• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.968-976
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• 2019

This paper presents a number of verification case studies for a recently developed sensitivity/uncertainty code package. The code package, ROMUSE (Reduced Order Modeling based Uncertainty/Sensitivity Estimator) is an effort to provide an analysis tool to be used in conjunction with reactor core simulators, in particular the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications (VERA) core simulator. ROMUSE has been written in C++ and is currently capable of performing various types of parameter perturbations and associated sensitivity analysis, uncertainty quantification, surrogate model construction and subspace analysis. The current version 2.0 has the capability to interface with the Design Analysis Kit for Optimization and Terascale Applications (DAKOTA) code, which gives ROMUSE access to the various algorithms implemented within DAKOTA, most importantly model calibration. The verification study is performed via two basic problems and two reactor physics models. The first problem is used to verify the ROMUSE single physics gradient-based range finding algorithm capability using an abstract quadratic model. The second problem is the Brusselator problem, which is a coupled problem representative of multi-physics problems. This problem is used to test the capability of constructing surrogates via ROMUSE-DAKOTA. Finally, light water reactor pin cell and sodium-cooled fast reactor fuel assembly problems are simulated via SCALE 6.1 to test ROMUSE capability for uncertainty quantification and sensitivity analysis purposes.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.1218-1230
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• 2019

A sub-channel solver, named ${\underline{S}}teady$ and ${\underline{T}}ransient$ ${\underline{A}}nalyzer$ for ${\underline{R}}eactor$ ${\underline{T}}hermal$ hydraulics (START), has been developed using the homogenous model for two-phase conditions of light water reactors. The code is developed as a fast and accurate TH-solver for coupled and multi-physics calculations. START has been validated against the NUPEC PWR Sub-channel and Bundle Test (PSBT) database. Tests like single-channel quality and void-fraction for steady state, outlet fluid temperature for steady state, rod-bundle quality and void-fraction for both steady state and transient conditions have been analyzed and compared with experimental values. Results reveal a good accuracy of solution for both steady state and transient scenarios. Axially different values for turbulent mixing coefficient are used based on different grid-spacer types. This provides better results as compared to using a single value of turbulent mixing coefficient. Code-to-code evaluation of PSBT results by the START code compares well with other industrial codes. The START code has been parallelized with the OpenMP algorithm and its numerical performance is evaluated with a large whole PWR core. Scaling study of START shows a good parallel performance.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2019

One of proposed Accident Tolerant Fuel (ATF) concept is fully ceramic micro-encapsulated fuel (FCMF). FCMF using uranium mononitride (UN) has better safety aspects than $UO_2$ pellet fuel although it might not have a better neutronic performance due to the presence of matrix and high neutron-induced interaction of $^{14}N$. Before implementing UN-FCMF technology in Small-PWR, further research must be taken place to make sure the proposed design of fuel assembly has inherent safety features and maintain the fuel performance. This study focusses on the neutronic analysis of UN-FCMF based fuel assembly using Serpent and SCALE codes. It is shown in the proposed fuel assembly design has inherent safety features with respect to the fuel temperature reactivity coefficient, void reactivity coefficient, and moderator temperature reactivity coefficient. It is noted that the use of FCMF leads to a lower ratio of burnup to $^{235}U$ enrichment ratio compared to the $UO_2/Zr$ fuel.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.7
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• pp.2151-2161
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• 2021

Nuclear data (ND) sensitivity and uncertainty (S/U) quantification in shielding applications is performed using deterministic and probabilistic approaches. In this paper the validation of the newly developed deterministic program package ASUSD (ADVANTG + SUSD3D) is presented. ASUSD was developed with the aim of automating the process of ND S/U while retaining the computational efficiency of the deterministic approach to ND S/U analysis. The paper includes a detailed description of each of the programs contained within ASUSD, the computational workflow and validation results. ASUSD was validated on two shielding benchmark experiments from the Shielding Integral Benchmark Archive and Database (SINBAD) - the fission relevant ASPIS Iron 88 experiment and the fusion relevant Frascati Neutron Generator (FNG) Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) Test Blanket Module (TBM) mock-up experiment. The validation process was performed in two stages. Firstly, the Denovo discrete ordinates transport solver was validated as a standalone solver. Secondly, the ASUSD program package as a whole was validated as a ND S/U analysis tool. Both stages of the validation process yielded excellent results, with a maximum difference of 17% in final uncertainties due to ND between ASUSD and the stochastic ND S/U approach. Based on these results, ASUSD has proven to be a user friendly and computationally efficient tool for deterministic ND S/U analysis of shielding geometries.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.1616-1622
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• 2022

Selenium has been identified as an element of interest for the safety assessment of a deep geological repository (DGR) for used nuclear fuel. In Canada, groundwaters at DGR depths in sedimentary rocks have been observed to have a high ionic strength. This paper examines the sorption behavior of Se(-II) onto illite, MX-80 bentonite, Queenston shale, and argillaceous limestone in Na-Ca-Cl solutions of varying ionic strength (0.1-6 mol/kgw (m)) and across a pH range of 4-9. Little ionic strength dependence for Se(-II) sorption onto all solids was observed except that sorption at high ionic strength (6 m) was generally slightly lower than sorption at low ionic strength (0.1 m). Illite and MX-80 exhibited the expected results for anion sorption, while shale and limestone exhibited more constant sorption across the pH range tested. A non-electrostatic surface complexation model successfully predicted sorption of Se(-II) onto illite and MX-80 using the formation of an inner-sphere surface complex and an outer-sphere surface complex. Optimized values for the formation reactions of these surface species were proposed.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.10
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• pp.3725-3731
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• 2023

Thorium dioxide (ThO₂)-silicon carbide (SiC) composite fuel pellets were fabricated via the spark plasma-sintering (SPS) method to investigate the role of the addition of SiC in enhancing the thermal conductivity of ThO₂ fuel. SiC particles with an average size of 1㎛ in 10 and 15 vol% were used to manufacture the composite pellets. The changes in the composites' densification, microstructure and thermal conductivity were explored by comparing them with pure ThO₂ pellets. The structural and microstructural characterization of the composite pellets has revealed that SPS could manufacture high-quality composite pellets without having any reaction products or intermetallic. The density measurement by the Archimedes principles and the grain size from the electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis has indicated that the composites have higher densities and smaller grain sizes than the pellets without SiC addition. Finally, thermal conductivity as a function of temperature has revealed that sintered ThO₂-SiC composites showed an increase of up to 56% in thermal conductivity compared to pristine ThO₂ pellets.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.344-349
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• 2016

Background: Carbon ion therapy has achieved satisfactory results. However, patients have a risk to get a secondary cancer. In order to estimate the risk, it is essential to understand particle transportation and nuclear reactions in the patient's body. The particle transport Monte Carlo simulation code is a useful tool to understand them. Since the code validation for heavy ion incident reactions is not enough, the experimental data of the elementary reaction processes are needed. Materials and Methods: We measured neutron production double-differential cross-sections (DDXs) on a carbon bombarded with 430 MeV/nucleon carbon beam at PH2 beam line of HIMAC facility in NIRS. Neutrons produced in the target were measured with NE213 liquid organic scintillators located at six angles of 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and $90^{\circ}$. Results and Discussion: Neutron production double-differential cross-sections for carbon bombarded with 430 MeV/nucleon carbon ions were measured by the time-of-flight method with NE213 liquid organic scintillators at six angles of 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and $90^{\circ}$. The cross sections were obtained from 1 MeV to several hundred MeV. The experimental data were compared with calculated results obtained by Monte Carlo simulation codes PHITS, Geant4, and FLUKA. Conclusion: PHITS was able to reproduce neutron production for elementary processes of carbon-carbon reaction precisely the best of three codes.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.2792-2800
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• 2022

In the core of the WWR-K reactor, a long-term irradiation of tristructural isotopic (TRISO)-coated fuel particles (CFPs) with a UO₂ kernel was carried out under high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR)-like operating conditions. The temperature of this TRISO fuel during irradiation varied in the range of 950-1100 ℃. A fission per initial metal atom (FIMA) of uranium burnup of 9.9% was reached. The release of gaseous fission products was measured in-pile. The release-to-birth ratio (R/B) for the fission product isotopes was calculated. Aspects of fuel safety while achieving deep fuel burnup are important and relevant, including maintaining the integrity of the fuel coatings. The main mechanisms of fuel failure are kernel migration, silicon carbide corrosion by palladium, and gas pressure increase inside the CFP. The formation of gaseous fission products and carbon monoxide leads to an increase in the internal pressure in the CFP, which is a dominant failure mechanism of the coatings under this level of burnup. Irradiated fuel compacts were subjected to electric dissociation to isolate the CFPs from the fuel compacts. In addition, nondestructive methods, such as X-ray radiography and gamma spectrometry, were used. The predicted R/B ratio was evaluated using the fission gas release model developed in the high-temperature test reactor (HTTR) project. In the model, both the through-coatings of failed CFPs and as-fabricated uranium contamination were assumed to be sources of the fission gas. The obtained R/B ratio for gaseous fission products allows the finalization and validation of the model for the release of fission products from the CFPs and fuel compacts. The success of the integrity of TRISO fuel irradiated at approximately 9.9% FIMA was demonstrated. A low fuel failure fraction and R/B ratios indicated good performance and reliability of the studied TRISO fuel.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.56 no.9
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• pp.3969-3980
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• 2024

Over the years, numerous evaluations of material attractiveness have been performed for conventional light water reactors to better understand the nature of the spent fuel material and its desirability for misuse at different points in the nuclear fuel cycle. However, availability of such assessments for newer, Generation IV reactors such as Molten Salt Reactors is rather limited. In the present study we address the gap in knowledge of material attractiveness for molten salt reactor systems and describe the nature of irradiated fuel salts which the nuclear safeguards community might be faced with in the near future as more and more such reactors enter commission and operation. Within the scope of the paper, we use a large database of simulated irradiated fuel salt isotopics (and other derived quantities such as gamma activity, decay heat, and neutron emission rates) developed specifically for a molten salt reactor concept in order to shed some light on possible weapons usability of uranium and plutonium present in the irradiated fuel salts. This has been achieved by proposing a new attractiveness metric that is better suited for quantifying attractiveness of irradiated salts from a model molten salt concept. The said metric has been computed using a database that has been created by simulating the irradiation of molten fuel salt in a concept core over a wide range of operational parameters (burnup, initial enrichment, and cooling time) using the Monte-Carlo particle transport code, Serpent. With the help of this attractiveness metric, the findings from this study have shown that in relative terms, molten salt spent fuel is more attractive than spent fuel produced by a conventional light water reactor. The findings also underscore the need for strengthened safeguards measures for such spent fuel. These results are expected to be useful in the future for regulatory authorities as well as for nuclear safeguards inspectors for designing a functional safeguards verification routine for irradiated fuel of such unique nature.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.443-451
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• 2023

Machine Learning has introduced many solutions in data science, but its application in IoT faces significant challenges, due to the limitations in memory size and processing capability of constrained devices. In this paper we design an automatic gamma radiation detection and identification embedded system that exploits the power of TinyML in a SiPM micro radiation sensor leveraging the Edge Impulse platform. The model is trained using real gamma source data enhanced by software augmentation algorithms. Tests show high accuracy in real time processing. This design has promising applications in general-purpose radiation detection and identification, nuclear safety, medical diagnosis and it is also amenable for deployment in small satellites.