Production of nuclear fuel
AssigneeBritish Nuclear Fuels plc
InventorsKevin W. Hesketh, Brian C. Hexter
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Abstract
A process for the production of plutonium-containing mixed oxide nuclear fuel. The process comprises selecting a plutonium-containing solution, determining the plutonium isotopic composition of the solution, precipitating particulate plutonium oxide from the solution, forming a mixture comprising the plutonium oxide and a particulate uranium oxide, and forming nuclear fuel compacts from the mixture. The amount of plutonium in the mixture is controlled in accordance with a given equation.
Claims4
A process for the production of plutonium-containing mixed oxide nuclear fuel, the process comprising selecting a plutonium-containing solution, determining the plutonium isotopic composition of the solution, precipitating particulate plutonium oxide from the solution, forming a mixture comprising the plutonium oxide and a particulate uranium oxide, and forming nuclear fuel compacts from the mixture, the amount of plutonium in the mixture being controlled in accordance with the equation:
- .DELTA.C.sub.Pu /C.sub.Pu =.alpha..sub.8 .DELTA.f.sub.238 -.alpha..sub.9 .DELTA.f.sub.239 +.alpha..sub.0 .DELTA.f.sub.240 -.alpha..sub.1 .DELTA.f.sub.241 +.alpha..sub.2 .DELTA.f.sub.242 -[( 1-C.sub.Pu)/c.sub.Pu ] .alpha..sub.5 .DELTA.f.sub.235 +.alpha..sub.Am .DELTA.f.sub.Am
- f.sub.238, f.sub.239, f.sub.240, f.sub.241 and f.sub.242 representing the absolute perturbations in the Pu.sup.238, Pu.sup.239, Pu.sup.240, Pu.sup.241 and Pu.sup.242 isotopic fractions, respectively, f.sub.235 being the absolute perturbation for U.sup.235, and f.sub.Am that for Am.sup.241, the .alpha.'s, all being positive in value and being factors related to the partial derivatives of lifetime averaged reactivity to variations in the individual isotopes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.