Methodology for Uncertainty Analysis of Advanced Fuel Cycles and Preliminary Results

Methodology for Uncertainty Analysis of Advanced Fuel Cycles and Preliminary Results
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 85
Release: 2006
Genre:
ISBN:

This report assesses the sensitivity and uncertainty associated with certain advanced nuclear fuel cycles due to the variance of chosen parameters and how these results relate to the deep geological nuclear waste repository. High burn up uranium oxide, mixed oxide, and fast spectrum nuclear fuels are the advanced fuel cycles considered. The parameters that are varied in these cases are: the time of advanced fuel implementation, energy growth rate, fuel burn up, and reprocessing introduction and capacity. The results analyzed are the amount of spent fuel and the amount of Pu in spent fuel in the year 2099. The advanced fuel cycle scenarios are modeled using the DANESS code developed by Argonne National Laboratory. All the fuel cycles modeled in this report are highly sensitive to the above-mentioned varied parameters. In a 0% energy growth rate case the plutonium fast burner reactor significantly reduces the amount of waste destined to the repository. Compared to current once-through fuel cycle practices, the fast reactor reduces waste by 50-52 percent. As energy demand grows, the high burn up case of 100 (GWd per ton heavy metal) fuel, as modeled in this thesis, reduces the mass destined for the repository greatest. In the 1.5% energy growth rate, spent fuel mass is reduced 32-44 percent, and in the 3.0% energy growth rate those numbers are 43-49 percent.

Simple Procedure for Determining Implications of Design Changes on Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Cost and Breeding Performance

Simple Procedure for Determining Implications of Design Changes on Fast Reactor Fuel Cycle Cost and Breeding Performance
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 1979
Genre:
ISBN:

Recently, analytical sensitivity methods has been applied to obtain fuel cycle cost implications of data uncertainties. To perform exposure dependent sensitivity analysis without repeating expensive spectrum calculations, simple correlations of the spectrum averaged cross sections (SAXS) were constructed. The correlation coefficients were obtained by fitting the SAXS calculated by direct methods over a wide range of LMFBR core designs. In this paper the procedure has been extended to study sensitivity of fuel cycle cost and breeding ratio to design variation. The method involves using the correlations to construct both the SAXS and the sensitivity coefficients. Composition dependent correlations have been found to be accurate for the core while both composition and position have to be included in analysing the blanket.

The New Nuclear Data Sensitivity Analysis and Uncertainty Propagation Tool in NESTLE.

The New Nuclear Data Sensitivity Analysis and Uncertainty Propagation Tool in NESTLE.
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2004
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In support of the need for better design and evaluation tools for reactor-based transmutation systems we have upgraded NESTLE, the 2/4 energy group thermal reactor physics code of the Nuclear Engineering Department at North Carolina State University with: i) the ability to perform nuclide transmutation calculations for a general, user-defined field of nuclei and transmutation paths and ii) the ability to analyze sensitivities and propagate uncertainties in the end-of-cycle (EOC) nuclide inventory with respect to nuclear data and beginning-of-cycle (BOC) nuclide inventory. We present two methods of sensitivity analysis: i) direct perturbation and recalculation (DPAR) and ii) sensitivity analysis utilizing an adjoint system (AS). With DPAR, we simply perturb data and recalculate solutions of our system and thus may analyze sensitivity of all responses to perturbations in one data parameter per solution of the perturbed forward problem. With the AS, we form a system of equations, the solution of which may be used to estimate the first variation of a response with respect to any data parameters. For the AS, we have developed the equations for both the predictor and predictor-corrector neutron/nuclide field coupling methods in NESTLE. To our knowledge, the AS for the predictor-corrector coupling has never been presented. Then we used the tools we have developed to evaluate the sensitivity of EOC nuclide concentrations and SNF hazard measures with respect to nuclear data for a cycle 1 pressurized water reactor (PWR) core. In our study, we found that the nuclear data crucial to modeling US reactors' once-through cycle (fission cross sections of 235U and 239Pu, the main fuel nuclei, and capture cross sections for 238U) also has the highest impact on EOC nuclide inventory of so-called "problem nuclei" (e.g. Am, Cm, etc.) Note that these results only apply to cycle 1, in which fresh fuel is irradiated for the first time. Because.

Thorium Fuel Cycle

Thorium Fuel Cycle
Author: International Atomic Energy Agency
Publisher:
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2005
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Provides a critical review of the thorium fuel cycle: potential benefits and challenges in the thorium fuel cycle, mainly based on the latest developments at the front end of the fuel cycle, applying thorium fuel cycle options, and at the back end of the thorium fuel cycle.

Best Estimate Safety Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants

Best Estimate Safety Analysis for Nuclear Power Plants
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2008
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Deterministic safety analysis is an important tool for confirming the adequacy and efficiency of provisions within the defence in depth concept for the safety of nuclear power plants (NPPs). IAEA Safety Standards Series No. NS-R-1.2 and Safety Reports Series No. 23 recommend, as one of the options for demonstrating the inclusion of adequate safety margins, the use of best estimate computer codes with realistic input data in combination with the evaluation of uncertainties in the calculation results. The evaluation of uncertainties is an issue of considerable complexity, and this Safety Report has been developed to complement the existing publications. It provides more detailed information on the methods available for the evaluation of uncertainties in deterministic safety analysis of NPPs and practical guidance in the use of these methods.