Radionuclide mass inventory, activity, decay heat, and dose rate parametric data for TRIGA spent nuclear fuels

摘要

Parametric burnup calculations are performed to estimate radionuclide isotopic mass and activity concentrations for four different Training, Research, and Isotope General Atomics (TRIGA) nuclear reactor fuel element types: (1) Aluminum-clad standard, (2) Stainless Steel-clad standard, (3) High-enrichment Fuel Life Improvement Program (FLIP), and (4) Low-enrichment Fuel Life Improvement Program (FLIP-LEU-1). Parametric activity data are tabulated for 145 important radionuclides that can be used to generate gamma-ray emission source terms or provide mass quantity estimates as a function of decay time. Fuel element decay heats and dose rates are also presented parametrically as a function of burnup and decay time. Dose rates are given at the fuel element midplane for contact, 3.0-feet, and 3.0-meter detector locations in air. The data herein are estimates based on specially derived Beginning-of-Life (BOL) neutron cross sections using geometrically-explicit TRIGA reactor core models. The calculated parametric data should represent good estimates relative to actual values, although no experimental data were available for direct comparison and validation. However, because the cross sections were not updated as a function of burnup, the actinide concentrations may deviate from the actual values at the higher burnups.