NSC KIPT Nuclear Energetic Activity Ivan Nekliudov Ivan Karnaukhov

[email protected] National Scientific Center Kharkov Institute of Physics&Tecnology Kharkov Ukraine

Madrid April 21-24 2010 CONTENTS 1. Safe Fast Reactor Based on Self-Sustained Regime of Nuclear Burning Wave 2. Design and Analyses of KIPT Electron Accelerator Driven Subcritical Assembly Facility Concept 3. DIAGNOSTIC INSPECTION OF STRESS-DEFORMATION CONDIONS OF VVER-1000 REACTORS VESSEL 4. Behavior of core region of a reactor VVER-1000 ??? at heavy accident 5. Quasi-Monochromatic Compton X ray source 6. Technology on radioactive waste (RAW) isolation 7. Solid phase joining of heterogeneous materials of the type (Stainless steel- C22E, S. Steel - Zr) – the way of life extension of NPS equipment 8. Nuclear methods for analysis of nuclear fuel cycle materials and environmental objects 9. Why accelerators are necessary? 10. System of dosimetry control in NSC KIPT 1. Safe Fast Reactor Based on Self-Sustained Regime of Nuclear Burning Wave Lev Feoktistov (USSR, 1988): Nuclear Burning Wave

L.P. Feoktistov. Preprint IAE-4605/4, 1988. Nuclear Extinction Burning Breeding Fertile ashes L.P. Feoktistov. Sov. Phys. Doklady, 34 (1989) 1071. zone zone zone zone zone Concept & Analytical approach Feoktistov 238U (n,g) ® 239U (b) ® 239Np (b) ® 239Pu (n,fission) ... PuPu NNeq> cr criterion T1/2 » 2.35 days

Edward Teller (USA, 1997): Traveling Wave Reactor Monte Carlo simulation

232Th (n,g) ® 233Th (b) ® 233Pa (b) ® 233U (n,fission) ... E.Teller. Preprint UCRL-JC-129547, LLNL,1997.

T1/2 » 27 days

Hiroshi Sekimoto (Japan, 2001): CANDLE Deterministic approach U-Pu fuel cycle, Stationary problem: x = z + Vt H.Sekimoto et al., Nucl. Sci. Eng., 139 (2001) 306. Non-Stationary Theory of Nuclear Burning Wave S. Fomin, A. Fomin, Yu. Mel’nik, V. Pilipenko, N. Shul’ga (NSC KIPT, Kharkov, Ukraine) r R 238 U 238 U 100 % 90 % j ext

239 Pu L L z 10 % ign

Ignition zone Breeding zone Nuclear Burning Wave

Non-Stationary Non-Linear Multi-Group Diffusion Equation of Neutron Transport ggg 11¶F¶g¶F¶g¶F gggg®gggg--11 g -rDD-+(Sa+Sin+Smod-Sin)F-SmodF= v¶tr¶r¶¶¶rzz GG g -1 gg/g/jjg/g/jjjggg//® =cfå(nfSf)F-ååjcdlblå()nfSflF+åjlcldåålCl+SFin g/=1gg//==11 Together with Fuel Burn-up Equations and Equations of Nuclear Kinetics

¶N l æggggöæö ¶N =-ssF+LNN+F+L 9 çååall÷lç÷c(l-1)(ll--1)(1) ,(lN=1¸8);;=L66 ¶t èggøèø ¶t

of Precursor Nuclei of Delayed Neutrons ¶N10 æög g j =Fååç÷s fllN ¶Cl jjjggg ¶t lg=1,4,5,6,7 èø =-llCl+bnlå()fSFfl ¶t g Nuclear Burning Wave in Fast Reactor with U-Pu Fuel Reactor radius R=117cm, Reactor composition (volume fractions): Fuel (238U) = 44%, Coolant (Pb-Bi) = 36%, Constr.material (Fe) = 20%

Neutron Flux F (r, z, t) & Plutonium Concentration NPu (r, z, t)

, 1017 c? -2 s-1

, 1021 c? -3 Fuel Burn-up for U-Pu Cycle

Fission products

Pu

238U Main features of NBW reactor with mixed Th-U-Pu fuel cycle

Example: Metallic fuel 232Th (62%) + 238U (48%) volume fraction = 55%, fuel porosity p = 0.65; Coolant (Pb-Bi eutectic) vol. frac. = 30%, Constr. materials (Fe) vol. frac. = 15%; R = 390 cm

- long-term (decades) operation without refueling and external control - negative feedback on reactivity - inherent safety - possibility of 232Th and 238U utilization as a fuel - fuel burn-up depth for both 238U and 232Th ˜ 50% - possibility of nuclear waste burn out (expected) - neutron flux in active zone ˜ 3·1015 n/?m2s - energy production density in active zone ˜ 200 W/?m3 - total power at the steady-state regime ˜ 5 GW - wave velocity at the steady-state regime ˜ 4 ?m/year

Publications: S.P.Fomin et al., Annals of Nuclear Energy, 32 (2005) 1435; Progress in Nuclear Energy, 50 (2008) 163; Atomic Energy, 107 (2009) 288.

Conferences: 2001 - QEDSP (Kharkov, Ukraine); 2003 - ICAPP (Cordoba, Spain); 2005 - ICENES (Brussels, Belgium), IAEA-ADS (Minsk, Belarus); 2006 - QEDSP (Kharkov, Ukraine), ICAPP (Reno, USA), COI – INES (Yokohama, Japan); 2007 - PINP WS (St-Perersburg, Russia), ICAPP (Nice, France), IAEA-ADS (Roma, Italy), 2008 - Channeling (Erice, Italy); 2009 - IAEA-ADS (Vienna, Austria), Global 2009 (Paris, France); 2010 - IAEA-ADS (Mumbai, India), ICAPP (San Diego, USA) 2. Design and Analyses of KIPT Electron Accelerator Driven Subcritical Assembly Facility Concept

Background A conceptual design of an accelerator driven subcritical assembly has been developed using the existing electron accelerator of Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology (KIPT) within the cooperative activity between Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and KIPT.

Facility Objectives Provide capabilities for carrying basic and applied research utilizing the radial neutron beam ports of the subcritical assembly.

Produce medical isotopes and provide neutron source for performing neutron therapy procedures.

Support the Ukraine nuclear power industry by providing the capabilities to perform physics experiments and to train young specialists. Accelerator Driven Subcritical Assembly Facility Design Concept Main Components

• Electron beam from the current KIPT accelerator • Target Assembly for generating neutrons

• Subcritical assembly with low enrichment fuel, carbon reflector, and water coolant • Heavy concrete biological shield

• Auxiliary equipments including the target and the subcritical assembly coolant loops Target Design Analyses

Objective: Maximize the neutron production for the available beam power and define the optimal target configuration. Materials for the target – W and natural U Performance and Design Parameters: Neutron source strength Neutron spatial and energy distributions Energy deposition in the target material Beam radius relative to the target radius Target geometrical configuration Thermal hydraulics results Thermal stress results Target fabrication procedure Exploded Assembly View of the Square Uranium Target Design Subcritical Assembly Analyses

The subcritical assembly performance was optimized to enhance and maximize the neutron flux field.

Main design parameters of the subcritical assembly configuration: ØNatural uranium target material Ø100 KW Beam power Ø200 MeV Electron energy Ø WWR-M2 fuel design with low enrichment uranium (<20%) Ø2.7 g/cm3 fuel material density ØCarbon reflector ØWater coolant ØAluminum alloy structure Fuel Design

Fuel Clad

Coolant Sub-Critical Assembly. General View

1- is subcritical assembly tank; 2 - is fuel 1 - are graphite reflector rods; 2 - is target handling machine; 3 - is target assembly; assembly; 3 - are fuel elements; 4 - is grid plate; 4 - is redan; 5 - is in-tank fuel storage. 5 - is in-tank fuel storage. Sub-Critical Assembly. Main Parameters Facility Conceptual Design Overview Range of Use

The designed neutron source is expected to be used for research into the following areas: qNew nuclear systems; qNeutron therapy; qProduction of medical isotopes; qRadiation material science; qCondensed state physics; qTraining of specialists in nuclear physics and energy; qCold and ultra-cold neutrons 3. DIAGNOSTIC INSPECTION OF STRESS- DEFORMATION CONDIONS OF VVER-1000 REACTORS VESSEL • The used method is coercive force measurement. The methodic is based on the measurement of coercive force dependence on stress-deformation condition level of mettals. For probe delivery to the vessel a manipulator ??-187 was used, that is used at AES with VVER-1000 for visual and ultrasound ??? ??????????? ? ??????????????? inspection of the reactor. • Results of inspection are shown in Fig. There coercive force distribution and stress-deformation condition are presented as plane colored tape from minimal value (blue) up to maximal value (red) when metall is on the edge of failure. It is easy to determine the rate of stress-deformation condition of any zone of inspected vessel. • With use of the method 5 vessels of Zaporogskaya and Source Ukrainian AESs were inspected and the most stressed places were localized. Probe of coercive force at telescopic pole ??-187-? U

Probe of coercive force at a reactor vessel Stress-deformation condition of a cylindrical part of a reactor vessel 4. Behavior of core region of a reactor VVER-1000 ??? at heavy accident

The main objectives of the project: • to obtain melts of standard VVER fuel and absorber rods, namely combination of UO2, the alloy Zr1%Nb (E110), stainless steel, boron carbide; • to study the effects of fuel and absorber rod structural features (close contact, presence of oxides on the surface) on the nature of the beginning of their materials' interaction and interaction of first and second types of melts, to obtain data on the temperature parameters of the beginning of melt formation as a function of material state; • to study processes of melt formation for new combinations of absorber materials B4C, Dy2O3•TiO2, Hf and interaction of these components with the melt of fuel materials; • to identify phase composition of melts thus formed; • to identify melt viscosity and fluidity parameters depending on their phase composition. 5. Quasi-Monochromatic Compton X ray source

eg0 2 2 ec[keV]=0.665B [T]E0 [GeV] eg »4g eg m 0 a0 q e- g eg e- e- E0

e-

eg»33 KeV LESR SR source

eg0=1.164 eV B0=7.5 T E0=43 MeV E0=2.5 GeV Main Facility Parameters

Parameter Value Storage ring circumference, m 15.418 Electron beam energy range, MeV 40-225

Betatron tunes Qx, Qz 3.155; 2.082

Amplitude functions bx, bz at IP, m 0.14; 0.12

Linear momentum compaction factor a1 0.01-0.078 RF acceptance, % > 5 RF frequency, MHz 700 RF voltage, MV 0.3 Harmonics number 36 Number of circulating electron bunches 2; 3; 4; 6; 9; 12; 18; 36 Electron bunch current, mA 10 Laser flash energy into optical cavity, mJ 1 Collision angle, degrees 10; 150

Scattered photon energy (Nd laser, elas = 1.16 eV), keV 6-900 Spectral brightness, phot/(s mm2 mrad2 0.1%BW) 5´1012-5´1013 Facility layout

Radiation shielding

Laser Experimental hall Lattice elements

Linear accelerator - injector NESTOR ring Main view of the facility Compton X ray source use

Measurement of the fuel elements (Th, U, Pu) Experimental Setup Estimate of detection limit for Th, U, Pu in soil (analysis by photon beam with 130 keV energy and flux of 1011 photon/cm2s)

N 1 w = MI0t emKanwK rKa1

where w – mass part of an analyzed chemical element in substance;

N – number of detected Ka1 photons; Low Energy Germanium Detector (LEGe) M – mass of sample (g); 2 I0 – flux of primary beam photons (photon/cm s); t – time of measurement (s); e – detection efficiency; 2 µKan – K-jump of mass absorption factor for the analyzed element (cm /g); ? K – fluorescence yield for K-shell of atom of the analyzed element; rKa1 – branching ratio for the Ka1 line.

If M = 2 g (1 cm3); t = 103 s; N =103 then estimated detection limit is 6 ppb

Absolute Efficiency Curve for LEGe Detector with 2.5 cm Spacing Between Source and End Cap. For photon energies Th Ka1 - 93.35 keV; U Ka1 -98.43 keV; Pu Ka1 -103.3 keV efficiency is 6 % 6. Technology on radioactive waste (RAW) isolation

• Spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and the waste products formed during chemical processing of the SNF are considered as RAW products. SNF

– Studying of SNF components behaviour (characteristics of the both zirconium cladding and uranium oxide fuel pellets)

– Development of protective materials for SNF encapsulation

– Estimation of SNF behaviour under condition of storage and geological disposal Development of protective materials for SNF encapsulation

• Encapsulation of the SNF in protective ceramic and glass-ceramic protective forms with the composition similar to natural minerals

• Researches and development of synthesis of crystal and glass- crystal materials

– Alumino-silicate compositions • Crystalline phases

– feldspar Na(K,Ca)AlSi3O8, quartz SiO2, mullite 3Al2O3×2SiO2 • glass matrix (Al-Si-O) The main objectives of the research activity on SNF encapsulation

• Manufacture of the glass-ceramic materials on the base of natural granites and clays

• Optimization of parameters of sintering and sintering under pressure

• Determination of the main characteristics of the glass-ceramic materials proposed as protective engineering barriers for spent nuclear fuel encapsulation

• Grounding of terms of safe long-term storage and disposal of the spent nuclear fuel contained in the glass-ceramic monolith, and the determination of the maximum terms of the use HIP equipment manufactured in the NSC KIPT

• Hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of powder components provides creation of a material with – high density – low coefficient of radionuclide diffusion – high value of irradiation power absorption for amorphisation – low rate of leaching by the ground water

• Pilot-scale HIP-facility for Radium Institute (Russia, S-Petersburg) is shown on this picture 1 m Substantiation of the concept of SNF geological disposal

• Studying behaviour of a granite in the conditions simulating influence of g-irradiation from the side of SNF

• Research of influence of an g-irradiation on granite characteristics, various linear accelerators are used for generating of g-irradiation

• Studying migration of radionuclides through a granite in the natural and irradiated state 7. Solid phase joining of heterogeneous materials of the type (Stainless steel- C22E, S. Steel - Zr) – the way of life extension of NPS equipment

Use: - Steam generators, heat exchangers; - Fuel elements, zirconium channel tubes; - Joins of steam lines in 2-nd circuit; - Pipe lines in turbine room. Fig 1. View of rolling mill (a) and its scheme (b) Transducer Drowing of transducer of structural material Dy = 14-32 Tensile diagram Mechanical properties of C22E–S. Steel at 20 ?? composite C22E - S. Steel place of speciment (1-sb; 3-s0,2) and composite failure is shown C22E –Ni – S. Steel (2-sb; 4- s0,2)

500 400 1 2 450 3 4 350

400 300

350

250 300 Yield strength, MPa Ultimate strength, MPa

200 250

0 100 200 300 400 500 Temperature , ?? 8. Nuclear methods for analysis of nuclear fuel cycle materials and environmental objects • analyzing the elemental composition and structure of materials applied in the nuclear fuel cycle; • investigating the local distribution and concentration profiles of basic matrix elements and impurities; • analyzing the composition and thickness of coatings; • investigating hot particles of the Chornobyl Zone (activity, composition, migration); • determining the impurities in high-purity materials; • studying the environment and different factor influence on its state; • prospecting for opportunities to diagnose human and animal diseases by the changes in the elemental composition of physiological fluids and tissues; • mapping of regions by the soil composition, developing geoinformation systems. Zirconium production effects on the environment and population health Dneprodzerzhinsk GNPP “Zirconium”

Alloy Zr1%Nb + 31 detrimental substances

Volnogorsk Analysis of zirconium production negative factors and detrimental effects exerting Volnogorsk National Mining Enterprise influence on the environment and population health: Zirconium concentrate 1. The state of areas and population health under investigation are studied. Rutile concentrate 2. Criteria for evaluation of the zirconium Ilmenite concentrate + production negative effects on the Disthene-sillimanite concentrate population health are determined. 3. The methods evaluating the risks for Above 40 production species population health are developed and the detrimentalsubstances detrimental effects of zirconium production

16 in these enterprises are estimated. 9. Why accelerators are necessary

Advantages of simulation experiments • Higher rates of damage production (10-4-10-2/accelerator/ against 10-6- 10-10 dpa/s); • Good control of experiment parameters (irradiation temperature, flux and others), possibility of radiation parameters selection; • Irradiated specimens are not radioactive in difference on reactor specimens that have high radioactivity and that may be handled only in “hot chamber”; Now it is the unique possible choice in the absence of irradiation facilities with high neutron flux. Disadvantage of ion simulation

•??Difference in recoil spectra and damage morphology

•??Phase stability at high dpa rate

• ??Injected interstitial effect ?? •Stress induced by irradiation –surface proximity Accelerator ESUVI ion guide and hollow source of gas ions of magnetron types

10. SYSTEM OF NSC KIPT DOSIMETRY CONTROL

In NSC KIPT the system of a dosimetry control is existed during more then 50 years with permanent improvements. Today the system is meet to the main requirements of radiation regulation documents of Ukraine and involved: ? Devices of radiation monitoring of territory, working places, sanitary zone and observation zone. ? Devices of alarm. ? Measurement equipment for individual dosimetry control. ? Dosimetry department with radiometry, dosimetry, spectrometry and radiochemistry equipment. ? Software for dates operation. Programme of a dosimetry control involves: Current (planed), operation (operative) and special inspection. ? Current control is used to take current information about radiation conditions, their changes, possibility of emergency situations. ? Operation (operative) control is realized if repairmen or other activity in radiation zone are needed. ? Special control is used to get new dates about radiation conditions, to specify in more details radiation conditions REGISTRATION OF RADIATION DIZES In NSC KIPT there is “Information-analytical system of a dosimetry control”, to collect, store and keep information about dozes of staff irradiation during working time. System allows to estimate average around the year for different groups of the staff. ??? 2000 30 ??? 300 7 25 6 20 5 15 4 3 10 ??????????? 2 5 ??????????? 1 0 0 <5 5- 15- 25- 35- 45- <5 5- 15- 25- 35- 45- ???????????? ?????????? ?? ???, ??? ???????????? ?????????? ?? ???, ??? Irradiation dozes staff distribution on record of service in linear accelerator LEA- 2000 (left) and LEA-300 (right)

20 18 16 14 12 10 8 ?, ??? 6 4 2 0 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 ???

Irradiation dozes average around a year for LEA-2000 and LEA-300 personals THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION!!!