Recommended strategy and limitations of burnable absorbers used in VVER fuel assemblies

There is an obvious effort to increase the burn up of used fuel assemblies in order to improve fuel utilization.A more effective operation can be realized by extending the fuel cycles or by increasing the number of reloadings.This change is nevertheless connected with increasing the uranium enrichment even above 5% of 235U. Burnable absorbers are widely used to compensate for the positive reactivity of fresh fuel. With proper optimization, burnable absorbers decrease the reactivity excess at the beginning of the cycle, and they can help with stabilization of power distribution. This paper describes properties of several materials that can be used as burnable absorbers. The change in concentration or position of the pin with a burnable absorber in a fuel assembly was analyzed by the HELIOS transport lattice code. The multiplication factor and power peaking factor dependence on fuel burn up were used to evaluate the neutronic properties of burnable absorbers. The following four different materials are discussed in this paper: Gd2O3, IFBA, Er2O3,and Dy2O3.Gadolinium had the greatest influence on fuel characteristics. The number of pins with a burnable absorber was limited in the VVER-440 fuel assembly to six. In the VVER-1000 fuel assembly, 36 pins with a burnable absorber can be used as the assembly is larger. The erbium depletion rate was comparable with uranium burn up.Dysprosium had the largest parasitic absorption after depletion.

Effect of CuO on the Burnability and Mineral Formation of High C_3S Cement Clinker

The effect of CuO on the clinkering process and mineral structure, components and morphology of high C3S cement clinker was studied. One reference mixture was prepared according to the potential mineral phase components C3S=75%, C3A=7%, C4AF=18% and then was mixed, respectively, with 0.5%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%, 2.5% and 4% CuO. All samples were heated at a rate of 10°C/min to the design temperatures and then maintained for 40 min. Analyses by the glycerol-ethanol method, XRD and SEM-EDS show that the minimum of free lime （f-CaO） content was related to temperature and CuO amount. The higher the temperature, the lower the amount of CuO corresponding to the f-CaO minimum content. CuO promotes the formation and growth of C3S and C4AF and a new compound is found. In addition, these phenomena are discussed theoretically. In conclusion, CuO alters the burnability and the formation and structure of C3S in a high C3S cement system.

A New Kind of Eco-Cement Made of Cement Kiln Dust and Granular Blast Furnace Slag

A research project wus conducted to manufacture eco-cement for sustainable development using cement kiln dust（ CKD ） and granular blast furnace slag（ GBFS ）. In the project, the burning process and minerul compositions of CKD dinker were investigated. Different minerulizers such as CaSO4 and CaF2 , sulfur and alkali corttent were coasidered. The strength of CKD and GBFS eco-cement were evaluated. The results indicate the CKD clinker can not only form ordinary cement clinker minerals such as C3 S, C2 S and C4 AF , but also form such high-reuctive minerals as C4 A3 S and C. A7 · CaF2 . The CKD and GBFS eco-cement will have the similar strength to the Portland cement grade 32.5 when blend proportion is properly applied.

Influence of Characteristics of Alumina-silicate Raw Materials on the Formation Process of Clinker

The traditional alumina-silicate raw materials, for example, clays, in the precalcining technique of cement production, have been replaced by low grade and high silica content sandstones, shales, and industrial waste residues, including fly ashes, slag, and others. The results are the change of compositions and characteristics of raw materials applied and a great effect on cement calcination process and clinker formation. In this work, the cement clinker formation process of different alumina-silicate raw materials to replace clay raw material was studied by chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and high temperature microscope based on the characteristics of the alumina-silicate raw materials. The formation heat of the clinker was determined by the acid dissolution method. Influence of different alumina-silicate raw materials on the clinker burnability and formation process was studied. The results show that the changing of alumina- silicate raw materials, especially using industrial waste residues, can reduce the formation temperature of high temperature liquid phases, improve the burnability of raw materials, reduce the formation temperature and formation heat of clinker. And this study also observed the formation temperature and transformation of high temperature liquid phases in the heating process of raw materials by high temperature microscope.

Study the Critical Role of Admixtures in Cement Production: The Optimum State of Cassiterite (SnO₂) Addition as a Natural Mineralizer-Oxide Influencing the Cement Properties

In this work we evaluate the role of a natural mineralizer-oxide like cassiterite (SnO2) on the cement properties. In particular, we study the effect of different quantities of SnO2 with 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 wt% on burnability of industrial raw mix by free lime evaluation. We obtain four datasets, with successive increase of temperature at 1250℃, 1350℃, 1400℃ and 1450℃. We study the produced cassiterite-added clinker with X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis (DTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Though, we characterize the new phases formed and whether, adding excess SnO2 is promote forms of C3S, C2S influencing the final quality of cement.

USE OF CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION WASTESAS RAW MATERIALS IN CEMENT CLINKER PRODUCTION

The aim of the present paper was to investigate the possibility of utilizing Construction and Demolition （C＆D） wastes as substitutes of Portland cement raw meal. The C＆D wastes that were so used, were the Recycled Concrete Aggregates （RCA） and the Recycled Masonry Aggregates （RMA） derived from demolished buildings in Attica region, Greece. RCA and RMA samples were selected because of their calcareous and siliceous origin respectively, which conformed the composition of the ordinary Portland cement raw meal. For that reason, six samples of cement raw meals were prepared： one with ordinary raw materials, as a reference sample, and five by mixing the reference sample with RCA and RMA in appropriate proportions. The effect on the reactivity of the generated mixtures, was evaluated on the basis of the free lime content （fCaO） in the mixtures sintered at 1350℃, 1400℃ and 1450℃. Test showed that the added recycled aggregates improved the burnability of the cement raw meal without affecting negatively the cement clinker properties. Moreover, the formation of the major components （C3S1 C2S1 C3A and C4AF） of the produced clinkers （sintered at 1450℃） was corroborated by X-Ray Diffraction （XRD）.