Reactor Physics Modeling of Spent Nuclear Research Reactor Fuel for Snm Attribution and Nuclear Forensics

Nuclear research reactors are the least safeguarded type of reactor; in some cases this may be attributed to low risk and in most cases it is due to difficulty from dynamic operation. Research reactors vary greatly in size, fuel type, enrichment, power and burnup providing a significant challenge to any standardized safeguard system. If a whole fuel assembly was interdicted, based on geometry and other traditional forensics work, one could identify the material's origin fairly accurately. If the material has been dispersed or reprocessed, in-depth reactor physics models may be used to help with the identification. Should there be a need to attribute research reactor fuel material, the Savannah River National Laboratory would perform radiochemical analysis of samples of the material as well as other non-destructive measurements. In depth reactor physics modeling would then be performed to compare to these measured results in an attempt to associate the measured results with various reactor parameters. Several reactor physics codes are being used and considered for this purpose, including: MONTEBURNS/ORIGEN/MCNP5, CINDER/MCNPX and WIMS. In attempt to identify reactor characteristics, such as time since shutdown, burnup, or power, various isotopes are used. Complexities arise when the inherent assumptions embedded in different reactor physics codes handle the isotopes differently and may quantify them to different levels of accuracy. A technical approach to modeling spent research reactor fuel begins at the assembly level upon acquiring detailed information of the reactor to be modeled. A single assembly is run using periodic boundary conditions to simulate an infinite lattice which may be repeatedly burned to produce input fuel isotopic vectors of various burnups for a core level model. A core level model will then be constructed using the assembly level results as inputs for the specific fuel shuffling pattern in an attempt to establish an equilibrium cycle. The core level results may then be compared to the radiochemistry results from the dissolved fuel samples and a decision whether further more in-depth modeling should be performed. The SRNL is in the process of analyzing multiple research reactor fuels to determine the best means to provide forensic data for attribution and assess codes and modeling methods for attribution. As several fuel samples are analyzed, this work will allow improved SNM forensics of spent research reactor fuel. This will enable the establishment of a research reactor fuel database of SNM materials, and allow an attempt of an inverse analysis if research reactor material is diverted and seized

MONTE-CARLO BURNUP CALCULATION UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION AND PROPAGATION DETERMINATION

Reactor burnup or depletion codes are used thoroughly in the fields of nuclear forensics and nuclear safeguards. Two common codes include MONTEBURNS and MCNPX/CINDER. These are Monte-Carlo depletion routines utilizing MCNP for neutron transport calculations and either ORIGEN or CINDER for burnup calculations. Uncertainties exist in the MCNP steps, but this information is not passed to the depletion calculations or saved. To quantify this transport uncertainty and determine how it propagates between burnup steps, a statistical analysis of multiple repeated depletion runs is performed. The reactor model chosen is the Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORR) in a single assembly, infinite lattice configuration. This model was burned for a 150 day cycle broken down into three steps. The output isotopics as well as effective multiplication factor (k-effective) were tabulated and histograms were created at each burnup step using the Scott Method to determine the bin width. The distributions for each code are a statistical benchmark and comparisons made. It was expected that the gram quantities and k-effective histograms would produce normally distributed results since they were produced from a Monte-Carlo routine, but some of the results appear to not. Statistical analyses are performed using the {chi}{sup 2} test against a normal distribution for the k-effective results and several isotopes including {sup 134}Cs, {sup 137}Cs, {sup 235}U, {sup 238}U, {sup 237}Np, {sup 238}Pu, {sup 239}Pu, and {sup 240}Pu

MONTE-CARLO BURNUP CALCULATION UNCERTAINTY QUANTIFICATION AND PROPAGATION DETERMINATION

MONTEBURNS is a Monte-Carlo depletion routine utilizing MCNP and ORIGEN 2.2. Uncertainties exist in the MCNP transport calculation, but this information is not passed to the depletion calculation in ORIGEN or saved. To quantify this transport uncertainty and determine how it propagates between burnup steps, a statistical analysis of a multiple repeated depletion runs is performed. The reactor model chosen is the Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORR) in a single assembly, infinite lattice configuration. This model was burned for a 25.5 day cycle broken down into three steps. The output isotopics as well as effective multiplication factor (k-effective) were tabulated and histograms were created at each burnup step using the Scott Method to determine the bin width. It was expected that the gram quantities and k-effective histograms would produce normally distributed results since they were produced from a Monte-Carlo routine, but some of results do not. The standard deviation at each burnup step was consistent between fission product isotopes as expected, while the uranium isotopes created some unique results. The variation in the quantity of uranium was small enough that, from the reaction rate MCNP tally, round off error occurred producing a set of repeated results with slight variation. Statistical analyses were performed using the {chi}{sup 2} test against a normal distribution for several isotopes and the k-effective results. While the isotopes failed to reject the null hypothesis of being normally distributed, the {chi}{sup 2} statistic grew through the steps in the k-effective test. The null hypothesis was rejected in the later steps. These results suggest, for a high accuracy solution, MCNP cell material quantities less than 100 grams and greater kcode parameters are needed to minimize uncertainty propagation and minimize round off effects

REACTOR PHYSICS MODELING OF SPENT RESEARCH REACTOR FUEL FOR TECHNICAL NUCLEAR FORENSICS

Technical nuclear forensics (TNF) refers to the collection, analysis and evaluation of pre- and post-detonation radiological or nuclear materials, devices, and/or debris. TNF is an integral component, complementing traditional forensics and investigative work, to help enable the attribution of discovered radiological or nuclear material. Research is needed to improve the capabilities of TNF. One research area of interest is determining the isotopic signatures of research reactors. Research reactors are a potential source of both radiological and nuclear material. Research reactors are often the least safeguarded type of reactor; they vary greatly in size, fuel type, enrichment, power, and burn-up. Many research reactors are fueled with highly-enriched uranium (HEU), up to {approx}93% {sup 235}U, which could potentially be used as weapons material. All of them have significant amounts of radiological material with which a radioactive dispersal device (RDD) could be built. Therefore, the ability to attribute if material originated from or was produced in a specific research reactor is an important tool in providing for the security of the United States. Currently there are approximately 237 operating research reactors worldwide, another 12 are in temporary shutdown and 224 research reactors are reported as shut down. Little is currently known about the isotopic signatures of spent research reactor fuel. An effort is underway at Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to analyze spent research reactor fuel to determine these signatures. Computer models, using reactor physics codes, are being compared to the measured analytes in the spent fuel. This allows for improving the reactor physics codes in modeling research reactors for the purpose of nuclear forensics. Currently the Oak Ridge Research reactor (ORR) is being modeled and fuel samples are being analyzed for comparison. Samples of an ORR spent fuel assembly were taken by SRNL for analytical and radiochemical analysis. The fuel assembly was modeled using MONTEBURNS(MCNP5/ ORIGEN2.2) and MCNPX/CINDER90. The results from the models have been compared to each other and to the measured data

`Death to Tyrants': The political philosophy of tyrannicide - Part I

This paper examines the conceptual development of the philosophical justifications for tyrannicide. It posits that the political philosophy of tyrannicide can be categorised into three distinct periods or models, the classical, medieval, and liberal, respectively. It argues that each model contained unique themes and principles that justified tyrannicide in that period; the classical, through the importance attached to public life and the functional role of leadership; the medieval, through natural law doctrine; and the liberal, through the postulates of social contract theory. Subsequent analysis of these different models however, reveals that these historical models are unable to provide a sufficient philosophical basis for a contemporary justification of tyrannicide. In Part II, it will be contended that a reinvigorated conception of self-defence, a theme common to all three models, when coupled with the modern notion of universal human rights, may provide the foundation for a contemporary theory of tyrannicide