Abstract
A computational study has been performed for various options of the thorium reactor core loading. Neutronic studies of fuel have been conducted, its isotopic composition has been calculated, and the alpha emitters and the sources of neutron and photon radiation in the microencapsulated nuclear fuel have been analyzed. The studies had the purpose of developing the methodology used to estimate the radiation characteristics of nuclear fuel with a complex inner structure. Emphasis is placed on calculating the quantitative and spectral composition of the neutrons formed as the result of (a, n) reactions on small- and average-mass nuclei. The ratio of the quantity of the neutrons resulting from the (a, n) reactions to the quantity of the neutrons formed as the result of spontaneous fission has been calculated for fuel with heterogeneous and homogeneous arrangements of fissionable and structural elements. The developed tools will make it possible to estimate the neutron radiation dose, to revise the traditional fresh and spent fuel handling procedures, and to estimate, using the Rossi alpha method, the neutron multiplication factor in deeply subcritical systems. The neutron yield and spectrum were calculated using an analytical model and verified codes such as WIMS-D5B, ORIGEN-APP, SOURCES-4C and SRIM-2013.
Highlights
Research ArticlePeculiarities of the radiation formation in dispersed microencapsulated nuclear fuel*
In (Shamanin et al 2015, Shamanin et al 2016, Shamanin et al 2018), the author studied the physics of a small high-temperature gas-cooled thorium reactor plant (НGTRU, Russia), and selected the best reactor core configuration and the best nuclear fuel material composition
Of greater interest is determination of the ratio of the quantity of the neutrons qan formed as a result of (a, n) reactions to the quantity of the neutrons resulting from spontaneous and induced fission (in the event of large-size spent nuclear fuel (SNF) blocks) which is of interest both for calculating the neutron radiation dose rate during handling of such fuel (Dulin and Zabrodskaya 2005, Dulin and Matveyenko 2002) and in using the Rossi alpha method to determine the multiplication factor in subcritical systems (Dulin and Matveyenko 2002), such as the НGTRU fuel block (Shamanin et al 2018)
Summary
Peculiarities of the radiation formation in dispersed microencapsulated nuclear fuel*.
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