Determining Reactor Fuel Type from Continuous Antineutrino Monitoring

Jaffke, Patrick John; Huber, Patrick

doi:10.1103/PhysRevApplied.8.034005

Title: Determining Reactor Fuel Type from Continuous Antineutrino Monitoring

Abstract

In this work, we investigate the ability of an antineutrino detector to determine the fuel type of a reactor. A hypothetical 5-ton antineutrino detector is placed 25 m from the core and measures the spectral shape and rate of antineutrinos emitted by fission fragments in the core for a number of 90-d periods. Our results indicate that four major fuel types can be differentiated from the variation of fission fractions over the irradiation time with a true positive probability of detection at approximately 95%. In addition, we demonstrate that antineutrinos can identify the burnup at which weapons-grade mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel would be reduced to reactor-grade MOX, on average, providing assurance that plutonium-disposition goals are met. We also investigate removal scenarios where plutonium is purposefully diverted from a mixture of MOX and low-enriched uranium fuel. Lastly, we discuss how our analysis is impacted by a spectral distortion around 6 MeV observed in the antineutrino spectrum measured from commercial power reactors.

Authors:

^[1]; Huber, Patrick ^[2]

Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States); Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States)

Publication Date:: Fri Sep 08 00:00:00 EDT 2017

Research Org.:: Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

OSTI Identifier:: 1483497

Alternate Identifier(s):: OSTI ID: 1380066

Report Number(s):: LA-UR-16-29320
Journal ID: ISSN 2331-7019; PRAHB2

Grant/Contract Number:: 89233218CNA000001; AC52-07NA27344

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Physical Review Applied

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 8; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 2331-7019

Publisher:: American Physical Society (APS)

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS; 22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS

Citation Formats


                    Jaffke, Patrick John, and Huber, Patrick. Determining Reactor Fuel Type from Continuous Antineutrino Monitoring.  United States: N. p., 2017. 
Web.  doi:10.1103/PhysRevApplied.8.034005.

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                    Jaffke, Patrick John, & Huber, Patrick. Determining Reactor Fuel Type from Continuous Antineutrino Monitoring.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.8.034005

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                    Jaffke, Patrick John, and Huber, Patrick. Fri .  
"Determining Reactor Fuel Type from Continuous Antineutrino Monitoring".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.8.034005.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1483497.

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@article{osti_1483497,

  title        = {Determining Reactor Fuel Type from Continuous Antineutrino Monitoring},

  author       = {Jaffke, Patrick John and Huber, Patrick},

  abstractNote = {In this work, we investigate the ability of an antineutrino detector to determine the fuel type of a reactor. A hypothetical 5-ton antineutrino detector is placed 25 m from the core and measures the spectral shape and rate of antineutrinos emitted by fission fragments in the core for a number of 90-d periods. Our results indicate that four major fuel types can be differentiated from the variation of fission fractions over the irradiation time with a true positive probability of detection at approximately 95%. In addition, we demonstrate that antineutrinos can identify the burnup at which weapons-grade mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel would be reduced to reactor-grade MOX, on average, providing assurance that plutonium-disposition goals are met. We also investigate removal scenarios where plutonium is purposefully diverted from a mixture of MOX and low-enriched uranium fuel. Lastly, we discuss how our analysis is impacted by a spectral distortion around 6 MeV observed in the antineutrino spectrum measured from commercial power reactors.},

  doi          = {10.1103/PhysRevApplied.8.034005},

  journal      = {Physical Review Applied},

  number       = 3,

  volume       = 8,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Fri Sep 08 00:00:00 EDT 2017},

  month        = {Fri Sep 08 00:00:00 EDT 2017}

}

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Similar Records

Title: Determining Reactor Fuel Type from Continuous Antineutrino Monitoring

Abstract

Citation Formats

Determination of antineutrino spectra from nuclear reactors journal, August 2011

Evolution of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay journal, June 2017

Possible origins and implications of the shoulder in reactor neutrino spectra journal, August 2015

Spent-Fuel Assay Performance and Monte Carlo Analysis of the Rensselaer Slowing-Down-Time Spectrometer journal, December 1993

Determination of the antineutrino spectrum from 235U thermal neutron fission products up to 9.5 MeV journal, October 1985

Observation of Energy and Baseline Dependent Reactor Antineutrino Disappearance in the RENO Experiment journal, May 2016

Online monitoring of the Osiris reactor with the Nucifer neutrino detector journal, June 2016

Antineutrino Monitoring for Heavy Water Reactors journal, July 2014

Possibilities of the practical use of neutrinos journal, June 1978

Reactor antineutrino monitoring with a plastic scintillator array as a new safeguards method journal, September 2014

Improved predictions of reactor antineutrino spectra journal, May 2011

Measurement of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay journal, February 2016

Measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation based on 1230 days of operation of the Daya Bay experiment journal, April 2017

Experimental parameters for a reactor antineutrino experiment at very short baselines journal, April 2013

Antineutrino Reactor Safeguards: A Case Study of the DPRK 1994 Nuclear Crisis journal, January 2015

Nuclear reactor safeguards and monitoring with antineutrino detectors journal, April 2002

Reactor antineutrino fluxes – Status and challenges journal, July 2016

Angular distribution of neutron inverse beta decay, ν ¯ e + p → e + + n journal, July 1999

Monitoring the thermal power of nuclear reactors with a prototype cubic meter antineutrino detector journal, April 2008

Antineutrino spectra from 241Pu and 239Pu thermal neutron fission products journal, February 1989

The PROSPECT physics program journal, October 2016

Reactor Neutrino Spectra journal, October 2016

Measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation based on 1230 days of operation of the Daya Bay experiment text, January 2017

Monitoring the Thermal Power of Nuclear Reactors with a Prototype Cubic Meter Antineutrino Detector text, January 2008

Experimental Parameters for a Reactor Antineutrino Experiment at Very Short Baselines text, January 2012

Reactor antineutrino monitoring with a plastic scintillator array as a new safeguards method text, January 2014

Measurement of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay text, January 2015

Reactor Neutrino Spectra text, January 2016

Evolution of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay text, January 2017

Determination of antineutrino spectra from nuclear reactors
journal, August 2011

Evolution of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay
journal, June 2017

Possible origins and implications of the shoulder in reactor neutrino spectra
journal, August 2015

Spent-Fuel Assay Performance and Monte Carlo Analysis of the Rensselaer Slowing-Down-Time Spectrometer
journal, December 1993

Determination of the antineutrino spectrum from 235U thermal neutron fission products up to 9.5 MeV
journal, October 1985

Observation of Energy and Baseline Dependent Reactor Antineutrino Disappearance in the RENO Experiment
journal, May 2016

Online monitoring of the Osiris reactor with the Nucifer neutrino detector
journal, June 2016

Antineutrino Monitoring for Heavy Water Reactors
journal, July 2014

Possibilities of the practical use of neutrinos
journal, June 1978

Reactor antineutrino monitoring with a plastic scintillator array as a new safeguards method
journal, September 2014

Improved predictions of reactor antineutrino spectra
journal, May 2011

Measurement of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay
journal, February 2016

Measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation based on 1230 days of operation of the Daya Bay experiment
journal, April 2017

Experimental parameters for a reactor antineutrino experiment at very short baselines
journal, April 2013

Antineutrino Reactor Safeguards: A Case Study of the DPRK 1994 Nuclear Crisis
journal, January 2015

Nuclear reactor safeguards and monitoring with antineutrino detectors
journal, April 2002

Reactor antineutrino fluxes – Status and challenges
journal, July 2016

Angular distribution of neutron inverse beta decay, ${\bar{ν}}_{e} + \vec{p} e^{+} + n$
journal, July 1999

Monitoring the thermal power of nuclear reactors with a prototype cubic meter antineutrino detector
journal, April 2008

Antineutrino spectra from 241Pu and 239Pu thermal neutron fission products
journal, February 1989

The PROSPECT physics program
journal, October 2016

Reactor Neutrino Spectra
journal, October 2016

Measurement of electron antineutrino oscillation based on 1230 days of operation of the Daya Bay experiment
text, January 2017

Monitoring the Thermal Power of Nuclear Reactors with a Prototype Cubic Meter Antineutrino Detector
text, January 2008

Experimental Parameters for a Reactor Antineutrino Experiment at Very Short Baselines
text, January 2012

Reactor antineutrino monitoring with a plastic scintillator array as a new safeguards method
text, January 2014

Measurement of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay
text, January 2015

Reactor Neutrino Spectra
text, January 2016

Evolution of the Reactor Antineutrino Flux and Spectrum at Daya Bay
text, January 2017