Nuclear Engineering Commons^™

Conceptual Design Of The Modular Transuranic Shipping Cask Mts-54, Vojislav Banjac

Nuclear Engineering ETDs

The storage, transportation, and disposal of radioactive waste has become a problem of immense proportions in the United States. This Thesis focuses on the transportation of defense transuranic (TRU) waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) repository near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The objective of the cask conceptual design was based on the following:

• Taking into account the latest available data on TRU waste drum mass, investigate the possibility of increased drum capacity per shipment over the current design;
• Present a new TRU cask design with increased drum capacity and the potential for transporting both Contact-handled (CH and Remote-handled (RH) …

Total Hemispherical Emittance Of Niobium-1% Zirconium Fuel Cladding For The Sp-100 Space Reactor, John E. Thomason Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Total hemispherical emittance was measured for the SP-100 reactor fuel cladding alloy (Nb-l% Zr). Based on a standard test method (ASTM C 835-82), experiments were conducted on a reference sample of oxidized stainless steel and then on a sample of actual cladding. The sample is heated in a vacuum by passing DC current through it until reaching equilibrium. Measurements are made of the electrical power dissipated in the sample and of the surface temperature. Using the Stefan-Boltzmann Law and some key assumptions concerning conductive and radiative heat transfer, the measured quantities are used to calculate emittance. Calculated values for unoxidized …

Book Review, Peter C. Christensen

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: MARY R. ENGLISH, SITING LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITIES: THE PUBLIC POLICY DILEMMA. (Quorum Books 1992) [278 pp.], Appendices, index, introduction, references. LC-91-42774; ISBN 0-89930-560-1. [$49.95 cloth. One Madison Avenue, New York NY 10010.]

Risk Estimation And Expert Judgment: The Case Of Yucca Mountain, Kristin Shrader-Frechette

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Shrader-Frechette discusses factors responsible for acute disagreement between the federal government and Nevada citizens over potential Risks at Yucca Mountain and focuses on the use of expert judgment, concluding that some of them appear to exemplify "bad science." That aside, she argues that 1,000 year predictions cannot be made from current knowledge of geology or, e.g., institutional behavior and concludes that permanent disposal of radioactive waste is currently impossible.

Neutron Fluence And Dose From A Varian Clinic 1800 Accelerator, Richard A. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

The goals of this study were (1) to verify calibration factors determined by previous experiment for relating counts from activated gold foils to neutron fluences, and (2) to use the method to determine neutron fluences under various operating conditions of the Varian Clinac 1800 (18-MeV) electron accelerator at the WPAFB Medical Center. For comparison similar measurements were made of the CGM Saturne 1 at Kettering Memorial Hospital, Dayton, Ohio. Cadmium-difference pairs in a standard graphite pile were employed to verify the counting efficiency of the Geiger-Mueller beta counting system used to count the foil activity. They were also used to …

Calculation Of Neutron Flux And Neutron Radiation Dose In A Human Phantom, L. Alan Smith

Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experience Program (OURE)

At present, the neutron dose received by personnel working in nuclear installations is recorded by body surface dosimeters worn by workers. To estimate the true neutron dose to internal organs, this ’surface dose” is multiplied by empirical factors to account for the attenuation of the body itself.

The objective of this work was to obtain better estimates of the internal dose by calculating the attenuation of the neutron flux provided by the body. Using DOT, a 2-D radiation transport code, the neutron flux as a function of energy was calculated at several points in a 2-D model of the human …

Solution Of Divertor Magnetohydrodynamic Equilibria For The Study Of Alpha Particle Edge Transport In Fusion Plasmas, J. W. Schumer

Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experience Program (OURE)

Removal of thermalized alpha particles from deuterium- tritium (D-T) fusion plasmas can be accomplished through the use of divertor magnetic fields if the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibria is well understood [1]. Modifying a MHD variational energy principle for poloidal flux surfaces described by �� = ��(ρ, θ) results in an inverse Fourier representation of the three-dimensional (3-D) equilibria solution. Application of the �� = ��(ρ, θ) flux profile allows transformation of the magnetic field into a non-singular coordinate system along the divertor separatrix [2] and therefore, analysis of different divertor schemes. Derivation of the coupled, non-linear differential equations follows [5] except …

A Heat Balance Program For A Nuclear Power Plant, Timothy C. Steadham

Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experience Program (OURE)

In a coal fired power plant, the steam leaving the boiler can reach 1000 °F and 3000 psia; this state is superheated considerably. On the other hand, a nuclear power plant is not capable of reaching such conditions without compromising reactor safety and integrity. Therefore, the steam leaving the reactor might only be a few degrees superheated, and hence the steam leaving each turbine will be wet. Since wet steam will erode turbine blades very quickly, devices must be placed between turbines to separate the steam into saturated vapor and saturated liquid. The steam is routed through the next turbine …

A Mathematical Model And Simulation Of Natural Circulation Loop Thermalhydraulics, Nihad E. Daidzic

Aviation Department Publications

In this work, a simple, nonlinear, seventh-order mathematical model with lumped parameter analysis of the thermalhydraulic processes in a natural circulation steam boiler loop is presented. Digital simulation has been performed in order to predict open loop transients in severe accidental situations. Parts of the circulation loop such as the steam drum, downcomer, and riser were modelled separately on the basis of the integral balance equations. The two-phase flow in the steam drum and in the riser was modelled with the aid of a homogeneous-equilibrium, two-phase flow model. Special care was taken to ensure the stability of the numerical scheme, …

Design Of A Warm X-Ray Radiation Environment For Nuclear Weapons Effects Testing In The Nova-Upgrade Facility, Jeffrey E. Malapit

Theses and Dissertations

This engineering design project examined the creation of a radiation environment for warm x-ray effects testing in the Nova Upgrade laser facility. With the use of the MORSE Monte Carlo Code and the DABL69 Broad-group cross section library, the ignition of an inertial confinement fusion pellet using D-T fuel in a test cassette was modeled in the Nova Upgrade's target chamber. Various x-ray scattering materials were used in the test cassette to include enriched lithium hydride, polyethylene, liquid hydrogen, liquid helium, and liquid methane. The lithium hydride produced the best warm x-ray doses and least neutron dose. The predicted x-ray …

Development Of A System For Survey Of Radon Concentration Of The Dayton Area Using A Liquid Scintillation Counter And Analysis Of The Data, Taewon Kim

Theses and Dissertations

A system to do a large scale survey was developed. The data obtained from the survey was analyzed using a database. The database incorporated an equation for converting cpm into radon concentration pCi/ℓ). The equation of conversion, protocol for measuring radon concentration, survey form, and a database program were modified (from previous theses) or developed for this thesis. The elution time constant, adsorption time constant, and calibration factor were calculated for equation of conversion. Two surveys were during the course of the thesis. On the first survey, the arithmetic average radon concentration with standard error of the mean was 2.9 …

Feasibility Of An Antiproton Catalyzed Fission Fragment Rocket, David S. Hidinger

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to investigate the feasibility of an antiproton catalyzed fission fragment rocket (FFR). The FFR is characterized by the extraction of fission fragments from the fuel, and the utilization of their kinetic energy for thrust generation. A significant drawback to previous FFR designs was the required critical nuclear pile as the fission fragment source. The author examined the possibility of replacing the critical pile with a sub- critical pile driven by antiprotons. Recent experiments have revealed that antiprotons stimulate highly energetic fissions in 238U, with a neutron multiplicity of 13.7 neutrons per fissions. This interaction …

Gamma-Ray Effects Testing In Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Nova Upgrade Facility, David H. Marchant

Theses and Dissertations

Gamma ray effects testing in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) planned Nova Upgrade facility is examined. Emphasis is placed on converting neutron energy from inertial confinement fusion in to gamma rays while shielding the test objects from neutrons and debris. Although predicted gamma doses in the Nova Upgrade facility are an order of magnitude less than those produced in some current facilities, dose uniformity, the ratio of minimum to maximum gamma dose is predicted to be greater than 0.75 across a larger, 13, 000 cm², test bed. Peak gamma dose rates are predicted to be on the order …

Exponential Characteristic Spatial Quadrature For Discrete Ordinates Neutral Particle Transport In Slab Geometry, Glenn E. Sjoden

Theses and Dissertations

A new discrete ordinates spatial quadrature scheme is presented for solving neutral particle transport problems. This new scheme, called the exponential characteristic method, is developed here in slab geometry with isotropic scattering. This method uses a characteristic integration of the Boltzmann transport equation with an exponential function as the assumed from of the source distribution, continuous across each spatial cell. The exponential source function is constructed to globally conserve zeroth and first spatial source moments and is non-negative. Characteristic integration ensures non- negative fluxes and flux moments. Numerical testing indicates that convergence of the exponential characteristic scheme is fourth order …

Model Of A Nuclear Thermal Test Pipe Using Athena, Mark J. Dibben

Theses and Dissertations

Nuclear thermal propulsion offers significant improvements in rocket engine specific impulse over rockets employing chemical propulsion. The computer code ATHENA (Advanced Thermal Hydraulic Energy Network Analyzer) was used in a parametric analysis of fuelpipe. The fuelpipe is an annular particle bed fuel element of the reactor with radially inward flow of hydrogen through it. The outlet temperature of the hydrogen is parametrically related to key effects, including the effect of reactor power at two different pressure drops, the effect of the power coupling factor of the Annular Core Research Reactor, and the effect of hydrogen flow. Results show that the …

An Examination Of The Feasibility Of A Nuclear-Pumped Laser-Driven Inertial Confinement Fusion Reactor With Magnetically Protected Walls, John M. Jacobson

Theses and Dissertations

A preliminary design study of a nuclear-pumped laser-driven inertial confinement fusion reactor with a magnetically protected first wall using an advanced DT-ignited, DD-fueled pellet demonstrated the feasibility of such a concept. This paper presents a parametric study of the required energy multiplication in the blanket, the pellet injection rate, and the net efficiency of this is conceptual reactor for advanced pellet yields. A model of the reactor energy balance yields a required energy multiplication of 2.4. A cylindrical design for a helium-cooled blanket demonstrates that natural uranium micropellets in a laser pump region provide a multiplication of 2.9 with a …

Design And Construction Of A Channel Electron Multiplier Based Mossbauer Spectroscopy System, Daniel J. Robbins

Theses and Dissertations

A channel electron multiplier (cem) detector system was designed and built to provide a signal to a Mossbauer spectroscopy system in an effort to obtain a better signal-to-noise ratio than achievable with a proportional counter system. Three cems are contained in a vacuum chamber built using standard components. Gamma, rays of 14.4-keV energy from a ⁵⁷Co source enter from outside the chamber through a window and are absorbed by an ⁵⁷Fe target near the cems. The target emits internal conversion electrons which are collected by the cems and a Mossbauer spectrometer collects the signal. The system produces a …

Sensor Signal Analysis By Neural Networks For Surveillance In Nuclear Reactors, Shahla Keyvan

Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science Faculty Research & Creative Works

The application of neural networks as a tool for reactor diagnostics is examined here. Reactor pump signals utilized in a wear-out monitoring system developed for early detection of the degradation of a pump shaft [17] are analyzed as a semi-benchmark test to study the feasibility of neural networks for monitoring and surveillance in nuclear reactors. The Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART 2 and ART 2-A) paradigm of neural networks is applied in this study. The signals are collected signals as well as generated signals simulating the wear progress. The wear-out monitoring system applies noise analysis techniques and is capable of distinguishing …