Code analyses supporting PIE of weapons-grade MOX fuel

L. J. Ott, B. B. Bevard, D. J. Spellman, Kevin McCoy

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Energy has decided to dispose of a portion of the nation's surplus weapons-grade plutonium by reconstituting it into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel and irradiating the fuel in commercial power reactors. Four lead assemblies were manufactured with weapons-grade mixed oxide (WG-MOX) fuel and were irradiated in the Catawba Nuclear Station, Unit 1, to a maximum fuel rod burnup of -47.3 GWd/MTHM. As part of the fuel qualification process, five rods with varying burnups and initial plutonium contents were selected from one assembly and were shipped to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for hot cell examination. ORNL has provided analytical support for the post-irradiation examination (PIE) of these rods via extensive fuel performance modeling which has aided in selecting instrument settings and interpreting PIE data. The results of these fuel performance simulations are compared in this paper with available PIE data.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationLWR Fuel Performance Meeting/Top Fuel/WRFPM 2010
Pages89-95
Number of pages7
StatePublished - 2010
EventLWR Fuel Performance Meeting/Top Fuel/WRFPM 2010 - Orlando, FL, United States
Duration: Sep 26 2010Sep 29 2010

Publication series

NameLWR Fuel Performance Meeting/Top Fuel/WRFPM 2010

Conference

ConferenceLWR Fuel Performance Meeting/Top Fuel/WRFPM 2010
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityOrlando, FL
Period09/26/1009/29/10

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