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Application of Sensitivity/Uncertainty Methods to Burnup Credit Criticality Validation
Application of Sensitivity/Uncertainty Methods to Burnup Credit Criticality Validation
Evaluation of the French Haut Taux de Combustion (HTC) Critical Experiment Data
Evaluation of the French Haut Taux de Combustion (HTC) Critical Experiment Data
In the 1980s, a series of critical experiments referred to as the Haut Taux de Combustion (HTC)
experiments was conducted by the Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN) at the
experimental criticality facility in Valduc, France. The plutonium-to- uranium ratio and the isotopic
compositions of both the uranium and plutonium used in the simulated fuel rods were designed to be
similar to what would be found in a typical pressurized-water reactor fuel assembly that initially had an
Waste Package Probabilistic Criticality Analysis: Summary Report of Evaluations in 1997
Waste Package Probabilistic Criticality Analysis: Summary Report of Evaluations in 1997
The emplacement of nuclear waste in the proposed geologic repository must satisfy relevant regulatory requirements with respect to criticality, 10CFR60. I31 (h) (Ref. 25). The waste packages for the various waste forms will be designed to preclude criticality (typically by the inclusion of neutron absorbers) even if the waste package becomes filled with water. Criticality may, however, be possible if the contents of the waste package become degraded in such a way that the fissile material can be separated from the neutron absorbers, while sufficient moderator is retained.
External Criticality Risk of Immobilized Plutonium Waste Form in a Geologic Repository
External Criticality Risk of Immobilized Plutonium Waste Form in a Geologic Repository
This technical report provides an updated summary of the waste package (WP) external criticalityrelated
risk of the plutonium disposition ceramic waste form, which is being developed and
evaluated by the Office of Fissile Materials Disposition of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
The ceramic waste form consists of Pu immobilized in ceramic disks, which would be embedded
in High-Level Waste (HLW) glass in the HLW glass disposal canisters, known as the "can-incanister"
NRC Waste Confidence Positions
NRC Waste Confidence Positions
In response to the remand of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Minnesota v. NRC, 602 F.2d 412 (1979)), and as a continuation of previous proceedings conducted in this area by NRC (44 Fed. Reg. 61,372), the Commission initiated a generic rulemaking proceeding on October 25, 1979.
THE REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS BY THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY ON THE NEED FOR A SECOND REPOSITORY
THE REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS BY THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY ON THE NEED FOR A SECOND REPOSITORY
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, as amended (NWPA), establishes a process for the siting, construction and operation of one or more national repositories for permanent disposal of the Nation’s spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). In 1987, after the Department of Energy (the Department or DOE) had conducted studies of nine potential repository sites located throughout the United States, Congress amended the NWPA and selected the Yucca Mountain site in Nye County, Nevada as the only site for further study for the first national repository.
Evaluation of Cross-Section Sensitivities in Computing Burnup Credit Fission Product Concentrations
Evaluation of Cross-Section Sensitivities in Computing Burnup Credit Fission Product Concentrations
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Interim Staff Guidance 8 (ISG-8) for burnup credit covers actinides only, a position based primarily on the lack of definitive critical experiments and adequate radiochemical assay data that can be used to quantify the uncertainty associated with fission product credit.
SCALE-4 Analysis of LaSalle Unit 1 BWR Commercial Reactor Critical Configurations
SCALE-4 Analysis of LaSalle Unit 1 BWR Commercial Reactor Critical Configurations
Five commercial reactor criticals (CRCs) for the LaSalle Unit 1 boiling-water reactor
have been analyzed using KENO V.a, the Monte Carlo criticality code of the SCALE 4 code
system. The irradiated fuel assembly isotopics for the criticality analyses were provided by the
Waste Package Design team at the Yucca Mountain Project in the United States, who performed
the depletion calculations using the SAS2H sequence of SCALE 4. The reactor critical
measurements involved two beginning-of-cycle and three middle-of-cycle configurations. The
Burnup Credit Bibliographies
Burnup Credit Bibliographies
The attached documents are an extensive list of references relevant to burnup credit criticality analysis. Some of the references may be available within the CURIE document collection.
A Multiattribute Utility Analysis of Sites Nominated for Characterization for the First Radioactive Waste Repository - A Decision Aiding Methodology
A Multiattribute Utility Analysis of Sites Nominated for Characterization for the First Radioactive Waste Repository - A Decision Aiding Methodology
This report presents a formal analysis of the five sites nominated as
suitable for characterization for the first repository; the analysis is based
on the information contained or referenced in the environmental assessments
that accompany the site nominations (DOE, 1986a-e). It is intended to aid in
the site-recommendation decision by providing insights into the comparative
advantages and disadvantages of each site. Because no formal analysis can
account for all the factors important to a decision as complex as recommending
EQ6 Calculations for Chemical Degradation of TRIGA Codisposal Waste PacKages
EQ6 Calculations for Chemical Degradation of TRIGA Codisposal Waste PacKages
The Monitored Geologic Repository Waste Package Operations of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management & Operating Contractor (CRWMS M&O) performed calculations to provide input for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics (TRIGA) reactor (Ref. 1). The TRIGA SNF has been considered for disposal at the potential Yucca Mountain site.
Intact and Degraded Mode Criticality Calculations for the Codisposal of TMI-2 Spent Nuclear Fuel in a Waste Package
Intact and Degraded Mode Criticality Calculations for the Codisposal of TMI-2 Spent Nuclear Fuel in a Waste Package
The objective of these calculations is to perform intact and degraded mode criticality evaluations of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Three Mile Island- Unit 2 (TMI-2) spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in canisters. This analysis evaluates codisposal in a 5-Defense High-Level Waste (5-DHLW/DOE SNF) Long Waste Package (Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management and Operating Contractor [CRWMS M&O] 2000b, Attachment V), which is to be placed in a potential monitored geologic repository (MGR).
EQ6 Calculation for Chemical Degradation of Shippingport LWBR (Th/U Oxide) Spent Nuclear Fuel Waste Packages
EQ6 Calculation for Chemical Degradation of Shippingport LWBR (Th/U Oxide) Spent Nuclear Fuel Waste Packages
The Monitored Geologic Repository (MGR) Waste Package Department of the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System Management & Operating contractor (CRWMS M&O) performed calculations to provide input for disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the Shippingport Light Water Breeder Reactor (LWBR) (Ref. 1). The Shippingport LWBR SNF has been considered for disposal at the potential Yucca Mountain site.
Second Waste Package Probabilistic Criticality Analysis: Generation and Evaluation of Internal Criticality Configurations
Second Waste Package Probabilistic Criticality Analysis: Generation and Evaluation of Internal Criticality Configurations
This analysis is prepared by the Mined Geologic Disposal System (MGDS) Waste Package Development (WPD) department to provide an evaluation of the criticality potential within a waste package having some or all of its contents degraded by corrosion and removal of neutron absorbers. This analysis is also intended to provide an estimate of the consequences of any internal criticality, particularly in terms of any increase in radionuclide inventory. These consequence estimates will be used as part of the WPD input to the Total System Performance Assessment.
Disposal Subcommittee Report to the Full Commission
Disposal Subcommittee Report to the Full Commission
The Disposal Subcommittee of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future (BRC) addressed a wide-ranging set of issues, all bearing directly on the central question: “How can the United States go about establishing one or more disposal sites for high-level nuclear wastes in a manner and within a timeframe that is technically, socially, economically, and politically acceptable?”
Criticality Consequence Calculation Involving Intact PWR MOX SNF in a Degraded 21 PWR Assembly Waste Package
Criticality Consequence Calculation Involving Intact PWR MOX SNF in a Degraded 21 PWR Assembly Waste Package
Data Analysis for Infiltration Modeling: Extracted Weather Station Data Used to Represent Present-Day and Potential Future Climate Conditions in the Vicinity of Yucca Mountain
Data Analysis for Infiltration Modeling: Extracted Weather Station Data Used to Represent Present-Day and Potential Future Climate Conditions in the Vicinity of Yucca Mountain
The purpose of this analysis is to identify, extract, and reformat weather (meteorological) data that is appropriate for use as input to an infiltration model, within the Yucca Mountain region. The analysis uses relevant meteorological data (e.g., precipitation and temperature) from source stations, and reformats or converts the data into a form suitable for the generation of meteorological conditions for a 10,000-year future climate in the Yucca Mountain region.
General Corrosion and Localized Corrosion of the Drip Shield
General Corrosion and Localized Corrosion of the Drip Shield
The repository design includes a drip shield (BSC 2004 [DIRS 168489]) that provides protection for the waste package both as a barrier to seepage water contact and a physical barrier to potential rockfall.
The purpose of the process-level models developed in this report is to model dry oxidation, general corrosion, and localized corrosion of the drip shield plate material, which is made of Ti Grade 7. This document is prepared ·according to Technical Work Plan For: Regulatory Integration Modeling and Analysis of the Waste Form and Waste Package (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171583]).
K-Infinite Trends with Burnup, Enrichment, and Cooling Time for BWR Fuel Assemblies
K-Infinite Trends with Burnup, Enrichment, and Cooling Time for BWR Fuel Assemblies
This report documents the work performed by ORNL for the Yucca Mountain Project (YMP)
M&O contractor, Framatome Cogema Fuels. The goal of this work was to obtain k values for inf
infinite arrays of flooded boiling-water-reactor (BWR) fuel assemblies as a function of various
burnup/enrichment and cooling-time combinations. These scenarios simulate expected limiting
criticality loading conditions (for a given assembly type) for drift emplacements in a repository. Upon
Analysis of Fresh Fuel Critical Experiments Appropriate for Burnup Credit Validation
Analysis of Fresh Fuel Critical Experiments Appropriate for Burnup Credit Validation
The ANS/ANS-8.1 standard requires that calculational methods used in determining criticality
safety limits for applications outside reactors be validated by comparison with appropriate critical
experiments. This report provides a detailed description of 34 fresh fuel critical experiments and
their analyses using the SCALE-4.2 code system and the 27-group ENDF/B-IV cross-section library.
The 34 critical experiments were selected based on geometry, material, and neutron interaction
Bias and Range of Applicability Determinations for Commercial Nuclear Fuels
Bias and Range of Applicability Determinations for Commercial Nuclear Fuels
The purpose of this calculation is to apply the process described in the Preclosure Criticality Analysis Process Report (Ref. 2.2.12) to establish the bias for keff calculations performed for commercial nuclear fuels using the MCNP code system. This bias will be used in criticality safety analyses as part of the basis for establishing the upper subcritical limit (USL). This calculation also defines the range of applicability (ROA) for which the bias may be used directly without need to consider additional penalties on the USL.
SCALE-4 Analysis of Pressurized Water Reactor Critical Configurations: Volume 4-Three Mile Island Unit 1 Cycle 5
SCALE-4 Analysis of Pressurized Water Reactor Critical Configurations: Volume 4-Three Mile Island Unit 1 Cycle 5
The requirements of ANSI/ANS-8.1 specify that calculational methods for away-from-reactor
criticality safety analyses be validated against experimental measurements. If credit is to be taken for
the reduced reactivity of burned or spent fuel relative to its original "fresh" composition, it is
necessary to benchmark computational methods used in determining such reactivity worth against
spent fuel reactivity measurements. This report summarizes a portion of the ongoing effort to
Commercial Reactor Reactivity Analysis for Grand Gulf, Unit 1
Commercial Reactor Reactivity Analysis for Grand Gulf, Unit 1
The objective of this calculation is to document the Grand Gulf Unit 1 (GGl) reactivity calculations for sixteen critical statepoints in· cycles 4 through 8. The GG1 reactor is a boiling water reactor (BWR) owned and operated by Entergy Operations Inc. The Commercial Reactor Criticality (CRC) evaluations support the development and validation of the neutronic models used for criticality analyses involving commercial spent nuclear fuel to be placed in a geologic repository. This calculation is performed as part of the evaluation in the CRC program.
Radionuclide Screening
Radionuclide Screening
The waste forms under consideration for disposal in the repository at Yucca Mountain contain scores of radionuclides. It would be impractical and highly inefficient to model all of these radionuclides in a total system performance assessment (TSPA). Thus, the purpose of this radionuclide screening analysis is to remove from further consideration (screen out) radionuclides that are unlikely to significantly contribute to radiation dose to the public from a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain.