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Results for “DEPLETED URANIUM”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1973

Measured and calculated fast neutron spectra in a depleted uranium and lithium hydride shielded reactor

Measurements of MeV neutron were made at the surface of a lithium hydride and depleted uranium shielded reactor. Four shield configurations were considered: these were assembled progressively with cylindrical shells of 5-centimeter-thick depleted uranium, 13-centimeter-thick lithium hydride, 5-centimeter-thick depleted uranium, 13-centimeter-thick lithium hydride, 5-centimeter-thick depleted uranium, and 3-centimeter-thick depleted uranium. Measurements were made with a NE-218 scintillation spectrometer; proton pulse height distributions were differentiated to obtain neutron spectra. Calculations were made using the two-dimensional discrete ordinates code DOT and ENDF/B (version 3) cross sections. Good agreement between measured and calculated spectral shape was observed. Absolute measured and calculated fluxes were within 50 percent of one another; observed discrepancies in absolute flux may be due to cross section errors.

Lahti, G. P.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Computational study of tungsten and depleted uranium photoneutron targets for a 20 MeV electron linear accelerator

Neutron production can be realized with a high energy electron linear accelerator by using Bremsstrahlung and photoneutron converters. In this study, Monte Carlo N-Particle Code (MCNP) was used to evaluate potential photonuclear target designs for a high energy electron linear accelerator for applications such as neutron radiography and neutron resonance spectroscopy. A computational model was developed to inform a target design that would yield a high number of neutrons. It consists of a 20 MeV electron beam incident on a Bremsstrahlung target and a photonuclear target to generate neutrons. This computational model showed that a thickness of 0.75 inches for both tungsten and depleted uranium yields the most neutrons from photoneutron reactions. Saturation in the total number of generated neutrons was observed at over 0.75-inch thickness for both evaluated materials. Depleted uranium yielded approximately twice the number of neutrons overall compared to tungsten. The highest neutron surface flux for Depleted Uranium was 1.06 × 10-4 neutrons/cm2/source electron, and for Tungsten it was 5.12 × 10-5 neutrons/cm2/source electron. The optimal target design for this study’s application would consist of a 0.75 inch-thick block of depleted uranium with the length, width, and/or diameter varying dependent on application.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Acceptable Knowledge Summary Report for REMOTE-HANDLED DEPLETED URANIUM INGOTS FROM MATERIALS AND FUELS COMPLEX

This Acceptable Knowledge (AK) Summary Report has been prepared for the Central Characterization Program (CCP) for remote-handled (RH) transuranic (TRU) waste generated and managed by the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC), formerly Argonne National Laboratory-West (ANL-W) and part of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The waste described in this report, depleted uranium ingots (waste stream ID-MFC-DU-INGOT), was historically generated in Building 765, the Fuel Conditioning Facility (FCF), formerly, Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF)-South. This AK Summary Report, along with the referenced supporting documents, provides a defensible and auditable record of AK for the designated waste stream, depleted uranium ingots, produced from the FCF electrorefining process. The references and AK source documents used to prepare this report are listed in Sections 8.0 and 9.0 respectively. The source documents cited throughout this report are identified by alphanumeric designations corresponding to a unique Source Document Tracking Number (e.g., AKA01, C001, CCE01, DR001, M001, P001, and U001).

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Measurement of Photoneutrons from Depleted Uranium and Comparison Study Using MCNPX-PoliMi

High-energy photon interrogation is a nondestructive technique that is used to detect special nuclear materials and characterize nuclear waste. The development of such systems is complex and requires Monte Carlo simulations to optimize system performance. Monte Carlo simulations rely on various scattering, absorption, and photonuclear cross-section data. While the scattering and absorption cross-section data have been extensively studied and validated with experiments, the results obtained from photonuclear simulations are often found to underpredict measured results, indicating uncertainties in the photonuclear cross sections themselves. Thus, there is a need for new measured results that can be used to quantify underpredictions in simulations using photonuclear cross-section data. In the present work, we interrogated depleted uranium with a 9-MV electron linac and detected photoneutrons with trans-stilbene organic scintillators. The measurement of photoneutrons with organic scintillators is challenging due to the presence of the intense photon flux, which causes issues such as pulse pile-up, detector saturation, and poor signal-to-background ratio. To mitigate these challenges, we used iron and polyethylene shielding of varying thicknesses around the depleted uranium target and a neural network–based digital pulse processing algorithm to recover neutron and photon information from piled-up events. Our goal was to compare the measured photoneutron count rate with the simulated rate obtained using the MCNPX-PoliMi transport code. For a light output window of 0.28 to 2.67 MeVee (1.66- to 6.85-MeV proton recoil energy), we found that the simulated count rate obtained using the ENDF/B-VII photonuclear cross-section library underpredicts the measured rate by 32.8% 3.2%. Additionally, we compared the simulated and measured photoneutron light output distributions. For the least thicknesses of shielding, the simulation was found to underpredict measurements in the 0.70- to 2.67-MeVee light output window. For the greatest thicknesses of shielding, the simulation was found to underpredict the measurement across the entire light output window of 0.28 to 2.67 MeVee.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
NASA NTRS2017

Electrically Heated Testing of the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling Technology (KRUSTY) Experiment Using a Depleted Uranium Core

The Kilopower project aims to develop and demonstrate scalable fission-based power technology for systems capable of delivering 110 kW of electric power with a specific power ranging from 2.5 - 6.5 Wkg. This technology could enable high power science missions or could be used to provide surface power for manned missions to the Moon or Mars. NASA has partnered with the Department of Energys National Nuclear Security Administration, Los Alamos National Labs, and Y-12 National Security Complex to develop and test a prototypic reactor and power system using existing facilities and infrastructure. This technology demonstration, referred to as the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY), will undergo nuclear ground testing in the summer of 2017 at the Nevada Test Site. The 1 kWe variation of the Kilopower system was chosen for the KRUSTY demonstration. The concept for the 1 kWe flight system consist of a 4 kWt highly enriched Uranium-Molybdenum reactor operating at 800 degrees Celsius coupled to sodium heat pipes. The heat pipes deliver heat to the hot ends of eight 125 W Stirling convertors producing a net electrical output of 1 kW. Waste heat is rejected using titanium-water heat pipes coupled to carbon composite radiator panels. The KRUSTY test, based on this design, uses a prototypic highly enriched uranium-molybdenum core coupled to prototypic sodium heat pipes. The heat pipes transfer heat to two Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASC-E2s) and six thermal simulators, which simulate the thermal draw of full scale power conversion units. Thermal simulators and Stirling engines are gas cooled. The most recent project milestone was the completion of non-nuclear system level testing using an electrically heated depleted uranium (non-fissioning) reactor core simulator. System level testing at the Glenn Research Center (GRC) has validated performance predictions and has demonstrated system level operation and control in a test configuration that replicates the one to be used at the Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the Nevada National Security Site. Fabrication, assembly, and testing of the depleted uranium core has allowed for higher fidelity system level testing at GRC, and has validated the fabrication methods to be used on the highly enriched uranium core that will supply heat for the DAF KRUSTY demonstration.

Briggs, Maxwell H.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Quantifying fission yields at the National Ignition Facility using depleted uranium foil experiments

There are programs for high-Z shell experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). For shells made of actinide material, a quantitative fission diagnostic is needed in order to determine how much fission took place and whether the fission was sufficient to produce a non-negligible heat source in the burning capsule. Here, we present a viable coupled experimental and theoretical technique for making quantitative fission measurements possible. The proposed scheme involves using a well-characterized set of depleted uranium foils outside an NIF capsule to verify the conversion of xenon and krypton fission fragments collected at the Radiochemical Analysis of Gaseous Samples (RAGS) facility into total fission yield. We present the calculations needed for this conversion, including the decays in and out of fission fragment chains during the RAGS pump-down of the NIF chamber.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2018

Electrically Heated Testing of the Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY) Experiment Using a Depleted Uranium Core

The Kilopower project aims to develop and demonstrate scalable fission-based power technology for systems capable of delivering 1 to 10 kW of electric power with a specific power ranging from 2.5 to 6.5 W/kg. This technology could enable high-power science missions or could be used to provide surface power for manned missions to the Moon or Mars. NASA has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), and Y−12 National Security Complex to develop and test a prototypic reactor and power system using existing facilities and infrastructure. This technology demonstration, referred to as the "Kilowatt Reactor Using Stirling TechnologY (KRUSTY)," will undergo nuclear ground testing by the end of calendar year (CY) 2017 at the NNSS. The 1-kWe variation of the Kilopower system was chosen for the KRUSTY demonstration. The concept for the 1-kWe flight system consists of a 4 kWt highly enriched uranium-molybdenum reactor operating at 800 degC coupled to sodium heat pipes. The heat pipes deliver heat to the hot ends of eight 125-W Stirling convertors producing a net electrical output of 1 kW. Waste heat is rejected using titanium-water heat pipes coupled to carbon composite radiator panels. The KRUSTY test, based on this design, uses a prototypic highly enriched uranium-molybdenum core coupled to prototypic sodium heat pipes. The heat pipes transfer heat to two Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASC−E2s) and six thermal simulators, which simulate the thermal draw of full-scale power conversion units. Thermal simulators and Stirling engines are gas cooled. The most recent project milestone was the completion of nonnuclear system-level testing using an electrically heated depleted uranium (DU) (nonfissioning) reactor core simulator at the NASA Glenn Research Center. System-level testing has validated performance predictions and has demonstrated system-level operation and control in a test configuration that replicates the one to be used at the Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the NNSS. Fabrication, assembly, and testing of the DU core has allowed for higher fidelity system-level testing at Glenn, and has validated the fabrication methods to be used on the highly enriched uranium core that will supply heat for the DAF KRUSTY demonstration.

Briggs, Maxwell H.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Prompt Photofission Neutron Detection in Depleted Uranium

The detection of prompt photofission neutrons during active interrogation is a strong indication of the presence of special nuclear materials. However, the high-energy photons used for interrogation create a very challenging radiation environment for the detection of prompt fission signatures. These challenges include detector saturation and pulse pile-up. Additionally, there is an elevated neutron background that further challenges the detection of prompt fission neutrons. This background is produced because of (γ, Xn) photonuclear reactions in the surrounding high-Z materials. Here, we demonstrate the detection of prompt photofission neutrons in these challenging environments. Depleted uranium (DU) and lead targets are interrogated with bremsstrahlung photons produced by a 9-MV electron linear accelerator. Fast neutrons are detected with trans-stilbene organic detectors, and scintillation pulses are analyzed using a previously developed and demonstrated artificial neural network system. We observe a 5 times higher photoneutron count rate when the lead target is replaced with the DU target. Additionally, we observe a difference in the photoneutron light-output distributions of lead and DU. Here, this difference in the measured distributions is due to the difference in the photoneutron-energy spectra; DU photoneutrons are emitted with (γ, n) and watt-energy spectra, whereas lead photoneutrons are emitted with only the (γ, n) spectrum.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Airborne Release Fractions from Surrogate Nuclear Waste Fires Containing Lanthanide Nitrates and Depleted Uranium Nitrate in 30% Tributyl Phosphate in Kerosene

Airborne contaminants from fires containing nuclear waste represent significant health hazards and shape the design and operation of nuclear facilities. Much of the data used to formulate DOE-HDBK-3010-94, “Airborne Release Fractions/Rates and Respirable Fractions for Nonreactor Nuclear Facilities,” from the U.S. Department of Energy, were taken over 40 years ago. The objectives of this study were to reproduce experiments from Pacific Northwest Laboratories conducted in June 1973 employing current aerosol measurement methods and instrumentation, develop an enhanced understanding of particulate formation and transport from fires containing nuclear waste, and provide modeling and experimental capabilities for updating current standards and practices in nuclear facilities. A special chamber was designed to conduct small fires containing 25 mL of flammable waste containing lutetium nitrate, ytterbium nitrate, or depleted uranium nitrate. Carbon soot aerosols showed aggregates of primary particles ranging from 20 to 60 nm in diameter. In scanning electron microscopy, ~200-nm spheroidal particles were also observed dispersed among the fractal aggregates. The 200-nm spherical particles were composed of metal phosphates. Airborne release fractions (ARFs) were characterized by leaching filter deposits and quantifying metal concentrations with mass spectrometry. The average mass-based ARF for 238 U experiments was 1.0 × 10 -3 with a standard deviation of 7.5 × 10 -4 . For the original experiments, DOE-HDBK-3010-94 states, “Uranium ARFs range from 2 × 10 -4 to 3 × 10 -3 , an uncertainty of approximately an order of magnitude.” Therefore, current measurements were consistent with DOE-HDBK-3010-94 values. ARF values for lutetium and ytterbium were approximately one to two orders of magnitude lower than 238 U. Furthermore, metal nitrate solubility may have varied with elemental composition and temperature, thereby affecting ARF values for uranium surrogates (Yb and Lu). In addition to ARF data, solution boiling temperatures and evaporation rates can also be deduced from experimental data.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Results from a controlled depleted uranium metal casting experiment designed to investigate nuclear Forensic Radiochronometry Signatures

The accurate interpretation of uranium metal 230 Th/ 234 U and 231 Pa/ 235 U radiochronometry model ages requires an understanding of how uranium parent nuclides and decay progeny ( 230 Th and 231 Pa) behave during uranium metal casting. In order to directly measure the spatial distribution of 230 Th and 231 Pa in uranium metal before and after vacuum induction melting (VIM), Los Alamos National Laboratory identified uranium metal feedstock, characterized the metal feedstock, conducted a controlled casting experiment of an approximately 120 kg uranium metal rod, and characterized the cast metal. Herein this study presents radiochronometry results and quantified 230 Th and 231 Pa VIM separation factors from bulk uranium.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2023

Transformative Manufacturing of Adaptive Wire Feedstocks with Atomic Layer Deposition of Nb 2 O 5 onto Depleted Uranium [Slides]

Project Motivation: Uranium corrosion susceptible and highly catalytic; Exposure thickens oxide impacting material performance. This worsens with time; Sigma is uniquely positioned to tackle R&D challenges with Uranium processing. Possible Solutions: 1) Make new material for each weld. Occupational exposure, difficult to align resources ; 2) Coatings? Coating adds foreign material: can this be minimized?

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Assessing Fuel Cycle Options for Elysium Molten Chloride Salt Fast Reactor from Spent Nuclear Fuel, Plutonium, and Depleted Uranium (Final CRADA Report)

Argonne National Laboratory performed calculations in order to determine the viability of various mode of operation and operating conditions for the reactor designed by Elysium Industry. The reactor description, operating conditions, startup fuel composition, and other relevant information were provided by Elysium to Argonne. The tools currently available at Argonne were used to perform the calculations and provide an assessment for the various cases agreed upon. The results were shared with Elysium.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Reaction Rate Ratios for Recent Fast Metal Experiments with Large Plutonium Masses

Reaction rate ratios are integral responses that are used within the criticality experiments field because they contain spectral information. While these types of measurements have been utilized for nuclear data validation with historic experiments, few experiments of this type have been utilized for recent experiments, as few exist. This work focuses on measured reaction rate ratios for two nearly bare plutonium critical assemblies with different geometries: one that is cube like (with a Pu mass of 40 kg) and one that is slab like (with a Pu mass of 109 kg). Irradiations were performed with both configurations in which foils were placed near the center of the assembly. Plutonium, highly enriched uranium, depleted uranium, and Au foils were included in the irradiation and counted via high-purity germanium detectors. From these measurements, reaction rate ratios were calculated. Measured and simulated values and uncertainties are presented for the reaction rate ratios. Ratios utilizing the following reactions are given in this work: 197 Au(n, γ), 197 Au(n,2n), 235 U(n,fission), 238 U(n, fission), 238 U(n,2n), 238 U(n,γ), and 239 Pu(n,fission). Uncertainties for the measured reaction rate ratios ranged from 4% to 7%, and the contribution of various parameters to this uncertainty was investigated. The results are compared to historical experiments and should be used for nuclear data validation for future nuclear data library releases. These measurements are part of the EUCLID (Experiments Underpinned by Computational Learning for Improvements in Nuclear Data) project, which utilizes measurement responses in addition to k eff (such as these reaction rate ratios) to help reduce uncertainties in 239 Pu nuclear data.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗