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Division Spotlight
Robotics & Remote Systems
The Mission of the Robotics and Remote Systems Division is to promote the development and application of immersive simulation, robotics, and remote systems for hazardous environments for the purpose of reducing hazardous exposure to individuals, reducing environmental hazards and reducing the cost of performing work.
Meeting Spotlight
International Conference on Mathematics and Computational Methods Applied to Nuclear Science and Engineering (M&C 2025)
April 27–30, 2025
Denver, CO|The Westin Denver Downtown
Standards Program
The Standards Committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus standards that address the design, analysis, and operation of components, systems, and facilities related to the application of nuclear science and technology. Find out What’s New, check out the Standards Store, or Get Involved today!
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Latest News
Argonne’s METL gears up to test more sodium fast reactor components
Argonne National Laboratory has successfully swapped out an aging cold trap in the sodium test loop called METL (Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop), the Department of Energy announced April 23. The upgrade is the first of its kind in the United States in more than 30 years, according to the DOE, and will help test components and operations for the sodium-cooled fast reactors being developed now.
Blair P. Bromley
Nuclear Technology | Volume 194 | Number 2 | May 2016 | Pages 192-203
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NT14-101
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Pressure-tube heavy water reactors (PT-HWRs) are highly advantageous for implementing plutonium-thorium (Pu-Th) fuels because of their high neutron economy and online refueling capability. The use of annular heterogeneous seed-blanket core concepts in a PT-HWR where higher-fissile-content seed fuel bundles are physically separate from lower-fissile-content blanket bundles allows more flexibility and control in fuel management. The lattice concept modeled was a 35-element bundle made with a homogeneous mixture of reactor-grade PuO2 (67 wt% fissile) and ThO2, with a central zirconia rod to reduce coolant void reactivity. Eight annular heterogeneous seed-blanket core concepts with plutonium-thorium–based fuels in a 700-MW(electric)–class PT HWR were analyzed, using a once-through-thorium cycle. Blanket region(s) represented 50% to 75% of the total fuel volume. There were 1, 2, and 3 different blanket regions and 1, 2, and 3 different seed regions. The seed fuel tested was 3 wt% or 4 wt% PuO2, while the blanket fuel tested was 1 wt% PuO2, mixed with ThO2. The impact of different fuel combinations on the core-average burnup, fissile utilization (FU), power distributions, and other performance parameters were evaluated. WIMS-AECL 3.1 was used to perform lattice physics calculations using two-dimensional, 89-group integral neutron transport theory, while RFSP 3.5.1 was used to perform the core physics and fuel management calculations using three-dimensional two-group diffusion theory. Among the different core concepts investigated, there were cores where the FU was up to 25% higher than is achieved in a PT-HWR using natural uranium fuel bundles. There were cores where up to 60% of the Pu was consumed, cores where up to 41% of the energy was produced from 233U, and cores where up to 236 kg/yr of fissile uranium (mainly 233U) was produced in the discharged fuel. This study is an extension of previous work that involved the analysis of homogeneous cores, two-region (one seed, one blanket) and eight-region (four seeds, four blankets) annular, and checkerboard-type heterogeneous seed-blanket cores.