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

Journal Article · · Nuclear Technology
 [1];  [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
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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.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1649564
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1826050
Journal Information:
Nuclear Technology, Journal Name: Nuclear Technology Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 206; ISSN 0029-5450
Publisher:
Taylor & Francis - formerly American Nuclear Society (ANS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (2)

Plutonium-238 supply project — Additional processing enabling power for future NASA missions conference March 2016
ADVANTG An Automated Variance Reduction Parameter Generator, Rev. 1 report August 2015

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