Neutronic Calculations for Certain Americium Mixed Fuels and Clads in a Boiling Water Reactor

Abstract

In this study, a Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) design was made using the Monte Carlo (MCNPX) method. The reactor core in the designed BWR system was divided into an 8 × 8 square lattice with a constant pitch of 30.48 cm. In this study, americium (Am), which is found in the minor actinidine (MA) of spent nuclear fuel known as nuclear waste from existing reactors, was used as fuel with the addition of oxygen and fluorine. In this study, AmO2 and AmF3 fuels at the rate of 0.02–0.1% were used as Americium Mixed Fuels, and Zircaloy-2 (Zr-2), SiC, and VC were used as clad. Neutronic calculations for certain Americium Mixed Fuels and clads were compared in the designed BWR system. In the BWR system designed in the study; keff, neutron flux, fission energy, heating, and depleted Am were calculated. The three-dimensional (3-D) modeling of the designed BWR system was performed by using MCNPX-2.7.0 Monte Carlo method and the ENDF/B-VII.0 nuclear data library.

Expanding the Transuranic Metal–Organic Framework Portfolio: The Optical Properties of Americium(III) MOF-76

“…Americium (Am) has a prominent role in nuclear technologies, not only as a byproduct of nuclear energy production from uranium dioxide fuels but also in commercial products like smoke detectors . Proposed next-generation nuclear technologies call on Am to function as a high-intensity neutron or advanced energy source in modular reactors and radioisotope thermoelectric generators . Despite the discovery of Am dating back to 1944 and its societal importance, it remains underexplored.…”

Calculation of Fissile Fuel Production in Some Minor Actinides Based on Thorium

“…Therefore, a hybrid reactor has been designed to obtain energy, to process the trans-uranium elements in the fuel used and to reuse them as fuel, and to convert long-lived fission products into harmless forms. Hybrid reactor is a subcritical safe system in which fusion-fission reactions occur together (Günay, 2015a;Düz, 2021;Düz and İnal, 2020;IAEA, 2009;Doligez et al, 2017;Günay, 2014a;Günay, 2014b).…”

Multiphysics Modeling of Thorium-Based Fuel Performance With Cr-Coated SiC/SiC Composite Under Normal and Accident Conditions

“…Besides, the burnup parameters (k eff , neutron, and so on) of SiC, VC, and ZrC were evaluated and compared with those of Zircaloy material by the SERPENT code (Korkut et al, 2016). In addition, neutron calculations for americium mixed fuels with Zircaloy-2, SiC, and VC were compared in the designed BWR system, which was made using the Monte Carlo (MCNPX) method (Düz, 2021). Moreover, the performance of the fuel with SiC/SiC composite cladding in the LWR was studied by several codes.…”