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Thorium—Energy for the Future pp 313–317Cite as

PuO2 Agglomerate Detectability in (Th,1%Pu)O2 Fuel—A Monte Carlo Simulation Study

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Abstract

Advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR) is being developed for thorium utilisation and various technologies associated with this are being studied. Experimental irradiation of (Th0.99,Pu0.01)O2 MOX fuel has been carried out in AHWR conditions. Fabrication and characterisation of this fuel were carried out through conventional powder metallurgical route similar to (U,Pu)O2 MOX fuel. Homogeneity of fissile material distribution is a crucial characteristic of the fuel, and quality control procedure of the fuel incorporates inspections to ensure its conformance with specifications in this regard. Gamma autoradiography (GAR) is one of the techniques carried out for this wherein plutonium-rich agglomerates; if any, present in the matrix appear as dark spots in the gamma image of the fuel. However, it is difficult to characterise the agglomerate based on the GAR image as multiple factors such as plutonium richness and size of the agglomerate, location on the fuel pellet influence the formation of the image significantly. Hence, a theoretical simulation study was carried out to estimate the minimum detectable size of a 100% rich plutonium agglomerate located on the surface of (Th0.99,Pu0.01)O2 MOX fuel by GAR. Monte Carlo methods using FLUKA2011.2C code was applied for this. Details of the simulations and the results obtained are discussed in this paper.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all their colleagues at AFFF, BARC, Tarapur for their encouragement and support during this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radiometallurgy Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    K. V. Vrinda Devi & K. B. Khan

  2. Health Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, 400085, Maharashtra, India

    K. Biju

Authors
  1. K. V. Vrinda Devi
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  2. K. Biju
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  3. K. B. Khan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to K. V. Vrinda Devi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Thermal Hydraulics Section, Reactor Engineering Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

    A.K. Nayak

  2. Nuclear Power Safety Division, Alba Nova, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

    Bal Raj Sehgal

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© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Vrinda Devi, K.V., Biju, K., Khan, K.B. (2019). PuO2 Agglomerate Detectability in (Th,1%Pu)O2 Fuel—A Monte Carlo Simulation Study. In: Nayak, A., Sehgal, B. (eds) Thorium—Energy for the Future. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2658-5_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2658-5_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2657-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-13-2658-5

  • eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)

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