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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.
John C. Lee, Jie Du
Nuclear Technology | Volume 108 | Number 1 | October 1994 | Pages 61-79
Technical Paper | Nuclear Fuel Cycle | doi.org/10.13182/NT94-A35043
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Assembly-level collision probability calculations are performed with the CASMO code to study the feasibility and efficiency of recycling transuranics (TRUs) in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). A zero-dimensional equilibrium cycle approach is combined with an extrapolation algorithm to estimate equilibrium cycle configurations in a three-zone PWR core. A whole-core implementation of mixed-oxide assemblies containing TRUs may require an unusually large loading of TRUs, but a (2 × 2) colorset arrangement of TRU and uranium assemblies, with a sufficient 235U enrichment, may yield a reasonable PWR configuration. Colorset arrangements will not result in net depletion of TRUs but will slow down the accumulation of TRUs in a continuing PWR economy.