The use of nuclear data in the field of nuclear fuel recycling

Abstract

Abstract. AREVA NC La Hague facility is the first step of the nuclear fuel recycling process implemented in France. The processing of the used fuel is governed by high standards of criticality-safety, and strong expectations on the quality of end-products. From the received used fuel assemblies, the plutonium and the uranium are extracted for further energy production purposes within the years following the reprocessing. Furthermore, the ultimate waste -fission products and minor actinides on the one hand, and hulls and endpieces on the other hand -is adequately packaged for long term disposal. The used fuel is therefore separated into very different materials, and time scales which come into account may be longer than in some other nuclear fields of activity. Given the variety of the handled nuclear materials, as well as the time scales at stake, the importance given to some radionuclides, and hence to the associated nuclear data, can also be specific to the AREVA NC La Hague plant. A study has thus been led to identify a list of the most important radionuclides for the AREVA NC La Hague plant applications, relying on the running constraints of the facility, and the endproducts expectations. The activities at the AREVA NC La Hague plant are presented, and the methodology to extract the most important radionuclides for the reprocessing process is detailed.

Nuclear data adjustment based on the interpretation of post-irradiation experiments with the DARWIN2.3 package

“…137 Cs is a nuclide of interest for the nuclear fuel cycle [1] mostly because it is a convenient burnup indicator thanks to its g-ray emission. It is therefore of major importance to compute its concentration in nuclear fuel as a function of the combustion rate as accurately as achievable.…”