Engineering Commons^™

Nuclear Criticality, Shielding, And Thermal Analyses Of Separations Processes For The Transmutation Fuel Cycle, William Culbreth, Denis Beller

Separations Campaign (TRP)

The remediation of nuclear waste created by conventional fission reactors will rely upon the separation of the waste products for further treatment. The UREX+ process now under review will involve the use of an aqueous chemical process to separate out depleted uranium resulting in a product containing minor actinides, fission products, cesium, strontium, technetium, and iodine. The radioactive decay of strontium and cesium produces roughly half of the thermal and gamma production in spent fuel and the relatively short halflife of isotopes of both of these elements requires storage for about 300 years before heat and radiation decreases to safe …

Neutron Multiplicity Measurements Of Target/Blanket Materials, Carter D. Hull, William H. Johnson

Transmutation Sciences Physics (TRP)

To begin developing the database necessary for the validation and benchmarking of the LAHET component of the MCNPX code suite, the UNLV research program has set forth the following objectives. First, the current MCNPX suite will be used to develop models of multi-element neutron detector systems. These models of the detector systems will be incorporated into the design of detailed models for the entire detector-target system. These models will first be used to help design the irradiation experiments, and then will be used to model the behavior of the system. Irradiation experiments corresponding to the detector-target system models will be …

Hydrogen-Induced Embrittlement Of Candidate Target Materials For Applications In Spallation-Neutron-Target Systems, Ajit K. Roy, Brendan O'Toole, Zhiyong Wang, David W. Hatchett

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

Spallation-neutron-sources, such as those under investigation for use in accelerator-driven transmutation systems, generate neutrons through the collision of high-energy protons, or charged hydrogen atoms, with heavy metal targets such as lead. As a result, these systems also tend to deposit a significant amount of hydrogen in the materials of the transmuter target and superstructure. This can result in accelerated corrosion and changes in the properties of the exposed materials. Of particular importance is a phenomenon called hydrogen embrittlement, in which materials lose their ductility (ability to deform under stress) and become brittle (more susceptible to fracture) after reacting with hydrogen. …

Modeling Corrosion In Oxygen Controlled Lbe Systems With Coupling Of Chemical Kinetics And Hydrodynamics: Task V 4th Quarterly Report, Samir Moujaes

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

The project is moving on target with the newly realigned objective set for the Phase I. Through close communications with Dr. Li and Dr. Jinsuo Zhang from LANL a realignment of the simulation work has been recommended. The reason for that is the vendor of STAR-CD/CHEMKIN had not perfected yet the final coupling of the post processing of output for any potential surface chemistry reaction taking place on the inside pipe surface of the LBE loop. This is because the coupling of CHEMKIN and STAR-CD has been done fairly recently.

Our final effort has been to generate using an innovative …

Modeling Corrosion In Oxygen Controlled Lbe Systems With Coupling Of Chemical Kinetics And Hydrodynamics, Samir Moujaes, Yitung Chen

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

Many of the international efforts to develop transmutation technology, including the U.S., Russian, and European scientific communities, have determined that lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) is a potential material for use as a both a spallation target and a coolant. To exploit this potential, a more thorough understanding of the effect and rates of corrosion on steels, particularly non-Russian alloys, inside the LBE systems is required. Properly controlling the oxygen content in LBE systems has been observed to drastically reduce the corrosion of structural steels in LBE. However, the transport of oxygen and formation of corrosion products is not well understood; …

Development Of A Mechanistic Understanding Of High-Temperature Deformation Of Alloy Ep-823, Ajit K. Roy, Brendan O'Toole

Transmutation Sciences Materials (TRP)

Alloy EP-823 has been developed as a structural material for Lead Bismuth Eutectic (LBE) systems, such as those under development for nuclear transmutation systems, as well as other applications. However, very little data regarding the mechanical properties of this alloy exists in the open literature, particularly in the temperature regime of interest for transmutation systems. To address this need, the UNLV research team, in collaboration with researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, has developed a research program to evaluate tensile properties of Alloy EP-823 stainless steel at elevated temperatures, which is not being performed at any other facility to date. …

Project Continuation Proposal: Radiation Transport Modeling Of Beam-Target Experiments For The Aaa Project, William Culbreth

Reactor Campaign (TRP)

The AAA program will rely on the use of an accelerator-based transmuter1 to expose spent nuclear fuel to high-energy neutrons. The neutron flux will be sufficient to activate or fission the long-lived isotopes of Tc, I, Pu, Am, Cm, and Np that present a significant radiological hazard in commercial spent fuel. Transmuter fuel will be subcritical and a high-energy proton accelerator is needed to maintain the necessary neutron flux through the use of a neutron spallation target. The maximum neutron energy produced by spallation (~ 800 MeV) is significantly higher than that produced by a commercial light water reactor (~ …

Biological Reduction Of Perchlorate In Ion Exchange Regenerant Solutions Containing High Salinity And Ammonium Levels, Tina M. Gingras, Jacimaria R. Batista

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The most promising technologies to remove perchlorate from water are ion exchange and biological reduction. Although successful, ion exchange only separates perchlorate from water; it does not eliminate it from the environment. The waste streams from these systems contain the caustic or saline regenerant solutions used in the process as well as high levels of perchlorate. Biological reduction could be used to treat the regenerant waste solutions from the ion exchange process. A treatment scheme, combining ion exchange and biodegradation, is proposed to completely remove perchlorate from the environment. Perchlorate-laden resins generate brines containing salt concentrations up to 6% or …

A Dynamic Simulation Model Of Beach Sand Replenishment: A Case Study Of Santa Barbara, California, David Turbow, Steve Norwick, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Sediment deprivation from dam installments contributes to beach erosion yet the underlying physical and economic factors linking them together have traditionally been isolated during regional planning. In order to gain a better understanding of the behavior of a managed beach system, a dynamic simulation model was developed incorporating physical and monetary factors influencing the amount of available beach sand. The Santa Barbara littoral cell was chosen as a case study to evaluate the feasibility of beach preservation goals under scenarios in which annual sand replenishment funding, sand prices, or sediment recovery from behind dams were limiting factors to available beach …