmission electron microscopy. Our observations show that not all species classified as dinoflagellates have an extranuclear spindle. In Amoebophrya sp. from A. sanguinea, an extranuclear microtubule cylinder located in a depression in the nuclear surface during interphase moves into the nucleoplasm via sequential membrane fusion events and develops into an entirely intranuclear spindle. Results suggest that the intranuclear spindle of Amoebophrya spp. may have evolved from an ancestral extranuclear spindle and indicate the need for taxonomic revision of the Amoebophryidae. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Optimum Water Chemistry in radiation field buildup control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Chien, C.

1995-03-01

Nuclear utilities continue to face the challenGE of reducing exposure of plant maintenance personnel. GE Nuclear Energy has developed the concept of Optimum Water Chemistry (OWC) to reduce the radiation field buildup and minimize the radioactive waste production. It is believed that reduction of radioactive sources and improvement of the water chemistry quality should significantly reduce both the radiation exposure and radwaste production. The most important source of radioactivity is cobalt and replacement of cobalt containing alloy in the core region as well as in the entire primary system is considered the first priority to achieve the goal of lowmore » exposure and minimized waste production. A plant specific computerized cobalt transport model has been developed to evaluate various options in a BWR system under specific conditions. Reduction of iron input and maintaining low ionic impurities in the coolant have been identified as two major tasks for operators. Addition of depleted zinc is a proven technique to reduce Co-60 in reactor water and on out-of-core piping surfaces. The effect of HWC on Co-60 transport in the primary system will also be discussed.« less

Multi-Group Formulation of the Temperature-Dependent Resonance Scattering Model and its Impact on Reactor Core Parameters

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghrayeb, Shadi Z.; Ougouag, Abderrafi M.; Ouisloumen, Mohamed

2014-01-01

A multi-group formulation for the exact neutron elastic scattering kernel is developed. It incorporates the neutron up-scattering effects, stemming from lattice atoms thermal motion and accounts for it within the resulting effective nuclear cross-section data. The effects pertain essentially to resonant scattering off of heavy nuclei. The formulation, implemented into a standalone code, produces effective nuclear scattering data that are then supplied directly into the DRAGON lattice physics code where the effects on Doppler Reactivity and neutron flux are demonstrated. The correct accounting for the crystal lattice effects influences the estimated values for the probability of neutron absorption and scattering,more » which in turn affect the estimation of core reactivity and burnup characteristics. The results show an increase in values of Doppler temperature feedback coefficients up to -10% for UOX and MOX LWR fuels compared to the corresponding values derived using the traditional asymptotic elastic scattering kernel. This paper also summarizes the results done on this topic to date.« less

Precise calculation of neutron-capture reactions contribution in energy release for different types of VVER-1000 fuel assemblies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tikhomirov, Georgy; Bahdanovich, Rynat; Pham, Phu

2017-09-01

Precise calculation of energy release in a nuclear reactor is necessary to obtain the correct spatial power distribution and predict characteristics of burned nuclear fuel. In this work, previously developed method for calculation neutron-capture reactions - capture component - contribution in effective energy release in a fuel core of nuclear reactor is discussed. The method was improved and implemented to the different models of VVER-1000 reactor developed for MCU 5 and MCNP 4 computer codes. Different models of equivalent cell and fuel assembly in the beginning of fuel cycle were calculated. These models differ by the geometry, fuel enrichment and presence of burnable absorbers. It is shown, that capture component depends on fuel enrichment and presence of burnable absorbers. Its value varies for different types of hot fuel assemblies from 3.35% to 3.85% of effective energy release. Average capture component contribution in effective energy release for typical serial fresh fuel of VVER-1000 is 3.5%, which is 7 MeV/fission. The method will be used in future to estimate the dependency of capture energy on fuel density, burn-up, etc.

VERA Core Simulator methodology for pressurized water reactor cycle depletion

DOE PAGES

Kochunas, Brendan; Collins, Benjamin; Stimpson, Shane; ...

2017-01-12

This paper describes the methodology developed and implemented in the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications Core Simulator (VERA-CS) to perform high-fidelity, pressurized water reactor (PWR), multicycle, core physics calculations. Depletion of the core with pin-resolved power and nuclide detail is a significant advance in the state of the art for reactor analysis, providing the level of detail necessary to address the problems of the U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Reactor Simulation Hub, the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL). VERA-CS has three main components: the neutronics solver MPACT, the thermal-hydraulic (T-H) solver COBRA-TF (CTF), and the nuclidemore » transmutation solver ORIGEN. This paper focuses on MPACT and provides an overview of the resonance self-shielding methods, macroscopic-cross-section calculation, two-dimensional/one-dimensional (2-D/1-D) transport, nuclide depletion, T-H feedback, and other supporting methods representing a minimal set of the capabilities needed to simulate high-fidelity models of a commercial nuclear reactor. Results are presented from the simulation of a model of the first cycle of Watts Bar Unit 1. The simulation is within 16 parts per million boron (ppmB) reactivity for all state points compared to cycle measurements, with an average reactivity bias of <5 ppmB for the entire cycle. Comparisons to cycle 1 flux map data are also provided, and the average 2-D root-mean-square (rms) error during cycle 1 is 1.07%. To demonstrate the multicycle capability, a state point at beginning of cycle (BOC) 2 was also simulated and compared to plant data. The comparison of the cycle 2 BOC state has a reactivity difference of +3 ppmB from measurement, and the 2-D rms of the comparison in the flux maps is 1.77%. Lastly, these results provide confidence in VERA-CS’s capability to perform high-fidelity calculations for practical PWR reactor problems.« less

A new approach to nuclear fuel safeguard enhancement through radionuclide profiling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Aaron Dawon

The United States has led the effort to promote peaceful use of nuclear power amongst states actively utilizing it as well as those looking to deploy the technology in the near future. With the attraction being demonstrated by various countries towards nuclear power comes the concern that a nation may have military aspirations for the use of nuclear energy. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has established nuclear safeguard protocols and procedures to mitigate nuclear proliferation. The work herein proposed a strategy to further enhance existing safeguard protocols by considering safeguard in nuclear fuel design. The strategy involved the use of radionuclides to profile nuclear fuels. Six radionuclides were selected as identifier materials. The decay and transmutation of these radionuclides were analyzed in reactor operation environment. MCNPX was used to simulate a reactor core. The perturbation in reactivity of the core due to the loading of the radionuclides was insignificant. The maximum positive and negative reactivity change induced was at day 1900 with a value of 0.00185 +/- 0.00256 and at day 2000 with -0.00441 +/- 0.00249, respectively. The mass of the radionuclides were practically unaffected by transmutation in the core; the change in radionuclide inventory was dominated by natural decay. The maximum material lost due to transmutation was 1.17% in Eu154. Extraneous signals from fission products identical to the radionuclide compromised the identifier signals. Eu154 saw a maximum intensity change at EOC and 30 days post-irradiation of 1260% and 4545%, respectively. Cs137 saw a minimum change of 12% and 89%, respectively. Mitigation of the extraneous signals is cardinal to the success of the proposed strategy. The predictability of natural decay provides a basis for the characterization of the signals from the radionuclide.

A 60-year record of 129I in Taal Lake sediments (Philippines): Influence of human nuclear activities at low latitude regions.

PubMed

Zhang, Luyuan; Hou, Xiaolin; Li, Hong-Chun; Xu, Xiaomei

2018-02-01

The influence of human nuclear activities on environmental radioactivity is not well known at low latitude regions that are distant from nuclear test sites and nuclear facilities. A sediment core collected from Taal Lake in the central Philippines was analyzed for 129 I and 127 I to investigate this influence in a low-latitude terrestrial system. A baseline of 129 I/ 127 I atomic ratios was established at (2.04-5.14) × 10 -12 in the pre-nuclear era in this region. Controlled by the northeasterly equatorial trade winds, increased 129 I/ 127 I ratios of (20.1-69.3) × 10 -12 suggest that atmospheric nuclear weapons tests at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the central Pacific Ocean was the major source of 129 I in the sediment during 1956-1962. The 129 I/ 127 I ratios, up to 157.5 × 10 -12 after 1964, indicate a strong influence by European nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. The East Asian Winter Monsoon is found to be the dominant driving force in the atmospheric dispersion of radioactive iodine ( 129 I) from the European nuclear fuel reprocessing plants to Southeast Asia, which is also important for dispersion of other airborne pollutants from the middle-high to low latitude regions. A significant 129 I/ 127 I peak at 42.8 cm in the Taal Lake core appears to be the signal of the Chernobyl accident in 1986. In addition, volcanic activities are reflected in the iodine isotope profiles in the sediment core, suggesting the potential of using iodine isotopes as an indicator of volcanic eruptions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

NUCLEAR REACTOR CORE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bell, F.R.

1963-02-01

A nuclear reactor core composed of a number of identical elements of solid moderator material fitted together was designed. Each moderator element is apertured to provide channels for fuel and coolant. The elements have an external shape which permits them to be stacked in layers with similar elements, with the surfaces of adjacent elements fitting and in contact with each other. The cross section of the element is of a general hexagonal shape with identations and protrusions, so that the elements can be fitted together. The described core should not be liable to fracture under transverse loading. Specific arrangements ofmore » moderator elements and fuel and coolant apertures are described. (M.P.G.)« less

Calculation of the neutron diffusion equation by using Homotopy Perturbation Method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Koklu, H., E-mail: koklu@gantep.edu.tr; Ozer, O.; Ersoy, A.

The distribution of the neutrons in a nuclear fuel element in the nuclear reactor core can be calculated by the neutron diffusion theory. It is the basic and the simplest approximation for the neutron flux function in the reactor core. In this study, the neutron flux function is obtained by the Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) that is a new and convenient method in recent years. One-group time-independent neutron diffusion equation is examined for the most solved geometrical reactor core of spherical, cubic and cylindrical shapes, in the frame of the HPM. It is observed that the HPM produces excellent resultsmore » consistent with the existing literature.« less

Induction simulation of gas core nuclear engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poole, J. W.; Vogel, C. E.

1973-01-01

The design, construction and operation of an induction heated plasma device known as a combined principles simulator is discussed. This device incorporates the major design features of the gas core nuclear rocket engine such as solid feed, propellant seeding, propellant injection through the walls, and a transpiration cooled, choked flow nozzle. Both argon and nitrogen were used as propellant simulating material, and sodium was used for fuel simulating material. In addition, a number of experiments were conducted utilizing depleted uranium as the fuel. The test program revealed that satisfactory operation of this device can be accomplished over a range of operating conditions and provided additional data to confirm the validity of the gas core concept.

Laser cutting apparatus for nuclear core fuel subassembly

DOEpatents

Walch, Allan P.; Caruolo, Antonio B.

1982-02-23

The object of the invention is to provide a system and apparatus which employs laser cutting to disassemble a nuclear core fuel subassembly. The apparatus includes a gantry frame (C) which straddles the core fuel subassembly (14), an x-carriage (22) travelling longitudinally above the frame which carries a focus head assembly (D) having a vertically moving carriage (46) and a laterally moving carriage (52), a system of laser beam transferring and focusing mirrors carried by the x-carriage and focusing head assembly, and a shroud follower (F) and longitudinal follower (G) for following the shape of shroud (14) to maintain a beam focal point (44) fixed upon the shroud surface for accurate cutting.

Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 Uncertainty Analysis-Exploration of Core Melt Progression Uncertain Parameters-Volume II.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Denman, Matthew R.; Brooks, Dusty Marie

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has conducted an uncertainty analysi s (UA) on the Fukushima Daiichi unit (1F1) accident progression wit h the MELCOR code. Volume I of the 1F1 UA discusses the physical modeling details and time history results of the UA. Volume II of the 1F1 UA discusses the statistical viewpoint. The model used was developed for a previous accident reconstruction investigation jointly sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The goal of this work was to perform a focused evaluation of uncertainty in core damage progression behavior and its effect on keymore » figures - of - merit (e.g., hydrogen production, fraction of intact fuel, vessel lower head failure) and in doing so assess the applicability of traditional sensitivity analysis techniques .« less

Fukushima Daiichi unit 1 uncertainty analysis--Preliminary selection of uncertain parameters and analysis methodology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cardoni, Jeffrey N.; Kalinich, Donald A.

2014-02-01

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) plans to conduct uncertainty analyses (UA) on the Fukushima Daiichi unit (1F1) plant with the MELCOR code. The model to be used was developed for a previous accident reconstruction investigation jointly sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). However, that study only examined a handful of various model inputs and boundary conditions, and the predictions yielded only fair agreement with plant data and current release estimates. The goal of this uncertainty study is to perform a focused evaluation of uncertainty in core melt progression behavior and its effect on keymore » figures-of-merit (e.g., hydrogen production, vessel lower head failure, etc.). In preparation for the SNL Fukushima UA work, a scoping study has been completed to identify important core melt progression parameters for the uncertainty analysis. The study also lays out a preliminary UA methodology.« less

Etude des performances de solveurs deterministes sur un coeur rapide a caloporteur sodium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bay, Charlotte

The reactors of next generation, in particular SFR model, represent a true challenge for current codes and solvers, used mainly for thermic cores. There is no guarantee that their competences could be straight adapted to fast neutron spectrum, or to major design differences. Thus it is necessary to assess the validity of solvers and their potential shortfall in the case of fast neutron reactors. As part of an internship with CEA (France), and at the instigation of EPM Nuclear Institute, this study concerns the following codes : DRAGON/DONJON, ERANOS, PARIS and APOLLO3. The precision assessment has been performed using Monte Carlo code TRIPOLI4. Only core calculation was of interest, namely numerical methods competences in precision and rapidity. Lattice code was not part of the study, that is to say nuclear data, self-shielding, or isotopic compositions. Nor was tackled burnup or time evolution effects. The study consists in two main steps : first evaluating the sensitivity of each solver to calculation parameters, and obtain its optimal calculation set ; then compare their competences in terms of precision and rapidity, by collecting usual quantities (effective multiplication factor, reaction rates map), but also more specific quantities which are crucial to the SFR design, namely control rod worth and sodium void effect. The calculation time is also a key factor. Whatever conclusion or recommendation that could be drawn from this study, they must first of all be applied within similar frameworks, that is to say small fast neutron cores with hexagonal geometry. Eventual adjustments for big cores will have to be demonstrated in developments of this study.

DOE/NV/25946--1586 Geologic Assessment of the Damage Zone from the Second Test at Source Physics Experiment-Nevada (SPE-N)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Townsend, M.; Huckins-Gang, H.; Prothro, L.; Reed, D.

2012-12-01

The National Center for Nuclear Security, established by the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, is conducting a series of explosive tests at the Nevada National Security Site that are designed to increase the understanding of certain basic physical phenomena associated with underground explosions. These tests will aid in developing technologies that might be used to detect underground nuclear explosions in support of verification activities for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The initial project is a series of explosive tests, known collectively as the Source Physics Experiment-Nevada (SPE-N), being conducted in granitic rocks. The SPE N test series is designed to study the generation and propagation of seismic waves. The results will help advance the seismic monitoring capability of the United States by improving the predictive capability of physics-based modeling of explosive phenomena. The first SPE N (SPE N1) test was conducted in May 2011, using 0.1 ton of explosives at the depth of 54.9 m in the U 15n source hole. SPE N2 was conducted in October 2011, using 1.0 ton of explosives at the depth of 45.7 m in the same source hole. The SPE N3 test was conducted in the same source hole in July 2012, using the same amount and type of explosive as for SPE N2, and at the same depth as SPE N2, within the damage zone created by the SPE N2 explosion to investigate damage effects on seismic wave propagation. Following the SPE N2 shot and prior to the SPE N3 shot, the core hole U-15n#10 was drilled at an angle from the surface to intercept the SPE N2 shot point location to obtain information necessary to characterize the damage zone. The desire was to determine the position of the damage zone near the shot point, at least on the northeast, where the core hole penetrated it, and obtain information on the properties of the damaged medium. Geologic characterization of the post-SPE N2 core hole included geophysical logging, a directional survey, and geologic description of the core to document visual evidence of damage. Selected core samples were provided to Sandia National Laboratories for measurement of physical and mechanical properties. A video was also run in the source hole after it was cleaned out. A significant natural fault zone was encountered in the angle core hole between 5.7 and 7.5 m from the shot point. However, several of the fractures observed in the core hole are interpreted as having been caused by the explosion. The fractures are characterized by a "fresh," mechanically broken look, with uncoated and very irregular surfaces. They tend to terminate against natural fractures and have orientations that differ from the previously defined natural fracture sets; they are common starting at about 5.4 m from the shot point. Within about 3.3 m of the shot point to the end of the recovered core at 1.6 m from the shot point, some of the core samples are softer and lighter in color, but do not appear to be weathered. It is thought this could be indicative of the presence of distributed microfracturing. This work was done by National Security Technologies, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC52-06NA25946 with the U.S. Department of Energy.

Neutron induced fission of 237Np - status, challenges and opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruskov, Ivan; Goverdovski, Andrei; Furman, Walter; Kopatch, Yury; Shcherbakov, Oleg; Hambsch, Franz-Josef; Oberstedt, Stephan; Oberstedt, Andreas

2018-03-01

Nowadays, there is an increased interest in a complete study of the neutron-induced fission of 237Np. This is due to the need of accurate and reliable nuclear data for nuclear science and technology. 237Np is generated (and accumulated) in the nuclear reactor core during reactor operation. As one of the most abundant long-lived isotopes in spent fuel ("waste"), the incineration of 237Np becomes an important issue. One scenario for burning of 237Np and other radio-toxic minor actinides suggests they are to be mixed into the fuel of future fast-neutron reactors, employing the so-called transmutation and partitioning technology. For testing present fission models, which are at the basis of new generation nuclear reactor developments, highly accurate and detailed neutron-induced nuclear reaction data is needed. However, the EXFOR nuclear database for 237Np on neutron-induced capture cross-section, σγ, and fission cross-section, σf, as well as on the characteristics of capture and fission resonance parameters (Γγ, Γf, σoΓf, fragments mass-energy yield distributions, multiplicities of neutrons vn and γ-rays vγ), has not been updated for decades.

Coulomb Excitation of Neutron-Rich Zn Isotopes: First Observation of the 21+ State in Zn80

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van de Walle, J.; Aksouh, F.; Ames, F.; Behrens, T.; Bildstein, V.; Blazhev, A.; Cederkäll, J.; Clément, E.; Cocolios, T. E.; Davinson, T.; Delahaye, P.; Eberth, J.; Ekström, A.; Fedorov, D. V.; Fedosseev, V. N.; Fraile, L. M.; Franchoo, S.; Gernhauser, R.; Georgiev, G.; Habs, D.; Heyde, K.; Huber, G.; Huyse, M.; Ibrahim, F.; Ivanov, O.; Iwanicki, J.; Jolie, J.; Kester, O.; Köster, U.; Kröll, T.; Krücken, R.; Lauer, M.; Lisetskiy, A. F.; Lutter, R.; Marsh, B. A.; Mayet, P.; Niedermaier, O.; Nilsson, T.; Pantea, M.; Perru, O.; Raabe, R.; Reiter, P.; Sawicka, M.; Scheit, H.; Schrieder, G.; Schwalm, D.; Seliverstov, M. D.; Sieber, T.; Sletten, G.; Smirnova, N.; Stanoiu, M.; Stefanescu, I.; Thomas, J.-C.; Valiente-Dobón, J. J.; van Duppen, P.; Verney, D.; Voulot, D.; Warr, N.; Weisshaar, D.; Wenander, F.; Wolf, B. H.; Zielińska, M.

2007-10-01

Neutron-rich, radioactive Zn isotopes were investigated at the Radioactive Ion Beam facility REX-ISOLDE (CERN) using low-energy Coulomb excitation. The energy of the 21+ state in Zn78 could be firmly established and for the first time the 2+→01+ transition in Zn80 was observed at 1492(1) keV. B(E2,21+→01+) values were extracted for Zn74,76,78,80 and compared to large scale shell model calculations. With only two protons outside the Z=28 proton core, Zn80 is the lightest N=50 isotone for which spectroscopic information has been obtained to date. Two sets of advanced shell model calculations reproduce the observed B(E2) systematics. The results for N=50 isotones indicate a good N=50 shell closure and a strong Z=28 proton core polarization. The new results serve as benchmarks to establish theoretical models, predicting the nuclear properties of the doubly magic nucleus Ni78.

Trace element fluxes during the last 100 years in sediment near a nuclear power plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bojórquez-Sánchez, S.; Marmolejo-Rodríguez, A. J.; Ruiz-Fernández, A. C.; Sánchez-González, A.; Sánchez-Cabeza, J. A.; Bojórquez-Leyva, H.; Pérez-Bernal, L. H.

2017-11-01

The Salada coastal lagoon is located in Veracruz (Mexico) near the Laguna Verde Nuclear Power Plant (LVNPP). Currently, the lagoon receives the cooling waters used in the LVNPP. To evaluate the fluxes and mobilization of trace elements due to human activities in the area, two sediment cores from the coastal flood plains of Salada Lagoon were analysed. Cores were collected using PVC tubes. Sediments cores were analysed every centimetre for dating (210Pb by alpha detector) and trace metal analysis using ICP-Mass Spectrometry. The dating of both sediment cores covers the period from 1900 to 2013, which includes the construction of the LVNPP (1970's). The Normalized Enrichment Factor shows enrichment of Ag, As and Cr in both sediment cores. These enrichments correspond to the extent of mining activity (which reached a maximum in the 1900's) and to the geological setting of the coastal zone. The profiles of the element fluxes in both sediment cores reflected the construction and operation of the LVNPP; however, the elements content did not show evidence of pollution coming from the LVNPP.

United States Air Force Graduate Student Summer Support Program (1987). Program Technical Report. Volume 1.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-01

developed for a large percentage of the participants in the Summer Faculty Research Program in 1979-1983 period through an AFOSR Minigrant Program . On 1...Analysis of a Bimodal Nuclear Rocket Core by Dav,, C. Carpenter ABSTRACT The framework for a general purpose finite element analysis code was developed ...to study the 2-D temperature distribution in a hot-channel S hexagonal fuel element in the core of a bimodal nuclear’ rocket. Prelim- inary thermal

Review of coaxial flow gas core nuclear rocket fluid mechanics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinstein, H.

1976-01-01

Almost all of the fluid mechanics research associated with the coaxial flow gas core reactor ended abruptly with the interruption of NASA's space nuclear program because of policy and budgetary considerations in 1973. An overview of program accomplishments is presented through a review of the experiments conducted and the analyses performed. Areas are indicated where additional research is required for a fuller understanding of cavity flow and of the factors which influence cold and hot flow containment. A bibliography is included with graphic material.

Nuclear reactor fuel element

DOEpatents

Johnson, Carl E.; Crouthamel, Carl E.

1980-01-01

A nuclear reactor fuel element is described which has an outer cladding, a central core of fissionable or mixed fissionable and fertile fuel material and a layer of oxygen gettering material on the inner surface of the cladding. The gettering material reacts with oxygen released by the fissionable material during irradiation of the core thereby preventing the oxygen from reacting with and corroding the cladding. Also described is an improved method for coating the inner surface of the cladding with a layer of gettering material.

Human Core Temperature Prediction for Heat-Injury Prevention

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-01

Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro , Brazil, and the B.B.A. degree in business administration from Rio ... de Janeiro Federal Univer- sity, Rio de Janeiro , in 1980 and 1985, respectively, and the M.S.E. and Ph.D. degrees in nuclear engi- neering from the...predictions [13]. Importantly, we found that because AR models only de - pend on the frequency of the underlying time-series data, and because the

Realistic Gamow shell model for resonance and continuum in atomic nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, F. R.; Sun, Z. H.; Wu, Q.; Hu, B. S.; Dai, S. J.

2018-02-01

The Gamow shell model can describe resonance and continuum for atomic nuclei. The model is established in the complex-moment (complex-k) plane of the Berggren coordinates in which bound, resonant and continuum states are treated on equal footing self-consistently. In the present work, the realistic nuclear force, CD Bonn, has been used. We have developed the full \\hat{Q}-box folded-diagram method to derive the realistic effective interaction in the model space which is nondegenerate and contains resonance and continuum channels. The CD-Bonn potential is renormalized using the V low-k method. With choosing 16O as the inert core, we have applied the Gamow shell model to oxygen isotopes.

Muon trackers for imaging a nuclear reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kume, N.; Miyadera, H.; Morris, C. L.; Bacon, J.; Borozdin, K. N.; Durham, J. M.; Fuzita, K.; Guardincerri, E.; Izumi, M.; Nakayama, K.; Saltus, M.; Sugita, T.; Takakura, K.; Yoshioka, K.

2016-09-01

A detector system for assessing damage to the cores of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors by using cosmic-ray muon tomography was developed. The system consists of a pair of drift-tube tracking detectors of 7.2× 7.2-m2 area. Each muon tracker consists of 6 x-layer and 6 y-layer drift-tube detectors. Each tracker is capable of measuring muon tracks with 12 mrad angular resolutions, and is capable of operating under 50-μ Sv/h radiation environment by removing gamma induced background with a novel time-coincidence logic. An estimated resolution to observe nuclear fuel debris at Fukushima Daiichi is 0.3 m when the core is imaged from outside the reactor building.

Theory of long-range interactions for Rydberg states attached to hyperfine-split cores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robicheaux, F.; Booth, D. W.; Saffman, M.

2018-02-01

The theory is developed for one- and two-atom interactions when the atom has a Rydberg electron attached to a hyperfine-split core state. This situation is relevant for some of the rare-earth and alkaline-earth atoms that have been proposed for experiments on Rydberg-Rydberg interactions. For the rare-earth atoms, the core electrons can have a very substantial total angular momentum J and a nonzero nuclear spin I . In the alkaline-earth atoms there is a single (s ) core electron whose spin can couple to a nonzero nuclear spin for odd isotopes. The resulting hyperfine splitting of the core state can lead to substantial mixing between the Rydberg series attached to different thresholds. Compared to the unperturbed Rydberg series of the alkali-metal atoms, the series perturbations and near degeneracies from the different parity states could lead to qualitatively different behavior for single-atom Rydberg properties (polarizability, Zeeman mixing and splitting, etc.) as well as Rydberg-Rydberg interactions (C5 and C6 matrices).

Analysis of Radionuclide Releases from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident Part I

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Petit, G.; Douysset, G.; Ducros, G.; Gross, P.; Achim, P.; Monfort, M.; Raymond, P.; Pontillon, Y.; Jutier, C.; Blanchard, X.; Taffary, T.; Moulin, C.

2014-03-01

Part I of this publication deals with the analysis of fission product releases consecutive to the Fukushima Dai-ichi accident. Reactor core damages are assessed relying on radionuclide detections performed by the CTBTO radionuclide network, especially at the particulate station located at Takasaki, 210 km away from the nuclear power plant. On the basis of a comparison between the reactor core inventory at the time of reactor shutdowns and the fission product activities measured in air at Takasaki, especially 95Nb and 103Ru, it was possible to show that the reactor cores were exposed to high temperature for a prolonged time. This diagnosis was confirmed by the presence of 113Sn in air at Takasaki. The 133Xe assessed release at the time of reactor shutdown (8 × 1018 Bq) turned out to be in the order of 80 % of the amount deduced from the reactor core inventories. This strongly suggests a broad meltdown of reactor cores.

NUCLEAR REACTOR CORE DESIGN

DOEpatents

Mahlmeister, J.E.; Peck, W.S.; Haberer, W.V.; Williams, A.C.

1960-03-22

An improved core design for a sodium-cooled, graphitemoderated nuclear reactor is described. The improved reactor core comprises a number of blocks of moderator material, each block being in the shape of a regular prism. A number of channels, extending the length of each block, are disposed around the periphery. When several blocks are placed in contact to form the reactor core, the channels in adjacent blocks correspond with each other to form closed conduits extending the length of the core. Fuel element clusters are disposed in these closed conduits, and liquid coolant is forced through the annulus between the fuel cluster and the inner surface of the conduit. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the moderator blocks are in the form of hexagonal prisms with longitudinal channels cut into the corners of the hexagon. The main advantage of an "edge-loaded" moderator block is that fewer thermal neutrons are absorbed by the moderator cladding, as compared with a conventional centrally loaded moderator block.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harris, J. Austin; Hix, W. Raphael; Chertkow, Merek A.

In this paper, we investigate core-collapse supernova (CCSN) nucleosynthesis with self-consistent, axisymmetric (2D) simulations performed using the neutrino hydrodynamics code Chimera. Computational costs have traditionally constrained the evolution of the nuclear composition within multidimensional CCSN models to, at best, a 14-species α-network capable of tracking onlymore » $$(\\alpha ,\\gamma )$$ reactions from 4He to 60Zn. Such a simplified network limits the ability to accurately evolve detailed composition and neutronization or calculate the nuclear energy generation rate. Lagrangian tracer particles are commonly used to extend the nuclear network evolution by incorporating more realistic networks into post-processing nucleosynthesis calculations. However, limitations such as poor spatial resolution of the tracer particles; inconsistent thermodynamic evolution, including misestimation of expansion timescales; and uncertain determination of the multidimensional mass cut at the end of the simulation impose uncertainties inherent to this approach. Finally, we present a detailed analysis of the impact of such uncertainties for four self-consistent axisymmetric CCSN models initiated from solar-metallicity, nonrotating progenitors of 12, 15, 20, and 25 $${M}_{\\odot }$$ and evolved with the smaller α-network to more than 1 s after the launch of an explosion.« less

Gradual collapse of nuclear wave functions regulated by frequency tuned X-ray scattering.

PubMed

Ignatova, Nina; Cruz, Vinícius V; Couto, Rafael C; Ertan, Emelie; Zimin, Andrey; Guimarães, Freddy F; Polyutov, Sergey; Ågren, Hans; Kimberg, Victor; Odelius, Michael; Gel'mukhanov, Faris

2017-03-07

As is well established, the symmetry breaking by isotope substitution in the water molecule results in localisation of the vibrations along one of the two bonds in the ground state. In this study we find that this localisation may be broken in excited electronic states. Contrary to the ground state, the stretching vibrations of HDO are delocalised in the bound core-excited state in spite of the mass difference between hydrogen and deuterium. The reason for this effect can be traced to the narrow "canyon-like" shape of the potential of the state along the symmetric stretching mode, which dominates over the localisation mass-difference effect. In contrast, the localisation of nuclear motion to one of the HDO bonds is preserved in the dissociative core-excited state . The dynamics of the delocalisation of nuclear motion in these core-excited states is studied using resonant inelastic X-ray scattering of the vibrationally excited HDO molecule. The results shed light on the process of a wave function collapse. After core-excitation into the state of HDO the initial wave packet collapses gradually, rather than instantaneously, to a single vibrational eigenstate.

COLA. III. RADIO DETECTION OF ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEUS IN COMPACT MODERATE LUMINOSITY INFRARED GALAXIES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parra, R.; Conway, J. E.; Aalto, S.

2010-09-01

We present results from 4.8 GHz Very Large Array (VLA) and global very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of the northern half of the moderate FIR luminosity (median L{sub IR} = 10{sup 11.01} L{sub sun}) COLA sample of star-forming galaxies. VLBI sources are detected in a high fraction (20/90) of the galaxies observed. The radio luminosities of these cores ({approx}10{sup 21} W Hz{sup -1}) are too large to be explained by radio supernovae or supernova remnants and we argue that they are instead powered by active galactic nuclei (AGNs). These sub-parsec scale radio cores are preferentially detected toward galaxies whosemore » VLA maps show bright 100-500 parsec scale nuclear radio components. Since these latter structures tightly follow the FIR to radio-continuum correlation for star formation, we conclude that the AGN-powered VLBI sources are associated with compact nuclear starburst environments. The implications for possible starburst-AGN connections are discussed. The detected VLBI sources have a relatively narrow range of radio luminosity consistent with models in which intense compact Eddington-limited starbursts regulate the gas supply onto a central supermassive black hole. The high incidence of AGN radio cores in compact starbursts suggests little or no delay between the starburst phase and the onset of AGN activity.« less

Nucleosynthesis in the early Galaxy: Progress and challenges.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montes, Fernando

2015-10-01

Chemical imprints left by the first stars in the oldest stars of the Milky Way gives clues of the stellar nucleosynthesis responsible for the creation of elements heavier than iron. Recent progress in astronomical observations and in the modeling of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy have shown that multiple nucleosynthesis processes may operate at those early times. In this talk I will review some of that evidence along with the important role that nuclear reactions play in those processes. I will focus in progress in our understanding of the rapid neutron capture process (r-process) and in new results on nucleosynthesis in core-collapse supernovae and neutrino-driven winds that produce elements up to silver. I will show some examples of recent nuclear physics measurements addressing the need for better nuclear data and give an outlook of the remaining challenges and future plans to continue those measurements.

A dynamical systems model for nuclear power plant risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hess, Stephen Michael

The recent transition to an open access generation marketplace has forced nuclear plant operators to become much more cost conscious and focused on plant performance. Coincidentally, the regulatory perspective also is in a state of transition from a command and control framework to one that is risk-informed and performance-based. Due to these structural changes in the economics and regulatory system associated with commercial nuclear power plant operation, there is an increased need for plant management to explicitly manage nuclear safety risk. Application of probabilistic risk assessment techniques to model plant hardware has provided a significant contribution to understanding the potential initiating events and equipment failures that can lead to core damage accidents. Application of the lessons learned from these analyses has supported improved plant operation and safety over the previous decade. However, this analytical approach has not been nearly as successful in addressing the impact of plant processes and management effectiveness on the risks of plant operation. Thus, the research described in this dissertation presents a different approach to address this issue. Here we propose a dynamical model that describes the interaction of important plant processes among themselves and their overall impact on nuclear safety risk. We first provide a review of the techniques that are applied in a conventional probabilistic risk assessment of commercially operating nuclear power plants and summarize the typical results obtained. The limitations of the conventional approach and the status of research previously performed to address these limitations also are presented. Next, we present the case for the application of an alternative approach using dynamical systems theory. This includes a discussion of previous applications of dynamical models to study other important socio-economic issues. Next, we review the analytical techniques that are applicable to analysis of these models. Details of the development of the mathematical risk model are presented. This includes discussion of the processes included in the model and the identification of significant interprocess interactions. This is followed by analysis of the model that demonstrates that its dynamical evolution displays characteristics that have been observed at commercially operating plants. The model is analyzed using the previously described techniques from dynamical systems theory. From this analysis, several significant insights are obtained with respect to the effective control of nuclear safety risk. Finally, we present conclusions and recommendations for further research.

From Confrontation to Cooperation: 8th International Seminar on Nuclear War

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zichichi, A.; Dardo, M.

1992-09-01

The Table of Contents for the full book PDF is as follows: * OPENING SESSION * A. Zichichi: Opening Statements * R. Nicolosi: Opening Statements * MESSAGES * CONTRIBUTIONS * "The Contribution of the Erice Seminars in East-West-North-South Scientific Relations" * 1. LASER TECHNOLOGY * "Progress in laser technology" * "Progress in laboratory high gain ICF: prospects for the future" * "Applications of laser in metallurgy" * "Laser tissue interactions in medicine and surgery" * "Laser fusion" * "Compact X-ray lasers in the laboratory" * "Alternative method for inertial confinement" * "Laser technology in China" * 2. NUCLEAR AND CHEMICAL SAFETY * "Reactor safety and reactor design" * "Thereotical analysis and numerical modelling of heat transfer and fuel migration in underlying soils and constructive elements of nuclear plants during an accident release from the core" * "How really to attain reactor safely" * "The problem of chemical weapons" * "Long terms genetic effects of nuclear and chemical accidents" * "Features of the brain which are of importance in understanding the mode of operation of toxic substances and of radiation" * "CO2 and ultra safe reactors" * 3. USE OF MISSILES * "How to convert INF technology for peaceful scientific purposes" * "Beating words into plowshares: a proposal for the peaceful uses of retired nuclear warheads" * "Some thoughts on the peaceful use of retired nuclear warheads" * "Status of the HEFEST project" * 4. OZONE * "Status of the ozone layer problem" * 5. CONVENTIONAL AND NUCLEAR FORCE RESTRUCTURING IN EUROPE * 6. CONFLICT AVOIDANCE MODEL * 7. GENERAL DISCUSSION OF THE WORLD LAB PROJECTS * "East-West-North-South Collaboration in Subnuclear Physics" * "Status of the World Lab in the USSR" * CLOSING SESSION

Update and evaluation of decay data for spent nuclear fuel analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simeonov, Teodosi; Wemple, Charles

2017-09-01

Studsvik's approach to spent nuclear fuel analyses combines isotopic concentrations and multi-group cross-sections, calculated by the CASMO5 or HELIOS2 lattice transport codes, with core irradiation history data from the SIMULATE5 reactor core simulator and tabulated isotopic decay data. These data sources are used and processed by the code SNF to predict spent nuclear fuel characteristics. Recent advances in the generation procedure for the SNF decay data are presented. The SNF decay data includes basic data, such as decay constants, atomic masses and nuclide transmutation chains; radiation emission spectra for photons from radioactive decay, alpha-n reactions, bremsstrahlung, and spontaneous fission, electrons and alpha particles from radioactive decay, and neutrons from radioactive decay, spontaneous fission, and alpha-n reactions; decay heat production; and electro-atomic interaction data for bremsstrahlung production. These data are compiled from fundamental (ENDF, ENSDF, TENDL) and processed (ESTAR) sources for nearly 3700 nuclides. A rigorous evaluation procedure of internal consistency checks and comparisons to measurements and benchmarks, and code-to-code verifications is performed at the individual isotope level and using integral characteristics on a fuel assembly level (e.g., decay heat, radioactivity, neutron and gamma sources). Significant challenges are presented by the scope and complexity of the data processing, a dearth of relevant detailed measurements, and reliance on theoretical models for some data.

Testing microscopically derived descriptions of nuclear collectivity: Coulomb excitation of 22Mg

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henderson, J.; Hackman, G.; Ruotsalainen, P.; Stroberg, S. R.; Launey, K. D.; Holt, J. D.; Ali, F. A.; Bernier, N.; Bentley, M. A.; Bowry, M.; Caballero-Folch, R.; Evitts, L. J.; Frederick, R.; Garnsworthy, A. B.; Garrett, P. E.; Jigmeddorj, B.; Kilic, A. I.; Lassen, J.; Measures, J.; Muecher, D.; Olaizola, B.; O'Sullivan, E.; Paetkau, O.; Park, J.; Smallcombe, J.; Svensson, C. E.; Wadsworth, R.; Wu, C. Y.

2018-07-01

Many-body nuclear theory utilizing microscopic or chiral potentials has developed to the point that collectivity might be studied within a microscopic or ab initio framework without the use of effective charges; for example with the proper evolution of the E2 operator, or alternatively, through the use of an appropriate and manageable subset of particle-hole excitations. We present a precise determination of E2 strength in 22Mg and its mirror 22Ne by Coulomb excitation, allowing for rigorous comparisons with theory. No-core symplectic shell-model calculations were performed and agree with the new B (E 2) values while in-medium similarity-renormalization-group calculations consistently underpredict the absolute strength, with the missing strength found to have both isoscalar and isovector components. The discrepancy between two microscopic models demonstrates the sensitivity of E2 strength to the choice of many-body approximation employed.

Liquid uranium alloy-helium fission reactor

DOEpatents

Minkov, V.

1984-06-13

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.

Logging-while-coring method and apparatus

DOEpatents

Goldberg, David S.; Myers, Gregory J.

2007-11-13

A method and apparatus for downhole coring while receiving logging-while-drilling tool data. The apparatus includes core collar and a retrievable core barrel. The retrievable core barrel receives core from a borehole which is sent to the surface for analysis via wireline and latching tool The core collar includes logging-while-drilling tools for the simultaneous measurement of formation properties during the core excavation process. Examples of logging-while-drilling tools include nuclear sensors, resistivity sensors, gamma ray sensors, and bit resistivity sensors. The disclosed method allows for precise core-log depth calibration and core orientation within a single borehole, and without at pipe trip, providing both time saving and unique scientific advantages.

Logging-while-coring method and apparatus

DOEpatents

Goldberg, David S.; Myers, Gregory J.

2007-01-30

A method and apparatus for downhole coring while receiving logging-while-drilling tool data. The apparatus includes core collar and a retrievable core barrel. The retrievable core barrel receives core from a borehole which is sent to the surface for analysis via wireline and latching tool The core collar includes logging-while-drilling tools for the simultaneous measurement of formation properties during the core excavation process. Examples of logging-while-drilling tools include nuclear sensors, resistivity sensors, gamma ray sensors, and bit resistivity sensors. The disclosed method allows for precise core-log depth calibration and core orientation within a single borehole, and without at pipe trip, providing both time saving and unique scientific advantages.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: NuGrid stellar data set I. Yields from H to Bi (Pignatari+, 2016)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pignatari, M.; Herwig, F.; Hirschi, R.; Bennett, M.; Rockefeller, G.; Fryer, C.; Timmes, F. X.; Ritter, C.; Heger, A.; Jones, S.; Battino, U.; Dotter, A.; Trappitsch, R.; Diehl, S.; Frischknecht, U.; Hungerford, A.; Magkotsios, G.; Travaglio, C.; Young, P.

2016-10-01

We provide a set of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis calculations that applies established physics assumptions simultaneously to low- and intermediate-mass and massive star models. Our goal is to provide an internally consistent and comprehensive nuclear production and yield database for applications in areas such as presolar grain studies. Our non-rotating models assume convective boundary mixing (CBM) where it has been adopted before. We include 8 (12) initial masses for Z=0.01 (0.02). Models are followed either until the end of the asymptotic giant branch phase or the end of Si burning, complemented by simple analytic core-collapse supernova (SN) models with two options for fallback and shock velocities. The explosions show which pre-SN yields will most strongly be effected by the explosive nucleosynthesis. We discuss how these two explosion parameters impact the light elements and the s and p process. For low- and intermediate-mass models, our stellar yields from H to Bi include the effect of CBM at the He-intershell boundaries and the stellar evolution feedback of the mixing process that produces the 13C pocket. All post-processing nucleosynthesis calculations use the same nuclear reaction rate network and nuclear physics input. We provide a discussion of the nuclear production across the entire mass range organized by element group. The entirety of our stellar nucleosynthesis profile and time evolution output are available electronically, and tools to explore the data on the NuGrid VOspace hosted by the Canadian Astronomical Data Centre are introduced. (12 data files).

NuGrid Stellar Data Set. I.Stellar Yields from H to Bi for Stars with Metallicities Z = 0.02 and Z = 0.01

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pignatari, M.; Herwig, F.; Hirschi, R.; Bennett, M.; Rockefeller, G.; Fryer, C.; Timmes, F. X.; Ritter, C.; Heger, A.; Jones, S.; Battino, U.; Dotter, A.; Trappitsch, R.; Diehl, S.; Frischknecht, U.; Hungerford, A.; Magkotsios, G.; Travaglio, C.; Young, P.

2016-08-01

We provide a set of stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis calculations that applies established physics assumptions simultaneously to low- and intermediate-mass and massive star models. Our goal is to provide an internally consistent and comprehensive nuclear production and yield database for applications in areas such as presolar grain studies. Our non-rotating models assume convective boundary mixing (CBM) where it has been adopted before. We include 8 (12) initial masses for Z = 0.01 (0.02). Models are followed either until the end of the asymptotic giant branch phase or the end of Si burning, complemented by simple analytic core-collapse supernova (SN) models with two options for fallback and shock velocities. The explosions show which pre-SN yields will most strongly be effected by the explosive nucleosynthesis. We discuss how these two explosion parameters impact the light elements and the s and p process. For low- and intermediate-mass models, our stellar yields from H to Bi include the effect of CBM at the He-intershell boundaries and the stellar evolution feedback of the mixing process that produces the {}13{{C}} pocket. All post-processing nucleosynthesis calculations use the same nuclear reaction rate network and nuclear physics input. We provide a discussion of the nuclear production across the entire mass range organized by element group. The entirety of our stellar nucleosynthesis profile and time evolution output are available electronically, and tools to explore the data on the NuGrid VOspace hosted by the Canadian Astronomical Data Centre are introduced.

Deformation effect in the fast neutron total cross section of aligned /sup 59/Co

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fasoli, U.; Pavan, P.; Toniolo, D.

1983-05-01

The variation of the total neutron cross section, ..delta..sigma/sub align/, on /sup 59/Co due to nuclear alignment of the target has been measured over the energy range from 0.8 to 20 MeV employing a cobalt single crystal with a 34% nuclear alignment. The results show that ..delta..sigma/sub align/ oscillates from a minimum of -5% at about 2.5 MeV to a maximum of +1% at about 10 MeV. The data were successfully fitted by optical model coupled-channel calculations. The coupling terms were deduced from a model representing the /sup 59/Co nucleus as a vibrational /sup 60/Ni core coupled to a protonmore » hole in a (1f/sub 7/2/) shell, without free parameters. The optical model parameters were determined by fitting the total cross section, which was independently measured. The theoretical calculations show that, at lower energies, ..delta..sigma/sub align/ depends appreciably on the coupling with the low-lying levels.« less

Low-power lead-cooled fast reactor loaded with MOX-fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitdikov, E. R.; Terekhova, A. M.

2017-01-01

Fast reactor for the purpose of implementation of research, education of undergraduate and doctoral students in handling innovative fast reactors and training specialists for atomic research centers and nuclear power plants (BRUTs) was considered. Hard neutron spectrum achieved in the fast reactor with compact core and lead coolant. Possibility of prompt neutron runaway of the reactor is excluded due to the low reactivity margin which is less than the effective fraction of delayed neutrons. The possibility of using MOX fuel in the BRUTs reactor was examined. The effect of Keff growth connected with replacement of natural lead coolant to 208Pb coolant was evaluated. The calculations and reactor core model were performed using the Serpent Monte Carlo code.

Matrix theory for baryons: an overview of holographic QCD for nuclear physics.

PubMed

Aoki, Sinya; Hashimoto, Koji; Iizuka, Norihiro

2013-10-01

We provide, for non-experts, a brief overview of holographic QCD (quantum chromodynamics) and a review of the recent proposal (Hashimoto et al 2010 (arXiv:1003.4988[hep-th])) of a matrix-like description of multi-baryon systems in holographic QCD. Based on the matrix model, we derive the baryon interaction at short distances in multi-flavor holographic QCD. We show that there is a very universal repulsive core of inter-baryon forces for a generic number of flavors. This is consistent with a recent lattice QCD analysis for Nf = 2, 3 where the repulsive core looks universal. We also provide a comparison of our results with the lattice QCD and the operator product expansion analysis.

Advanced Test Reactor Core Modeling Update Project Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2012

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

David W. Nigg, Principal Investigator; Kevin A. Steuhm, Project Manager

Legacy computational reactor physics software tools and protocols currently used for support of Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) core fuel management and safety assurance, and to some extent, experiment management, are inconsistent with the state of modern nuclear engineering practice, and are difficult, if not impossible, to properly verify and validate (V&V) according to modern standards. Furthermore, the legacy staff knowledge required for application of these tools and protocols from the 1960s and 1970s is rapidly being lost due to staff turnover and retirements. In late 2009, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) initiated a focused effort, the ATR Core Modeling Updatemore » Project, to address this situation through the introduction of modern high-fidelity computational software and protocols. This aggressive computational and experimental campaign will have a broad strategic impact on the operation of the ATR, both in terms of improved computational efficiency and accuracy for support of ongoing DOE programs as well as in terms of national and international recognition of the ATR National Scientific User Facility (NSUF). The ATR Core Modeling Update Project, targeted for full implementation in phase with the next anticipated ATR Core Internals Changeout (CIC) in the 2014-2015 time frame, began during the last quarter of Fiscal Year 2009, and has just completed its third full year. Key accomplishments so far have encompassed both computational as well as experimental work. A new suite of stochastic and deterministic transport theory based reactor physics codes and their supporting nuclear data libraries (HELIOS, KENO6/SCALE, NEWT/SCALE, ATTILA, and an extended implementation of MCNP5) has been installed at the INL under various licensing arrangements. Corresponding models of the ATR and ATRC are now operational with all five codes, demonstrating the basic feasibility of the new code packages for their intended purpose. Of particular importance, a set of as-run core depletion HELIOS calculations for all ATR cycles since August 2009, Cycle 145A through Cycle 151B, was successfully completed during 2012. This major effort supported a decision late in the year to proceed with the phased incorporation of the HELIOS methodology into the ATR Core Safety Analysis Package (CSAP) preparation process, in parallel with the established PDQ-based methodology, beginning late in Fiscal Year 2012. Acquisition of the advanced SERPENT (VTT-Finland) and MC21 (DOE-NR) Monte Carlo stochastic neutronics simulation codes was also initiated during the year and some initial applications of SERPENT to ATRC experiment analysis were demonstrated. These two new codes will offer significant additional capability, including the possibility of full-3D Monte Carlo fuel management support capabilities for the ATR at some point in the future. Finally, a capability for rigorous sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification based on the TSUNAMI system has been implemented and initial computational results have been obtained. This capability will have many applications as a tool for understanding the margins of uncertainty in the new models as well as for validation experiment design and interpretation.« less

Nuclear Fuels & Materials Spotlight Volume 5

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Petti, David Andrew

2016-10-01

As the nation's nuclear energy laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory brings together talented people and specialized nuclear research capability to accomplish our mission. This edition of the Nuclear Fuels and Materials Division Spotlight provides an overview of some of our recent accomplishments in research and capability development. These accomplishments include: • Evaluation and modeling of light water reactor accident tolerant fuel concepts • Status and results of recent TRISO-coated particle fuel irradiations, post-irradiation examinations, high-temperature safety testing to demonstrate the accident performance of this fuel system, and advanced microscopy to improve the understanding of fission product transport in this fuel system.more » • Improvements in and applications of meso and engineering scale modeling of light water reactor fuel behavior under a range of operating conditions and postulated accidents (e.g., power ramping, loss of coolant accident, and reactivity initiated accidents) using the MARMOT and BISON codes. • Novel measurements of the properties of nuclear (actinide) materials under extreme conditions, (e.g. high pressure, low/high temperatures, high magnetic field) to improve the scientific understanding of these materials. • Modeling reactor pressure vessel behavior using the GRIZZLY code. • New methods using sound to sense temperature inside a reactor core. • Improved experimental capabilities to study the response of fusion reactor materials to a tritium plasma. Throughout Spotlight, you'll find examples of productive partnerships with academia, industry, and government agencies that deliver high-impact outcomes. The work conducted at Idaho National Laboratory helps spur innovation in nuclear energy applications that drive economic growth and energy security. We appreciate your interest in our work here at Idaho National Laboratory, and hope that you find this issue informative.« less

Equilibrium cycle pin by pin transport depletion calculations with DeCART

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kochunas, B.; Downar, T.; Taiwo, T.

As the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) program has matured it has become more important to utilize more advanced simulation methods. The work reported here was performed as part of the AFCI fellowship program to develop and demonstrate the capability of performing high fidelity equilibrium cycle calculations. As part of the work here, a new multi-cycle analysis capability was implemented in the DeCART code which included modifying the depletion modules to perform nuclide decay calculations, implementing an assembly shuffling pattern description, and modifying iteration schemes. During the work, stability issues were uncovered with respect to converging simultaneously the neutron flux,more » isotopics, and fluid density and temperature distributions in 3-D. Relaxation factors were implemented which considerably improved the stability of the convergence. To demonstrate the capability two core designs were utilized, a reference UOX core and a CORAIL core. Full core equilibrium cycle calculations were performed on both cores and the discharge isotopics were compared. From this comparison it was noted that the improved modeling capability was not drastically different in its prediction of the discharge isotopics when compared to 2-D single assembly or 2-D core models. For fissile isotopes such as U-235, Pu-239, and Pu-241 the relative differences were 1.91%, 1.88%, and 0.59%), respectively. While this difference may not seem large it translates to mass differences on the order of tens of grams per assembly, which may be significant for the purposes of accounting of special nuclear material. (authors)« less

RADIATION FACILITY FOR NUCLEAR REACTORS

DOEpatents

Currier, E.L. Jr.; Nicklas, J.H.

1961-12-12

A radiation facility is designed for irradiating samples in close proximity to the core of a nuclear reactor. The facility comprises essentially a tubular member extending through the biological shield of the reactor and containing a manipulatable rod having the sample carrier at its inner end, the carrier being longitudinally movable from a position in close proximity to the reactor core to a position between the inner and outer faces of the shield. Shield plugs are provided within the tubular member to prevent direct radiation from the core emanating therethrough. In this device, samples may be inserted or removed during normal operation of the reactor without exposing personnel to direct radiation from the reactor core. A storage chamber is also provided within the radiation facility to contain an irradiated sample during the period of time required to reduce the radioactivity enough to permit removal of the sample for external handling. (AEC)

Stellar nucleosynthesis and chemical evolution of the solar neighborhood

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clayton, Donald D.

1988-01-01

Current theoretical models of nucleosynthesis (N) in stars are reviewed, with an emphasis on their implications for Galactic chemical evolution. Topics addressed include the Galactic population II red giants and early N; N in the big bang; star formation, stellar evolution, and the ejection of thermonuclearly evolved debris; the chemical evolution of an idealized disk galaxy; analytical solutions for a closed-box model with continuous infall; and nuclear burning processes and yields. Consideration is given to shell N in massive stars, N related to degenerate cores, and the types of observational data used to constrain N models. Extensive diagrams, graphs, and tables of numerical data are provided.

Nagaoka's atomic model and hyperfine interactions.

PubMed

Inamura, Takashi T

2016-01-01

The prevailing view of Nagaoka's "Saturnian" atom is so misleading that today many people have an erroneous picture of Nagaoka's vision. They believe it to be a system involving a 'giant core' with electrons circulating just outside. Actually, though, in view of the Coulomb potential related to the atomic nucleus, Nagaoka's model is exactly the same as Rutherford's. This is true of the Bohr atom, too. To give proper credit, Nagaoka should be remembered together with Rutherford and Bohr in the history of the atomic model. It is also pointed out that Nagaoka was a pioneer of understanding hyperfine interactions in order to study nuclear structure.

"What--me worry?" "Why so serious?": a personal view on the Fukushima nuclear reactor accidents.

PubMed

Gallucci, Raymond

2012-09-01

Infrequently, it seems that a significant accident precursor or, worse, an actual accident, involving a commercial nuclear power reactor occurs to remind us of the need to reexamine the safety of this important electrical power technology from a risk perspective. Twenty-five years since the major core damage accident at Chernobyl in the Ukraine, the Fukushima reactor complex in Japan experienced multiple core damages as a result of an earthquake-induced tsunami beyond either the earthquake or tsunami design basis for the site. Although the tsunami itself killed tens of thousands of people and left the area devastated and virtually uninhabitable, much concern still arose from the potential radioactive releases from the damaged reactors, even though there was little population left in the area to be affected. As a lifelong probabilistic safety analyst in nuclear engineering, even I must admit to a recurrence of the doubt regarding nuclear power safety after Fukushima that I had experienced after Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. This article is my attempt to "recover" my personal perspective on acceptable risk by examining both the domestic and worldwide history of commercial nuclear power plant accidents and attempting to quantify the risk in terms of the frequency of core damage that one might glean from a review of operational history. © 2012 Society for Risk Analysis.

Design of a Resistively Heated Thermal Hydraulic Simulator for Nuclear Rocket Reactor Cores

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Litchford, Ron J.; Foote, John P.; Ramachandran, Narayanan; Wang, Ten-See; Anghaie, Samim

2007-01-01

A preliminary design study is presented for a non-nuclear test facility which uses ohmic heating to replicate the thermal hydraulic characteristics of solid core nuclear reactor fuel element passages. The basis for this testing capability is a recently commissioned nuclear thermal rocket environments simulator, which uses a high-power, multi-gas, wall-stabilized constricted arc-heater to produce high-temperature pressurized hydrogen flows representative of reactor core environments, excepting radiation effects. Initially, the baseline test fixture for this non-nuclear environments simulator was configured for long duration hot hydrogen exposure of small cylindrical material specimens as a low cost means of evaluating material compatibility. It became evident, however, that additional functionality enhancements were needed to permit a critical examination of thermal hydraulic effects in fuel element passages. Thus, a design configuration was conceived whereby a short tubular material specimen, representing a fuel element passage segment, is surrounded by a backside resistive tungsten heater element and mounted within a self-contained module that inserts directly into the baseline test fixture assembly. With this configuration, it becomes possible to create an inward directed radial thermal gradient within the tubular material specimen such that the wall-to-gas heat flux characteristics of a typical fuel element passage are effectively simulated. The results of a preliminary engineering study for this innovative concept are fully summarized, including high-fidelity multi-physics thermal hydraulic simulations and detailed design features.

Constraining Nuclear Weak Interactions in Astrophysics and New Many-Core Algorithms for Neuroevolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sullivan, Christopher James

Weak interactions involving atomic nuclei are critical components in a broad range of as- trophysical phenomenon. As allowed Gamow-Teller transitions are the primary path through which weak interactions in nuclei operate in astrophysical contexts, the constraint of these nuclear transitions is an important goal of nuclear astrophysics. In this work, the charged current nuclear weak interaction known as electron capture is studied in the context of stellar core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). Specifically, the sensitivity of the core-collapse and early post-bounce phases of CCSNe to nuclear electron capture rates are examined. Electron capture rates are adjusted by factors consistent with uncer- tainties indicated by comparing theoretical rates to those deduced from charge-exchange and beta-decay measurements. With the aide of such sensitivity studies, the diverse role of electron capture on thousands of nuclear species is constrained to a few tens of nuclei near N 50 and A 80 which dictate the primary response of CCSNe to nuclear electron capture. As electron capture is shown to be a leading order uncertainty during the core-collapse phase of CCSNe, future experimental and theoretical efforts should seek to constrain the rates of nuclei in this region. Furthermore, neutral current neutrino-nuclear interactions in the tens-of-MeV energy range are important in a variety of astrophysical environments including core-collapse super- novae as well as in the synthesis of some of the solar systems rarest elements. Estimates for inelastic neutrino scattering on nuclei are also important for neutrino detector construction aimed at the detection of astrophysical neutrinos. Due to the small cross sections involved, direct measurements are rare and have only been performed on a few nuclei. For this rea- son, indirect measurements provide a unique opportunity to constrain the nuclear transition strength needed to infer inelastic neutrino-nucleus cross sections. Herein the (6Li, 6Li‧) inelastic scattering reaction at 100 MeV/u is shown to indirectly select the relevant transitions for inelastic neutrino-nucleus scattering. Specifically, the probes unique selectivity of isovector- spin transfer excitations (Delta S = 1, DeltaT = 1, DeltaTz = 0) is demonstrated, thereby allowing the extraction of Gamow-Teller transition strength in the inelastic channel. Finally, the development and performance of a newly established technique for the sub- field of artificial intelligence known as neuroevolution is described. While separate from the physics that is discussed, these algorithmic advancements seek to improve the adoption of machine learning in the scientific domain by enabling neuroevolution to take advantage of modern heterogeneous compute architectures. Because the evolution of neural network pop- ulations offloads the choice of specific details about the neural networks to an evolutionary search algorithm, neuroevolution can increase the accessibility of machine learning. However, the evolution of neural networks through parameter and structural space presents a novel di- vergence problem when mapping the evaluation of these networks to many-core architectures. The principal focus of the algorithm optimizations described herein are on improving the feed-forward evaluation time when tens-to-hundreds of thousands of heterogeneous neural networks are evaluated concurrently.

Multi-Physics Simulation of TREAT Kinetics using MAMMOTH

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DeHart, Mark; Gleicher, Frederick; Ortensi, Javier

With the advent of next generation reactor systems and new fuel designs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has identified the need for the resumption of transient testing of nuclear fuels. DOE has decided that the Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is best suited for future testing. TREAT is a thermal neutron spectrum nuclear test facility that is designed to test nuclear fuels in transient scenarios. These specific fuels transient tests range from simple temperature transients to full fuel melt accidents. The current TREAT core is driven by highly enriched uranium (HEU) dispersed in amore » graphite matrix (1:10000 U-235/C atom ratio). At the center of the core, fuel is removed allowing for the insertion of an experimental test vehicle. TREAT’s design provides experimental flexibility and inherent safety during neutron pulsing. This safety stems from the graphite in the driver fuel having a strong negative temperature coefficient of reactivity resulting from a thermal Maxwellian shift with increased leakage, as well as graphite acting as a temperature sink. Air cooling is available, but is generally used post-transient for heat removal. DOE and INL have expressed a desire to develop a simulation capability that will accurately model the experiments before they are irradiated at the facility, with an emphasis on effective and safe operation while minimizing experimental time and cost. At INL, the Multi-physics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) has been selected as the model development framework for this work. This paper describes the results of preliminary simulations of a TREAT fuel element under transient conditions using the MOOSE-based MAMMOTH reactor physics tool.« less

Cooling system for a nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Amtmann, Hans H.

1982-01-01

A cooling system for a gas-cooled nuclear reactor is disclosed which includes at least one primary cooling loop adapted to pass coolant gas from the reactor core and an associated steam generator through a duct system having a main circulator therein, and at least one auxiliary cooling loop having communication with the reactor core and adapted to selectively pass coolant gas through an auxiliary heat exchanger and circulator. The main and auxiliary circulators are installed in a common vertical cavity in the reactor vessel, and a common return duct communicates with the reactor core and intersects the common cavity at a junction at which is located a flow diverter valve operative to effect coolant flow through either the primary or auxiliary cooling loops.

Nuclear reactor composite fuel assembly

DOEpatents

Burgess, Donn M.; Marr, Duane R.; Cappiello, Michael W.; Omberg, Ronald P.

1980-01-01

A core and composite fuel assembly for a liquid-cooled breeder nuclear reactor including a plurality of elongated coextending driver and breeder fuel elements arranged to form a generally polygonal bundle within a thin-walled duct. The breeder elements are larger in cross section than the driver elements, and each breeder element is laterally bounded by a number of the driver elements. Each driver element further includes structure for spacing the driver elements from adjacent fuel elements and, where adjacent, the thin-walled duct. A core made up of the fuel elements can advantageously include fissile fuel of only one enrichment, while varying the effective enrichment of any given assembly or core region, merely by varying the relative number and size of the driver and breeder elements.

NUCLEAR REACTOR CONTROL SYSTEM

DOEpatents

Howard, D.F.; Motta, E.E.

1961-06-27

A method for controlling the excess reactivity in a nuclear reactor throughout the core life while maintaining the neutron flux distribution at the desired level is described. The control unit embodies a container having two electrodes of different surface area immersed in an electrolytic solution of a good neutron sbsorbing metal ion such as boron, gadolinium, or cadmium. Initially, the neutron absorber is plated on the larger electrode to control the greater neutron flux of a freshly refueled core. As the fuel burns up, the excess reactivity decreases and the neutron absorber is then plated onto the smaller electrode so that the number of neutrons absorbed also decreases. The excess reactivity in the core may thus be maintained without the introduction of serious perturbations in the neutron flux distributibn.

Development and Implementation of CFD-Informed Models for the Advanced Subchannel Code CTF

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blyth, Taylor S.; Avramova, Maria

The research described in this PhD thesis contributes to the development of efficient methods for utilization of high-fidelity models and codes to inform low-fidelity models and codes in the area of nuclear reactor core thermal-hydraulics. The objective is to increase the accuracy of predictions of quantities of interests using high-fidelity CFD models while preserving the efficiency of low-fidelity subchannel core calculations. An original methodology named Physics- based Approach for High-to-Low Model Information has been further developed and tested. The overall physical phenomena and corresponding localized effects, which are introduced by the presence of spacer grids in light water reactor (LWR)more » cores, are dissected in corresponding four building basic processes, and corresponding models are informed using high-fidelity CFD codes. These models are a spacer grid-directed cross-flow model, a grid-enhanced turbulent mixing model, a heat transfer enhancement model, and a spacer grid pressure loss model. The localized CFD-models are developed and tested using the CFD code STAR-CCM+, and the corresponding global model development and testing in sub-channel formulation is performed in the thermal- hydraulic subchannel code CTF. The improved CTF simulations utilize data-files derived from CFD STAR-CCM+ simulation results covering the spacer grid design desired for inclusion in the CTF calculation. The current implementation of these models is examined and possibilities for improvement and further development are suggested. The validation experimental database is extended by including the OECD/NRC PSBT benchmark data. The outcome is an enhanced accuracy of CTF predictions while preserving the computational efficiency of a low-fidelity subchannel code.« less

Development and Implementation of CFD-Informed Models for the Advanced Subchannel Code CTF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blyth, Taylor S.

The research described in this PhD thesis contributes to the development of efficient methods for utilization of high-fidelity models and codes to inform low-fidelity models and codes in the area of nuclear reactor core thermal-hydraulics. The objective is to increase the accuracy of predictions of quantities of interests using high-fidelity CFD models while preserving the efficiency of low-fidelity subchannel core calculations. An original methodology named Physics-based Approach for High-to-Low Model Information has been further developed and tested. The overall physical phenomena and corresponding localized effects, which are introduced by the presence of spacer grids in light water reactor (LWR) cores, are dissected in corresponding four building basic processes, and corresponding models are informed using high-fidelity CFD codes. These models are a spacer grid-directed cross-flow model, a grid-enhanced turbulent mixing model, a heat transfer enhancement model, and a spacer grid pressure loss model. The localized CFD-models are developed and tested using the CFD code STAR-CCM+, and the corresponding global model development and testing in sub-channel formulation is performed in the thermal-hydraulic subchannel code CTF. The improved CTF simulations utilize data-files derived from CFD STAR-CCM+ simulation results covering the spacer grid design desired for inclusion in the CTF calculation. The current implementation of these models is examined and possibilities for improvement and further development are suggested. The validation experimental database is extended by including the OECD/NRC PSBT benchmark data. The outcome is an enhanced accuracy of CTF predictions while preserving the computational efficiency of a low-fidelity subchannel code.

THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL EVOLUTION TO CORE COLLAPSE OF A MASSIVE STAR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Couch, Sean M.; Chatzopoulos, Emmanouil; Arnett, W. David

2015-07-20

We present the first three-dimensional (3D) simulation of the final minutes of iron core growth in a massive star, up to and including the point of core gravitational instability and collapse. We capture the development of strong convection driven by violent Si burning in the shell surrounding the iron core. This convective burning builds the iron core to its critical mass and collapse ensues, driven by electron capture and photodisintegration. The non-spherical structure and motion generated by 3D convection is substantial at the point of collapse, with convective speeds of several hundreds of km s{sup −1}. We examine the impactmore » of such physically realistic 3D initial conditions on the core-collapse supernova mechanism using 3D simulations including multispecies neutrino leakage and find that the enhanced post-shock turbulence resulting from 3D progenitor structure aids successful explosions. We conclude that non-spherical progenitor structure should not be ignored, and should have a significant and favorable impact on the likelihood for neutrino-driven explosions. In order to make simulating the 3D collapse of an iron core feasible, we were forced to make approximations to the nuclear network making this effort only a first step toward accurate, self-consistent 3D stellar evolution models of the end states of massive stars.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walston, S; Rowland, M; Campbell, K

It is difficult to track to the location of a melted core in a GE BWR with Mark I containment during a beyond-design-basis accident. The Cooper Nuclear Station provided a baseline of normal material distributions and shielding configurations for the GE BWR with Mark I containment. Starting with source terms for a design-basis accident, methods and remote observation points were investigated to allow tracking of a melted core during a beyond-design-basis accident. The design of the GE BWR with Mark-I containment highlights an amazing poverty of expectations regarding a common mode failure of all reactor core cooling systems resulting inmore » a beyond-design-basis accident from the simple loss of electric power. This design is shown in Figure 1. The station blackout accident scenario has been consistently identified as the leading contributor to calculated probabilities for core damage. While NRC-approved models and calculations provide guidance for indirect methods to assess core damage during a beyond-design-basis loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA), there appears to be no established method to track the location of the core directly should the LOCA include a degree of fuel melt. We came to the conclusion that - starting with detailed calculations which estimate the release and movement of gaseous and soluble fission products from the fuel - selected dose readings in specific rooms of the reactor building should allow the location of the core to be verified.« less

Generation and Characterization of States of Matter at Solar Core Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bachmann, Benjamin

2016-10-01

The equation-of-state (EOS) of matter at solar core conditions is important to stellar evolution models and understanding the origin of high Z elements. Temperatures, densities and pressures of stellar cores are, however, orders of magnitude greater than those obtained in state-of-the-art laboratory EOS experiments and therefore such conditions have been limited to observational astronomy and theoretical models. Here we present a method to generate and diagnose these conditions in the laboratory, which is the first step towards characterizing the EOS of such extreme states of matter. By launching a converging shock wave into a deuterated plastic sphere (CD2) we produce solar core conditions (R /RSun < 0.2) which are initiated when the shock reaches the center of the CD2 sphere and extends during transit of the reflected wave until the temperature drops to a level where the neutron production and x-ray self emission drop below threshold levels of the detectors. These conditions are diagnosed by both, the neutron spectral data from D-D nuclear reactions, and temporal, spatial, and spectral x-ray emission data. We will discuss how these observables can be measured and used to help our understanding of dense plasma states that reach well into the thermonuclear regime of stellar cores. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 and was supported by Laboratory Directed Research and Development Grant No. 13-ERD-073.

Axisymmetric simulations of magnetorotational core collapse: approximate inclusion of general relativistic effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obergaulinger, M.; Aloy, M. A.; Dimmelmeier, H.; Müller, E.

2006-10-01

We continue our investigations of the magnetorotational collapse of stellar cores by discussing simulations performed with a modified Newtonian gravitational potential that mimics general relativistic effects. The approximate TOV gravitational potential used in our simulations captures several basic features of fully relativistic simulations quite well. In particular, it is able to correctly reproduce the behavior of models that show a qualitative change both of the dynamics and the gravitational wave signal when switching from Newtonian to fully relativistic simulations. For models where the dynamics and gravitational wave signals are already captured qualitatively correctly by a Newtonian potential, the results of the Newtonian and the approximate TOV models differ quantitatively. The collapse proceeds to higher densities with the approximate TOV potential, allowing for a more efficient amplification of the magnetic field by differential rotation. The strength of the saturation fields (˜ 1015 ~ G at the surface of the inner core) is a factor of two to three higher than in Newtonian gravity. Due to the more efficient field amplification, the influence of magnetic fields is considerably more pronounced than in the Newtonian case for some of the models. As in the Newtonian case, sufficiently strong magnetic fields slow down the core's rotation and trigger a secular contraction phase to higher densities. More clearly than in Newtonian models, the collapsed cores of these models exhibit two different kinds of shock generation. Due to magnetic braking, a first shock wave created during the initial centrifugal bounce at subnuclear densities does not suffice for ejecting any mass, and the temporarily stabilized core continues to collapse to supranuclear densities. Another stronger shock wave is generated during the second bounce as the core exceeds nuclear matter density. The gravitational wave signal of these models does not fit into the standard classification. Therefore, in the first paper of this series we introduced a new type of gravitational wave signal, which we call type IV or “magnetic type”. This signal type is more frequent for the approximate relativistic potential than for the Newtonian one. Most of our weak-field models are marginally detectable with the current LIGO interferometer for a source located at a distance of 10 kpc. Strongly magnetized models emit a substantial fraction of their GW power at very low frequencies. A flat spectrum between 10 Hz and ⪉ 100 kHz denotes the generation of a jet-like hydromagnetic outflow.

Background studies for the MINER Coherent Neutrino Scattering reactor experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agnolet, G.; Baker, W.; Barker, D.; Beck, R.; Carroll, T. J.; Cesar, J.; Cushman, P.; Dent, J. B.; De Rijck, S.; Dutta, B.; Flanagan, W.; Fritts, M.; Gao, Y.; Harris, H. R.; Hays, C. C.; Iyer, V.; Jastram, A.; Kadribasic, F.; Kennedy, A.; Kubik, A.; Lang, K.; Mahapatra, R.; Mandic, V.; Marianno, C.; Martin, R. D.; Mast, N.; McDeavitt, S.; Mirabolfathi, N.; Mohanty, B.; Nakajima, K.; Newhouse, J.; Newstead, J. L.; Ogawa, I.; Phan, D.; Proga, M.; Rajput, A.; Roberts, A.; Rogachev, G.; Salazar, R.; Sander, J.; Senapati, K.; Shimada, M.; Soubasis, B.; Strigari, L.; Tamagawa, Y.; Teizer, W.; Vermaak, J. I. C.; Villano, A. N.; Walker, J.; Webb, B.; Wetzel, Z.; Yadavalli, S. A.

2017-05-01

The proposed Mitchell Institute Neutrino Experiment at Reactor (MINER) experiment at the Nuclear Science Center at Texas A&M University will search for coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering within close proximity (about 2 m) of a 1 MW TRIGA nuclear reactor core using low threshold, cryogenic germanium and silicon detectors. Given the Standard Model cross section of the scattering process and the proposed experimental proximity to the reactor, as many as 5-20 events/kg/day are expected. We discuss the status of preliminary measurements to characterize the main backgrounds for the proposed experiment. Both in situ measurements at the experimental site and simulations using the MCNP and GEANT4 codes are described. A strategy for monitoring backgrounds during data taking is briefly discussed.

Reactivity control assembly for nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Bollinger, Lawrence R.

1984-01-01

Reactivity control assembly for nuclear reactor comprises supports stacked above reactor core for holding control rods. Couplers associated with the supports and a vertically movable drive shaft have lugs at their lower ends for engagement with the supports.

Nuclear reactor neutron shielding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Speaker, Daniel P; Neeley, Gary W; Inman, James B

A nuclear reactor includes a reactor pressure vessel and a nuclear reactor core comprising fissile material disposed in a lower portion of the reactor pressure vessel. The lower portion of the reactor pressure vessel is disposed in a reactor cavity. An annular neutron stop is located at an elevation above the uppermost elevation of the nuclear reactor core. The annular neutron stop comprises neutron absorbing material filling an annular gap between the reactor pressure vessel and the wall of the reactor cavity. The annular neutron stop may comprise an outer neutron stop ring attached to the wall of the reactormore » cavity, and an inner neutron stop ring attached to the reactor pressure vessel. An excore instrument guide tube penetrates through the annular neutron stop, and a neutron plug comprising neutron absorbing material is disposed in the tube at the penetration through the neutron stop.« less

Symplectic no-core configuration interaction framework for ab initio nuclear structure. II. Structure of rotational states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caprio, Mark A.; McCoy, Anna E.; Dytrych, Tomas

2017-09-01

Rotational band structure is readily apparent as an emergent phenomenon in ab initio nuclear many-body calculations of light nuclei, despite the incompletely converged nature of most such calculations at present. Nuclear rotation in light nuclei can be analyzed in terms of approximate dynamical symmetries of the nuclear many-body problem: in particular, Elliott's SU (3) symmetry of the three-dimensional harmonic oscillator and the symplectic Sp (3 , R) symmetry of three-dimensional phase space. Calculations for rotational band members in the ab initio symplectic no-core configuration interaction (SpNCCI) framework allow us to directly examine the SU (3) and Sp (3 , R) nature of rotational states. We present results for rotational bands in p-shell nuclei. Supported by the US DOE under Award No. DE-FG02-95ER-40934 and the Czech Science Foundation under Grant No. 16-16772S.

REACTOR CONTROL ROD OPERATING SYSTEM

DOEpatents

Miller, G.

1961-12-12

A nuclear reactor control rod mechanism is designed which mechanically moves the control rods into and out of the core under normal conditions but rapidly forces the control rods into the core by catapultic action in the event of an emergency. (AEC)

Fuel Cycle Performance of Thermal Spectrum Small Modular Reactors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Worrall, Andrew; Todosow, Michael

2016-01-01

Small modular reactors may offer potential benefits, such as enhanced operational flexibility. However, it is vital to understand the holistic impact of small modular reactors on the nuclear fuel cycle and fuel cycle performance. The focus of this paper is on the fuel cycle impacts of light water small modular reactors in a once-through fuel cycle with low-enriched uranium fuel. A key objective of this paper is to describe preliminary reactor core physics and fuel cycle analyses conducted in support of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy Fuel Cycle Options Campaign. Challenges with small modular reactors include:more » increased neutron leakage, fewer assemblies in the core (and therefore fewer degrees of freedom in the core design), complex enrichment and burnable absorber loadings, full power operation with inserted control rods, the potential for frequent load-following operation, and shortened core height. Each of these will impact the achievable discharge burn-up in the reactor and the fuel cycle performance. This paper summarizes the results of an expert elicitation focused on developing a list of the factors relevant to small modular reactor fuel, core, and operation that will impact fuel cycle performance. Preliminary scoping analyses were performed using a regulatory-grade reactor core simulator. The hypothetical light water small modular reactor considered in these preliminary scoping studies is a cartridge type one-batch core with 4.9% enrichment. Some core parameters, such as the size of the reactor and general assembly layout, are similar to an example small modular reactor concept from industry. The high-level issues identified and preliminary scoping calculations in this paper are intended to inform on potential fuel cycle impacts of one-batch thermal spectrum SMRs. In particular, this paper highlights the impact of increased neutron leakage and reduced number of batches on the achievable burn-up of the reactor. Fuel cycle performance metrics for a small modular reactor are compared to a conventional three-batch light water reactor in the following areas: nuclear waste management, environmental impact, and resource utilization. Metrics performance for a small modular reactor are degraded for mass of spent nuclear fuel and high level waste disposed, mass of depleted uranium disposed, land use per energy generated, and carbon emission per energy generated« less

MELCOR computer code manuals: Primer and user`s guides, Version 1.8.3 September 1994. Volume 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Summers, R.M.; Cole, R.K. Jr.; Smith, R.C.

1995-03-01

MELCOR is a fully integrated, engineering-level computer code that models the progression of severe accidents in light water reactor nuclear power plants. MELCOR is being developed at Sandia National Laboratories for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a second-generation plant risk assessment tool and the successor to the Source Term Code Package. A broad spectrum of severe accident phenomena in both boiling and pressurized water reactors is treated in MELCOR in a unified framework. These include: thermal-hydraulic response in the reactor coolant system, reactor cavity, containment, and confinement buildings; core heatup, degradation, and relocation; core-concrete attack; hydrogen production, transport, andmore » combustion; fission product release and transport; and the impact of engineered safety features on thermal-hydraulic and radionuclide behavior. Current uses of MELCOR include estimation of severe accident source terms and their sensitivities and uncertainties in a variety of applications. This publication of the MELCOR computer code manuals corresponds to MELCOR 1.8.3, released to users in August, 1994. Volume 1 contains a primer that describes MELCOR`s phenomenological scope, organization (by package), and documentation. The remainder of Volume 1 contains the MELCOR Users` Guides, which provide the input instructions and guidelines for each package. Volume 2 contains the MELCOR Reference Manuals, which describe the phenomenological models that have been implemented in each package.« less

Summary of comparison and analysis of results from exercises 1 and 2 of the OECD PBMR coupled neutronics/thermal hydraulics transient benchmark

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mkhabela, P.; Han, J.; Tyobeka, B.

2006-07-01

The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has accepted, through the Nuclear Science Committee (NSC), the inclusion of the Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor 400 MW design (PBMR-400) coupled neutronics/thermal hydraulics transient benchmark problem as part of their official activities. The scope of the benchmark is to establish a well-defined problem, based on a common given library of cross sections, to compare methods and tools in core simulation and thermal hydraulics analysis with a specific focus on transient events through a set of multi-dimensional computational test problems. The benchmark includes three steady state exercises andmore » six transient exercises. This paper describes the first two steady state exercises, their objectives and the international participation in terms of organization, country and computer code utilized. This description is followed by a comparison and analysis of the participants' results submitted for these two exercises. The comparison of results from different codes allows for an assessment of the sensitivity of a result to the method employed and can thus help to focus the development efforts on the most critical areas. The two first exercises also allow for removing of user-related modeling errors and prepare core neutronics and thermal-hydraulics models of the different codes for the rest of the exercises in the benchmark. (authors)« less

Muon trackers for imaging a nuclear reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kume, N.; Miyadera, H.; Morris, C. L.

A detector system for assessing damage to the cores of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors by using cosmic-ray muon tomography was developed. Furthermore, the system consists of a pair of drift-tube tracking detectors of 7.2× 7.2-m 2 area. In each muon tracker there consists 6 x-layer and 6 y-layer drift-tube detectors. Each tracker is capable of measuring muon tracks with 12 mrad angular resolutions, and is capable of operating under 50-μ Sv/h radiation environment by removing gamma induced background with a novel time-coincidence logic. An estimated resolution to observe nuclear fuel debris at Fukushima Daiichi is 0.3 m when themore » core is imaged from outside the reactor building.« less

Muon trackers for imaging a nuclear reactor

DOE PAGES

Kume, N.; Miyadera, H.; Morris, C. L.; ...

2016-09-21

A detector system for assessing damage to the cores of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors by using cosmic-ray muon tomography was developed. Furthermore, the system consists of a pair of drift-tube tracking detectors of 7.2× 7.2-m 2 area. In each muon tracker there consists 6 x-layer and 6 y-layer drift-tube detectors. Each tracker is capable of measuring muon tracks with 12 mrad angular resolutions, and is capable of operating under 50-μ Sv/h radiation environment by removing gamma induced background with a novel time-coincidence logic. An estimated resolution to observe nuclear fuel debris at Fukushima Daiichi is 0.3 m when themore » core is imaged from outside the reactor building.« less

Nuclear reactor safety research since three mile island.

PubMed

Mynatt, F R

1982-04-09

The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident has resulted in redirection of reactor safety research priorities. The small release to the environment of radioactive iodine-13 to 17 curies in a total radioactivity release of 2.4 million to 13 million curies-has led to a new emphasis on the physical chemistry of fission product behavior in accidents; the fact that the nuclear core was severely damaged but did not melt down has opened a new accident regime-that of the degraded core; the role of the operators in the progression and severity of the accident has shifted emphasis from equipment reliability to human reliability. As research progresses in these areas, the technical base for regulation and risk analysis will change substantially.

Prism. Volume 4, Number 1

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant cannot be regarded as a natural disaster .”12 the report stated that Fukushima was a man-made disaster that... disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on March 11, 2012, was a stark reminder that the residual risk of a core meltdown is not so low as...resulting tsunami led to the meltdown of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. In the

Alloying effects of Ni, Si, and S on the phase diagram and sound velocities of Fe under high pressures and high temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, J.; Fei, Y.; Sturhahn, W.; Zhao, J.; Mao, H.; Hemley, R.

2004-05-01

Iron-nickel is the most abundant constituent of the Earth's core. The amount of Ni in the core is about 5.5 wt%. Geophysical and cosmochemical studies suggest that the Earth's outer core also contains approximately 10% of light element(s) and a certain amount of light element(s) may be present in the inner core. Si and S are believed to be alloying light elements in the iron-rich planetary cores such as the Earth and Mars. Therefore, understanding the alloying effects of Ni, Si, and S on the phase diagram and physical properties of Fe under core conditions is crucial for geophysical and geochemical models of planetary interiors. The addition of Ni and Si does not appreciably change the compressibility of hcp-Fe under high pressures. Studies of the phase relations of Fe and Fe-Ni alloys indicate that Fe with up to 10 wt% Ni is likely to be in the hcp structure under inner core conditions. On the other hand, adding Si into Fe strongly stabilizes the bcc structure to much higher pressures and temperatures (Lin et al., 2002). We have also studied the sound velocities and magnetic properties of Fe0.92Ni0.08, Fe0.85Si0.15, and Fe3S alloys with nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and nuclear forward scattering up to 106 GPa, 70 GPa, and 57 GPa, respectively. The sound velocities of the alloys are obtained from the measured partial phonon density of states for 57Fe incorporated in the alloys. Addition of Ni slightly decreases the VP and VS of Fe under high pressures (Lin et al., 2003). Si or S alloyed with Fe increases the VP and VS under high pressures, which provides a better match to seismological data of the Earth's core. We note that the increase in the VP and VS of Fe0.85Si0.15 and Fe3S is mainly contributed from the density decrease of adding Si and S in iron. Time spectra of the nuclear forward scattering reveal that the most iron rich sulfide, Fe3S, undergoes a magnetic to non-magnetic transition at approximately 18 GPa from a low-pressure magnetically ordered state to a high-pressure non-magnetic ordered state. The magnetic transition significantly affects the elastic, thermodynamic, and vibrational properties of Fe3S. It is conceivable that the magnetic collapse of Fe3S may also affect the binary phase diagram of the iron-sulfur system, changing the solubility of sulfur in iron under higher pressures. Study of the non-magnetic phase is more relevant to understand the properties of the Fe3S under planetary core conditions where high pressures and high temperature ensure the non-magnetic ordering state, affecting the interpretation of the amount and properties of sulfur being in the planetary cores. If the Martian core is in the solid state containing 14.2 wt% sulfur, it is likely that the non-magnetic Fe3S phase is a dominant component and that our measured sound velocities of Fe3S can be used to understand the velocity profile in the Martian core.

Gamma ray irradiated silicon nanowires: An effective model to investigate defects at the interface of Si/SiOx

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yin, Kui; Zhao, Yi; Liu, Liangbin

2014-01-20

The effect of gamma ray irradiation on silicon nanowires was investigated. Here, an additional defect emerged in the gamma-ray-irradiated silicon nanowires and was confirmed with electron spin resonance spectra. {sup 29}Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that irradiation doses had influence on the Q{sup 4} unit structure. This phenomenon indicated that the unique core/shell structure of silicon nanowires might contribute to induce metastable defects under gamma ray irradiation, which served as a satisfactory model to investigate defects at the interface of Si/SiOx.

Numerical studies of nonspherical carbon combustion models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mueller, E.; Arnett, W. D.

1982-10-01

First results of axisymmetric numerical studies of the final evolution of degenerate C + O cores are reported. The two-dimensional convective flow is treated without a phenomenological theory of convection. The computations show that, in the beginning, the nuclear burning propagates slowly outward from the center of the star in a spherical combustion front. Small-scale eddies form, giving rise to bumps in the front. The bumps grow into blobs and eventually into fingers, which steadily elongate relative to the rest of the combustion front. This behavior is not well described by either the detonation or deflagration models, being more complex than either.

Code dependencies of pre-supernova evolution and nucleosynthesis in massive stars: evolution to the end of core helium burning

DOE PAGES

Jones, S.; Hirschi, R.; Pignatari, M.; ...

2015-01-15

We present a comparison of 15M ⊙ , 20M ⊙ and 25M ⊙ stellar models from three different codes|GENEC, KEPLER and MESA|and their nucleosynthetic yields. The models are calculated from the main sequence up to the pre-supernova (pre-SN) stage and do not include rotation. The GENEC and KEPLER models hold physics assumptions that are characteristic of the two codes. The MESA code is generally more flexible; overshooting of the convective core during the hydrogen and helium burning phases in MESA is chosen such that the CO core masses are consistent with those in the GENEC models. Full nucleosynthesis calculations aremore » performed for all models using the NuGrid post-processing tool MPPNP and the key energy-generating nuclear reaction rates are the same for all codes. We are thus able to highlight the key diferences between the models that are caused by the contrasting physics assumptions and numerical implementations of the three codes. A reasonable agreement is found between the surface abundances predicted by the models computed using the different codes, with GENEC exhibiting the strongest enrichment of H-burning products and KEPLER exhibiting the weakest. There are large variations in both the structure and composition of the models—the 15M ⊙ and 20M ⊙ in particular—at the pre-SN stage from code to code caused primarily by convective shell merging during the advanced stages. For example the C-shell abundances of O, Ne and Mg predicted by the three codes span one order of magnitude in the 15M ⊙ models. For the alpha elements between Si and Fe the differences are even larger. The s-process abundances in the C shell are modified by the merging of convective shells; the modification is strongest in the 15M ⊙ model in which the C-shell material is exposed to O-burning temperatures and the γ -process is activated. The variation in the s-process abundances across the codes is smallest in the 25M ⊙ models, where it is comparable to the impact of nuclear reaction rate uncertainties. In general the differences in the results from the three codes are due to their contrasting physics assumptions (e.g. prescriptions for mass loss and convection). The broadly similar evolution of the 25M ⊙ models gives us reassurance that different stellar evolution codes do produce similar results. For the 15M ⊙ and 20M ⊙ models, however, the different input physics and the interplay between the various convective zones lead to important differences in both the pre-supernova structure and nucleosynthesis predicted by the three codes. For the KEPLER models the core masses are different and therefore an exact match could not be expected.« less

Briefing Book. Volume 1: The Evolution of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime (Fourth Edition).

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-01-01

usually termed) nuclear reactors. The first of these is that they contain a core or mass of fissile material (the fuel ) which may weigh tens of tons... HTGR is cooled with helium gas and moderated with graphite. Highly enriched uranium is used as fuel (93 per cent U-235), though this may be mixed with...to convert U-238 in a blanket around the core into Pu-239 at a rate faster than its own consumption of fissile material. They thus produce more fuel

Energy production using fission fragment rockets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapline, G.; Matsuda, Y.

1991-08-01

Fission fragment rockets are nuclear reactors with a core consisting of thin fibers in a vacuum, and which use magnetic fields to extract the fission fragments from the reactor core. As an alternative to ordinary nuclear reactors, fission fragment rockets would have the following advantages: approximately twice the efficiency if the fission fragment energy can be directly converted into electricity; reduction of the buildup of a fission fragment inventory in the reactor could avoid a Chernobyl type disaster; and collection of the fission fragments outside the reactor could simplify the waste disposal problem.

Nuclear engine flow reactivity shim control

DOEpatents

Walsh, J.M.

1973-12-11

A nuclear engine control system is provided which automatically compensates for reactor reactivity uncertainties at the start of life and reactivity losses due to core corrosion during the reactor life in gas-cooled reactors. The coolant gas flow is varied automatically by means of specially provided control apparatus so that the reactor control drums maintain a predetermined steady state position throughout the reactor life. This permits the reactor to be designed for a constant drum position and results in a desirable, relatively flat temperature profile across the core. (Official Gazette)

Nuclear reactor fuel element with vanadium getter on cladding

DOEpatents

Johnson, Carl E.; Carroll, Kenneth G.

1977-01-01

A nuclear reactor fuel element is described which has an outer cladding, a central core of fissionable or mixed fissionable and fertile fuel material and a layer of vanadium as an oxygen getter on the inner surface of the cladding. The vanadium reacts with oxygen released by the fissionable material during irradiation of the core to prevent the oxygen from reacting with and corroding the cladding. Also described is a method for coating the inner surface of small diameter tubes of cladding with a layer of vanadium.

ROMUSE 2.0 User Manual

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Khuwaileh, Bassam; Turinsky, Paul; Williams, Brian J.

2016-10-04

ROMUSE (Reduced Order Modeling Based Uncertainty/Sensitivity Estimator) is an effort within the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light water reactors (CASL) to provide an analysis tool to be used in conjunction with reactor core simulators, especially the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA). ROMUSE is written in C++ and is currently capable of performing various types of parameters perturbations, uncertainty quantification, surrogate models construction and subspace analysis. Version 2.0 has the capability to interface with DAKOTA which gives ROMUSE access to the various algorithms implemented within DAKOTA. ROMUSE is mainly designed to interface with VERA and the Comprehensive Modeling andmore » Simulation Suite for Nuclear Safety Analysis and Design (SCALE) [1,2,3], however, ROMUSE can interface with any general model (e.g. python and matlab) with Input/Output (I/O) format that follows the Hierarchical Data Format 5 (HDF5). In this brief user manual, the use of ROMUSE will be overviewed and example problems will be presented and briefly discussed. The algorithms provided here range from algorithms inspired by those discussed in Ref.[4] to nuclear-specific algorithms discussed in Ref. [3].« less

Towards a Consolidated Approach for the Assessment of Evaluation Models of Nuclear Power Reactors

DOE PAGES

Epiney, A.; Canepa, S.; Zerkak, O.; ...

2016-11-02

The STARS project at the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI) has adopted the TRACE thermal-hydraulic (T-H) code for best-estimate system transient simulations of the Swiss Light Water Reactors (LWRs). For analyses involving interactions between system and core, a coupling of TRACE with the SIMULATE-3K (S3K) LWR core simulator has also been developed. In this configuration, the TRACE code and associated nuclear power reactor simulation models play a central role to achieve a comprehensive safety analysis capability. Thus, efforts have now been undertaken to consolidate the validation strategy by implementing a more rigorous and structured assessment approach for TRACE applications involving eithermore » only system T-H evaluations or requiring interfaces to e.g. detailed core or fuel behavior models. The first part of this paper presents the preliminary concepts of this validation strategy. The principle is to systematically track the evolution of a given set of predicted physical Quantities of Interest (QoIs) over a multidimensional parametric space where each of the dimensions represent the evolution of specific analysis aspects, including e.g. code version, transient specific simulation methodology and model "nodalisation". If properly set up, such environment should provide code developers and code users with persistent (less affected by user effect) and quantified information (sensitivity of QoIs) on the applicability of a simulation scheme (codes, input models, methodology) for steady state and transient analysis of full LWR systems. Through this, for each given transient/accident, critical paths of the validation process can be identified that could then translate into defining reference schemes to be applied for downstream predictive simulations. In order to illustrate this approach, the second part of this paper presents a first application of this validation strategy to an inadvertent blowdown event that occurred in a Swiss BWR/6. The transient was initiated by the spurious actuation of the Automatic Depressurization System (ADS). The validation approach progresses through a number of dimensions here: First, the same BWR system simulation model is assessed for different versions of the TRACE code, up to the most recent one. The second dimension is the "nodalisation" dimension, where changes to the input model are assessed. The third dimension is the "methodology" dimension. In this case imposed power and an updated TRACE core model are investigated. For each step in each validation dimension, a common set of QoIs are investigated. For the steady-state results, these include fuel temperatures distributions. For the transient part of the present study, the evaluated QoIs include the system pressure evolution and water carry-over into the steam line.« less

Nuclear system that burns its own wastes shows promise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atchison, K.

1975-01-01

A nuclear fission energy system, capable of eliminating a significant amount of its radioactive wastes by burning them, is described. A theoretical investigation of this system conducted by computer analysis, is based on use of gaseous fuel nuclear reactors. Gaseous core reactors using a uranium plasma fuel are studied along with development for space propulsion.

PROCESS FOR JACKETING A CORE

DOEpatents

Last, G.A.

1960-07-19

A process is given for enclosing the uranium core of a nuclear fuel element by placing the core in an aluminum cup and closing the open end of the cup over the core. As the metal of the cup is brought together in a weld over the center of the end of the core, it is extruded inwardly as internal projection into a central recess in the core and outwardly as an external projection. Thus oxide inclusions in the weld of the cup are spread out into the internal and external projections and do not interfere with the integrity of the weld.

Loss-of-Flow and Loss-of-Pressure Simulations of the BR2 Research Reactor with HEU and LEU Fuel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Licht, J.; Bergeron, A.; Dionne, B.

2016-01-01

Belgian Reactor 2 (BR2) is a research and test reactor located in Mol, Belgium and is primarily used for radioisotope production and materials testing. The Materials Management and Minimization (M3) Reactor Conversion Program of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is supporting the conversion of the BR2 reactor from Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) fuel to Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel. The reactor core of BR2 is located inside a pressure vessel that contains 79 channels in a hyperboloid configuration. The core configuration is highly variable as each channel can contain a fuel assembly, a control or regulating rod, an experimentalmore » device, or a beryllium or aluminum plug. Because of this variability, a representative core configuration, based on current reactor use, has been defined for the fuel conversion analyses. The code RELAP5/Mod 3.3 was used to perform the transient thermal-hydraulic safety analyses of the BR2 reactor to support reactor conversion. The input model has been modernized relative to that historically used at BR2 taking into account the best modeling practices developed by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and BR2 engineers.« less

The dynamic two-fluid model OLGA; Theory and application

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bendiksen, K.H.; Maines, D.; Moe, R.

1991-05-01

Dynamic two-fluid models have found a wide range of application in the simulation of two-phase-flow systems, particularly for the analysis of steam/water flow in the core of a nuclear reactor. Until quite recently, however, very few attempts have been made to use such models in the simulation of two-phase oil and gas flow in pipelines. This paper presents a dynamic two-fluid model, OLGA, in detail, stressing the basic equations and the two-fluid models applied. Predictions of steady-state pressure drop, liquid hold-up, and flow-regime transitions are compared with data from the SINTEF Two-Phase Flow Laboratory and from the literature. Comparisons withmore » evaluated field data are also presented.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Nicholas R.; Worrall, Andrew; Todosow, Michael

Small modular reactors (SMRs) offer potential benefits, such as enhanced operational flexibility. However, it is vital to understand the holistic impact of SMRs on nuclear fuel cycle performance. The focus of this paper is the fuel cycle impacts of light water SMRs in a once-through fuel cycle with low-enriched uranium fuel. A key objective of this paper is to describe preliminary example reactor core physics and fuel cycle analyses conducted in support of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy, Fuel Cycle Options Campaign. The hypothetical light water SMR example case considered in these preliminary scoping studies ismore » a cartridge type one-batch core with slightly less than 5.0% enrichment. Challenges associated with SMRs include increased neutron leakage, fewer assemblies in the core (and therefore fewer degrees of freedom in the core design), complex enrichment and burnable absorber loadings, full power operation with inserted control rods, the potential for frequent load-following operation, and shortened core height. Each of these will impact the achievable discharge burnup in the reactor and the fuel cycle performance. This paper summarizes a list of the factors relevant to SMR fuel, core, and operation that will impact fuel cycle performance. The high-level issues identified and preliminary scoping calculations in this paper are intended to inform on potential fuel cycle impacts of one-batch thermal spectrum SMRs. In particular, this paper highlights the impact of increased neutron leakage and reduced number of batches on the achievable burnup of the reactor. Fuel cycle performance metrics for a hypothetical example SMR are compared with those for a conventional three-batch light water reactor in the following areas: nuclear waste management, environmental impact, and resource utilization. The metrics performance for such an SMR is degraded for the mass of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste disposed of, mass of depleted uranium disposed of, land use per energy generated, and carbon emissions per energy generated. Finally, it is noted that the features of some SMR designs impact three main aspects of fuel cycle performance: (1) small cores which means high leakage (there is a radial and axial component), (2) no boron which means heterogeneous core and extensive use of control rods and BPs, and (3) single batch cores. But not all of the SMR designs have all of these traits. As a result, the approach used in this study is therefore a bounding case and not all SMRs may be affected to the same extent.« less

Re-interpretation of the ERMINE-V experiment validation of fission product integral cross section in the fast energy range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ros, Paul; Leconte, Pierre; Blaise, Patrick; Naymeh, Laurent

2017-09-01

The current knowledge of nuclear data in the fast neutron energy range is not as good as in the thermal range, resulting in larger propagated uncertainties in integral quantities such as critical masses or reactivity effects. This situation makes it difficult to get the full benefit from recent advances in modeling and simulation. Zero power facilities such as the French ZPR MINERVE have already demonstrated that they can contribute to significantly reduce those uncertainties thanks to dedicated experiments. Historically, MINERVE has been mainly dedicated to thermal spectrum studies. However, experiments involving fast-thermal coupled cores were also performed in MINERVE as part of the ERMINE program, in order to improve nuclear data in fast spectra for the two French SFRs: PHENIX and SUPERPHENIX. Some of those experiments have been recently revisited. In particular, a full characterization of ZONA-1 and ZONA-3, two different cores loaded in the ERMINE V campaign, has been done, with much attention paid to possible sources of errors. It includes detailed geometric descriptions, energy profiles of the direct and adjoint fluxes and spectral indices obtained thanks to Monte Carlo calculations and compared to a reference fast core configuration. Sample oscillation experiments of separated fission products such as 103Rh or 99Tc, which were part of the ERMINE V program, have been simulated using recently-developed options in the TRIPOLI-4 code and compared to the experimental values. The present paper describes the corresponding results. The findings motivate in-depth studies for designing optimized coupled-core conditions in ZEPHYR, a new ZPR which will replace MINERVE and will provide integral data to meet the needs of Gen-III and Gen-IV reactors.

Colloquium: Laser probing of neutron-rich nuclei in light atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Z.-T.; Mueller, P.; Drake, G. W. F.; Nörtershäuser, W.; Pieper, Steven C.; Yan, Z.-C.

2013-10-01

The neutron-rich He6 and He8 isotopes exhibit an exotic nuclear structure that consists of a tightly bound He4-like core with additional neutrons orbiting at a relatively large distance, forming a halo. Recent experimental efforts have succeeded in laser trapping and cooling these short-lived, rare helium atoms and have measured the atomic isotope shifts along the He4-He6-He8 chain by performing laser spectroscopy on individual trapped atoms. Meanwhile, the few-electron atomic structure theory, including relativistic and QED corrections, has reached a comparable degree of accuracy in the calculation of the isotope shifts. In parallel efforts, also by measuring atomic isotope shifts, the nuclear charge radii of lithium and beryllium isotopes have been studied. The techniques employed were resonance ionization spectroscopy on neutral, thermal lithium atoms and collinear laser spectroscopy on beryllium ions. Combining advances in both atomic theory and laser spectroscopy, the charge radii of these light halo nuclei have now been determined for the first time independent of nuclear structure models. The results are compared with the values predicted by a number of nuclear structure calculations and are used to guide our understanding of the nuclear forces in the extremely neutron-rich environment.

Automatic safety rod for reactors

DOEpatents

Germer, John H.

1988-01-01

An automatic safety rod for a nuclear reactor containing neutron absorbing material and designed to be inserted into a reactor core after a loss-of-core flow. Actuation is based upon either a sudden decrease in core pressure drop or the pressure drop decreases below a predetermined minimum value. The automatic control rod includes a pressure regulating device whereby a controlled decrease in operating pressure due to reduced coolant flow does not cause the rod to drop into the core.

Safety and core design of large liquid-metal cooled fast breeder reactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qvist, Staffan Alexander

In light of the scientific evidence for changes in the climate caused by greenhouse-gas emissions from human activities, the world is in ever more desperate need of new, inexhaustible, safe and clean primary energy sources. A viable solution to this problem is the widespread adoption of nuclear breeder reactor technology. Innovative breeder reactor concepts using liquid-metal coolants such as sodium or lead will be able to utilize the waste produced by the current light water reactor fuel cycle to power the entire world for several centuries to come. Breed & burn (B&B) type fast reactor cores can unlock the energy potential of readily available fertile material such as depleted uranium without the need for chemical reprocessing. Using B&B technology, nuclear waste generation, uranium mining needs and proliferation concerns can be greatly reduced, and after a transitional period, enrichment facilities may no longer be needed. In this dissertation, new passively operating safety systems for fast reactors cores are presented. New analysis and optimization methods for B&B core design have been developed, along with a comprehensive computer code that couples neutronics, thermal-hydraulics and structural mechanics and enables a completely automated and optimized fast reactor core design process. In addition, an experiment that expands the knowledge-base of corrosion issues of lead-based coolants in nuclear reactors was designed and built. The motivation behind the work presented in this thesis is to help facilitate the widespread adoption of safe and efficient fast reactor technology.

The Origin of the Extra-nuclear X-ray Emission in the Seyfert Galaxy NGC 2992

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colbert, E. J. M.; Strickland, D. K.; Veilleux, S.; Weaver, K. A.

2004-12-01

We present an analysis of a Chandra ACIS observation of the edge-on Seyfert galaxy NGC 2992. We find extended X-ray emission with Lx(total) in excess of 10**40 erg/s. The brightest nebula is positioned a few 100 pc from the X-ray core, and is spatially coincident with optical line and radio emission. This emission nebula may be energized by the AGN, as opposed to a nuclear starburst. The expected kpc-scale X-ray emission due to a starburst-driven wind is larger than a few 10**39 erg/s, and we present large-scale X-ray emission that may be associated with such an outflow. The extra-nuclear emission has a very soft spectrum. Chandra and XMM spectra of the total nuclear region show a very prominent ``soft excess'' below 2-3 keV. We shall discuss the spectral properties of this soft excess, and will compare with the results from the spatial analysis, and with AGN and starburst models for extranuclear X-ray nebulae.

Performance analysis of distributed symmetric sparse matrix vector multiplication algorithm for multi-core architectures

DOE PAGES

Oryspayev, Dossay; Aktulga, Hasan Metin; Sosonkina, Masha; ...

2015-07-14

In this article, sparse matrix vector multiply (SpMVM) is an important kernel that frequently arises in high performance computing applications. Due to its low arithmetic intensity, several approaches have been proposed in literature to improve its scalability and efficiency in large scale computations. In this paper, our target systems are high end multi-core architectures and we use messaging passing interface + open multiprocessing hybrid programming model for parallelism. We analyze the performance of recently proposed implementation of the distributed symmetric SpMVM, originally developed for large sparse symmetric matrices arising in ab initio nuclear structure calculations. We also study important featuresmore » of this implementation and compare with previously reported implementations that do not exploit underlying symmetry. Our SpMVM implementations leverage the hybrid paradigm to efficiently overlap expensive communications with computations. Our main comparison criterion is the "CPU core hours" metric, which is the main measure of resource usage on supercomputers. We analyze the effects of topology-aware mapping heuristic using simplified network load model. Furthermore, we have tested the different SpMVM implementations on two large clusters with 3D Torus and Dragonfly topology. Our results show that the distributed SpMVM implementation that exploits matrix symmetry and hides communication yields the best value for the "CPU core hours" metric and significantly reduces data movement overheads.« less

Research on fission fragment excitation of gases and nuclear pumping of lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, R. T.; Davie, R. N.; Davis, J. F.; Fuller, J. L.; Paternoster, R. R.; Shipman, G. R.; Sterritt, D. E.; Helmick, H. H.

1974-01-01

Experimental investigations of fission fragment excited gases are reported along with a theoretical analysis of population inversions in fission fragment excited helium. Other studies reported include: nuclear augmentation of gas lasers, direct nuclear pumping of a helium-xenon laser, measurements of a repetitively pulsed high-power CO2 laser, thermodynamic properties of UF6 and UF6/He mixtures, and nuclear waste disposal utilizing a gaseous core reactor.

Evaluation of Neutron-induced Cross Sections and their Related Covariances with Physical Constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De Saint Jean, C.; Archier, P.; Privas, E.; Noguère, G.; Habert, B.; Tamagno, P.

2018-02-01

Nuclear data, along with numerical methods and the associated calculation schemes, continue to play a key role in reactor design, reactor core operating parameters calculations, fuel cycle management and criticality safety calculations. Due to the intensive use of Monte-Carlo calculations reducing numerical biases, the final accuracy of neutronic calculations increasingly depends on the quality of nuclear data used. This paper gives a broad picture of all ingredients treated by nuclear data evaluators during their analyses. After giving an introduction to nuclear data evaluation, we present implications of using the Bayesian inference to obtain evaluated cross sections and related uncertainties. In particular, a focus is made on systematic uncertainties appearing in the analysis of differential measurements as well as advantages and drawbacks one may encounter by analyzing integral experiments. The evaluation work is in general done independently in the resonance and in the continuum energy ranges giving rise to inconsistencies in evaluated files. For future evaluations on the whole energy range, we call attention to two innovative methods used to analyze several nuclear reaction models and impose constraints. Finally, we discuss suggestions for possible improvements in the evaluation process to master the quantification of uncertainties. These are associated with experiments (microscopic and integral), nuclear reaction theories and the Bayesian inference.

DEPENDENCE OF THE Sr-TO-Ba AND Sr-TO-Eu RATIO ON THE NUCLEAR EQUATION OF STATE IN METAL-POOR HALO STARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Famiano, M. A.; Kajino, T.; Aoki, W.

A model is proposed in which the dependence on the equation of state (EOS) of the scatter of [Sr/Ba] in metal-poor stars is studied. Light r-process element enrichment in these stars has been explained via a truncated r-process, or “tr-process.” The truncation of the r-process from a generic core-collapse event followed by a collapse into an accretion-induced black hole is examined in the framework of a galactic chemical evolution model. The constraints on this model imposed by observations of extremely metal-poor stars are explained, and the upper limits in the [Sr/Ba] distributions are found to be related to the nuclearmore » EOS in a collapse scenario. The scatter in [Sr/Ba] and [Sr/Eu] as a function of metallicity has been found to be consistent with turbulent ejection in core-collapse supernovae. Adaptations of this model are evaluated to account for the scatter in isotopic observables. This is done by assuming mixing in ejecta in a supernova event. Stiff EOS are eliminated by this model.« less

Dynamic leaching studies of 48 MWd/kgU UO2 commercial spent nuclear fuel under oxic conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serrano-Purroy, D.; Casas, I.; González-Robles, E.; Glatz, J. P.; Wegen, D. H.; Clarens, F.; Giménez, J.; de Pablo, J.; Martínez-Esparza, A.

2013-03-01

The leaching of a high-burn-up spent nuclear fuel (48 MWd/KgU) has been studied in a carbonate-containing solution and under oxic conditions using a Continuously Stirred Tank Flow-Through Reactor (CSTR). Two samples of the fuel, one prepared from the centre of the pellet (labelled CORE) and another one from the fuel pellet periphery, enriched with the so-called High Burn-Up Structure (HBS, labelled OUT) have been used.For uranium and actinides, the results showed that U, Np, Am and Cm gave very similar normalized dissolution rates, while Pu showed slower dissolution rates for both samples. In addition, dissolution rates were consistently two to four times lower for OUT sample compared to CORE sample.Considering the fission products release the main results are that Y, Tc, La and Nd dissolved very similar to uranium; while Cs, Sr, Mo and Rb have up to 10 times higher dissolution rates. Rh, Ru and Zr seemed to have lower dissolution rates than uranium. The lowest dissolution rates were found for OUT sample.Three different contributions were detected on uranium release, modelled and attributed to oxidation layer, fines and matrix release.

Stopping power beyond the adiabatic approximation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Caro, M.; Correa, A. A.; Artacho, E.

2017-06-01

Energetic ions traveling in solids deposit energy in a variety of ways, being nuclear and electronic stopping the two avenues in which dissipation is usually treated. This separation between electrons and ions relies on the adiabatic approximation in which ions interact via forces derived from the instantaneous electronic ground state. In a more detailed view, in which non-adiabatic effects are explicitly considered, electronic excitations alter the atomic bonding, which translates into changes in the interatomic forces. In this work, we use time dependent density functional theory and forces derived from the equations of Ehrenfest dynamics that depend instantaneously on themore » time-dependent electronic density. With them we analyze how the inter-ionic forces are affected by electronic excitations in a model of a Ni projectile interacting with a Ni target, a metallic system with strong electronic stopping and shallow core level states. We find that the electronic excitations induce substantial modifications to the inter-ionic forces, which translate into nuclear stopping power well above the adiabatic prediction. Particularly, we observe that most of the alteration of the adiabatic potential in early times comes from the ionization of the core levels of the target ions, not readily screened by the valence electrons.« less

Optimization of 200 MWth and 250 MWt Ship Based Small Long Life NPP

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fitriyani, Dian; Su'ud, Zaki

2010-06-22

Design optimization of ship-based 200 MWth and 250 MWt nuclear power reactors have been performed. The neutronic and thermo-hydraulic programs of the three-dimensional X-Y-Z geometry have been developed for the analysis of ship-based nuclear power plant. Quasi-static approach is adopted to treat seawater effect. The reactor are loop type lead bismuth cooled fast reactor with nitride fuel and with relatively large coolant pipe above reactor core, the heat from primary coolant system is directly transferred to watersteam loop through steam generators. Square core type are selected and optimized. As the optimization result, the core outlet temperature distribution is changing withmore » the elevation angle of the reactor system and the characteristics are discussed.« less

Numerical simulations of relativistic heavy-ion reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daffin, Frank Cecil

Bulk quantities of nuclear matter exist only in the compact bodies of the universe. There the crushing gravitational forces overcome the Coulomb repulsion in massive stellar collapses. Nuclear matter is subjected to high pressures and temperatures as shock waves propagate and burn their way through stellar cores. The bulk properties of nuclear matter are important parameters in the evolution of these collapses, some of which lead to nucleosynthesis. The nucleus is rich in physical phenomena. Above the Coulomb barrier, complex interactions lead to the distortion of, and as collision energies increase, the destruction of the nuclear volume. Of critical importance to the understanding of these events is an understanding of the aggregate microscopic processes which govern them. In an effort to understand relativistic heavy-ion reactions, the Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck (Ueh33) (BUU) transport equation is used as the framework for a numerical model. In the years since its introduction, the numerical model has been instrumental in providing a coherent, microscopic, physical description of these complex, highly non-linear events. This treatise describes the background leading to the creation of our numerical model of the BUU transport equation, details of its numerical implementation, its application to the study of relativistic heavy-ion collisions, and some of the experimental observables used to compare calculated results to empirical results. The formalism evolves the one-body Wigner phase-space distribution of nucleons in time under the influence of a single-particle nuclear mean field interaction and a collision source term. This is essentially the familiar Boltzmann transport equation whose source term has been modified to address the Pauli exclusion principle. Two elements of the model allow extrapolation from the study of nuclear collisions to bulk quantities of nuclear matter: the modification of nucleon scattering cross sections in nuclear matter, and the compressibility of nuclear matter. Both are primarily subject to the short- range portion of the inter-nucleon potential, and do not show strong finite-size effects. To that end, several useful observables are introduced and their behavior, as BUU model parameters are changed, explored. The average, directed, in-plane, transverse momentum distribution in rapidity is the oldest of the observables presented in this work. Its slope at mid- rapidity is called the flow of the event, and well characterizes the interplay of repulsive and attractive elements of the dynamics of the events. The BUU model has been quite successful in its role of illuminating the physics of intermediate energy heavy-ion collisions. Though current numerical implementations suffer from some shortcomings they have nonetheless served the community well.

Organellar proteomics reveals hundreds of novel nuclear proteins in the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background The post-genomic era of malaria research provided unprecedented insights into the biology of Plasmodium parasites. Due to the large evolutionary distance to model eukaryotes, however, we lack a profound understanding of many processes in Plasmodium biology. One example is the cell nucleus, which controls the parasite genome in a development- and cell cycle-specific manner through mostly unknown mechanisms. To study this important organelle in detail, we conducted an integrative analysis of the P. falciparum nuclear proteome. Results We combined high accuracy mass spectrometry and bioinformatic approaches to present for the first time an experimentally determined core nuclear proteome for P. falciparum. Besides a large number of factors implicated in known nuclear processes, one-third of all detected proteins carry no functional annotation, including many phylum- or genus-specific factors. Importantly, extensive experimental validation using 30 transgenic cell lines confirmed the high specificity of this inventory, and revealed distinct nuclear localization patterns of hitherto uncharacterized proteins. Further, our detailed analysis identified novel protein domains potentially implicated in gene transcription pathways, and sheds important new light on nuclear compartments and processes including regulatory complexes, the nucleolus, nuclear pores, and nuclear import pathways. Conclusion Our study provides comprehensive new insight into the biology of the Plasmodium nucleus and will serve as an important platform for dissecting general and parasite-specific nuclear processes in malaria parasites. Moreover, as the first nuclear proteome characterized in any protist organism, it will provide an important resource for studying evolutionary aspects of nuclear biology. PMID:23181666

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vinnikov, B.; NRC Kurchatov Inst.

According to Scientific and Technical Cooperation between the USA and Russia in the field of nuclear engineering the Idaho National Laboratory has transferred to the possession of the National Research Center ' Kurchatov Inst. ' the SAPHIRE software without any fee. With the help of the software Kurchatov Inst. developed a Pilot Living PSA- Model of Leningrad NPP Unit 1. Computations of core damage frequencies were carried out for additional Initiating Events. In the submitted paper such additional Initiating Events are fires in various compartments of the NPP. During the computations of each fire, structure of the PSA - Modelmore » was not changed, but Fault Trees for the appropriate systems, which are removed from service during the fire, were changed. It follows from the computations, that for ten fires Core Damaged Frequencies (CDF) are not changed. Other six fires will cause additional core damage. On the basis of the calculated results it is possible to determine a degree of importance of these fires and to establish sequence of performance of fire-prevention measures in various places of the NPP. (authors)« less

Alfven seismic vibrations of crustal solid-state plasma in quaking paramagnetic neutron star

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bastrukov, S.; Xu, R.-X.; Molodtsova, I.

2010-11-15

Magneto-solid-mechanical model of two-component, core-crust, paramagnetic neutron star responding to quake-induced perturbation by differentially rotational, torsional, oscillations of crustal electron-nuclear solid-state plasma about axis of magnetic field frozen in the immobile paramagnetic core is developed. Particular attention is given to the node-free torsional crust-against-core vibrations under combined action of Lorentz magnetic and Hooke's elastic forces; the damping is attributed to Newtonian force of shear viscose stresses in crustal solid-state plasma. The spectral formulas for the frequency and lifetime of this toroidal mode are derived in analytic form and discussed in the context of quasiperiodic oscillations of the x-ray outburst fluxmore » from quaking magnetars. The application of obtained theoretical spectra to modal analysis of available data on frequencies of oscillating outburst emission suggests that detected variability is the manifestation of crustal Alfven's seismic vibrations restored by Lorentz force of magnetic field stresses.« less

Gas-cooled nuclear reactor

DOEpatents

Peinado, Charles O.; Koutz, Stanley L.

1985-01-01

A gas-cooled nuclear reactor includes a central core located in the lower portion of a prestressed concrete reactor vessel. Primary coolant gas flows upward through the core and into four overlying heat-exchangers wherein stream is generated. During normal operation, the return flow of coolant is between the core and the vessel sidewall to a pair of motor-driven circulators located at about the bottom of the concrete pressure vessel. The circulators repressurize the gas coolant and return it back to the core through passageways in the underlying core structure. If during emergency conditions the primary circulators are no longer functioning, the decay heat is effectively removed from the core by means of natural convection circulation. The hot gas rising through the core exits the top of the shroud of the heat-exchangers and flows radially outward to the sidewall of the concrete pressure vessel. A metal liner covers the entire inside concrete surfaces of the concrete pressure vessel, and cooling tubes are welded to the exterior or concrete side of the metal liner. The gas coolant is in direct contact with the interior surface of the metal liner and transfers its heat through the metal liner to the liquid coolant flowing through the cooling tubes. The cooler gas is more dense and creates a downward convection flow in the region between the core and the sidewall until it reaches the bottom of the concrete pressure vessel when it flows radially inward and up into the core for another pass. Water is forced to flow through the cooling tubes to absorb heat from the core at a sufficient rate to remove enough of the decay heat created in the core to prevent overheating of the core or the vessel.

Proceedings of the AFOSR Special Conference on Prime-Power for High Energy Space Systems, Norfolk, Virginia, 22-25 February 1982. Volume I.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-02-25

source both liquid and solid fuel combustion devices have been successfully demonstrated during various development programs . Nuclear reactor heat...U02 fuel in the core . Improving the heat pipe model to correlate more closely with the experimental data is a major concern in the development of...ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT, PROJECT. TASK Research & Development Associates (RDA) AREA &WKNT AE (X Rosslyn, VA 22209 61102F 2301

Effects of Oxidation on Oxidation-Resistant Graphite

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Windes, William; Smith, Rebecca; Carroll, Mark

2015-05-01

The Advanced Reactor Technology (ART) Graphite Research and Development Program is investigating doped nuclear graphite grades that exhibit oxidation resistance through the formation of protective oxides on the surface of the graphite material. In the unlikely event of an oxygen ingress accident, graphite components within the VHTR core region are anticipated to oxidize so long as the oxygen continues to enter the hot core region and the core temperatures remain above 400°C. For the most serious air-ingress accident which persists over several hours or days the continued oxidation can result in significant structural damage to the core. Reducing the oxidationmore » rate of the graphite core material during any air-ingress accident would mitigate the structural effects and keep the core intact. Previous air oxidation testing of nuclear-grade graphite doped with varying levels of boron-carbide (B4C) at a nominal 739°C was conducted for a limited number of doped specimens demonstrating a dramatic reduction in oxidation rate for the boronated graphite grade. This report summarizes the conclusions from this small scoping study by determining the effects of oxidation on the mechanical strength resulting from oxidation of boronated and unboronated graphite to a 10% mass loss level. While the B4C additive did reduce mechanical strength loss during oxidation, adding B4C dopants to a level of 3.5% or more reduced the as-fabricated compressive strength nearly 50%. This effectively minimized any benefits realized from the protective film formed on the boronated grades. Future work to infuse different graphite grades with silicon- and boron-doped material as a post-machining conditioning step for nuclear components is discussed as a potential solution for these challenges in this report.« less

Sensitivity analysis of Monju using ERANOS with JENDL-4.0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tamagno, P.; Van Rooijen, W. F. G.; Takeda, T.

2012-07-01

This paper deals with sensitivity analysis using JENDL-4.0 nuclear data applied to the Monju reactor. In 2010 the Japan Atomic Energy Agency - JAEA - released a new set of nuclear data: JENDL-4.0. This new evaluation is expected to contain improved data on actinides and covariance matrices. Covariance matrices are a key point in quantification of uncertainties due to basic nuclear data. For sensitivity analysis, the well-established ERANOS [1] code was chosen because of its integrated modules that allow users to perform a sensitivity analysis of complex reactor geometries. A JENDL-4.0 cross-section library is not available for ERANOS. Therefore amore » cross-section library had to be made from the original nuclear data set, available as ENDF formatted files. This is achieved by using the following codes: NJOY, CALENDF, MERGE and GECCO in order to create a library for the ECCO cell code (part of ERANOS). In order to make sure of the accuracy of the new ECCO library, two benchmark experiments have been analyzed: the MZA and MZB cores of the MOZART program measured at the ZEBRA facility in the UK. These were chosen due to their similarity to the Monju core. Using the JENDL-4.0 ECCO library we have analyzed the criticality of Monju during the restart in 2010. We have obtained good agreement with the measured criticality. Perturbation calculations have been performed between JENDL-3.3 and JENDL-4.0 based models. The isotopes {sup 239}Pu, {sup 238}U, {sup 241}Am and {sup 241}Pu account for a major part of observed differences. (authors)« less

A case study for retaining nuclear power experience

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beckjord, E.S.

1996-12-31

Nuclear engineering departments at U.S. universities are rethinking curricula to focus on essentials. Prospective engineers must know nuclear engineering disciplines, but knowing how their engineering forebears solved important problems will empower them even more by learning some history along with engineering. I suggest a way to retain experience, giving an example: the emergency core cooling system (ECCS) controversy and resolution.

Residence time distribution measurements in a pilot-scale poison tank using radiotracer technique.

PubMed

Pant, H J; Goswami, Sunil; Samantray, J S; Sharma, V K; Maheshwari, N K

2015-09-01

Various types of systems are used to control the reactivity and shutting down of a nuclear reactor during emergency and routine shutdown operations. Injection of boron solution (borated water) into the core of a reactor is one of the commonly used methods during emergency operation. A pilot-scale poison tank was designed and fabricated to simulate injection of boron poison into the core of a reactor along with coolant water. In order to design a full-scale poison tank, it was desired to characterize flow of liquid from the tank. Residence time distribution (RTD) measurement and analysis was adopted to characterize the flow dynamics. Radiotracer technique was applied to measure RTD of aqueous phase in the tank using Bromine-82 as a radiotracer. RTD measurements were carried out with two different modes of operation of the tank and at different flow rates. In Mode-1, the radiotracer was instantaneously injected at the inlet and monitored at the outlet, whereas in Mode-2, the tank was filled with radiotracer and its concentration was measured at the outlet. From the measured RTD curves, mean residence times (MRTs), dead volume and fraction of liquid pumped in with time were determined. The treated RTD curves were modeled using suitable mathematical models. An axial dispersion model with high degree of backmixing was found suitable to describe flow when operated in Mode-1, whereas a tanks-in-series model with backmixing was found suitable to describe flow of the poison in the tank when operated in Mode-2. The results were utilized to scale-up and design a full-scale poison tank for a nuclear reactor. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SHARP Multiphysics Tutorials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Y. Q.; Shemon, E. R.; Mahadevan, Vijay S.

SHARP, developed under the NEAMS Reactor Product Line, is an advanced modeling and simulation toolkit for the analysis of advanced nuclear reactors. SHARP is comprised of three physics modules currently including neutronics, thermal hydraulics, and structural mechanics. SHARP empowers designers to produce accurate results for modeling physical phenomena that have been identified as important for nuclear reactor analysis. SHARP can use existing physics codes and take advantage of existing infrastructure capabilities in the MOAB framework and the coupling driver/solver library, the Coupled Physics Environment (CouPE), which utilizes the widely used, scalable PETSc library. This report aims at identifying the coupled-physicsmore » simulation capability of SHARP by introducing the demonstration example called sahex in advance of the SHARP release expected by Mar 2016. sahex consists of 6 fuel pins with cladding, 1 control rod, sodium coolant and an outer duct wall that encloses all the other components. This example is carefully chosen to demonstrate the proof of concept for solving more complex demonstration examples such as EBR II assembly and ABTR full core. The workflow of preparing the input files, running the case and analyzing the results is demonstrated in this report. Moreover, an extension of the sahex model called sahex_core, which adds six homogenized neighboring assemblies to the full heterogeneous sahex model, is presented to test homogenization capabilities in both Nek5000 and PROTEUS. Some primary information on the configuration and build aspects for the SHARP toolkit, which includes capability to auto-download dependencies and configure/install with optimal flags in an architecture-aware fashion, is also covered by this report. A step-by-step instruction is provided to help users to create their cases. Details on these processes will be provided in the SHARP user manual that will accompany the first release.« less

RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE WEAK, MAIN, AND FISSION-RECYCLING r-PROCESS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shibagaki, S.; Kajino, T.; Mathews, G. J.

There has been a persistent conundrum in attempts to model the nucleosynthesis of heavy elements by rapid neutron capture (the r-process). Although the locations of the abundance peaks near nuclear mass numbers 130 and 195 identify an environment of rapid neutron capture near closed nuclear shells, the abundances of elements just above and below those peaks are often underproduced by more than an order of magnitude in model calculations. At the same time, there is a debate in the literature as to what degree the r-process elements are produced in supernovae or the mergers of binary neutron stars. In thismore » paper we propose a novel solution to both problems. We demonstrate that the underproduction of nuclides above and below the r-process peaks in main or weak r-process models (like magnetohydrodynamic jets or neutrino-driven winds in core-collapse supernovae) can be supplemented via fission fragment distributions from the recycling of material in a neutron-rich environment such as that encountered in neutron star mergers (NSMs). In this paradigm, the abundance peaks themselves are well reproduced by a moderately neutron-rich, main r-process environment such as that encountered in the magnetohydrodynamical jets in supernovae supplemented with a high-entropy, weakly neutron-rich environment such as that encountered in the neutrino-driven-wind model to produce the lighter r-process isotopes. Moreover, we show that the relative contributions to the r-process abundances in both the solar system and metal-poor stars from the weak, main, and fission-recycling environments required by this proposal are consistent with estimates of the relative Galactic event rates of core-collapse supernovae for the weak and main r-process and NSMs for the fission-recycling r-process.« less

The WPI reactor-readying for the next generation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bobek, L.M.

1993-01-01

Built in 1959, the 10-kW open-pool nuclear training reactor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) was one of the first such facilities in the nation located on a university campus. Since then, the reactor and its related facilities have been used to train two generations of nuclear engineers and scientists for the nuclear industry. With the use of nuclear technology playing an increasing role in many segments of the economy, WPI with its nuclear reactor facility is committed to continuing its mission of training future nuclear engineers and scientists. The WPI reactor includes a 6-in. beam port, graphite thermal column, andmore » in-core sample facility. The reactor, housed in an open 8000-gal tank of water, is designed so that the core is readily accessible. Both the control console and the peripheral counting equipment used for student projects and laboratory exercises are located in the reactor room. This arrangement provides convenience and flexibility in using the reactor for foil activations in neutron flux measurements, diffusion measurements, radioactive decay measurements, and the neutron activation of samples for analysis. In 1988, the reactor was successfully converted to low-enriched uranium fuel.« less

FAAP20: a novel ubiquitin-binding FA nuclear core-complex protein required for functional integrity of the FA-BRCA DNA repair pathway

PubMed Central

Ali, Abdullah Mahmood; Pradhan, Arun; Singh, Thiyam Ramsingh; Du, Changhu; Li, Jie; Wahengbam, Kebola; Grassman, Elke; Auerbach, Arleen D.; Pang, Qishen

2012-01-01

Fanconi anemia (FA) nuclear core complex is a multiprotein complex required for the functional integrity of the FA-BRCA pathway regulating DNA repair. This pathway is inactivated in FA, a devastating genetic disease, which leads to hematologic defects and cancer in patients. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a novel 20-kDa FANCA-associated protein (FAAP20). We show that FAAP20 is an integral component of the FA nuclear core complex. We identify a region on FANCA that physically interacts with FAAP20, and show that FANCA regulates stability of this protein. FAAP20 contains a conserved ubiquitin-binding zinc-finger domain (UBZ), and binds K-63–linked ubiquitin chains in vitro. The FAAP20-UBZ domain is not required for interaction with FANCA, but is required for DNA-damage–induced chromatin loading of FANCA and the functional integrity of the FA pathway. These findings reveal critical roles for FAAP20 in the FA-BRCA pathway of DNA damage repair and genome maintenance. PMID:22343915

Minimization of the energy loss of nuclear power plants in case of partial in-core monitoring system failure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zagrebaev, A. M.; Ramazanov, R. N.; Lunegova, E. A.

2017-01-01

In this paper we consider the optimization problem minimize of the energy loss of nuclear power plants in case of partial in-core monitoring system failure. It is possible to continuation of reactor operation at reduced power or total replacement of the channel neutron measurements, requiring shutdown of the reactor and the stock of detectors. This article examines the reconstruction of the energy release in the core of a nuclear reactor on the basis of the indications of height sensors. The missing measurement information can be reconstructed by mathematical methods, and replacement of the failed sensors can be avoided. It is suggested that a set of ‘natural’ functions determined by means of statistical estimates obtained from archival data be constructed. The procedure proposed makes it possible to reconstruct the field even with a significant loss of measurement information. Improving the accuracy of the restoration of the neutron flux density in partial loss of measurement information to minimize the stock of necessary components and the associated losses.

Evaluation of external hazards to nuclear power plants in the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kimura, C.Y.; Budnitz, R.J.

1987-12-01

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has performed a study of the risk of core damage to nuclear power plants in the United States due to externally initiated events. The broad objective has been to gain an understanding of whether or not each external initiator is among the major potential accident initiators that may pose a threat of severe reactor core damage or of large radioactive release to the environment from the reactor. Four external hazards were investigated in this report. These external hazards are internal fires, high winds/tornadoes, external floods, and transportation accidents. Analysis was based on two figures-of-merit,more » one based on core damage frequency and the other based on the frequency of large radioactive releases. Using these two figures-of-merit as evaluation criteria, it has been feasible to ascertain whether the risk from externally initiated accidents is, or is not, an important contributor to overall risk for the US nuclear power plants studied. This has been accomplished for each initiator separately. 208 refs., 17 figs., 45 tabs.« less

Possible generation of heat from nuclear fusion in Earth's inner core.

PubMed

Fukuhara, Mikio

2016-11-23

The cause and source of the heat released from Earth's interior have not yet been determined. Some research groups have proposed that the heat is supplied by radioactive decay or by a nuclear georeactor. Here we postulate that the generation of heat is the result of three-body nuclear fusion of deuterons confined in hexagonal FeDx core-centre crystals; the reaction rate is enhanced by the combined attraction effects of high-pressure (~364 GPa) and high-temperature (~5700 K) and by the physical catalysis of neutral pions: 2 D +  2 D +  2 D → 2 1 H +  4 He + 2  + 20.85 MeV. The possible heat generation rate can be calculated as 8.12 × 10 12  J/m 3 , based on the assumption that Earth's primitive heat supply has already been exhausted. The H and He atoms produced and the anti-neutrino are incorporated as Fe-H based alloys in the H-rich portion of inner core, are released from Earth's interior to the universe, and pass through Earth, respectively.

Optimize out-of-core thermionic energy conversion for nuclear electric propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, J. F.

1978-01-01

Thermionic energy conversion (TEC) potentialities for nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) are examined. Considering current designs, their limitations, and risks raises critical questions about the use of TEC for NEP. Apparently a reactor cooled by hotter-than-1675 K heat pipes has good potentialities. TEC with higher temperatures and greater power densities than the currently proposed 1650 K, 5-to-6 W/sq cm version offers substantial gains. Other approaches to high-temperature electric isolation appear also promising. A high-power-density, high-temperature TEC for NEP appears, therefore, attainable. It is recommended to optimize out-of-core thermionic energy conversion for nuclear electric propulsion. Although current TEC designs for NEP seem unnecessary compared with Brayton versions, large gains are apparently possible with increased temperatures and greater power densities.

Open cycle gas core nuclear rockets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ragsdale, Robert

1991-01-01

The open cycle gas core engine is a nuclear propulsion device. Propulsion is provided by hot hydrogen which is heated directly by thermal radiation from the nuclear fuel. Critical mass is sustained in the uranium plasma in the center. It has typically 30 to 50 kg of fuel. It is a thermal reactor in the sense that fissions are caused by absorption of thermal neutrons. The fast neutrons go out to an external moderator/reflector material and, by collision, slow down to thermal energy levels, and then come back in and cause fission. The hydrogen propellant is stored in a tank. The advantage of the concept is very high specific impulse because you can take the plasma to any temperature desired by increasing the fission level by withdrawing or turning control rods or control drums.

Transmutation of Isotopes --- Ecological and Energy Production Aspects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gudowski, Waclaw

2000-01-01

This paper describes principles of Accelerator-Driven Transmutation of Nuclear Wastes (ATW) and gives some flavour of the most important topics which are today under investigations in many countries. An assessment of the potential impact of ATW on a future of nuclear energy is also given. Nuclear reactors based on self-sustained fission reactions --- after spectacular development in fifties and sixties, that resulted in deployment of over 400 power reactors --- are wrestling today more with public acceptance than with irresolvable technological problems. In a whole spectrum of reasons which resulted in today's opposition against nuclear power few of them are very relevant for the nuclear physics community and they arose from the fact that development of nuclear power had been handed over to the nuclear engineers and technicians with some generically unresolved problems, which should have been solved properly by nuclear scientists. In a certain degree of simplification one can say, that most of the problems originate from very specific features of a fission phenomenon: self-sustained chain reaction in fissile materials and very strong radioactivity of fission products and very long half-life of some of the fission and activation products. And just this enormous concentration of radioactive fission products in the reactor core is the main problem of managing nuclear reactors: it requires unconditional guarantee for the reactor core integrity in order to avoid radioactive contamination of the environment; it creates problems to handle decay heat in the reactor core and finally it makes handling and/or disposal of spent fuel almost a philosophical issue, due to unimaginable long time scales of radioactive decay of some isotopes. A lot can be done to improve the design of conventional nuclear reactors (like Light Water Reactors); new, better reactors can be designed but it seems today very improbable to expect any radical change in the public perception of conventional nuclear power. In this context a lot of hopes and expectations have been expressed for novel systems called Accelerator-Driven Systems, Accelerator-Driven Transmutation of Waste or just Hybrid Reactors. All these names are used for description of the same nuclear system combining a powerful particle accelerator with a subcritical reactor. A careful analysis of possible environmental impact of ATW together with limitation of this technology is presented also in this paper.

Blm10 facilitates nuclear import of proteasome core particles

PubMed Central

Weberruss, Marion H; Savulescu, Anca F; Jando, Julia; Bissinger, Thomas; Harel, Amnon; Glickman, Michael H; Enenkel, Cordula

2013-01-01

Short-lived proteins are degraded by proteasome complexes, which contain a proteolytic core particle (CP) but differ in the number of regulatory particles (RPs) and activators. A recently described member of conserved proteasome activators is Blm10. Blm10 contains 32 HEAT-like modules and is structurally related to the nuclear import receptor importin/karyopherin β. In proliferating yeast, RP-CP assemblies are primarily nuclear and promote cell division. During quiescence, RP-CP assemblies dissociate and CP and RP are sequestered into motile cytosolic proteasome storage granuli (PSG). Here, we show that CP sequestration into PSG depends on Blm10, whereas RP sequestration into PSG is independent of Blm10. PSG rapidly clear upon the resumption of cell proliferation and proteasomes are relocated into the nucleus. Thereby, Blm10 facilitates nuclear import of CP. Blm10-bound CP serves as an import receptor–cargo complex, as Blm10 mediates the interaction with FG-rich nucleoporins and is dissociated from the CP by Ran-GTP. Thus, Blm10 represents the first CP-dedicated nuclear import receptor in yeast. PMID:23982732

A mechanism for histone chaperoning activity of nucleoplasmin: thermodynamic and structural models.

PubMed

Taneva, Stefka G; Bañuelos, Sonia; Falces, Jorge; Arregi, Igor; Muga, Arturo; Konarev, Petr V; Svergun, Dmitri I; Velázquez-Campoy, Adrián; Urbaneja, María A

2009-10-23

Nucleoplasmin (NP), a histone chaperone, acts as a reservoir for histones H2A-H2B in Xenopus laevis eggs and can displace sperm nuclear basic proteins and linker histones from the chromatin fiber of sperm and quiescent somatic nuclei. NP has been proposed to mediate the dynamic exchange of histones during the expression of certain genes and assists the assembly of nucleosomes by modulating the interaction between histones and DNA. Here, solution structural models of full-length NP and NP complexes with the functionally distinct nucleosomal core and linker histones are presented for the first time, providing a picture of the physical interactions between the nucleosomal and linker histones with NP core and tail domains. Small-angle X-ray scattering and isothermal titration calorimetry reveal that NP pentamer can accommodate five histones, either H2A-H2B dimers or H5, and that NP core and tail domains are intimately involved in the association with histones. The analysis of the binding events, employing a site-specific cooperative model, reveals a negative cooperativity-based regulatory mechanism for the linker histone/nucleosomal histone exchange. The two histone types bind with drastically different intrinsic affinity, and the strongest affinity is observed for the NP variant that mimicks the hyperphosphorylated active protein. The different "affinity windows" for H5 and H2A-H2B might allow NP to fulfill its histone chaperone role, simultaneously acting as a reservoir for the core histones and a chromatin decondensing factor. Our data are compatible with the previously proposed model where NP facilitates nucleosome assembly by removing the linker histones and depositing H2A-H2B dimers onto DNA.

Radio-Frequency Driven Dielectric Heaters for Non-Nuclear Testing in Nuclear Core Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sims, William Herbert, III (Inventor); Godfroy, Thomas J. (Inventor); Bitteker, Leo (Inventor)

2006-01-01

Apparatus and methods are provided through which a radiofrequency dielectric heater has a cylindrical form factor, a variable thermal energy deposition through variations in geometry and composition of a dielectric, and/or has a thermally isolated power input.

Rift Valley fever phlebovirus NSs protein core domain structure suggests molecular basis for nuclear filaments

PubMed Central

Miller, Ona K; Potter, Jane A; Vijayakrishnan, Swetha; Bhella, David; Naismith, James H; Elliott, Richard M

2017-01-01

Rift Valley fever phlebovirus (RVFV) is a clinically and economically important pathogen increasingly likely to cause widespread epidemics. RVFV virulence depends on the interferon antagonist non-structural protein (NSs), which remains poorly characterized. We identified a stable core domain of RVFV NSs (residues 83–248), and solved its crystal structure, a novel all-helical fold organized into highly ordered fibrils. A hallmark of RVFV pathology is NSs filament formation in infected cell nuclei. Recombinant virus encoding the NSs core domain induced intranuclear filaments, suggesting it contains all essential determinants for nuclear translocation and filament formation. Mutations of key crystal fibril interface residues in viruses encoding full-length NSs completely abrogated intranuclear filament formation in infected cells. We propose the fibrillar arrangement of the NSs core domain in crystals reveals the molecular basis of assembly of this key virulence factor in cell nuclei. Our findings have important implications for fundamental understanding of RVFV virulence. PMID:28915104

Rift Valley fever phlebovirus NSs protein core domain structure suggests molecular basis for nuclear filaments.

PubMed

Barski, Michal; Brennan, Benjamin; Miller, Ona K; Potter, Jane A; Vijayakrishnan, Swetha; Bhella, David; Naismith, James H; Elliott, Richard M; Schwarz-Linek, Ulrich

2017-09-15

Rift Valley fever phlebovirus (RVFV) is a clinically and economically important pathogen increasingly likely to cause widespread epidemics. RVFV virulence depends on the interferon antagonist non-structural protein (NSs), which remains poorly characterized. We identified a stable core domain of RVFV NSs (residues 83-248), and solved its crystal structure, a novel all-helical fold organized into highly ordered fibrils. A hallmark of RVFV pathology is NSs filament formation in infected cell nuclei. Recombinant virus encoding the NSs core domain induced intranuclear filaments, suggesting it contains all essential determinants for nuclear translocation and filament formation. Mutations of key crystal fibril interface residues in viruses encoding full-length NSs completely abrogated intranuclear filament formation in infected cells. We propose the fibrillar arrangement of the NSs core domain in crystals reveals the molecular basis of assembly of this key virulence factor in cell nuclei. Our findings have important implications for fundamental understanding of RVFV virulence.

Design Study of Modular Nuclear Power Plant with Small Long Life Gas Cooled Fast Reactors Utilizing MOX Fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilham, Muhammad; Su'ud, Zaki

2017-01-01

Growing energy needed due to increasing of the world’s population encourages development of technology and science of nuclear power plant in its safety and security. In this research, it will be explained about design study of modular fast reactor with helium gas cooling (GCFR) small long life reactor, which can be operated over 20 years. It had been conducted about neutronic design GCFR with Mixed Oxide (UO2-PuO2) fuel in range of 100-200 MWth NPPs of power and 50-60% of fuel fraction variation with cylindrical pin cell and cylindrical balance of reactor core geometry. Calculation method used SRAC-CITATION code. The obtained results are the effective multiplication factor and density value of core reactor power (with geometry optimalization) to obtain optimum design core reactor power, whereas the obtained of optimum core reactor power is 200 MWth with 55% of fuel fraction and 9-13% of percentages.

Lepton effects on the protoneutron stars with the hadron-quark mixed phase in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yasutake, Nobutoshi; Kashiwa, Kouji

2009-02-15

We study the structures of hybrid stars with leptons at finite temperature under beta equilibrium. For the quark phase, we use the three flavor Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model. For the hadron phase, we adopt the nuclear equation of state (EOS) by Shen et al.. This EOS is in the framework of the relativistic mean field theory including the tree body effects. For the hadron-quark phase transition, we impose the bulk Gibbs construction or the Maxwell construction to take into account uncertainties by finite-size effects. We find that the pure quark phase does not appear in stable star cores in all cases.more » With the phase transition, the maximum masses increase {approx}10% for high lepton fraction. On the contrary, without the transition, they decrease {approx}10%. We also find that, in the NJL model, the lepton fraction is more important for structures of unstable stars than the temperature. This result is important for many astrophysical phenomena such as the core collapse of massive stars.« less

STOCHASTICITY AND EFFICIENCY IN SIMPLIFIED MODELS OF CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVA EXPLOSIONS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cardall, Christian Y.; Budiardja, Reuben D., E-mail: cardallcy@ornl.gov, E-mail: reubendb@utk.edu

2015-11-01

We present an initial report on 160 simulations of a highly simplified model of the post-bounce core-collapse supernova environment in three spatial dimensions (3D). We set different values of a parameter characterizing the impact of nuclear dissociation at the stalled shock in order to regulate the post-shock fluid velocity, thereby determining the relative importance of convection and the stationary accretion shock instability (SASI). While our convection-dominated runs comport with the paradigmatic notion of a “critical neutrino luminosity” for explosion at a given mass accretion rate (albeit with a nontrivial spread in explosion times just above threshold), the outcomes of ourmore » SASI-dominated runs are much more stochastic: a sharp threshold critical luminosity is “smeared out” into a rising probability of explosion over a ∼20% range of luminosity. We also find that the SASI-dominated models are able to explode with 3–4 times less efficient neutrino heating, indicating that progenitor properties, and fluid and neutrino microphysics, conducive to the SASI would make the neutrino-driven explosion mechanism more robust.« less

Approximate symmetries in atomic nuclei from a large-scale shell-model perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Launey, K. D.; Draayer, J. P.; Dytrych, T.; Sun, G.-H.; Dong, S.-H.

2015-05-01

In this paper, we review recent developments that aim to achieve further understanding of the structure of atomic nuclei, by capitalizing on exact symmetries as well as approximate symmetries found to dominate low-lying nuclear states. The findings confirm the essential role played by the Sp(3, ℝ) symplectic symmetry to inform the interaction and the relevant model spaces in nuclear modeling. The significance of the Sp(3, ℝ) symmetry for a description of a quantum system of strongly interacting particles naturally emerges from the physical relevance of its generators, which directly relate to particle momentum and position coordinates, and represent important observables, such as, the many-particle kinetic energy, the monopole operator, the quadrupole moment and the angular momentum. We show that it is imperative that shell-model spaces be expanded well beyond the current limits to accommodate particle excitations that appear critical to enhanced collectivity in heavier systems and to highly-deformed spatial structures, exemplified by the second 0+ state in 12C (the challenging Hoyle state) and 8Be. While such states are presently inaccessible by large-scale no-core shell models, symmetry-based considerations are found to be essential.

Experimental constraints on the sound velocities of cementite Fe3C to core pressures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Bin; Lai, Xiaojing; Li, Jie; Liu, Jiachao; Zhao, Jiyong; Bi, Wenli; Ercan Alp, E.; Hu, Michael Y.; Xiao, Yuming

2018-07-01

Sound velocities of cementite Fe3C have been measured up to 1.5 Mbar and at 300 K in a diamond anvil cell using the nuclear resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (NRIXS) technique. From the partial phonon density of states (pDOS) and equation of state (EOS) of Fe3C, we derived its elastic parameters including shear modulus, compressional (VP) and shear-wave (VS) velocities to core pressures. A pressure-induced spin-pairing transition in the powdered Fe3C sample was found to occur gradually between 10 and 50 GPa by the X-ray Emission Spectroscopy (XES) measurements. Following the completion of the spin-pairing transition, the VP and VS of low-spin Fe3C increased with pressure at a markedly lower rate than its high-spin counterpart. Our results suggest that the incorporation of carbon in solid iron to form iron carbide phases, Fe3C and Fe7C3, could effectively lower the VS but respectively raise the Poisson's ratio by 0.05 and 0.07 to approach the seismically observed values for the Earth's inner core. The comparison with the preliminary reference Earth model (PREM) implies that an inner core composition containing iron and its carbon-rich alloys can satisfactorily explain the observed seismic properties of the inner core.

Impact of the High Flux Isotope Reactor HEU to LEU Fuel Conversion on Cold Source Nuclear Heat Generation Rates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chandler, David

2014-03-01

Under the sponsorship of the US Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration, staff members at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been conducting studies to determine whether the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) can be converted from high enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. As part of these ongoing studies, an assessment of the impact that the HEU to LEU fuel conversion has on the nuclear heat generation rates in regions of the HFIR cold source system and its moderator vessel was performed and is documented in this report. Silicon production rates in the coldmore » source aluminum regions and few-group neutron fluxes in the cold source moderator were also estimated. Neutronics calculations were performed with the Monte Carlo N-Particle code to determine the nuclear heat generation rates in regions of the HFIR cold source and its vessel for the HEU core operating at a full reactor power (FP) of 85 MW(t) and the reference LEU core operating at an FP of 100 MW(t). Calculations were performed with beginning-of-cycle (BOC) and end-of-cycle (EOC) conditions to bound typical irradiation conditions. Average specific BOC heat generation rates of 12.76 and 12.92 W/g, respectively, were calculated for the hemispherical region of the cold source liquid hydrogen (LH2) for the HEU and LEU cores, and EOC heat generation rates of 13.25 and 12.86 W/g, respectively, were calculated for the HEU and LEU cores. Thus, the greatest heat generation rates were calculated for the EOC HEU core, and it is concluded that the conversion from HEU to LEU fuel and the resulting increase of FP from 85 MW to 100 MW will not impact the ability of the heat removal equipment to remove the heat deposited in the cold source system. Silicon production rates in the cold source aluminum regions are estimated to be about 12.0% greater at BOC and 2.7% greater at EOC for the LEU core in comparison to the HEU core. Silicon is aluminum s major transmutation product and affects mechanical properties of aluminum including density, neutron irradiation hardening, swelling, and loss of ductility. Because slightly greater quantities of silicon will be produced in the cold source moderator vessel for the LEU core, these effects will be slightly greater for the LEU core than for the HEU core. Three-group (thermal, epithermal, and fast) neutron flux results tallied in the cold source LH2 hemisphere show greater values for the LEU core under both BOC and EOC conditions. The thermal neutron flux in the LH2 hemisphere for the LEU core is about 12.4% greater at BOC and 2.7% greater at EOC than for the HEU core. Therefore, cold neutron scattering will not be adversely affected and the 4 12 neutrons conveyed to the cold neutron guide hall for research applications will be enhanced.« less

Innovative nuclear thermal propulsion technology evaluation - Results of the NASA/DOE task team study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howe, Steven D.; Borowski, Stanley; Motloch, Chet; Helms, Ira; Diaz, Nils; Anghaie, Samim; Latham, Thomas

1991-01-01

In response to findings from two NASA/DOE nuclear propulsion workshops, six task teams were created to continue evaluation of various propulsion concepts, from which evolved an innovative concepts subpanel to evaluate thermal propulsion concepts which did not utilize solid fuel. This subpanel endeavored to evaluate each concept on a level technology basis, and to identify critical issues, technologies, and early proof-of-concept experiments. Results of the concept studies including the liquid core fission, the gas core fission, the fission foil reactors, explosively driven systems, fusion, and antimatter are presented.

Satellite nuclear power station: An engineering analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, J. R.; Clement, J. D.; Rosa, R. J.; Kirby, K. D.; Yang, Y. Y.

1973-01-01

A nuclear-MHD power plant system which uses a compact non-breeder reactor to produce power in the multimegawatt range is analyzed. It is shown that, operated in synchronous orbit, the plant would transmit power safely to the ground by a microwave beam. Fuel reprocessing would take place in space, and no radioactive material would be returned to earth. Even the effect of a disastrous accident would have negligible effect on earth. A hydrogen moderated gas core reactor, or a colloid-core, or NERVA type reactor could also be used. The system is shown to approach closely the ideal of economical power without pollution.

BOLD VENTURE COMPUTATION SYSTEM for nuclear reactor core analysis, Version III

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vondy, D.R.; Fowler, T.B.; Cunningham, G.W. III.

1981-06-01

This report is a condensed documentation for VERSION III of the BOLD VENTURE COMPUTATION SYSTEM for nuclear reactor core analysis. An experienced analyst should be able to use this system routinely for solving problems by referring to this document. Individual reports must be referenced for details. This report covers basic input instructions and describes recent extensions to the modules as well as to the interface data file specifications. Some application considerations are discussed and an elaborate sample problem is used as an instruction aid. Instructions for creating the system on IBM computers are also given.

Analysis of closed cycle megawatt class space power systems with nuclear reactor heat sources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Juhasz, A. J.; Jones, B. I.

1987-01-01

The analysis and integration studies of multimegawatt nuclear power conversion systems for potential SDI applications is presented. A study is summarized which considered 3 separate types of power conversion systems for steady state power generation with a duty requirement of 1 yr at full power. The systems considered are based on the following conversion cycles: direct and indirect Brayton gas turbine, direct and indirect liquid metal Rankine, and in core thermionic. A complete mass analysis was performed for each system at power levels ranging from 1 to 25 MWe for both heat pipe and liquid droplet radiator options. In the modeling of common subsystems, reactor and shield calculations were based on multiparameter correlation and an in-house analysis for the heat rejection and other subsystems.

Low-energy (anti)neutrino physics with Borexino: Neutrinos from the primary proton-proton fusion process in the Sun

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosteiro, P.; Bellini, G.; Benziger, J.; Bick, D.; Bonfini, G.; Bravo, D.; Caccianiga, B.; Cadonati, L.; Calaprice, F.; Caminata, A.; Cavalcante, P.; Chavarría, Á.; Chepurnov, A.; D'Angelo, D.; Davini, S.; Derbin, A.; Empl, A.; Etenko, A.; Fomenko, K.; Franco, D.; Gabriele, F.; Galbiati, C.; Gazzana, S.; Ghiano, C.; Giammarchi, M.; Göger-Neff, M.; Goretti, A.; Gromov, M.; Hagner, C.; Hungerford, E.; Ianni, Al.; Ianni, An.; Kobychev, V.; Korablëv, D.; Korga, G.; Kryn, D.; Laubenstein, M.; Lehnert, B.; Lewke, T.; Litvinovich, E.; Lombardi, F.; Lombardi, P.; Ludhova, L.; Lukyanchenko, G.; Machulin, I.; Manecki, S.; Maneschg, W.; Marcocci, S.; Meindl, Q.; Meroni, E.; Meyer, M.; Miramonti, L.; Misiaszek, M.; Montuschi, M.; Muratova, V.; Oberauer, L.; Obolensky, M.; Ortica, F.; Otis, K.; Pallavicini, M.; Papp, L.; Perasso, L.; Pocar, A.; Ranucci, G.; Razeto, A.; Re, A.; Romani, A.; Rossi, N.; Saldanha, R.; Salvo, C.; Schönert, S.; Simgen, H.; Skorokhvatov, M.; Smirnov, O.; Sotnikov, A.; Sukhotin, S.; Suvorov, Y.; Tartaglia, R.; Testera, G.; Vignaud, D.; Vogelaar, R. B.; von Feilitzsch, F.; Wang, H.; Winter, J.; Wojcik, M.; Wright, A.; Wurm, M.; Zaimidoroga, O.; Zavatarelli, S.; Zuber, K.; Zuzel, G.

2015-08-01

The Sun is fueled by a series of nuclear reactions that produce the energy that makes it shine. The primary reaction is the fusion of two protons into a deuteron, a positron and a neutrino. These neutrinos constitute the vast majority of neutrinos reaching Earth, providing us with key information about what goes on at the core of our star. Several experiments have now confirmed the observation of neutrino oscillations by detecting neutrinos from secondary nuclear processes in the Sun; this is the first direct spectral measurement of the neutrinos from the keystone proton-proton fusion. This observation is a crucial step towards the completion of the spectroscopy of pp-chain neutrinos, as well as further validation of the LMA-MSW model of neutrino oscillations.

Heat Transfer in Pebble-Bed Nuclear Reactor Cores Cooled by Fluoride Salts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huddar, Lakshana Ravindranath

With electricity demand predicted to rise by more than 50% within the next 20 years and a burgeoning world population requiring reliable emissions-free base-load electricity, can we design advanced nuclear reactors to help meet this challenge? At the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) Fluoride-salt-cooled High Temperature Reactors (FHR) are currently being investigated. FHRs are designed with better safety and economic characteristics than conventional light water reactors (LWR) currently in operation. These reactors operate at high temperature and low pressure making them more efficient and safer than LWRs. The pebble-bed FHR (PB-FHR) variant includes an annular nuclear reactor core that is filled with randomly packed pebble fuel. It is crucial to characterize the heat transfer within this unique geometry as this informs the safety limits of the reactor. The work presented in this dissertation focused on furthering the understanding of heat transfer in pebble-bed nuclear reactor cores using fluoride salts as a coolant. This was done through experimental, analytical and computational techniques. A complex nuclear system with a coolant that has never previously been in commercial use requires experimental data that can directly inform aspects of its design. It is important to isolate heat transfer phenomena in order to understand the underlying physics in the context of the PB-FHR, as well as to make decisions about further experimental work that needs to be done in support of developing the PB-FHR. Certain organic oils can simulate the heat transfer behaviour of the fluoride salt if relevant non-dimensional parameters are matched. The advantage of this method is that experiments can be done at a much lower temperature and at a smaller geometric scale compared to FHRs, thereby lowering costs. In this dissertation, experiments were designed and performed to collect data demonstrating similitude. The limitations of these experiments were also elucidated by underlining key distortions between the experimental and the prototypical conditions. This dissertation is broadly split into four parts. Firstly, the heat transfer phenomenology in the PB-FHR core was outlined. Although the viscous dissipation term and the thermal diffusion term (including thermal dispersion) were similar in magnitude, they were overshadowed by the advection term which was about 104 times bigger during normal operation and 105 times bigger during accident transients in which natural circulation becomes the main mode of fluid flow. Thus it is safe to neglect the viscous dissipation and the thermal diffusion terms in the PB-FHR core without a significant loss of accuracy. Secondly, separate effects tests (SET) were performed using simulant oils, and the results were compared to the prototypical conditions using flinak as the fluoride salt. The main purpose of these experiments was to study natural convection heat transfer and identify any distortions between the two cases. An isolated copper sphere was immersed in flinak and a parallel experiment was performed using simulant oil. A large discrepancy between the flinak and the oil was noted, due to distortions from assuming quasi-steady state conditions. A steady state experiment using a cylindrical heater immersed in oil was also performed, and the results compared to a similar experiment done at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) using flinak. The Nusselt numbers matched within 10% for laminar flows. This supports the conclusion that natural convection similitude does exist for oils used in scaled experiments, allowing natural convection data to be used for for FHR and MSR modeling. This is important, due to the lack of significant experimental data showing natural convection in fluoride salts, so these SETs add to the overall understanding of their heat transfer properties. With the knowledge of the distortions between the oil and the salt, an experiment to measure heat transfer coefficients within a pebble-bed test section was designed, constructed and performed. Oil was pumped through a test section filled with randomly packed copper spheres. The temperature of the oil was pulsed at a constant frequency, which caused a temperature difference between the pebbles and the oil. An excellent match was found between the measured heat transfer coefficients and the literature. This data provides an essential closure parameter for multiphysics modeling of the PB-FHR. Using frequency response techniques in scaled experiments is an innovative approach for extracting dynamic responses to coolant-structure interactions. Finally, an integrated model of the passive decay heat removal system was presented using Flownex and the simulations compared to experimental data. A good match was found with the data, which was within 14%. The work presented in this dissertation shows fundamental details on heat transfer in the PB-FHR core using experimental data and simulations, leading us closer to developing advanced nuclear reactors that can later be commercialized. Advanced nuclear reactors such as the PB-FHR have immense potential in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change while being exceedingly safe and providing reliable electricity.

Qualification of CASMO5 / SIMULATE-3K against the SPERT-III E-core cold start-up experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Grandi, G.; Moberg, L.

SIMULATE-3K is a three-dimensional kinetic code applicable to LWR Reactivity Initiated Accidents. S3K has been used to calculate several international recognized benchmarks. However, the feedback models in the benchmark exercises are different from the feedback models that SIMULATE-3K uses for LWR reactors. For this reason, it is worth comparing the SIMULATE-3K capabilities for Reactivity Initiated Accidents against kinetic experiments. The Special Power Excursion Reactor Test III was a pressurized-water, nuclear-research facility constructed to analyze the reactor kinetic behavior under initial conditions similar to those of commercial LWRs. The SPERT III E-core resembles a PWR in terms of fuel type, moderator,more » coolant flow rate, and system pressure. The initial test conditions (power, core flow, system pressure, core inlet temperature) are representative of cold start-up, hot start-up, hot standby, and hot full power. The qualification of S3K against the SPERT III E-core measurements is an ongoing work at Studsvik. In this paper, the results for the 30 cold start-up tests are presented. The results show good agreement with the experiments for the reactivity initiated accident main parameters: peak power, energy release and compensated reactivity. Predicted and measured peak powers differ at most by 13%. Measured and predicted reactivity compensations at the time of the peak power differ less than 0.01 $. Predicted and measured energy release differ at most by 13%. All differences are within the experimental uncertainty. (authors)« less

Effects of hepatitis C virus core protein and nonstructural protein 4B on the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

PubMed

Jiang, Xiao-Hua; Xie, Yu-Tao; Cai, Ya-Ping; Ren, Jing; Ma, Tao

2017-05-25

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) core protein and nonstructural protein 4B (NS4B) are potentially oncogenic. Aberrant activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway is closely associated with hepatocarcinogenesis. We investigated the effects of HCV type 1b core protein and NS4B on Wnt/β-catenin signaling in various liver cells, and explored the molecular mechanism underlying HCV-related hepatocarcinogenesis. Compared with the empty vector control, HCV core protein and NS4B demonstrated the following characteristics in the Huh7 cells: significantly enhanced β-catenin/Tcf-dependent transcriptional activity (F = 40.87, P < 0.01); increased nuclear translocation of β-catenin (F = 165.26, P < 0.01); upregulated nuclear β-catenin, cytoplasmic β-catenin, Wnt1, c-myc, and cyclin D1 protein expression (P < 0.01); and promoted proliferation of Huh7 cells (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). Neither protein enhanced β-catenin/Tcf-dependent transcriptional activity in the LO2 cells (F = 0.65, P > 0.05), but they did significantly enhance Wnt3a-induced β-catenin/Tcf-dependent transcriptional activity (F = 64.25, P < 0.01), and promoted the nuclear translocation of β-catenin (F = 66.54, P < 0.01) and the Wnt3a-induced proliferation of LO2 cells (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). Moreover, activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was greater with the core protein than with NS4B (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05). HCV core protein and NS4B directly activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in Huh7 cells and LO2 cells induced by Wnt3a. These data suggest that HCV core protein and NS4B contribute to HCV-associated hepatocellular carcinogenesis.

AGC-2 Irradiation Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rohrbaugh, David Thomas; Windes, William; Swank, W. David

The Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) will be a helium-cooled, very high temperature reactor (VHTR) with a large graphite core. In past applications, graphite has been used effectively as a structural and moderator material in both research and commercial high temperature gas cooled reactor (HTGR) designs.[ , ] Nuclear graphite H 451, used previously in the United States for nuclear reactor graphite components, is no longer available. New nuclear graphites have been developed and are considered suitable candidates for the new NGNP reactor design. To support the design and licensing of NGNP core components within a commercial reactor, a completemore » properties database must be developed for these current grades of graphite. Quantitative data on in service material performance are required for the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of each graphite grade with a specific emphasis on data related to the life limiting effects of irradiation creep on key physical properties of the NGNP candidate graphites. Based on experience with previous graphite core components, the phenomenon of irradiation induced creep within the graphite has been shown to be critical to the total useful lifetime of graphite components. Irradiation induced creep occurs under the simultaneous application of high temperatures, neutron irradiation, and applied stresses within the graphite components. Significant internal stresses within the graphite components can result from a second phenomenon—irradiation induced dimensional change. In this case, the graphite physically changes i.e., first shrinking and then expanding with increasing neutron dose. This disparity in material volume change can induce significant internal stresses within graphite components. Irradiation induced creep relaxes these large internal stresses, thus reducing the risk of crack formation and component failure. Obviously, higher irradiation creep levels tend to relieve more internal stress, thus allowing the components longer useful lifetimes within the core. Determining the irradiation creep rates of nuclear grade graphites is critical for determining the useful lifetime of graphite components and is a major component of the Advanced Graphite Creep (AGC) experiment.« less

Experimental investigations of heat transfer and temperature fields in models simulating fuel assemblies used in the core of a nuclear reactor with a liquid heavy-metal coolant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belyaev, I. A.; Genin, L. G.; Krylov, S. G.; Novikov, A. O.; Razuvanov, N. G.; Sviridov, V. G.

2015-09-01

The aim of this experimental investigation is to obtain information on the temperature fields and heat transfer coefficients during flow of liquid-metal coolant in models simulating an elementary cell in the core of a liquid heavy metal cooled fast-neutron reactor. Two design versions for spacing fuel rods in the reactor core were considered. In the first version, the fuel rods were spaced apart from one another using helical wire wound on the fuel rod external surface, and in the second version spacer grids were used for the same purpose. The experiments were carried out on the mercury loop available at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute National Research University's Chair of Engineering Thermal Physics. Two experimental sections simulating an elementary cell for each of the fuel rod spacing versions were fabricated. The temperature fields were investigated using a dedicated hinged probe that allows temperature to be measured at any point of the studied channel cross section. The heat-transfer coefficients were determined using the wall temperature values obtained at the moment when the probe thermocouple tail end touched the channel wall. Such method of determining the wall temperature makes it possible to alleviate errors that are unavoidable in case of measuring the wall temperature using thermocouples placed in slots milled in the wall. In carrying out the experiments, an automated system of scientific research was applied, which allows a large body of data to be obtained within a short period of time. The experimental investigations in the first test section were carried out at Re = 8700, and in the second one, at five values of Reynolds number. Information about temperature fields was obtained by statistically processing the array of sampled probe thermocouple indications at 300 points in the experimental channel cross section. Reach material has been obtained for verifying the codes used for calculating velocity and temperature fields in channels with an intricately shaped cross section simulating the flow pass sections for liquid-metal coolants cooling the core of nuclear reactors.

LINC Complexes Form by Binding of Three KASH Peptides to Domain Interfaces of Trimeric SUN Proteins

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sosa, Brian A.; Rothballer, Andrea; Kutay, Ulrike

Linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complexes span the nuclear envelope and are composed of KASH and SUN proteins residing in the outer and inner nuclear membrane, respectively. LINC formation relies on direct binding of KASH and SUN in the perinuclear space. Thereby, molecular tethers are formed that can transmit forces for chromosome movements, nuclear migration, and anchorage. We present crystal structures of the human SUN2-KASH1/2 complex, the core of the LINC complex. The SUN2 domain is rigidly attached to a trimeric coiled coil that prepositions it to bind three KASH peptides. The peptides bind in three deep and expansivemore » grooves formed between adjacent SUN domains, effectively acting as molecular glue. In addition, a disulfide between conserved cysteines on SUN and KASH covalently links both proteins. The structure provides the basis of LINC complex formation and suggests a model for how LINC complexes might arrange into higher-order clusters to enhance force-coupling.« less

Radial blanket assembly orificing arrangement

DOEpatents

Patterson, J.F.

1975-07-01

A nuclear reactor core for a liquid metal cooled fast breeder reactor is described in which means are provided for increasing the coolant flow through the reactor fuel assemblies as the reactor ages by varying the coolant flow rate with the changing coolant requirements during the core operating lifetime. (auth)

Nuclear equation of state for core-collapse supernova simulations with realistic nuclear forces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Togashi, H.; Nakazato, K.; Takehara, Y.; Yamamuro, S.; Suzuki, H.; Takano, M.

2017-05-01

A new table of the nuclear equation of state (EOS) based on realistic nuclear potentials is constructed for core-collapse supernova numerical simulations. Adopting the EOS of uniform nuclear matter constructed by two of the present authors with the cluster variational method starting from the Argonne v18 and Urbana IX nuclear potentials, the Thomas-Fermi calculation is performed to obtain the minimized free energy of a Wigner-Seitz cell in non-uniform nuclear matter. As a preparation for the Thomas-Fermi calculation, the EOS of uniform nuclear matter is modified so as to remove the effects of deuteron cluster formation in uniform matter at low densities. Mixing of alpha particles is also taken into account following the procedure used by Shen et al. (1998, 2011). The critical densities with respect to the phase transition from non-uniform to uniform phase with the present EOS are slightly higher than those with the Shen EOS at small proton fractions. The critical temperature with respect to the liquid-gas phase transition decreases with the proton fraction in a more gradual manner than in the Shen EOS. Furthermore, the mass and proton numbers of nuclides appearing in non-uniform nuclear matter with small proton fractions are larger than those of the Shen EOS. These results are consequences of the fact that the density derivative coefficient of the symmetry energy of our EOS is smaller than that of the Shen EOS.

Foundations of Nuclear Geophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herndon, J. M.; Hollenbach, D. F.

2002-05-01

Herndon suggested that the inner core of the Earth consists, not of partially crystallized iron metal, but of nickel silicide. He has shown by fundamental mass ratios that i) the Earth as a whole, especially the inner 82%, has a state of oxidation like primitive enstatite chondrites, and ii) the lower mantle and core are similar in composition to the Abee enstatite chondrite. By analogy with Abee data, CaS and MgS precipitates from the core are expected to collect at the core-mantle boundary and, significantly, a major fraction of the actinides are expected to precipitate from the core and to collect at the center of the Earth. Herndon demonstrated the feasibility of a nuclear fission reactor at the center of the Earth as the energy source for the geomagnetic field and described a natural mechanism that would lead to variations in energy production and thus variations in the geomagnetic field. Hollenbach and Herndon produced numerical simulations of the operation of the geo-reactor over the lifetime of the Earth using the state-of-the-art, validated, industry standard SCALE code package developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The results clearly demonstrate that such a geo-reactor would i) function as a fast-neutron breeder reactor; ii) under appropriate conditions, operate over the entire period of geologic time; iii) function in such a manner as to yield variable and/or intermittent output; iv) generate energy at levels in the range generally accepted by the geophysics community; and, v) produce He-3 and He-4 in ratios that are in the range observed from deep-mantle sources. Deep-source He-3, the authors submit, is evidence of in-core sustained nuclear fission, rather than the out-gassing of primordial He-3; which in turn is evidence of large amounts of uranium residing in the Earth's core; which in turn is evidence that the core has a state of oxidation like the corresponding matter in primitive enstatite chondrites. The factors affecting He-3/He-4 ratios, their causes and implications, will be discussed in the presentation. Also, the current state of investigations into additional deep-Earth nuclear fission signatures will be presented. References: J. M. Herndon, Proc. R. Roc. London, Ser. A, 368 (1979) 495; J. Geomagn. Geoelectr. 45 (1993) 423; Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 445 (1994) 453; Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. (USA) 93 (1996) 646. Hollenbach, D. F. and J. M. Herndon, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. (USA) 98 (2001) 11085.

Deterministic Modeling of the High Temperature Test Reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ortensi, J.; Cogliati, J. J.; Pope, M. A.

2010-06-01

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is tasked with the development of reactor physics analysis capability of the Next Generation Nuclear Power (NGNP) project. In order to examine INL’s current prismatic reactor deterministic analysis tools, the project is conducting a benchmark exercise based on modeling the High Temperature Test Reactor (HTTR). This exercise entails the development of a model for the initial criticality, a 19 column thin annular core, and the fully loaded core critical condition with 30 columns. Special emphasis is devoted to the annular core modeling, which shares more characteristics with the NGNP base design. The DRAGON code is usedmore » in this study because it offers significant ease and versatility in modeling prismatic designs. Despite some geometric limitations, the code performs quite well compared to other lattice physics codes. DRAGON can generate transport solutions via collision probability (CP), method of characteristics (MOC), and discrete ordinates (Sn). A fine group cross section library based on the SHEM 281 energy structure is used in the DRAGON calculations. HEXPEDITE is the hexagonal z full core solver used in this study and is based on the Green’s Function solution of the transverse integrated equations. In addition, two Monte Carlo (MC) based codes, MCNP5 and PSG2/SERPENT, provide benchmarking capability for the DRAGON and the nodal diffusion solver codes. The results from this study show a consistent bias of 2–3% for the core multiplication factor. This systematic error has also been observed in other HTTR benchmark efforts and is well documented in the literature. The ENDF/B VII graphite and U235 cross sections appear to be the main source of the error. The isothermal temperature coefficients calculated with the fully loaded core configuration agree well with other benchmark participants but are 40% higher than the experimental values. This discrepancy with the measurement stems from the fact that during the experiments the control rods were adjusted to maintain criticality, whereas in the model, the rod positions were fixed. In addition, this work includes a brief study of a cross section generation approach that seeks to decouple the domain in order to account for neighbor effects. This spectral interpenetration is a dominant effect in annular HTR physics. This analysis methodology should be further explored in order to reduce the error that is systematically propagated in the traditional generation of cross sections.« less

Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of Plutonium and Cesium Isotopes in Modeling of BR3 Reactor Spent Fuel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Conant, Andrew; Erickson, Anna; Robel, Martin

Nuclear forensics has a broad task to characterize recovered nuclear or radiological material and interpret the results of investigation. One approach to isotopic characterization of nuclear material obtained from a reactor is to chemically separate and perform isotopic measurements on the sample and verify the results with modeling of the sample history, for example, operation of a nuclear reactor. The major actinide plutonium and fission product cesium are commonly measured signatures of the fuel history in a reactor core. This study investigates the uncertainty of the plutonium and cesium isotope ratios of a fuel rod discharged from a research pressurizedmore » water reactor when the location of the sample is not known a priori. A sensitivity analysis showed overpredicted values for the 240Pu/ 239Pu ratio toward the axial center of the rod and revealed a lower probability of the rod of interest (ROI) being on the periphery of the assembly. The uncertainty analysis found the relative errors due to only the rod position and boron concentration to be 17% to 36% and 7% to 15% for the 240Pu/ 239Pu and 137Cs/ 135Cs ratios, respectively. Lastly, this study provides a method for uncertainty quantification of isotope concentrations due to the location of the ROI. Similar analyses can be performed to verify future chemical and isotopic analyses.« less

Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of Plutonium and Cesium Isotopes in Modeling of BR3 Reactor Spent Fuel

DOE PAGES

Conant, Andrew; Erickson, Anna; Robel, Martin; ...

2017-02-03

Nuclear forensics has a broad task to characterize recovered nuclear or radiological material and interpret the results of investigation. One approach to isotopic characterization of nuclear material obtained from a reactor is to chemically separate and perform isotopic measurements on the sample and verify the results with modeling of the sample history, for example, operation of a nuclear reactor. The major actinide plutonium and fission product cesium are commonly measured signatures of the fuel history in a reactor core. This study investigates the uncertainty of the plutonium and cesium isotope ratios of a fuel rod discharged from a research pressurizedmore » water reactor when the location of the sample is not known a priori. A sensitivity analysis showed overpredicted values for the 240Pu/ 239Pu ratio toward the axial center of the rod and revealed a lower probability of the rod of interest (ROI) being on the periphery of the assembly. The uncertainty analysis found the relative errors due to only the rod position and boron concentration to be 17% to 36% and 7% to 15% for the 240Pu/ 239Pu and 137Cs/ 135Cs ratios, respectively. Lastly, this study provides a method for uncertainty quantification of isotope concentrations due to the location of the ROI. Similar analyses can be performed to verify future chemical and isotopic analyses.« less

Design requirements for innovative homogeneous reactor, lesson learned from Fukushima accident

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arbie, Bakri; Pinem, Suryan; Sembiring, Tagor; Subki, Iyos

2012-06-01

The Fukushima disaster is the largest nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, but it is more complex as multiple reactors and spent fuel pools are involved. The severity of the nuclear accident is rated 7 in the International Nuclear Events Scale. Expert said that "Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind". According to Mitsuru Obe, in The Wall Street Journal, May 16th of 2011, TEPCO estimates the nuclear fuel was exposed to the air less than five hours after the earthquake struck. Fuel rods melted away rapidly as the temperatures inside the core reached 2800 C within six hours. In less than 16 hours, the reactor core melted and dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel. The information should be evaluated in detail. In Germany several nuclear power plant were shutdown, Italy postponed it's nuclear power program and China reviewed their nuclear power program. Different news come from Britain, in October 11, 2011, the Safety Committee said all clear for nuclear power in Britain, because there are no risk of strong earthquake and tsunami in the region. Due to this severe fact, many nuclear scientists and engineer from all over the world are looking for a new approach, such as homogeneous reactor which was developed in Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1960-ies, during Dr. Alvin Weinberg tenure as the Director of ORNL. The paper will describe the design requirement that will be used as the basis for innovative homogeneous reactor. Innovative Homogeneous Reactor is expected to reduce core melt by two decades (4), since the fuel is intermix homogeneously with coolant and secondly we eliminate the used fuel rod which need to be cooled for a long period of time. In order to be successful for its implementation of the innovative system, testing and validation, three phases of development will be introduced. The first phase is Low Level Goals is really the proof of concept;the Medium Level Goal is Technical Goalsand the High Level Goals which is Business Goals.

Benchmark gas core critical experiment.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kunze, J. F.; Lofthouse, J. H.; Cooper, C. G.; Hyland, R. E.

1972-01-01

A critical experiment with spherical symmetry has been conducted on the gas core nuclear reactor concept. The nonspherical perturbations in the experiment were evaluated experimentally and produce corrections to the observed eigenvalue of approximately 1% delta k. The reactor consisted of a low density, central uranium hexafluoride gaseous core, surrounded by an annulus of void or low density hydrocarbon, which in turn was surrounded with a 97-cm-thick heavy water reflector.