Article discussing the synthesis of the five-coordinate ruthenium (II) complexes and reactions with phenyldiazomethane and phenylacetylene.

Article discussing a computational study on the activation of carbon-hydrogen bonds via 1,2-addition across M-X (X = OH or NH2) bonds of d6 transition metals as a potential key step in hydrocarbon functionalization.

Our current OMEGA experimental campaign is developing the thin shell diagnostic for use on NIF with the needed accuracy. The thin shell diagnostic has the advantage of linearity over alternative measurement techniques, so that low-order modes will not corrupt the measurement of high-order modes. Although our random measurement errors are adequate, we need to monitor beam balance and ensure that the thin shells have a uniform thickness.

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Brazil started the use of radiation technology in the seventies on crosslinking polyethylene for insulation of wire and electronic cables and sterilization of medical care devices. The present status of industrial applications of radiation shows that the use of this technology is increasing according to the economical development and the necessity to become the products manufactured in the local industries competitive in quality and price for internal and external market. The on going development activities in this area are concentrated on polymers processing (materials modification), foodstuff treatment and environmental protection. The development, the promotion and the technical support to consolidate this technology to the local industries is the main attribution of Institute for Energetic and Nuclear Research-IPEN, a governmental Institution.

An LDRD (Laboratory Directed Research and Development) project is ongoing at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) for applying the three-dimensional multi-group deterministic neutron transport code (Attila{reg_sign}) to criticality, flux and depletion calculations of the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). This paper discusses the model development, capabilities of Attila, generation of the cross-section libraries, and comparisons to an ATR MCNP model and future.

Radioisotopes have been used for power sources in heart pacemakers and space applications dating back to the 50's. Two key properties of radioisotope power sources are high energy density and long half-life compared to chemical batteries. The tritium battery used in heart pacemakers exceeds 500 mW-hr, and is being evaluated by the University of Florida for feasibility as a MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) power source. Conversion of radioisotope sources into electrical power within the constraints of nano-scale dimensions requires cutting-edge technologies and novel approaches. Some advances evolving in the III-V and II-IV semiconductor families have led to a broader consideration of radioisotopes rather free of radiation damage limitations. Their properties can lead to novel battery configurations designed to convert externally located emissions from a highly radioactive environment. This paper presents results for the analytical computational assisted design and modeling of semiconductor prototype nano-scale radioisotope nuclear batteries from MCNP and EGS programs. The analysis evaluated proposed designs and was used to guide the selection of appropriate geometries, material properties, and specific activities to attain power requirements for the MEMS batteries. Plans utilizing high specific activity radioisotopes were assessed in the investigation of designs employing multiple conversion cells and graded junctions with varying …

The DOE Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative and Generation IV reactor programs are developing new fuel types for use in the current Light Water Reactors and future advanced reactor concepts. The Advanced Gas Reactor program is planning to test fuel to be used in the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) nuclear reactor. Preliminary information for assessing performance of the fuel will be obtained from irradiations performed in the Advanced Test Reactor large ''B'' experimental facility. A test configuration has been identified for demonstrating fuel types typical of gas cooled reactors or fast reactors that may play a role in closing the fuel cycle or increasing efficiency via high temperature operation Plans are to have 6 capsules, each containing 12 compacts, for the test configuration. Each capsule will have its own temperature control system. Passing a helium-neon gas through the void regions between the fuel compacts and the graphite carrier and between the graphite carrier and the capsule wall will control temperature. This design with three compacts per axial level was evaluated for thermal performance to ascertain the temperature distributions in the capsule and test specimens with heating rates that encompass the range of initial heat generation rates.

A new Research Reactor (ARR) has been under design by KAERI since 2002. In this work, as a first step for the design of the fuel assembly of the ARR, the conceptual design has been carried out. The vibration characteristics of the tubular fuel model and the locking performance of the preliminary designed locking devices were investigated. In order to investigate the effects of the stiffener on the vibration characteristics of the tubular fuel, a modal analysis was performed for the finite element models of the tubular fuels with stiffeners and without stiffeners. The analysis results show that the vibration characteristics of the tubular fuel with stiffeners are better than those of the tubular fuel without stiffeners. To investigate the locking performance of the preliminary designed locking devices for the fuel assembly of the ARR, the elements of the locking devices were fabricated. Then the torsional resistance, fixing status and vibration characteristics of the locking devices were tested. The test results show that using the locking device with fins on the bottom guide can prevent the torsional motion of the fuel assembly, and that additional springs or guides on the top of the fuel assembly are needed to suppress the …

The worldwide demand for potable water has been steadily growing and is projected to accelerate, driven by a continued population growth and industrialization of emerging countries. This growth is reflected in a recent market survey by the World Resources Institute, which shows a doubling in the installed capacity of seawater desalination plants every ten years. The production of desalinated water is energy intensive, requiring approximately 3-6 kWh/m3 of produced desalted water. At current U.S. water use rates, a dedicated 1000 MW power plant for every one million people would be required to meet our water needs with desalted water. Nuclear energy plants are attractive for large scale desalination application. The thermal energy produced in a nuclear plant can provide both electricity and desalted water without the production of greenhouse gases. A particularly attractive option for nuclear desalination is to couple a desalination plant with an advanced, modular, passively safe reactor design. The use of small-to-medium sized nuclear power plants allows for countries with smaller electrical grid needs and infrastructure to add new electrical and water capacity in more appropriate increments and allows countries to consider siting plants at a broader number of distributed locations. To meet these needs, a modified …

In the case of new nuclear power stations, it is necessary to pay special attention to the financial strategy that will be applied, time of construction, investment cost, and the discount and return rate. The levelized cost quantifies the unitary cost of the electricity (the kWh) generated during the lifetime of the nuclear power plant; and allows the immediate comparison with the cost of other alternative technologies. The present paper shows levelized cost for different nuclear technologies and it provides comparison among them as well as with gas and coal electricity plants. For the calculations we applied our own methodology to evaluate the levelized cost considering investment, fuel and operation and maintenance costs, making assumptions for the Mexican market, and taking into account the gas prices projections. The study also shows comparisons using different discount rates (5% and 10%), and some comparisons between our results and an OECD 1998 study. The results are i n good agreement and shows that nuclear option is cost competitive in Mexico on the basis of levelized costs.

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) has long been involved in testing gas reactor materials, and has developed facilities well suited for providing the right conditions and environment for gas reactor tests. This paper discusses the different types of irradiation hardware that have been utilized in past ATR irradiation tests of gas reactor materials. The new Gas Test Loop facility currently being developed for the ATR is discussed and the different approaches being considered in the design of the facility. The different options for an irradiation experiment such as active versus passive temperature control, neutron spectrum tailoring, and different types of lead experiment sweep gas monitors are also discussed. The paper is then concluded with examples of different past and present gas reactor material and fuel irradiations.

The role of the fast breeder reactor prototype Monju has expanded to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Today instead of being merely a demonstration of an economical, safe, environmentally responsible source of energy, as originally designed, it has also the capability to be transformed into a unique International Irradiations Test Facility. The potential for Monju's role in the Generation IV nuclear energy systems development, and fast reactor research and development area is clear. Its incomparable fast neutron spectrum density will be a major interest not only for Sodium Fast Reactor but for all the Generation IV concepts. As Monju's potential future role is laid out, plans for future tests can be made. Tests of advanced fuels and materials in support of the Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative, as well as Minor Actinide Burning can be envisaged. Tests planned on transmutation of minor actinides have the objectives of an industrial demonstration of the reduction of toxic wastes and the stewardship burden of the long-lived wastes. Tests and demonstrations carried out at Monju will provide a bridge from existing Generation III fast reactor systems, now in the later stages of their projected operational lifetimes, to Generation IV nuclear energy systems. The …

A semi-implicit formulation of the method of spectral deferred corrections (SISDC) for ordinary differential equations with both stiff and non-stiff terms is presented. Several modifications and variations to the original spectral deferred corrections method by Dutt, Greengard, and Rokhlin concerning the choice of integration points and the form of the correction iteration are presented. The stability and accuracy of the resulting ODE methods are explored analytically and numerically. The SISDC methods are intended to be combined with the method of lines approach to yield a flexible framework for creating higher-order semi-implicit methods for partial differential equations. A discussion and numerical examples of the SISDC method applied to advection-diffusion type equations are included. The results suggest that higher-order SISDC methods are more efficient than semi-implicit Runge-Kutta methods for moderately stiff problems in terms of accuracy per function evaluation.

This paper discusses all alternatives that are part of the general solution for the electric energy problem in Brazil.

Since its creation in 1943 until 1988, the Hanford Site, a facility in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear weapons complex was dedicated to the production of weapons grade plutonium and other special nuclear materials. The Hanford Site is located in eastern Washington State and is bordered on the north and east by the Columbia River. Decades of creating fuel, irradiating it in reactors, and processing it to recover nuclear material left numerous waste sites that involved the discharge of contaminated liquids and the disposal of contaminated solid waste. Today, the primary mission of the Hanford Site is to safely cleanup and manage the site's legacy waste. A site-wide risk assessment methodology has been developed to assist the DOE, as well as state and federal regulatory agencies, in making decisions regarding needed remedial actions at past waste sites, and safe disposal of future wastes. The methodology, referred to as the System Assessment Capability (SAC), utilizes an integrated set of models that track potential contaminants from inventory through vadose zone, groundwater, Columbia River and air pathways to human and ecological receptors.

The purpose of this study was to develop a mobile self powered remote monitoring system enhanced for field deployment at Savannah River Site (SRS). The system used a localized power source with solar recharging and has wireless data collection, analysis, transmission, and data management capabilities. The prototype was equipped with a Hydrolab's DataSonde 4a multi-sensor array package managed by a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, with an adequate pumping capacity of water samples for sampling and analysis of Trichloroethylene (TCE) in contaminated groundwater wells at SRS. This paper focuses on a study and technology development efforts conducted at the Hemispheric Center for Environmental Technology (HCET) at Florida International University (FIU) to automate the sampling of contaminated wells with a multi-sensor array package developed using COTS (Commercial Off The shelf) parts. Bladder pumps will pump water from different wells to the sensors array, water quality TCE indicator parameters are measured (i.e. pH, redox, ORP, DO, NO3 -, Cl-). In order to increase user access and data management, the system was designed to be accessible over the Internet. Remote users can take sample readings and collect data remotely over a web. Results obtained at Florida International University in-house testing and …

The Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) program has been tasked with the conversion of research reactors from highly enriched to low-enriched uranium (LEU). To convert several high power reactors, monolithic fuel, a new fuel type, is being developed. This fuel type replaces the standard fuel dispersion with a fuel alloy foil, which allows for fuel densities far in excess of that found in dispersion fuel. The single-piece fuel foil also contains a significantly lower interface area between the fuel and the aluminum in the plate than the standard fuel type, limiting the amount of detrimental fuel-aluminum interaction that can occur. Implementation of monolithic fuel is dependant on the development of a suitable fabrication method as traditional roll-bonding techniques are inadequate.

In the manufacturing control of Fuel Element Plates for Research Reactors, one of the problems to be addressed is how to determine the U-density homogeneity in a fuel plate and how to obtain qualitative and quantitative information in order to establish acceptance or rejection criteria for such, as well as carrying out the quality follow-up. This paper is aimed at developing computing software which implements an Unsupervised Competitive Learning Neural Network for the acknowledgment of regions belonging to a digitalized gray scale image. This program is applied to x-ray images. These images are generated when the x-ray beams go through a fuel plate of approximately 60 cm x 8 cm x 0.1 cm thick. A Nuclear Fuel Element for Research Reactors usually consists of 18 to 22 of these plates, positioned in parallel, in an arrangement of 8 x 7 cm. Carrying out the inspection of the digitalized x-ray image, the neural network detects regions with different luminous densities corresponding to U-densities in the fuel plate. This is used in quality control to detect failures and verify acceptance criteria depending on the homogeneity of the plate. This modality of inspection is important as it allows the performance of non-destructive measurements …

The University of Florida has underway an ongoing research program to validate the economic, operational and performance benefits of developing an inert matrix fuel (IMF) for the disposition of the U.S. weapons plutonium (Pu) and for the recycle of reprocessed Pu. The current fuel form of choice for Pu disposition for the Department of Energy is as a mixed oxide (MOX) (PuO2/UO2). We will show analyses that demonstrate that a Silicon Carbide (SiC) IMF offers improved performance capabilities as a fuel form for Pu recycle and disposition. The reason that UF is reviewing various materials to serve as an inert matrix fuel is that an IMF fuel form can offer greatly reduced Pu and transuranic isotope (TRU) production and also improved thermal performance characteristics. Our studies showed that the Pu content is reduced by an order of magnitude while centerline fuel temperatures are reduced approximately 380 degrees centigrade compared to MOX. These reduced temperatures result in reduced stored heat and thermal stresses in the pellet. The reduced stored heat reduces the consequences of the loss of coolant accident, while the reduced temperatures and thermal stresses yield greatly improved fuel performance. Silicon Carbide is not new to the nuclear industry, being …

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The present study concerns with the effects of material orthotropy,curvature, shear ratio and circumferential modulus under the influence of a temperature distribution throughout the shell structure. Here analysis is restricted to the study of nonlinear vibration of a doubly curved shell structure considering the periodic response of a simple bending mode due to curtailment of pages. Solutions of the problems with suitable illustrations are also presented.

This article introduces a GOTHIC version 7.1 model of the Secondary Containment Reactor Building Post LOCA drawdown analysis for a BWR. GOTHIC is an EPRI sponsored thermal hydraulic code. This analysis is required by the Utility to demonstrate an ability to restore and maintain the Secondary Containment Reactor Building negative pressure condition. The technical and regulatory issues associated with this modeling are presented. The analysis includes the affect of wind, elevation and thermal impacts on pressure conditions. The model includes a multiple volume representation which includes the spent fuel pool. In addition, heat sources and sinks are modeled as one dimensional heat conductors. The leakage into the building is modeled to include both laminar as well as turbulent behavior as established by actual plant test data. The GOTHIC code provides components to model heat exchangers used to provide fuel pool cooling as well as area cooling via air coolers. The results of the evaluation are used to demonstrate the time that the Reactor Building is at a pressure that exceeds external conditions. This time period is established with the GOTHIC model based on the worst case pressure conditions on the building. For this time period the Utility must assume the …