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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.
José M. Aragonés, Carol Ahnert
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 94 | Number 4 | December 1986 | Pages 309-322
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE86-A18343
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A linear discontinuous finite difference formulation to solve the diffusion equations in coarse mesh and few groups is developed. The correction factors for heterogeneities, coarse mesh, and spectral effects are general interface flux discontinuity factors that can be explicitly calculated (synthetized) from detailed diffusion or transport solutions in fine mesh (heterogeneous) and multigroups, preserving the integrated fluxes and interface net currents. The stability is explicitly established for general synthetizations and for specific fine to coarse mesh and group reductions. Computing methods have been implemented for one-group (grey) synthetic diffusion acceleration, two-dimensional nodal/local solutions, and three-dimensional nodal simulation of pressurized water reactor cores. Results demonstrate the simplicity and stability of the formulation, a regular behavior of the correction factors, an outstanding acceleration performance, and high potential for parallel and vector computing.