Design Studies for the Optimization of 238Pu Production in NpO2 Targets Irradiated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor

doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1674594

Title: Design Studies for the Optimization of ²³⁸Pu Production in NpO ₂ Targets Irradiated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor

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Abstract

Efforts to reestablish a domestic ²³⁸Pu production capability in support of National Aeronautics and Space Administration mission objectives are ongoing throughout the U.S. Department of Energy complex. The Plutonium-238 Supply Project (PSP) was initiated in response to a report published by the National Research Council in 2011 stating that “without a restart of ²³⁸Pu production, it will be impossible for the United States, or any other country, to conduct certain important types of planetary missions after this decade.” The PSP is targeting a sustained, constant production rate of 1.5 kg/year of heat source PuO ₂ for several years. Design and optimization studies of ²³⁷Np-bearing targets are underway at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). It is anticipated that targets will be irradiated in ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory. A variety of target materials, containments, arrangements, and irradiation histories have been analyzed, and the results indicate that a sufficient quantity of ²³⁸Pu can be produced in HFIR and ATR to fulfill the PSP’s constant production rate target. This paper focuses on the design and optimization of new target configurations containing pellets that are (1) ~93% of the theoretical density ofmore »« less

Authors:

^[1];

^[1]

Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Publication Date:: 2019-11-22

Research Org.:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE

OSTI Identifier:: 1649564

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

Resource Type:: Journal Article: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Nuclear Technology

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 206; Journal Issue: 8; Journal ID: ISSN 0029-5450

Publisher:: Taylor & Francis - formerly American Nuclear Society (ANS)

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES

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                    Daily, Charles, and McDuffee, Joel. Design Studies for the Optimization of 238Pu Production in NpO2 Targets Irradiated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor.  United States: N. p., 2019. 
        Web.  doi:10.1080/00295450.2019.1674594.

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                    Daily, Charles, & McDuffee, Joel. Design Studies for the Optimization of 238Pu Production in NpO2 Targets Irradiated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1674594

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                    Daily, Charles, and McDuffee, Joel. Fri .  
        "Design Studies for the Optimization of 238Pu Production in NpO2 Targets Irradiated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2019.1674594.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1649564.

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@article{osti_1649564,

  title        = {Design Studies for the Optimization of 238Pu Production in NpO2 Targets Irradiated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor},

  author       = {Daily, Charles and McDuffee, Joel},

  abstractNote = {Efforts to reestablish a domestic 238Pu production capability in support of National Aeronautics and Space Administration mission objectives are ongoing throughout the U.S. Department of Energy complex. The Plutonium-238 Supply Project (PSP) was initiated in response to a report published by the National Research Council in 2011 stating that “without a restart of 238Pu production, it will be impossible for the United States, or any other country, to conduct certain important types of planetary missions after this decade.” The PSP is targeting a sustained, constant production rate of 1.5 kg/year of heat source PuO2 for several years. Design and optimization studies of 237Np-bearing targets are underway at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). It is anticipated that targets will be irradiated in ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at Idaho National Laboratory. A variety of target materials, containments, arrangements, and irradiation histories have been analyzed, and the results indicate that a sufficient quantity of 238Pu can be produced in HFIR and ATR to fulfill the PSP’s constant production rate target. This paper focuses on the design and optimization of new target configurations containing pellets that are (1) ~93% of the theoretical density of NpO2, (2) loaded into pins of cladding materials that can be handled as solid waste following postirradiation 238Pu recovery operations, (3) irradiated in various vertical experiment facility (VXF) locations in the HFIR permanent beryllium reflector, and (4) rotated within and/or moved to another VXF location following each HFIR operational cycle to maximize 238Pu production and minimize peak heat generation rates.},

  doi          = {10.1080/00295450.2019.1674594},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1649564},
  journal      = {Nuclear Technology},

  issn         = {0029-5450},

  number       = 8,

  volume       = 206,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {2019},

  month        = {11}

}

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Title: Design Studies for the Optimization of 238Pu Production in NpO 2 Targets Irradiated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor

Abstract

Citation Formats

Title: Design Studies for the Optimization of ²³⁸Pu Production in NpO ₂ Targets Irradiated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor