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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.
H. L. Pai, D. G. Andrews
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 76 | Number 3 | December 1980 | Pages 323-330
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE80-A21322
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The simple statistical model statement relating the yield YP of fission fragments to the effective neutron binding energy , namely YP α exp(−/T), can be used as a basis for parallel developments, one leading to the well-known empirical delayed-neutron statement where Y is the number of delayed neutrons per fission. Repeating the development for prompt neutron emission leads to the analogous result where is the prompt neutrons per fission. This semi-empirical result implies that a semi-logarithmic experimental plot of against (3Z - A) should be a family of straight lines. Currently available experimental results justify this prediction. The theoretical precision of this semi-empirical formula is estimated to be ±10% or better, depending mainly on the part and shape of the fission yield-mass curve taken into account. The existence of the above empirical and semi-empirical formulas strongly suggests that the yield of fission neutrons, as well as their spectrum, can be calculated by using the standard statistical model with non-adjustable parameters.