Development of multi-group Monte-Carlo transport and depletion coupling calculation method and verification with metal-fueled fast reactor

The accurate modeling of depletion,intricately tied to the solution of the neutron transport equation,is crucial for the design,analysis,and licensing of nuclear reactors and their fuel cycles.This paper introduces a novel multi-group Monte-Carlo depletion calculation approach.Multi-group cross-sections(MGXS)are derived from both 3D whole-core model and 2D fuel subassembly model using the continuous-energy Monte-Carlo method.Core calculations employ the multi-group Monte-Carlo method,accommodating both homogeneous and specific local heterogeneous geometries.The proposed method has been validated against the MET-1000 metal-fueled fast reactors,using both the OECD/NEA benchmark and a new refueling benchmark introduced in this paper.Our findings suggest that microscopic MGXS,produced via the Monte-Carlo method,are viable for fast reactor depletion analyses.Furthermore,the locally heterogeneous model with angular-dependent MGXS offers robust predictions for core reactivity,control rod value,sodium void value,Doppler constants,power distribution,and concentration levels.

Combustion behavior and mechanism of molecular perovskite energetic material DAP-4-based composites with metal fuel Al

Combined with the oxidizer anions and fuel cations,molecular perovskite energetic materials show a good potential.In this work,the combustion behavior and mechanism of metal fuel aluminium(Al)with molecular perovskite energetic material(H_(2)dabco)[NH4(ClO_(4))_(3)](DAP-4)as a high-energy oxidant was investigated.The DAP-4 based composites with metal fuel Al were designed and fabricated by the different mass ratios.Results showed that DAP-4 exhibits a good oxygen-supplied capacity for enhancing the combustion performance of Al.The maximum combustion heat of DAP-4/Al-3 at the Al/O mass ratio of 38:62 is up to 10,412 J/g in the inert gas,which is higher than those of other ratios and the mixtures of other energetic materials and Al.The evolution of pressure output,pressurization rate,and flame temperature was monitored for DAP-4/Al with different mass ratios.Composites DAP-4/Al/F were characterized by burning rates.The combustion reaction mechanism of metal fuel Al with DAP-4 as a high-energy oxidant was provided.DAP-4 was ignited firstly and released acid and oxidizing gases,which corroded Al_(2)O_(3)shells on Al particle surfaces and accelerated the combustion reaction with Al to release a lot of energy.This work offered a new idea that molecular perovskite energetic materials have great potential in the high-energy Al-based solid rocket propellants.

Atomic simulations of primary irradiation damage in U–Mo–Xe system

To shed a light on Xe bubble nucleation in U–Mo fuel from the view of primary irradiation damage,a reported U–Mo–Xe potential under the framework of embedded atom method has been modified within the range of short and intermediate atomic distance.The modified potential can better describe the interactions between energetic particles,and can accurately reproduce the threshold displacement energy surface calculated by the first-principles method.Then,molecular dynamics simulations of primary irradiation damage in U–Mo–Xe system have been conducted under different contents.The raise of Xe concentration brings about a remarkable promotion in residual defect quantity and generates bubbles in more overpressured state,which suggests an acceleration of irradiation damage under the accumulation of the fission gas.Meanwhile,the addition of Mo considerably reduces the residual defect count and hinders irradiation-induced Xe diffusion especially at high contents of Xe,corroborating the importance of high Mo content in mitigation of irradiation damage and swelling behavior in U–Mo fuel.In particular,the variation of irradiation damage with respect to contents suggests a necessity of taking into account the influence of local components on defect evolution in mesoscale simulations.

Formation of intermetallic compound at interface between rare earth elements and ferritic-martensitic steel by fuel cladding chemical interaction

The intermetallic compounds formation at interface between rare earth elements and clad material were investigated to demonstrate the effects of rare earth elements on fuel-cladding chemical interaction （FCCI） behavior. Mischmetal （70Ce-30La） and Nd were prepared as rare earth elements. Diffusion couple testing was performed on the rare earth elements and cladding （9Cr2W steel） near the operation temperature of （sodium-cooled fast reactor） SFR fuel. The performance of a diffusion barrier consisting of Zr and V metallic foil against the rare earth elements was also evaluated. Our results showed that Ce and Nd in the rare earth elements and Fe in the clad material interdiffused and reacted to form intermetallic species according to the parabolic rate law, describing the migration of the rare earth element. The diffusion of Fe limited the reaction progress such that the entire process was governed by the cubic rate law. Rare earth materials could be used as a surrogate for high burnup metallic fuels, and the performance of the barrier material was demonstrated to be effective.

A high performance non-noble metal electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction derived from a metal organic framework

The development of a non-precious metal electrocatalyst （NPME） with a performance superior to commercial Pt/C for the oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） is important for the commercialization of fuel cells. We report the synthesis of a NPME by heat-treating Co-based metal organic frameworks （ZIF-67） with a small average size of 44 nm. The electrocatalyst pyrolyzed at 600 ~C showed the best performance and the performance was enhanced when it was supported on BP 2000. The resulting electrocatalyst was composed of 10 nm Co nanoparticles coated by 3-12 layers of N doped graphite layers which as a whole was embedded in a carbon matrix. The ORR performance of the electrocatalyst was tested by rotating disk electrode tests in O2-saturated 0.1 mol/L KOH under ambient conditions. The electrocatalyst （1.0 mg/cm~] showed an onset potential of 1.017 V （[vs. RHE] and a half-wave potential of 0.857 V （vs. RHE], which showed it was as good as the commer- cial Pt/C （20 BgPt/cm2）. Furthermore, the electrocatalyst possessed much better stability and re- sistance to methanol crossover than Pt/C.

Preliminary Level 1 PSA Results for Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor KALIMER-600 Conceptual Design

Core damage accident scenarios are identified for the metal-fueled, sodium-cooled fast reactor （SFR）, KALIMER-600, which is under development at KAERI. A level 1 probabilistic safety assessment （PSA） model is developed using the identified accident scenarios and the system fault tree models for the safety systems which are needed to mitigate the accidents. Using the preliminary level 1 PSA models, core damage frequency is estimated for the metal fueled KALIMER-600 conceptual design. Sensitivity studies for various design alternatives of safety systems are performed to find out optimal configurations in point of view of risk minimization.

A Steam-Plasma Igniter for Aluminum Powder Combustion

High-temperature ignition is essential for the ignition and combustion of energetic metal fuels, including aluminum and magnesium particles which are protected by their high- melting-temperature oxides. A plasma torch characterized by an ultrahigh-temperature plasma plume fulfills such high-temperature ignition conditions. A new steam plasma igniter is designed and successfully validated by aluminum power ignition and combustion tests. The steam plasma rapidly stabilizes in both plasma and steam jet modes. Parametric investigation of the steam plasma jet is conducted in terms of arc strength. A high-speed camera and an oscilloscope method visualize the discharge characteristics, and optical emission spectroscopy measures the thermochemical properties of the plasma jet. The diatomic molecule OH fitting method, the Boltzmann plot method, and short exposure capturing with an intensified charge coupled device record the axial distributions of the rotational gas temperature, excitation temperature, and OH radical distribution, respectively. The excitation temperature at the nozzle tip is near 5500 K, and the gas temperature is 5400 K.

Status of a Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor Technology Development Program in Korea

Korea imports about 97% of its energy resources as its available energy resources are extremely limited. Thus, the role of nuclear power in electricity generation is expected to become more important in future years. A fast reactor system is one of the most promising options for electricity generation with an efficient utilization of uranium resources and a reduction of radioactive wastes. Based on the experiences gained during the development of the conceptual designs for KALIMER （Korea advanced liquid metal reactor）, the KAERI （Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute） is currently developing advanced SFR （sodium cooled fast reactor） design concepts that can better meet the Gen IV （Generation IV） technology goals. The long-term advanced SFR development plan will be carried out toward the construction of an advanced SFR demonstration plant by 2028. Advanced concept design studies and the development of the advanced SFR technologies necessary for its commercialization and basic key technologies carried out by KAERI are included in this paper.

Automating selective area electron diffraction phase identification using machine learning

Selective area electron diffraction(SAED)patterns can provide valuable insight into the structure of a material.However,the manual identification of collected patterns can be a significant bottleneck in the overall phase classification workflow.In this work,we utilize the recent advances in computer vision and machine learning(ML)to automate the indexing of SAED patterns.The performance of six different ML algorithms is demonstrated using metallic plutonium-zirconium alloys.The most successful approach trained a neural network(NN)to make a classification of the phase and zone axis,and then utilized a second NN to synthesize multiple independent predictions of different tilts in a single sample to make an overall phase identification.The results demonstrate that automated SAED phase identification using ML is a viable route to accelerate materials characterization.

Theoretical investigation on water/metal fuel ramjet motor-thermodynamic cycle and thermodynamic calculation

For achieving high-speed requirement of underwater vehicle,a conceptual engine,which utilizes the hydroreactive characteristic of several metals under supercavitation environment,has been put forward. Especially,in order to obtain specific impulse as great as possible,a dual water injection system is taken into account. Then thermodynamic cycle model,which lead the improvement of power plant and energy system,is introduced in detail,and thermal efficiency is also analyzed. Furthermore,for investigating the performance of this kind of engine system,detailed thermodynamic calculation and analysis are achieved. Especially,regarding hydroreactive metal fuel Mg/AP/HTPB as our target fuel-rich propellant,considering its obvious deficient oxygen property and the energy property of magnesium/water reaction,theoretical calculation method is established by integrating chemical non-equilibrium with chemical equilibrium. Accordingly,low limit of primary water/fuel ratio is determined. In addition,the qualitative and quantitative relationship of performance parameters,such as theoretical specific impulse,nozzle exit temperature,characteristic velocity,etc.,versus water/fuel ratio is investigated respectively.

Microstructure and Wear Properties of Fe-based Amorphous Coatings Deposited by High-velocity Oxygen Fuel Spraying

Fe-based powder with a composition of Fe_（42.87）Cr_（15.98）Mo_（16.33）C_（15.94）B_（8.88）（at.%）was used to fabricate coatings by high-velocity oxygen fuel spraying.The effects of the spraying parameters on the microstructure and the wear properties of the Fe-based alloy coatings were systematically studied.The results showed that the obtained Fe-based coatings with a thickness of about 400μm consisted of a large-volume amorphous phase and some nanocrystals.With increasing the fuel and oxygen flow rates,the porosity of the obtained coatings decreased.The coating deposited under optimized parameters exhibited the lowest porosity of 2.8%.The excellent wear resistance of this coating was attributed to the properties of the amorphous matrix and the presence of nanocrystals homogeneously distributed within the matrix.The wear mechanism of the coatings was discussed on the basis of observations of the worn surfaces.

Combustion performance studies of aluminum and boron based composite solid propellants in sub-atmospheric pressure regimes

The aim of present study is to investigate the burning rate,ignition delay,and flame characteristics of ammonium perchlorate(AP)-hydroxyl terminated poly-butadiene(HTPB)[AP/HTPB]based composite propellants(CSP's)in sub-atmospheric pressure regimes(13 kPae100 kPa).Several fuels and catalyzed were used to evaluate their effects on the combustion characteristics of AP based propellants in sub-atmospheric pressure regimes.In fuels,aluminum(Al)and boron(B)were selected as metallic and non-metallic fuel respectively.While in catalyst,butyl ferrocene(B.F.)and ferric oxide(F.O.)were selected as liquid and solid catalyst respectively.Apart from these,other ingredients that were used are di-octyl adipate(DOA),toluene di-isocyanate(TDI),and glycerol.The article throws some light on the burning rate and ignition delay properties for these new classes of prepared propellant samples.At subatmospheric pressures,all propellants are susceptible to irregular burning with the ejection of soot's,fumes,and unburned particles.F.O.based catalyzed propellants can sustain its combustion up to the lowest pressure.