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MARVEL team shares lessons learned through microreactor development
On June 1 at the American Nuclear Society’s Annual Conference in Denver, Colo., a team from Idaho National Laboratory presented a session titled “Lessons Learned from MARVEL Reactor Fabrication.” The presentation highlighted challenges that arose as they moved from design to manufacturing and assembly, with a focus on reactor part fabrication, Stirling engine implementation, and reactivity control system development.
Vishnu B. Subrahmanyam, Dwayne R. Speer
Nuclear Technology | Volume 86 | Number 2 | August 1989 | Pages 207-213
Technical Paper | Decontamination and Decommissioning / Radioactive Waste Management | doi.org/10.13182/NT89-A34272
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Transuranic waste isotope activity of 0.11 TBq (2.93 Ci) was found in 40 replaceable cartridges of a deep-bed fiberglass filter assembly. An investigation was initiated to provide information required for preparation of safety analyses and decommissioning plans. The filter assembly was suspected to contain 4 TBq (100 Ci) of plutonium, based on ambient neutron flux, confirmed by thermoluminescent dosimeters, and quantified by passive activation of indium foils. However, chemical analyses of smear samples are not consistent with this predicted activity. Americium-241, 244Cm, and isotopes of plutonium are identified by chemical separations and alpha energy analysis of dissolved smears. Isotopic composition based on measured relative alpha activities is used to establish the transuranic content. A major fraction of the observed ambient neutron flux is attributable to 244Cm, a nontransuranic radionuclide.