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Applications of BIG Research Reactors Applications of BIG Research Reactors Danas Ridikas RR Officer, Physics Section Division of Physical and Chemical Sciences (NAPC) Department of Nuclear Applications and Sciences (NA) IAEA, Vienna, Austria Outline Applications of RRs in 3 steps by 1. presentation of products and services what can be done? 2. explanation of basic principles how it can be done? 3. definition of requirements what is needed? 2 Contact: [email protected] Contents of the IAEA RRDB (operational RR) 3 Contact: [email protected] RR application-oriented functions of RRDB Application Number of Involved / Number of RR involved Operational, % countries Education & Training 161 67 51 Neutron Activation Analysis 122 51 54 Radioisotope production 90 37 44 Neutron radiography 68 28 40 Material/fuel 60 25 25 testing/irradiations Neutron scattering 48 21 32 Nuclear Data Measurements 42 18 20 Gem coloration 36 15 22 Si doping 35 15 22 Geochronology 26 11 21 Neutron Therapy 20 8 13 Other 95 40 29 Indispensable to define priorities and plan our activities! Contact: [email protected] 4 Which power for which application? Contact: [email protected] Contact: [email protected] 5 Technische Universität München Be aware: There is no „all in one“ research reactor! Technische Universität München Design of a modern research reactor FRM II; 20MW irradiations cold n-beams thermal n-beams New multipurpose RRs to come: JHR in France Under construction, operation expected in 2019 • MTR pool, 100 MW, in core flux ~1*1015 n/(s cm2) • Fuel: Ref. UMo LEU, Backup: U3Si2 27 % U-235 • In support of future nuclear power, Gen3+ & Gen4 • Dedicated for material/fuel irradiation and testing • Other applications envisaged (isotope production) • International consortium Radioisotope Production (1) Used in • Medicine (diagnostic and therapy), but also • Industry, agriculture & research • Most used : in medicine Mo-99 (80% procedures) and in industry Co-60 • Potential source of income, big demand Typical forms of isotopic radioactive sources • Also produced in particle accelerators 9 Contact: [email protected] Radioisotope Production (2) • (n,γ) : 59Co + n 60Co + γ • (n,γ) β- : 130Te + n 131Te* + γ 131I + β- Target fabrication • (n,p) : 32S +n 32P + p • (n,α) : 6Li + n 3H + 4He Irradiation in reactor • Multistage reaction: 186W (n,γ) & 187W(n,γ) 188W • Fission : Transportation of irradiated target to Short lived fission products 99Mo 131I radioactive laboratory Long lived fission products 137Cs 147Pm Radiochemical processing (separation) or encapsulation in sealed source Quality control Transportation to end users 10 Contact: [email protected] Radioisotope Production (3) Service Flux, n/s Facilities Equipment Staff Budget cm2 24Na 32P 38Cl 56Mn <1013 Radiochemistry Targets (enriched) Radio- Variable 41Ar 64Cu 198Au … laboratory, Gamma chemist thermal/fast spectroscopy neutrons + ~1013-1014 If product Encapsulation Additional Variable 90Y 99Mo 125I 131I finalized: hot materials technician: 133Xe cells, waste Portable shielding depends on storage facility, production etc. rate + >1014 Automatic High safety Additional Variable 14C 35S 51Cr 60Co loading, heat standards, remote staff: 89Sr 153Sm 169Yb removal chemistry, logistics, 170Tm 182Ir systems, nuclear welding, commercial reactor quality manager operation assurance, safety modifications analysis, lisencing 11 Contact: [email protected] Key issues and challenges: supply of Mo-99 • Over 80% of diagnostic nuclear medical imaging uses radiopharmaceuticals containing technetium-99m (99mTc), entailing over 30 million investigations per year • Over 95% of the 99Mo required for 99mTc generators is produced by the fission of uranium-235 targets in nuclear research reactors Source: IAEA NTR 2010, Annex Challenges related to Mo and others • Demand-Supply situation • Limited number of HFR • HEU LEU • Fission-Mo versus Capture-Mo • Accelerator based alternatives 12 Contact: [email protected] Alternative solutions for Mo-99 production Number of facilities required to supply the world’s market: • “Conventional” fission: 5-10 of ~10-20MW power • Solution reactors: ~13 of 200kW power • Neutron activation: more than 20 RR needed even in optimal case • Cyclotrons: 200 units (to be compared to <40 operational today) • Photo-fission: hundreds of 500kW electron accelerators… • … 13 Contact: [email protected] Transmutation effects (1) • Silicon transmutation doping • Gemstone coloration Colourless topaz (left) and blue topaz (right) 14 Contact: [email protected] Transmutation effects (2) • Silicon transmutation doping • Source of income • 30Si(n,γ)31Si 31P • Gemstone coloration • Source of income • Improve gemstone properties (e.g. colour) 15 Contact: [email protected] Transmutation effects (3) Service Flux, n/s cm2 Facilities Equipment Staff Budget Silicon transmutation Thermal High thermalization, Contamination Engineer + Variable: doping neutrons <5% in-homogeneity, monitor, storage technician from $5000 ~1013-1014 sample heat removal facility, flux to $200000 monitoring, handling equipmet Gemstone coloration Fast neutrons Cd shield to avoid Storage facility, Radio- Variable and ~1013 induced activity, radioactivity chemist, heat scale temperature control monitoring, transfer dependent studies, technician 16 Contact: [email protected] Fuel/material/detector testing/qualification (1) • Instrument development, testing, calibration, qualification • Fuel/material testing (ageing, corrosion, irradiation) • Fuel/material qualification (temperature, pressure, irradiation) • Development of new fuels/materials (actinide fuels, high temperature reactors, fast reactors, fusion reactors, …) Operating conditions Nuclear 1250 fuel UO2, MOX 1000 High Fusion temperature reactor 750 reactors 500 Operating temperature °C temperature Operating Fast Thermal reactors reactors 250 0.1 1 10 100 1000 Dose (dpa) 17 Contact: [email protected] Fuel/material testing/qualification (2) Equipped irradiation rigs Independent/controlled heating Thermocouples Neutron monitoring Irradiation loops (p, T, neutrons) Hot laboratories Mechanical tests Visual examination Radiochemistry 18 Contact: [email protected] Fuel/material testing/qualification (3) Service Flux, n/s cm2 Facilities Equipment Staff Budget Material/fuel testing ~1014-1015 Dedicated loops, Hot cell-laboratory, Nuclear Variable: controlled waste storage engineers, $500000 - environment, facility, dedicated fuel lab. 1000000 neutron filters, space, NDT and DT Workers, fission product facilities, etc. materials monitoring research engineers, etc. Instrument testing Any Access to well Radiation Health Monitors from Sv/h to characterised monitoring, facility physicist, $2000, mSv/h neutron/gamma certification for technician Accreditation fields, calibration $20000 neutron/gamma filters/collimators 19 Contact: [email protected] Genealogical tree of nuclear reactors « If any species do not become modified and improved in a corresponding degree with its competitors, it will soon be exterminated » Charles Darwin. The origin of species, 1859 20 Contact: [email protected] Nuclear reactors in the world (2010) Allemagne Suède Belgique 4 Finlande 18 Canada 10 31 Russie Royaume-Uni 19 Pays Bas Lituanie 17 Tchéquie 15 Ukraine France 59 7 Slovaquie Hongrie Corée du Sud 5 4 Roumanie Suisse Slovénie 104 Espagne Bulgarie Arménie Etats-Unis 8 20 Chine 55 11 Pakistan 2 Japon Mexique 2 17 Inde 2 Brésil 2 Afrique du Sud 2 Argentine Total = 439 units Expected to reach 600 units by 2030! 21 Contact: [email protected] History of the Global Nuclear Power Figure 1 Replacement staggered over a 30-year period (2020 - 2050) Rate of construction : 2,000 MW/year 70000 60000 Plant life extension 50000 beyond 40 years 40000 Generation 4 Existing fleet 30000 40-year plant life 20000 Generation 3+ 10000 0 197519801985199019952000200520102015202020252030203520402045205020552060 2005Average plant life :2025 48 years 2045 World’s electricity: 17 % nuclear Dominating “species”: LWRs (80%) Scenario with constant Today’s experience: >10000 years*reactors reactor fleet! Limitations of LWRs: • Energy conversion factor • Life-time & fuel burn-up • Uranium resources • Use of open fuel cycle (nuclear waste) 22 Contact: [email protected] The best what LWRs can do 3rd generation: EPR Enceinte conçue pour résister à une explosion Dispositif de récupération hydrogène du coeur fondu (corium) en cas d‘accident Système d‘évacuation de chaleur Une sûreté encore améliorée 4 zones indépendantes pour Réservoir d‘eau les systèmes redondants de sûreté Major features: • Safety: redundancy and added margins • Age: 60 years • High burn-up: 60GWd/t – 5% U enrichment Real break-through: • Possibility to use MOX • future 4th generation reactors • > 2040 23 Contact: [email protected] 24 Contact: [email protected] 6 innovative concepts under study Closed Fuel Cycle Sodium Fast reactor Closed Fuel Cycle Closed Fuel Lead Fast Reactor Cycle Gas Fast Reactor Once Through Very High Temperature Reactor Once/Closed Closed Fuel Cycle Supercritical Water Reactor Molten Salt Reactor 25 Contact: [email protected] 26 Contact: [email protected] Application of RRs… in fundamental research 27 Contact: [email protected] Application of RRs in neutron scattering: from fundamental research to applications 28 Contact: [email protected] Basics on neutron scattering research 29 Contact: [email protected] Neutrons in scattering research 30 Contact: [email protected] Neutron scattering (1) Neutrons: microns to angstroms! 31 Contact: [email protected] Neutron scattering
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