Engineering topics

Nichols, T

Publications and source records attributed to Nichols, T.

4 records

DOE OSTI2011

REACTOR PHYSICS MODELING OF SPENT RESEARCH REACTOR FUEL FOR TECHNICAL NUCLEAR FORENSICS

Technical nuclear forensics (TNF) refers to the collection, analysis and evaluation of pre- and post-detonation radiological or nuclear materials, devices, and/or debris. TNF is an integral component, complementing traditional forensics and investigative work, to help enable the attribution of discovered radiological or nuclear material. Research is needed to improve the capabilities of TNF. One research area of interest is determining the isotopic signatures of research reactors. Research reactors are a potential source of both radiological and nuclear material. Research reactors are often the least safeguarded type of reactor; they vary greatly in size, fuel type, enrichment, power, and burn-up. Many research reactors are fueled with highly-enriched uranium (HEU), up to {approx}93% {sup 235}U, which could potentially be used as weapons material. All of them have significant amounts of radiological material with which a radioactive dispersal device (RDD) could be built. Therefore, the ability to attribute if material originated from or was produced in a specific research reactor is an important tool in providing for the security of the United States. Currently there are approximately 237 operating research reactors worldwide, another 12 are in temporary shutdown and 224 research reactors are reported as shut down. Little is currently known about the isotopic signatures of spent research reactor fuel. An effort is underway at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to analyze spent research reactor fuel to determine these signatures. Computer models, using reactor physics codes, are being compared to the measured analytes in the spent fuel. This allows for improving the reactor physics codes in modeling research reactors for the purpose of nuclear forensics. Currently the Oak Ridge Research reactor (ORR) is being modeled and fuel samples are being analyzed for comparison. Samples of an ORR spent fuel assembly were taken by SRNL for analytical and radiochemical analysis. The fuel assembly was modeled using MONTEBURNS(MCNP5/ ORIGEN2.2) and MCNPX/CINDER90. The results from the models have been compared to each other and to the measured data.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2011

MONTE-CARLO BURNUP CALCULATION UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION AND PROPAGATION DETERMINATION

Reactor burnup or depletion codes are used thoroughly in the fields of nuclear forensics and nuclear safeguards. Two common codes include MONTEBURNS and MCNPX/CINDER. These are Monte-Carlo depletion routines utilizing MCNP for neutron transport calculations and either ORIGEN or CINDER for burnup calculations. Uncertainties exist in the MCNP steps, but this information is not passed to the depletion calculations or saved. To quantify this transport uncertainty and determine how it propagates between burnup steps, a statistical analysis of multiple repeated depletion runs is performed. The reactor model chosen is the Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORR) in a single assembly, infinite lattice configuration. This model was burned for a 150 day cycle broken down into three steps. The output isotopics as well as effective multiplication factor (k-effective) were tabulated and histograms were created at each burnup step using the Scott Method to determine the bin width. The distributions for each code are a statistical benchmark and comparisons made. It was expected that the gram quantities and k-effective histograms would produce normally distributed results since they were produced from a Monte-Carlo routine, but some of the results appear to not. Statistical analyses are performed using the {chi}{sup 2} test against a normal distribution for the k-effective results and several isotopes including {sup 134}Cs, {sup 137}Cs, {sup 235}U, {sup 238}U, {sup 237}Np, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239}Pu, and {sup 240}Pu.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2011

MONTE-CARLO BURNUP CALCULATION UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION AND PROPAGATION DETERMINATION

MONTEBURNS is a Monte-Carlo depletion routine utilizing MCNP and ORIGEN 2.2. Uncertainties exist in the MCNP transport calculation, but this information is not passed to the depletion calculation in ORIGEN or saved. To quantify this transport uncertainty and determine how it propagates between burnup steps, a statistical analysis of a multiple repeated depletion runs is performed. The reactor model chosen is the Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORR) in a single assembly, infinite lattice configuration. This model was burned for a 25.5 day cycle broken down into three steps. The output isotopics as well as effective multiplication factor (k-effective) were tabulated and histograms were created at each burnup step using the Scott Method to determine the bin width. It was expected that the gram quantities and k-effective histograms would produce normally distributed results since they were produced from a Monte-Carlo routine, but some of results do not. The standard deviation at each burnup step was consistent between fission product isotopes as expected, while the uranium isotopes created some unique results. The variation in the quantity of uranium was small enough that, from the reaction rate MCNP tally, round off error occurred producing a set of repeated results with slight variation. Statistical analyses were performed using the {chi}{sup 2} test against a normal distribution for several isotopes and the k-effective results. While the isotopes failed to reject the null hypothesis of being normally distributed, the {chi}{sup 2} statistic grew through the steps in the k-effective test. The null hypothesis was rejected in the later steps. These results suggest, for a high accuracy solution, MCNP cell material quantities less than 100 grams and greater kcode parameters are needed to minimize uncertainty propagation and minimize round off effects.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2011

NUCLEAR FORENSICS ANALYSIS CENTER FORENSIC ANALYSIS TO DATA INTERPRETATION

The Nuclear Forensics Analysis Center (NFAC) is part of Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and is one of only two USG National Laboratories accredited to perform nuclear forensic analyses to the requirements of ISO 17025. SRNL NFAC is capable of analyzing nuclear and radiological samples from bulk material to ultra-trace samples. NFAC provides analytical support to the FBI's Radiological Evidence Examination Facility (REEF), which is located within SRNL. REEF gives the FBI the capability to perform traditional forensics on material that is radiological and/or is contaminated. SRNL is engaged in research and development efforts to improve the USG technical nuclear forensics capabilities. Research includes improving predictive signatures and developing a database containing comparative samples.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗