Date of Award
1-1-2011
Document Type
Campus Access Thesis
Department
Nuclear Engineering
First Advisor
Travis W Knight
Abstract
Fast reactors containing heterogeneous minor actinide target rods are now being modeled. When studying transmutation in these rods, helium production from α-decay must be considered since helium is produced in substantial quantities. This research utilized an innovative method to calculate gas production by modifying the CINDER90 depletion code used by MCNPX 2.6.0 to include helium production from α-decay. It was tested using the Sodium-Cooled Heterogeneous Innovative Burner Reactor (SCHIBR) model created at the University of South Carolina. Following gas production analysis, an innovative recycling strategy was developed to increase plutonium utilization in the SCHIBR model. The innovative recycling strategy offers improvements over the previous once-through SCHIBR model by further reducing the radiotoxicity of the discharged waste and making plutonium available for use in additional SCHIBR reactors.
Rights
© 2011, Carey McIlwaine Read Jr.
Recommended Citation
Read Jr., C. M.(2011). Fuel Cycle Modeling Improvements and Multi-Tiered Recycling With A Sodium-Cooled Heterogeneous Innovative Burner Reactor. (Master's thesis). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/1670