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Human Factors, Instrumentation & Controls
Improving task performance, system reliability, system and personnel safety, efficiency, and effectiveness are the division's main objectives. Its major areas of interest include task design, procedures, training, instrument and control layout and placement, stress control, anthropometrics, psychological input, and motivation.
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2024 ANS Annual Conference
June 16–19, 2024
Las Vegas, NV|Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
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From South Korea to Belgium: Testing a high-density research reactor fuel
The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has developed a high-density uranium silicide fuel designed to replace high-enriched uranium in research reactors. Recent irradiation tests appear to be successful, KAERI reports, which means the fuel could be commercialized to continue a key global nuclear nonproliferation effort—converting research reactors to run on low-enriched uranium fuel.
V. Vallet, B. Gastaldi, J. Politello, A. Santamarina, L. Van Den Durpel
Nuclear Technology | Volume 182 | Number 2 | May 2013 | Pages 187-206
Regular Technical Paper | Special Issue on the Symposium on Radiation Effects in Ceramic Oxide and Novel LWR Fuels / Fission Reactors | doi.org/10.13182/NT13-A16430
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Pressurized water reactors (PWRs) are likely to produce the major portion of nuclear electricity during the 21st century. Nevertheless, even with the recycling of plutonium within MOX fuel, the utilization rate of uranium is very low and can be improved. Indeed, it grows significantly with the conversion ratio (CR) above the value of 0.8. The CR measures the competition between the production and the consumption rate of fissile isotopes as a function of the burnup. Thus, a CR higher than unity corresponds to a breeder reactor. The CR is the key factor that must be improved to allow a better use of natural uranium resources. A way to improve the CR would be to use thorium instead of uranium as a fertile material through the excellent qualities of its daughter, 233U.Consequently, the aim of this paper is to investigate the use of thorium in high conversion pressurized water reactors (HCPWR) with a reduced moderator-to-fuel volume ratio using a high plutonium content in a hexagonal lattice. This study focuses on two heterogeneous concepts that fulfill the following criteria: a large production of 233U, the respect of safety aspects, and a cycle length higher or equal to 300 equivalent full-power days. The first core, named M-ThPu, has 21% of fertile fuel assemblies composed of depleted uranium and 79% of MOX fuel assemblies containing ThPuO2 fuel, whereas the second core, named FA-Th, has ThO2 fertile assemblies and UdepletedPuO2 fuel assemblies, including axial layers of depleted uranium only. For each concept, the recycling of 233U with thorium in order to decrease the plutonium content in core has also been discussed. The conclusion for both concepts is that [approximately]25% of the PWR (with UOX fuel) could be replaced by HCPWR if 233U is reintroduced directly in each core concept. Therefore, this transition study shows no penalty in terms of natural uranium economy in moving toward a thorium fuel cycle in combination with the existing uranium cycle.