Plutonium-238 Production Program Results, Implications, and Projections from Irradiation and Examination of Initial NpO2 Test Targets for Improved Production

Emory D. Collins; Robert N. Morris; Joel L. McDuffee; Padhraic L. Mulligan; Jeffrey S. Delashmitt; Steven R. Sherman; Raymond J. Vedder; Robert M. Wham

doi:10.1080/00295450.2021.2021769

Plutonium-238 Production Program Results, Implications, and Projections from Irradiation and Examination of Initial NpO₂ Test Targets for Improved Production

Emory D. Collins, Robert N. Morris, Joel L. McDuffee, Padhraic L. Mulligan, Jeffrey S. Delashmitt, Steven R. Sherman, Raymond J. Vedder, Robert M. Wham

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

An alternative target design with potential improvements, including a major increase in ²³⁸Pu production rate and annual capacity; fewer targets to be fabricated, irradiated, and processed; and a significant replacement of a large volume of caustic-nitrate, aluminum-bearing radioactive liquid waste with a smaller volume of solid metal waste, has been conceived and evaluated using reactor physics and thermal-hydraulic analyses. The alternative target design uses pressed pellets of ²³⁷NpO₂, sintered to 92% to 93% of theoretical density, and stacked inside a Zircaloy-4 cladding tube. Four test targets were fabricated, irradiated, and examined. No melting or other potential problems were indicated. Projections from measured constituents indicated annual production could be increased by a factor of ~2, and the number of targets required to be fabricated, irradiated, and processed could be reduced by a factor of ~5.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	S18-S25
Journal	Nuclear Technology
Volume	208
Issue number	sup1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.2021769
State	Published - 2022

Funding

This material is published by permission of UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. AC05-00OR22725. The U.S. Government retains for itself, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up, non-exclusive, and irrevocable worldwide license in said article to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, by or on behalf of the Government. Funding for this work was provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration through the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy. The authors wish to thank Doug Canaan, Chris Wightman, and T. Jordan for their assistance with the PIE. We gratefully acknowledge Sandra Lloyd MacPherson for her assistance with figure and manuscript preparation.

Keywords

Neptunium oxide
irradiation
post-irradiation examination
projections
test targets

Access to Document

10.1080/00295450.2021.2021769

Cite this

Collins, E. D., Morris, R. N., McDuffee, J. L., Mulligan, P. L., Delashmitt, J. S., Sherman, S. R., Vedder, R. J., & Wham, R. M. (2022). Plutonium-238 Production Program Results, Implications, and Projections from Irradiation and Examination of Initial NpO₂ Test Targets for Improved Production. Nuclear Technology, 208(sup1), S18-S25. https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2021.2021769

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abstract = "An alternative target design with potential improvements, including a major increase in 238Pu production rate and annual capacity; fewer targets to be fabricated, irradiated, and processed; and a significant replacement of a large volume of caustic-nitrate, aluminum-bearing radioactive liquid waste with a smaller volume of solid metal waste, has been conceived and evaluated using reactor physics and thermal-hydraulic analyses. The alternative target design uses pressed pellets of 237NpO2, sintered to 92% to 93% of theoretical density, and stacked inside a Zircaloy-4 cladding tube. Four test targets were fabricated, irradiated, and examined. No melting or other potential problems were indicated. Projections from measured constituents indicated annual production could be increased by a factor of ~2, and the number of targets required to be fabricated, irradiated, and processed could be reduced by a factor of ~5.",

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