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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.
Ethwart Pollmann, Joachim Schulze, Dieter Kreuter
Nuclear Technology | Volume 108 | Number 3 | December 1994 | Pages 350-360
Technical Paper | Nuclear Reactor Safety | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A35017
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In a boiling water reactor, nuclear-thermal-hydraulic instabilities can occur if extreme operating conditions prevail. In various nuclear reactors, stability measurements have been carried out during which the location and the shape of the stability threshold was measured at a certain exposure point during the cycle. Earlier sensitivity studies have already shown that fuel assembly parameters have only a small influence on stability compared with plant parameters. The influence of plant parameters has been verified by measurements that were carried out in the German boiling water reactor Würgassen every 4 to 6 weeks during cycle 14. The results of the measurements showed for the single-loop operation point (least stable point in the core map) a strong variation of the stability threshold power during the cycle. From the beginning of cycle to the middle of cycle, the stability threshold power decreases by ∼16% (relative). After the minimum was reached, the stability threshold power increased again. Smaller variations of the stability threshold power in the core map at natural circulation indicate that not only the stability threshold varies during the cycle, but also the shape of the stability threshold is changed. Analyses with the code system STAIF have shown that the stability behavior during the cycle can clearly be correlated with the variation of the axial and radial power density profile due to control rod maneuvering and fuel burnup. Furthermore, it could be shown that for the estimation of the neutronic feedback not only the density coefficient must be taken into account but also the void variation caused by a power perturbation.