SUB-LEU-METAL-THERM-001: Subcritical Measurements of Low-Enriched Tubular Uranium Metal Fuel Elements Before and After Irradiation. Revision 1

摘要

With the shutdown of the Hanford PUREX (Plutonium-Uranium Extraction Plant) reprocessing plant in the 1970s, adequate storage capacity for spent Hanford N Reactor fuel elements in the K and N Reactor pools became a concern. To maximize space utilization in the pools, accounting for fuel burnup was considered. Fuel that had experienced a neutron environment in a reactor is known as spent, exposed, or irradiated fuel. In contrast fuel that has not yet been placed in a reactor is known as green, unexposed, or unirradiated fuel. Calculations indicated that at typical fuel exposures for N Reactor, the spent-fuel critical mass would be twice the critical mass for green fuel. A decision was reached to test the calculational result with a definitive experiment. If the results proved positive, storage capacity could be increased and N Reactor operation could be prolonged. An experiment to be conducted in the N Reactor spent-fuel storage pool was designed and assembled (References 1 and 2) and the services of the Battelle Northwest Laboratories (BNWL) (now Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)) critical mass laboratory were procured for the measurements (Reference 3).