THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE Nicholas Tsoulfanidis, Ph.D. American Nuclear Society La Grange Park, Illinois. USA| Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data i Toovlfanidis, Nicholas, 1938- ‘The nuclear fuel cycle / Nicholas Tsoulfaniis, Ph.D. pages em i Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-89448-460-5 1. Nuclear fuels. 2, Nuclear fuels—Management, 3. Nuclear fuels—Generation of clecticity, I. Title. "TK9360.C532013, 621.48'335—de23 2012035082 ISBN: 978-0-89448-460-5 Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 2012035082 ‘ANS Order Number: 350024 © 2013 American Nuciear Society ‘355 North Kensington Avenue La Grange Park, Mlinois 60526 USA All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the writen permission of the publisher. Editorial and production: Quantum Publishing Services, Inc. Bellingham, WA, USA ‘Typography: Beljan Lid., Dexter, MI, USA ‘Printed in the United States of America CONTENTS PREFACE Chapter 1 Review of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle AL 12 13 1a 1s 16 17 18 19 General Comments Nuclear Fission Reactor Types Generations of Fission Reactors GEN-II Reactors GEN-IM Reactors ‘Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) Nuclear Fuel Activities Nuclear Fuel Cycles Glossary of Nuclear Fuel Terms Bibliography General Websites Chapter 2. Nuclear Fuel Resources, Mining, and Milling 24 22 Introduction ‘Uranium Exploration Techniques 22.1 Geological Studies 22.2 Airborne Surveys 2.2.3 Surface Surveys 2.2.4 Hydrochemical Methods 225 Well Logging 22.6 Botanical Methods Principal Uranium-Bearing Minerals Uranium Mining Methods 24.1 Open-Pit Mining 242 _ Underground MiningVi THE NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 243 In Situ Leaching (Solution Mining) 244 Recovery of Uranium as By-Product from Mining. Other Materials 24.5 Recovery of Uranium from Seawater 2.5 Uranium Exploration and Mine Activities 2.6 The Milling of Uranium Ore 2.7 The Mill Tailings 28 Uranium Reserves and Resources 2.9 Uranium Production 2.10 Economic Considerations of Uranium Production Methods 2.11 Thorium Minerals and Estimated Reserves Bibliography References Problems Chapter 3 Conversion and Enrichment 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Purification of U;O, 3.3 Conversion of U;Os to UFs 3.4 Enrichment of Uranium by Gaseous Diffusion 3.5 Quantitative Aspects of Enrichment by Gaseous Diffusion 3.6 The Management of Uranium Enrichment Tails 3.7 The United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) 3.8 The Use of Weapons Uranium for Civilian Nuclear Fuel 3.9 Enrichment ot Uranium by the Centrifuge Mettiod 3.10 Enrichment of Uranium by the Separation Nozzle Method 3.11 Enrichment of Uranium Using Lasers 3.12 Enrichment Prices and Contracts 3.13 World Enrichment Capacity Bibliography General Websites References Problems Chapter 4 Fuel Design and Fabrication 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Reactor Fuel and Cladding Materials 4.2.1 Uranium Metal 42.2 Ceramic Fuels 4.23 Fuel Cladding 4.2.4 Burnable Absorbers or Burnable Poisons 43° Fuel Element Fabrication 43.1 Fuel Pellet Production 37 38 39 40 42 2 47 49 50 31 54 34 38 7 58 58 62 10 n n R 18 6 2» 81 82 82 82 83 86 88 88 88 91 93 95 95 CONTENTS. vi 43.2 Fuel Rod Loading 98 433. Fuel Assembly for a PWR 99 434 Fuel Assembly for a BWR 102 43.5 Fuel Assembly Identification Scheme 102 4.4 LWR Fuel Problems and Solutions 104 44.1 Nuclear Fuel Problems 104 442 Barrier Fuel 108 443 VANTAGE-5 Fuel 109 4,5 Examination of Irradiated Fuel for Defects: Fuel Sipping 109 4.6 Axial and Radial Blankets 110 4.7 Other Types of Power Reactor Fuels ut 4.1.1 ‘The Gas-Cooled GI-MHR and Pebble Bed Reactor Fuel 111 47.2 ‘The MOX Fuel 113 47.3 Future Fuel Designs 114 48 Fuel Fabrication Cost us ‘9 Materials Concems Relative to Plant Life Extension 116 Bibliography 116 References 47 Problems 19 Chapter 5 Reactor Physics Calculations 3.1 Introduction 120 5.2 The Neutron Transport Equation 122 5.2.1 General Comments and Derivation of the Transport Equation 122 5.2.2 - The Diffusion Approximation 125 5.2.3 ‘The Multigroup Diffusion Approximation Formalism 126 5.24 Criticality Calculation Using the Multigroup Equations 131 5.2.5 One- and Two-Group Diffusion Equation Calculations 134 5.2.6 Numerical Solution of the Multigroup Equations 137 5.2.7 The Transport Approximations Py and Sy 140 5.2.8 Nodal Methods 143 5.2.9 The Monte Carlo Method 145 53 Nuclear Cross-Section Data 150 53.1 The ENDE/B Library 150 5.3.2 Information Provided by ENDF/B 151 5.33 Calculation of the Neutron Energy Spectrum $(E) 152 5.34 Cross-Section Libraries for Multigroup Calculations 156 54 Fundamentals of Core Reload Calculations 158 5.1 Objectives of Reload Calculations 158 5.4.2 Calculation of the Average Power per Assembly 160 5.5 Fuel Depletion Calculations 163 5.6 Bumable Poison Calculations—Chemical Shim. 167