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INL reports findings on unusual quantum behavior of plutonium
Scientists at Idaho National Laboratory have discovered that plutonium hexaboride (PuB6) displays a type of unusual quantum property called a topological Kondo insulating state. Materials with this property are neither typical electricity conductors nor regular insulators. Rather, they have exterior surfaces that strongly conduct electricity and interiors that block electricity.
Judith K. Hohorst, Chris M. Allison
Nuclear Technology | Volume 98 | Number 2 | May 1992 | Pages 149-159
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT92-A34670
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The SCDAP/RELAP5 severe accident analysis computer code, developed at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, is used to analyze the fourth in a series of debris formation experiments. The debris formation-four (DF-4) experiment deals with heatup and meltdown of a boiling water reactor (BWR)-representative fuel and control blade assembly segment, performed in the Annular Core Research Reactor at Sandia National Laboratories. The DF-4 experiment provides data that are used to validate core damage progression and BWR-specific models to gain an understanding of the phenomena occurring in the bundle during a severe BWR accident and to identify additional modeling needed in severe accident codes. The SCDAP/RELAP5 model used for this analysis accurately predicts the key damage events, which include control blade melting, channel box relocation and runaway oxidation, the order and timing of these events, and the maximum bundle temperature. From these analytical calculations, an accident scenario and insights into phenomena occurring during a severe BWR accident are developed.