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August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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Front-end nuclear fuel supply cooperation: Turning allied interdependence into strategic advantage
The global nuclear revival, which is fueled by unprecedented demand for firm, affordable, dispatchable power for artificial intelligence and data center build-out, energy security imperatives, and climate commitments, has exposed a structural reality of the Western fuel cycle: No single allied nation currently possesses the full suite of front-end capabilities. From mining through conversion, enrichment, fabrication, and the emerging deconversion and metallization steps required for reactor fuels, capability is distributed across Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (collectively, the “Sapporo Five”), as well as a small group of close partners.
Dale E. Hankins
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 26 | Number 1 | September 1966 | Pages 110-116
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE66-1
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The fission yield of an accidental assembly of a supercritical volume of uranyl-nitrate solution will depend on several variables, two of which are discussed here: the rate of reactivity addition, and the effect of the weak-neutron flux in the solution. Fission yields for a 53 g/liter uranyl-nitrate solution subjected to various rates of reactivity addition were calculated. The small number of neutrons from the solution will cause the excursion to occur after the assembly has reached a critical mass and has become slightly supercritical. The effect of the delay in initiation on the fission yield of the assembly is calculated with curves of the probability of initiation vs time. The effect on the fission yield of different neutron source strengths, the addition of sodium carbonate to the solution, and changes in the uranium concentrations of the solutions are discussed. A comparison is made of the predicted values obtained from these calculations and the reported yields from six accidental excursions.