Nuclear Energy The Future and Needed Research and Development

1
Nuclear Energy The Future and Needed Research
and Development

• Wichita State University Physics Colloquium on
  Energy Physics
• October 28, 2009
• W. Mark Nutt
• Senior Nuclear Engineer
• Group Lead Waste Management Systems Analysis
• Nuclear Engineering Division
• Argonne National Laboratory

Work sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Nuclear Energy, Science Technology
2
Outline

• Introduction
• Nuclear Power 101
• Role of Nuclear Power in a Sustainable Energy
  Future
• Nuclear Fuel Cycle Options and Advanced Concepts
• Nuclear Energy and Advanced Fuel Cycles
  Research Needs

3
Introduction

• Nuclear physics was discovered in the late
  1800s and advanced through the mid 1900s
• Necessary to acknowledge the role of basic
  physics played that resulted in nuclear energy
• Rutherford, Chadwick, Geiger, the Curies,
  Einstein, Fermi, and many others
• Nuclear energy RD has transitioned from
  discovery to more of applied or engineering
  however, the basic sciences still play a very
  important role
• The physics discoveries made today will lead to
  future technologies
• And the physics colloquium talks 100 years from
  now

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Nuclear Power 101
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Nuclear Power 101
In a nuclear reactor, the chain reaction occurs
within uranium fuel pellets sleeved in metal
tubes. These fuel rods are bundled together into
fuel assemblies and arranged to form the
reactor core.
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Nuclear Power 101

• Control rods made of neutron absorbing material
  are inserted in the reactor core to control the
  chain reaction
• Withdrawing CR increases the chain reaction
  inserting the rods reduces the chain reaction
• Water flowing over the assemblies of fuel rods
  carries away the heat from fission reactions
• This heat generates steam used to power a turbine
  generator and make electricity

Note The fuel cladding, steel pressure vessel,
steel containment shell, and reinforced concrete
containment structure provide multiple layers of
defense against accidental radiation release
7
Nuclear Power 101 (Actually, 301 or better yet
501, 601, .)

• Neutron Transport Equation How a Reactor Works

8
Role of Nuclear Power in a Sustainable Energy
Future
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Energy System Challenges Future Demand
2100 40-50 TW 2050 25-30 TW
Energy Gap 14 TW by 2050 33 TW by 2100
10 TW 10,000 1 GW power plants 1 new power
plant/day for 27 years
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Energy System Challenges Environmental Impacts
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A Sustainable Energy System

• There is no single solution to the complex set of
  issues facing the energy system.
• The serious issues we face require attention from
  everyone policymakers, scientists and
  engineers, energy industry, and the public.
• The requirements are a diverse set of energy
  sources coupled with more efficient homes,
  buildings, and vehicles and energy conservation.

These solutions require parallel development of
new energy technologies
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Nuclear Share of Electricity Generation (2004)
7 Westar Energy, 50 Illinois, 70 Chicagoland
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Planned Expansion of Nuclear Power
http//www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518
,460011,00.html
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We anticipate expanded use of nuclear energy in
the US and worldwide

• Extended lifetime and optimized operation of
  existing plants
• Deployment by US industry of new plants
• Closure of fuel cycle to improve waste management
• Strengthened international safeguards regime
• Sustainable generation of electricity, hydrogen
  and other energy products

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U.S. Technology Development for Fuel Cycle
ClosureWhy and Why NOW

• There is a rapidly expanding global demand for
  nuclear power
• Without some global regime to manage this
  expansion many more Iranian situations will
  likely appear
• A global regime is forming up with Russia,
  France, Japan and China having both the will and
  the means to participate
• The United States, through GNEP, envisioned a
  specific global regime model, but we must
  persevere to truly impact its execution
• Unless the United States implements the domestic
  aspects of fuel cycle technology we will suffer
  significant consequences in our energy security,
  industrial competitiveness and national security
• The United States must act decisively and quickly
  to implement new energy technology and fuel cycle
  approach or face the real possibility of having
  no influence over the future global expansion of
  nuclear energy
• There are potential repository benefits for
  domestic application, but the international need
  for a secure fuel cycle paradigm is compelling.

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Nuclear Fuel Cycles and Advanced Concepts
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Once Through Nuclear Fuel Cycle

• The U.S. and most other countries utilize a Once
  Through Nuclear Fuel Cycle
• Current LWR once-through fuel cycle uses lt 1 of
  the energy value of the uranium
• Even for domestic generation alone, a lot of LWR
  spent fuel will be generated if nuclear power is
  sustained

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Closed Nuclear Fuel Cycles

• Some countries (France, Japan) utilize limited
  recycle

• Most are pursuing continuous recycle alternatives
  (25-50 years future)

Without Enriched Uranium
Enriched Uranium
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Generations of Nuclear Reactors
Generation IV
Generation III
Generation III
Generation II
Future Generation Designs
Evolutionary Designs
Advanced LWRs
Commercial Power Reactors
Technology Goals

• Safe
• Sustainable
• Economical
• Proliferation Resistant
• Physically secure

• ESBWR
• AP1000
• ACR

• ABWR
• EPR
• System 80

• PWR, BWR
• CANDU
• VVER, RBMK
• AGR

Gen I
Gen II
Gen III
Gen III
Gen IV
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
2030
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20
Generation IV Reactor Systems
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Generation IV Reactor Systems
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Examples of Generation IV Reactor Systems
Pool type SFR
Very High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (VHTR)
Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR)
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Advanced Aqueous Recycling

• UREX Separation of U and Tc from spentfuel
• UREX Separation of U, Tc, I, Pu/Np, Cs/Sr and
  Am/Cm from spent fuel
• TRUEX Separation of transuranicsfrom spent
  fuel
• CSSX Separation of Cs and Sr removalfrom tank
  wastes

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Advanced Pyrochemical Recycling

• Technologies developed include electrolytic
  reduction uraniumelectrorefining, liquid
  cadmium cathode, U/TRU electrolysis,
  pyro-contactors, and pressureless
  consolidation.
• Demonstrated on EBR-II spent nuclear fuel

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Advanced Nuclear Fuel Cycle - Waste Management

• Waste management is an important factor in
  developing and implementing an advanced closed
  nuclear fuel cycle
• The waste management system is broader than
  disposal (processing, storage, transportation,
  disposal)
• Deep geologic disposal will still be required
• Disposal of low level and intermediate level
  (GTCC) wastes will be required
• Volumes potentially larger than once-through
• An advanced closed nuclear fuel cycle would allow
  for a re-optimization of the back-end of the
  current once-through fuel cycle, taking advantage
  of
• Minor actinide separation/transmutation
• Heat producing fission product (Cs/Sr) management
  (i.e., decay storage)
• Decisions must consider this entire system
• Regulatory, economic, risk/safety, environmental,
  other considerations

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Nuclear Energy and Advanced Fuel Cycles -
Research Needs
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Nuclear Energy RD Overview
Technology Maturation Deployment
Applied Research
Discovery Research Use-inspired Basic
Research

• Basic research for fundamental new understanding
  (i.e., science grand challenges) on materials or
  systems that may be only peripherally connected
  or even unconnected to todays problems in energy
  technologies
• Development of new tools, techniques, and
  facilities, including those for advanced modeling
  and computation

• Basic research for fundamental new understanding,
  with the goal of addressing short-term
  showstoppers on real-world applications in the
  energy technologies

• Research with the goal of meeting technical
  milestones, with emphasis on the development,
  performance, cost reduction, and durability of
  materials and components or on efficient
  processes
• Proof of technology concepts

• Scale-up research
• At-scale demonstration
• Cost reduction
• Prototyping
• Manufacturing RD
• Deployment support

Office of Science BES
Applied Energy Offices EERE, NE, FE, TD, EM, RW,
Goal new knowledge / understanding Mandate
open-ended Focus phenomena Metric knowledge
generation
Goal practical targets Mandate restricted to
target Focus performance Metric milestone
achievement
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Nuclear Energy RD Overview

• Basic Research Needs to Assure a Secure Energy
  Future
• BESAC Workshop, October 21-25, 2002
• The foundation workshop that set the model for
  the focused workshops that follow.
• Basic Research Needs for the Hydrogen Economy
• BES Workshop, May 13-15, 2003
• Nanoscience Research for Energy Needs
• BES and the National Nanotechnology Initiative,
• March 16-18, 2004
• Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Utilization
• BES Workshop, April 18-21, 2005
• Advanced Computational Materials Science
  Application to Fusion and Generation IV Fission
  Reactors
• BES, ASCR, FES, and NE Workshop, March 31-April
  2, 2004
• The Path to Sustainable Nuclear Energy Basic
  and Applied Research Opportunities for Advanced
  Fuel Cycles
• BES, NP, and ASCR Workshop, September 2005

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Nuclear Energy RD
BES Workshop Basic Research Needs for Advanced
Nuclear Energy Systems

• Highlighted Areas focused on new, emerging, and
  scientifically challenging areas with potential
  for significant impact on the effective
  utilization of nuclear energy
• Materials under extreme conditions
• Chemistry under extreme conditions
• Separations science
• Advanced actinide fuels, including inert matrix
  fuels
• Actinide-containing waste forms
• Predictive modeling and simulation advanced
  materials, systems, and processes
• Crosscutting and grand challenge science themes

http//www.science.doe.gov/bes/reports/files/ANES_
rpt.pdf
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Nuclear Energy RD
BES Workshop Basic Research Needs for Advanced
Nuclear Energy Systems Scientific Grand
Challenges

• Resolving the f-Electron Challenge to Master the
  Chemistry and Physics of Actinides and
  Actinide-Bearing Materials
• The scientific grand challenge is to develop a
  robust theoretical foundation for the treatment
  of actinides and actinide-containing systems
• Developing a First-Principles, Multiscale
  Description of Material Properties in Complex
  Materials Under Extreme Conditions
• The scientific grand challenge is to develop an
  unified, predictive multiscale theory that
  couples all relevant time and length scales in
  microstructure evolution and phase stability
• Understanding and Designing New Molecular Systems
  to Gain Unprecedented Control of Chemical
  Selectivity During Processing
• The scientific grand challenge is to create new
  separation agents that are endowed not only with
  unprecedented capabilities to perform separations
  but also with the abilities to survive and even
  thrive under intense radiation and other extreme
  conditions

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Nuclear Energy RD
BES Workshop Basic Research Needs for Advanced
Nuclear Energy Systems Priority Research
Directions

• Nanoscale Design of Materials and Interfaces that
  Radically Extend Performance Limits in Extreme
  Radiation Environments
• Physics and Chemistry of Actinide-Bearing
  Materials and the f-Electron Challenge
• Microstructure and Property Stability under
  Extreme Conditions
• Mastering Actinide and Fission Product Chemistry
  under All Chemical Conditions
• Exploiting Organization to Achieve Selectivity at
  Multiple Length Scales
• Adaptive Material-Environment Interfaces for
  Extreme Chemical Conditions
• Fundamental Effects of Radiation and Radiolysis
  in Chemical Processes
• Fundamental Thermodynamic and Kinetic Processes
  in Complex Multi-Component Systems for Fuel
  Fabrication and Performance
• Predictive Multiscale Modeling of Materials and
  Chemical Phenomena in Multi-Component Systems
  under Extreme Conditions

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Nuclear Energy RD
BES Workshop Basic Research Needs for Advanced
Nuclear Energy Systems Crosscutting Research
Themes

• Tailored Nanostructures for Radiation-Resistant
  Functional and Structural Materials
• Solution and Solid State Chemistry of 4f- and 5f-
  Electron Systems
• Physics and Chemistry at Interfaces and in
  Confined Environments
• Physical and Chemical Complexity in
  Multi-Component Systems
• Also Underpinning Themes
• Strongly coupled experimental and computational
  studies
• Real-time experiments and enabling analytical
  tools
• Reinvigoration of the nuclear science and
  technology expertise in the United States
• Establishing new paradigms for handling
  radioactive materials in research
• Maintaining an eye to non-proliferation

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Nuclear Energy RD
BES Workshop Basic Research Needs for Advanced
Nuclear Energy Systems
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RD on Innovative Fast Reactor Technologies

• Renewed focus of RD work on long-term
  innovations
• Advanced Modeling and Simulation
• Improved nuclear data
• System performance and eventually design
  optimization
• Advanced Materials
• Compact configurations and reduced commodities
• Improved reliability
• Advanced Energy Conversion Systems
• High efficiency alternatives (e.g., CO2 or gas
  Brayton)
• Compact design and/or improved reliability
• Safety Research
• Emphasis on prevention of severe accidents
• Development of licensing approach and framework
  for fast reactors

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RD Needs for Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor

• Primary Issues that may Inhibit SFR Introduction
• Perception of higher capital costs
• Unique concerns related to liquid metal coolant
• Innovative Design Features for Cost Reduction
• Configuration simplifications
• Improved inspection and maintenance equipment
• Advanced energy conversion systems
• Advanced structural materials
• Reactor Safety Demonstration
• Assurance of passive safety behavior
• Licensing consideration of severe accidents
• Closed Fuel Cycle Demonstration
• Fuel behavior
• Remote fabrication of recycle fuels
• Low loss rates in separations and recycle fuel
  fabrication

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Examples of Innovative Fast ReactorTechnologies
and Design Features

• The Following Innovative Technologies and Design
  Features are being Evaluated for Inclusion in an
  advanced SFR
• Metal Fuel
• Inherent Passive Safety
• Single rotatable plug with pantograph fuel
  handling machine
• Seismic Isolation System
• Electromagnetic primary pump
• Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycle
• Pyroprocessing
• Favorable Passive Behavior for Off-Normal
  Transients
• Benign response to severe accidents such as
  unprotected loss of flow, loss of heat sink, and
  transient overpower

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RD Needs For Aqueous Separations

• Improved Dissolution Methods to Limit Residue
• Recovery of iodine from off-gas
• Simplified Process for Solvent Extraction of
  Transuranics
• Very high recovery for all elements
• Improvements in separation of lanthanides at high
  efficiency
• Refinement of Product Conversion
• Solidification of uranium, transuranic, Cs/Sr,
  and Tc product streams
• Plant and Process Design Innovations
• Optimized configurations
• Operator training response to upset conditions
• Process and safeguards instrumentation
  (proliferation resistance)
• Advanced analytical methods for rapid
  quantitative analysis
• Detection of materials diversion

38
RD Needs for Pyrochemical Processing

• Simulation of electrochemical systems, including
  actinide elements in molten salt media
• Improved thermodynamic properties data for
  transuranics halides and lanthanide elements for
  process optimization
• Innovative designs to improve performance
• Transuranics recovery from salt by electrolysis
• Continuous recovery of uranium and transuranics
  products
• Other innovative process improvements
• Efficient method for electrolyte salt cleanup and
  recycling
• Increased removal efficiency of lanthanide
  fission products
• Increased decontamination of the uranium product

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RD Needs for Fuels

• Fuel is a fundamental part of the reactor and
  is the first line of defense
• Fuel types include inert matrix, metal, oxide,
  and nitride and RD needs vary according to type
  also, whether fuel used in a thermal or fast
  reactor will lead to some variation in required
  RD
• In general, RD needs include
• Fuel fabrication technologies, in particular,
  remotely
• Thermodynamic, thermal, and mechanical properties
• High transuranic fuel performance, e.g., Am
  volatility, thermal conductivity, increase in He
  production
• Fuel/cladding interactions, in particular, fuels
  with higher transuranic content
• Irradiation performance, in particular, nitride
  fuels
• Safety-related performance e.g., failure
  thresholds and consequences
• Fuel qualification and licensing and validation
  of fuel performance codes

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RD Needs For Waste Form Development

• Waste Form Production
• Iodine waste form
• Technetium waste form
• Cladding hulls
• Cesium/strontium storage form
• Physical form, purity (non-TRU)
• Storage methods (for 300-year decay period)
• Transuranic storage forms
• Interim storage may be required to allow for
  readiness of fuel fabrication methods or
  transmutation capability
• Residual fission products waste form

- High-level waste, for geologic repository
disposal
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A Science-Based Engineering Approach to
Understanding Waste Form and Repository
Performance

• An integrated science and technology program to
  provide technical options systems analyses,
  experiments, modeling and simulation
• Identify the controlling mechanisms and processes
  for different waste form materials in a range of
  geochemical environments at different spatial and
  temporal scales
• Applied in a general manner to provide a
  scientifically-defensible basis for waste form
  development, qualification, and future repository
  system analyses

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A Science-Based Engineering Approach to
Understanding Waste Form and Repository
Performance (cont.)

• Future Directions
• Development of advanced, more durable, tailored
  waste forms
• Development of advanced geologic disposal
  concepts in a range of geologic settings and
  geochemical environments
• Enhanced understanding of geologic repository
  performance
• Systems optimization of repository designs
• Systems-level optimization of advanced fuel
  cycles

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Back Up
44
Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR)

• High Temperature Applications
• Direct gas Brayton cycle
• System Configuration
• TRISO fuel particles
• Low Power Density
• Prismatic or Pebble Bed

45
Sodium-Cooled Fast Reactor (SFR)

• Fuel Cycle Applications
• Actinide Management
• System Configuration
• Metal Alloy or Oxide Fuel
• Pool or Loop Configuration
• High Power Density

46
Fast Reactor Experience

• U.S. Experience
• First usable nuclear electricity was generated by
  a fast reactor EBR-I in 1951
• EBR-II (20 MWe) was operated at Idaho site from
  1963 to 1994
• Closed fuel cycle demo
• Passive safety tests
• Fast Flux Test Facility (400 MWt) operated from
  1980 to 1992

• International Experience
• BN-600 power reactor since 1980 at 75 capacity
  factor
• Operating test reactors PHENIX (France), BOR-60
  (Russia), JOYO (Japan)
• Most recent construction was MONJU (280 MWe) in
  1990

Sodium-cooled fast reactor technology has been
demonstrated
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Potential Benefits of Closed Fuel CycleWaste
Management

• With the processing of spent fuel to remove the
  elements responsible for the decay heat that
  cause temperature limits to be reached, large
  gains in utilization of repository space are
  possible
• Only considers thermal performance, not dose rate

• Pu, Am, Cs, Sr, Cm are the dominant elements
• The recovered elements must be treated
• Recycling of Pu, Am, Cm for transmutation
  and/or fission
• Irradiation in reactors

48
Potential Benefits of Closed Fuel CycleUranium
Supply and Economics

• A closed fuel cycle can effectively multiply
  uranium resources by several factors of 10
• Current known uranium resources are sufficient
  for nuclear energy production for several
  decades, but there are other considerations
• Energy independence is a factor because much of
  the uranium resources are non-U.S.
• The additional costs of a closed fuel cycle are
  high enough that uranium supply and demand cannot
  be the sole economic driver for a closed fuel
  cycle.
• This will be the case for several decades the
  tipping point could be as soon as 2050.

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Proliferation is a Concern for Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Facilities

• Few countries operate full suite of front- and
  back-end fuel cycle facilities
• Mining, conversion, enrichment, fabrication,
  storage, reprocessing, disposal
• Commercial enrichment facilities operated in
  United States, France, Russia, United Kingdom,
  Netherlands, Germany, Japan, China, and Pakistan
• Gas centrifuges (and gaseous diffusion) are
  mostly used for enrichment, with research on
  advanced systems based on laser isotope
  separation
• Recently, surplus weapons materials (highly
  enriched uranium) diluted for making low
  enriched uranium materials for operating
  reactors
• Commercial spent fuel separation facilities
  operational in few countries
• E.g., France, Britain, Russia, and Japan
• Facilities are employed for plutonium separation
  for making MOX fuels
• Advanced fuel cycle strategies and technologies
  planned to safeguard facilities and prevent
  spread of material and technologies, thus,
  strengthennon-proliferation regime

Nuclear Fuel Cycle
Source World Nuclear Organization
50
Fast and Thermal Reactor Energy Spectra

• In LWR, most fissions occur in the 0.1 eV thermal
  peak
• In SFR, moderation is avoided no thermal
  neutrons

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Fuel Cycle Implications

• The physics distinctions facilitate different
  fuel cycle strategies
• Thermal reactors are typically configured for
  once-through (open) fuel cycle
• They can operate on low enriched uranium (LEU)
• They require an external fissile feed (neutron
  balance)
• Higher actinides must be managed to allow recycle
• Separation of higher elements still a disposal
  issue
• Extended cooling time for curium decay
• Fast reactors are typically intended for closed
  fuel cycle with uranium conversion and resource
  extension
• Higher actinide generation is suppressed
• Neutron balance is favorable for recycled TRU
• No external fissile material is required
• Can enhance U-238 conversion for traditional
  breeding
• Can limit U-238 conversion for burning

52
Fast Spectrum Physics Distinctions

• Combination of increased fission/absorption and
  increased number of neutrons/fission yields more
  excess neutrons from Pu-239
• Enables breeding of fissile material
• In a fast spectrum, U-238 capture is more
  prominent
• Higher enrichment (TRU/HM) is required (next
  viewgraph)
• Enhances internal conversion
• Reduced parasitic capture and improved neutron
  balance
• Allows the use of conventional stainless steel
  structures
• Slow loss of reactivity with burnup
• Less fission product capture and more internal
  conversion
• The lower absorption cross section of all
  materials leads to a much longer neutron
  diffusion length (10-20 cm, as compared to 2 cm
  in LWR)
• Neutron leakage is increased (gt20 in typical
  designs)
• Reflector effects are more important
• Heterogeneity effects are relatively unimportant

53
Impact of Energy Spectrumon Enrichment and
Depletion Behavior

• Generation-IV fast systems have similar
  characteristics
• One-group XS are significantly reduced in fast
  system
• However, U-238 capture is much more prominent
  (low P239f/U238c)
• A much higher enrichment is required to achieve
  criticality
• The parasitic capture cross section of fission
  products and conventional structures is much
  higher in a thermal spectrum (next viewgraph)

54
Neutron Balance

• Conversion ratio defined as ratio of TRU
  production/TRU destruction
• Slightly different than traditional breeding
  ratio with fissile focus

55
Safety Implications of Fast Reactor Design
Approach

• Superior thermophysical properties of liquid
  metals allow
• Operation at high power density and high fuel
  volume fraction
• Low pressure operation with significant margin to
  boiling
• The fast neutron spectrum leads to long neutron
  path lengths
• Neutron leakage is enhanced, 25 at moderate
  sizes
• Reactivity effect impacts the reactor as a whole,
  not locally
• High leakage fraction implies that the fast
  reactor reactivity is sensitive to minor
  geometric changes
• As temperature increases and materials expand, a
  net negative reactivity feedback is inherently
  introduced
• Favorable inherent feedback in sodium-cooled fast
  reactors (SFR) have been demonstrated
• EBR-2 and FFTF tests for double fault accidents
• Safety codes developed and validated to model the
  coupled physics, thermal, structural reactivity
  feedback effects