Critical experiments with mixed plutonium-uranium nitrate solutions having Pu:(Pu + U) ratios greater than 0.5

Technical Report · Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1986

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10132995· OSTI ID:10132995

Primm, III, R T ^[1]; Lloyd, R C; Clayton, E D ^[2]

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1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
2. Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)

A series of critical experiments was conducted with mixed plutonium-uranium nitrate solutions having Pu:(Pu+U) ratios >0.5. Three geometries and four conditions of reflection were examined. The plutonium concentrations ranged from 170 to 350 g/L. The value of k-effective for each experiment was calculated using the KENO-IV code and 27-group cross sections derived from the Evaluated Nuclear Data File B--version IV (ENDF/B-IV). The mean value for the set of 26 experiments was 1.003, with a minimum value of 0.987 and a maximum of 1.022. The spread in the distribution of calculated k-effectives is believed to be the result of uncertainties in analytical chemistry measurements. No correlation between condition of reflection and calculated k-effective was found. An allowable multiplication factor to be used in the evaluation of reprocessing equipment at conditions that have been investigated was calculated to be 0.945.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 10132995
• Report Number(s): ORNL-6161; ON: DE94007611
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: Apr 1986
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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