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Utility Working Conference and Vendor Technology Expo (UWC 2024)
August 4–7, 2024
Marco Island, FL|JW Marriott Marco Island
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BWXT will scout potential TRISO fuel production sites in Wyoming
BWX Technologies Inc. announced today that its Advanced Technologies subsidiary has signed a cooperation agreement with the state of Wyoming to evaluate locations and requirements for siting a potential new TRISO nuclear fuel fabrication facility in the state.
Joseph B. Green, Jr., Richard M. Lessler
Nuclear Technology | Volume 11 | Number 3 | July 1971 | Pages 357-366
Technical Paper | Nuclear Explosion Engineering / Nuclear Explosive | doi.org/10.13182/NT71-A30869
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The degree of success to be achieved by a Plowshare application may well depend on the amount of radioactivity produced by the nuclear explosion. One method of reducing the soil activation is to emplace shielding material around the explosive package. We conducted a parameter study using Monte Carlo neutronics to determine the optimum moderator-to-absorber atomic ratio and to identify an effective shielding material. With boron as the absorber, we found the most effective ratio to be about 30 ± 5 at.% boron, the remainder being moderator. Many materials containing boron were evaluated; the most effective shielding material was found to be polyethylene borated at ∼30 at.%. A sample Plowshare application was calculated for 15 cm of borated polyethylene, resulting in a reduction of soil activation by a factor of 90 over an unshielded explosive. The total radioactivity was reduced by a factor of only 80 due to tritium production in the shield itself.