Helium solubility in oxide nuclear fuel: Derivation of new correlations for Henry’s constant

New approaches to reprocessing of oxide nuclear fuel

Dissolution of UO2, U3O8, and solid solutions of actinides in UO2 in subacid aqueous solutions (pH 0.9-1.4) of Fe(III) nitrate was studied. Complete dissolution of the oxides is attained at a molar ratio of ferric nitrate to uranium of 1.6. During this process actinides pass into the solution in the form of U(VI), Np(V), Pu(III), and Am(III). In the solutions obtained U(VI) is stable both at ro...

In Vivo Calibration Measurements for Mixed Oxide Nuclear Fuel

Mixed oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel containing enriched uranium and isotopes of plutonium presents a challenge for monitoring occupational exposure using direct in vivo measurements because photons from U and Am will confound evaluation of plutonium in the lungs. MOX is a unique blend of enriched uranium and plutonium that can be used in place of traditional enriched uranium fuel in commercial press...

Solubility Correlations

A method is described for estimating solubility by fitting both solute and solvent properties in a single equation. The method is illustrated by examining the solubilities of five rare gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe) and five 6permanent7 gases (O2, N2, CH4, CF4, SF6) in either n-alkane (C5H12 to C16H34) or alkan-1-ol (CH3OH to C11H23OH) solvents. Generally, the correlation (R2) values of the fits ac...

Nuclear Data for New Fuel Cycles

A New Sensitivity Study of Thermal Stress Distribution for a Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Converting chemical energy into electricity is done by an electro-chemical device known as a fuel cell. Thermal stress is caused at high operating temperature between 700 oC to 1000 oC of SOFC. Thermal stress causes gas escape, structure variability, crack initiation, crack propagation, and cease operation of the SOFC before its lifetime. The aim of this study is to presen...