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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.
Luis Rebollo
Nuclear Technology | Volume 103 | Number 1 | July 1993 | Pages 49-65
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT93-A34829
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Union Fenosa, a utility company in Spain, has performed research on pressurized water reactor (PWR) safety with respect to the development of a best-estimate methodology for the analysis of anticipated transients without scram (ATWS), i.e., those anticipated transients for which failure of the reactor protection system is postulated. A scientific and technical approach is adopted with respect to the ATWS phenomenon as it affects a PWR, specifically the Zorita nuclear power plant, a single-loop Westinghouse-designed PWR in Spain. In this respect, an ATWS sequence analysis methodology based on published codes that is generically applicable to any PWR is proposed, which covers all the anticipated phenomena and defines the applicable acceptance criteria. The areas contemplated are cell neutron analysis, core thermal hydraulics, and plant dynamics, which are developed, qualified, and validated by comparison with reference calculations and measurements obtained from integral or separate-effects tests.