A 2-D model for the corrosion of spent nuclear fuel inside a failed nuclear waste container has been modified to determine the influence of various redox processes occurring within fractures in the fuel. The corrosion process is driven by reaction of the fuel with the dominant α radiolysis product, H2O2. A number of reactions are shown to moderate or suppress the corrosion rate, including H2O2 ...

The mass flow of Plutonium and minor actinides is calculated for a future LWR-FBR fuel cycle model, in which a certain scale of power generation by LWRs is continued for a long period before the replacement by FBRs begins. The burnup of the LWR spent fuel is considered to be higher than the current standard. It is assumed that all the Plutonium and minor actinides recovered from LWRs are kept a...

Several different fuel failure criteria have been used in previously NRC-sponsored SFP accident studies. Benjamin, et. al. used the onset of runaway fuel clad oxidation as the fuel failure criterion in NUREG/CR-0649 [Ref. 1]. This criterion was criticized because clad rupture can occur at a relatively low temperature causing a gap release. The consequences of gap release can be significant if t...

This is a feasibility study of a new measurement technique for spent nuclear fuel. The technique combines gamma emission tomography with neutron activation analysis. The idea is to measure high-energy characteristic gamma from short-lived fission products and thereby verify the fissile material content in spent nuclear fuel assemblies. Simulations using MCNP were done to estimate the expected d...

We report on the use of grazing incidence gamma-ray mirrors to serve as a narrow bandpass filter for advanced non-destructive analysis (NDA) of spent nuclear fuel. The purpose of the mirrors is to limit the radiation reaching a HPGe detector to narrow spectral bands around characteristic emission lines from fissile isotopes in the fuel. This overcomes the normal rate issues when performing gamm...

Fuel cycles are designed with the aim of obtaining the highest amount of energy possible. Since higher burnup values are reached, it is necessary to improve our disposal designs, traditionally based on the conservative assumption that they contain fresh fuel. The criticality calculations involved must consider burnup by making the most of the experimental and computational capabilities develope...

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...

Lead Slowing-Down Spectroscopy (LSDS) is a candidate for non-destructive assay of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) [4]. Research was collaborated via the Material Protection, Accounting, and Control Technology (MPACT) campaign under the Department of Energy. Researchers include: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), R...

Mission Planning is a classical problem that has been traditionally studied in several cases from Robotics to Space missions. This kind of problems can be extremely difficult in real and dynamic scenarios. This paper provides a first analysis for mission planning to Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs), where sensors and other equipment of UAVs to perform a task are modelled based on Temporal Constrain...

In this paper we use a model-based traffic control approach to determine dynamic speed limits with the aim of reducing fuel consumption and emissions, while still guaranteeing small travel times. The approach we propose is based on model predictive control (MPC). MPC is a modelbased control design method that combines prediction and on-line optimization of a performance criterion over a given t...