Fuel loading patterns which have a minimum power peak are
economically desirable to allow power reactors to operate at the highest
possible power density and to minimize the possibility of fuel
failure. A computer code called SHUFLE was developed for pressurized
water reactors which shuffles the fuel in search of...
This report presents a refined method for the calculation of fuel centerline temperatures and the linear-heat-rating-to-incipient melting, ' Q'[subscript m], of mixed-oxide fuel typical of that to be used in the Fast Flux Test Facility and in Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors. Of primary concern are the effects of the...
Large digital computer reactor fuel performance codes
perform repeated calculations of temperature profiles
during transients. The thermal response is required to
calculate the mechanical behavior. This mechanical
response in turn feeds back to the thermal calculations
through mechanisms such as fuel swelling or shrinking,
causing changes in the fuel-clad gap...
The establishment of any thermal model of reactor fuel
requires a thorough understanding of the behavior of the
thermal conductivity. This is especially true in the case
of sphere pac fuels where the conductivity is a function
of many variables beyond those normally affecting conventional
fuels. One of these variables,...
The use of advanced concepts can make the nuclear fuel
cycle more efficient by allowing pins to be operated at
high powers and to higher burnups. Among the more
promising concepts in advanced fuels is sphere pac fuel.
In a first attempt to bring together models describing
individual phenomena, the...
The design, development, and utilization of a direct shear test
apparatus is presented in this thesis. The effectiveness of the
device for determining the friction angle stress state parameter is
studied. Two materials, alumina and uranium dioxide, were tested.
Alumina microspheres were employed in the initial experiments
to simulate the...
A large, multi-year experimental program has been conducted to develop a strain gaging program for application to the flow testing of prototypic, plate-type fuel for high performance research reactors. This test program has resulted in the selection of appropriate strain gage construction, adhesives, and protective coatings to allow the
acquisition...
A study has been made to investigate the fuel-cladding
mechanical interaction (FCMI) in sphere pac fuels.
An FCMI simulation has been constructed using the JVG
Apparatus. This model has been used to investigate the
mechanical interaction between a sphere pac bed and a
cladding wall in terms of the cladding...
The Oregon State University (OSU), Hydro Mechanical Fuel test Facility (HMFTF) is designed to hydro-mechanically test prototypical plate type fuel. OSU's fuel test program is a part of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), formerly known as the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor program. One of the GTRI's...
High-energy delayed γ-rays from photofission were demonstrated to be signatures for detection and identification of special nuclear materials. Such γ-rays were measured in between linac pulses using independent data acquisition systems. A list-mode system was developed to measure low-energy delayed γ-rays after irradiation. Photofission product yields of ²³⁸U and ²³⁹Pu...
In order to properly model the temperature distribution of a nuclear fuel pin, the thermal conductivity
of the fuel must be known. For sphere pac fuel, the
modeling of the conductivity is complicated due to the
fact that the fuel is a collection of spheres in a random packed bed....
Because of the high cost of fuel for nuclear reactors, fuel cycle
costs must be predicted accurately.
This leads to the high cost computer computations and a search for cheaper yet still accurate
methods. For this paper we have chosen to study an alternate
method for calculating thermal neutron cell...
This study focuses on the development of a methodology
to evaluate safeguardability of various processes in the
nuclear fuel cycle.
National and international implementation of safeguards
systems has been investigated. It was concluded that
proliferation is purely a political question that,
hopefully, can be prevented by international norms and
diplomacy;...
Several fuels are being investigated for fast breeder reactor
applications. One promising concept is sphere-pac mixed carbide
fuel. As a part of the development of this fuel concept it is
necessary to determine the behavior of the irradiated fuel for safe
and reliable operation on a sound economic basis. It...
Gadolinium is an important element to the Nuclear Fuel Industry. Two
of the seven naturally occurring isotopes of gadolinium have very large
absorption cross sections for thermal neutrons. The isotopes of
¹⁵⁵
Gd
and
¹⁵⁷ Gd readily absorb thermal neutrons and transmute to
¹⁵⁶
Gd and
¹⁵⁸
Gd which are...
The effect of gadolinia particles on the assembly criticality
of a light water reactor was investigated using two 2-group
models. The particle effect was calculated by comparing the
criticalities of two fuel assemblies, each containing one
gadolinia-poisoned rod. For purposes of comparison, both rods
contained an equal quantity of gadolinia,...