离子交换法分离铀中的微量钍

矿石中常有铀钍伴生的情况,因此在精炼的天然铀产品中常含有微量钍。这样制成的生产堆燃料元件辐照时,铀-232俘获中子而转变为镤-233,这会使经后处理得到的铀钚产品中γ放射性过高。为此,应对前处理中得到的精炼铀产品中的钍含量加以检验和控制。此外,Thorex流程中的铀-233液流和最终铀产品中也必定含有微量钍,须进行检测。因此,建立一个简便可靠的方法来分析大量铀中的微量钍,就具有实际的意义。本文采用简     

重水堆钍铀燃料增殖循环方案研究

论文的目的是研究重水堆钍铀燃料增殖循环方案。基于前期设计的技术路线,以CANDU-6堆芯为参考堆芯,研究了钍基堆芯燃料管理策略,分析了中子学特性,并对乏燃料特性进行了评估,包括放射性毒性、衰变热和伽马射线。在此基础上,建立了钍铀燃料增殖循环方案,其在可持续性关键指标方面优于常规天然铀一次通过循环。     

钍资源的核能利用问题探讨

分析了钍/铀燃料循环特点,评估了国际上钍资源利用研究开发现状和发展趋势,并试图按照科学发展观提出了我国钍资源核能利用的战略思考和钍/铀燃料循环前瞻性研究开发课题.     

紧凑型压水堆钍-铀燃料长寿期堆芯物理特性研究

针对棒元件正方形栅格组件,进行均匀混合钍-铀燃料中子学分析。分析表明:钍-铀燃料能够使组件反应性随燃耗变化曲线更平缓,非常有利于提高反应性控制能力。在此基础上,以紧凑型压水堆为对象,进行钍-铀燃料长寿期堆芯方案概念设计研究并进行评价。计算表明:堆芯燃耗寿期可达到1000等效满功率天(EFPD),235U利用率可达到51.3%。研究表明:紧凑型压水堆应用钍-铀燃料,是实现长寿期设计的重要技术途径之一。     

氢化锆慢化熔盐堆钍铀转换性能初步分析

中子能谱对钍基燃料在熔盐堆中的利用效率及温度反馈系数等安全问题有较大影响,所以对熔盐堆新型慢化剂的研究具有重要意义。本工作基于SCALE6计算程序,对不同几何栅元结构的氢化锆栅元组件在熔盐堆的物理性能进行了研究,分别计算了中子能谱、钍铀转换比、~(233)U浓度、总温度反馈系数以及燃耗等中子物理参量。结果表明,减小六边形栅元对边距或者增加熔盐占栅元体积比可以增加钍铀转换比和改善温度反应性系数;当加入的氢化锆慢化剂体积份额为0.1时就可以将熔盐堆~(233)U初始浓度降低到2.5×10~(-2)以内;氢化锆慢化熔盐堆在超热谱条件下,其~(233)U初装载量和超铀核素产量较小,同时堆芯较为紧凑。     

用缓发裂变中子计数技术评价铀和铀-钍混合物的分析结果

本文叙述了基于原子核研究中心(NRC)研究反应堆中子通量短时间照射后的缓发裂变中子计数技术,同时测定铀扣混合铀-钍的方法。在过去几年中,在一个5MW游泳池NRC研究反应堆中安装了一个自动装置。新的分析器提供了分析测量铀和钍浓度的可能性。为了同IAEA给出的保证值相比较,研究了国际原子能机构(IAEA)的几个矿石标准样品结果。在这些测量标定曲线中制备了10-2 000mg重量范围的U和Th样品。然后将一组上述样品用镉和无镉封装在功率为1MW,通量为0.8×10~(13)(中子/cm~2)/s条件下照射。     

压水堆平衡堆芯钍铀燃料循环初步研究

建立WIMSD5-SN2-CYCLE3D和CASMO3-CYCLE3D物理分析系统作为钍铀燃料循环研究工具.以大亚湾第1机组压水堆为参考堆型,不改变反应堆栅元、组件和堆芯的结构与几何尺寸,设计出含36根钍棒、4.2#5U富集度的新型含钍组件,并对含钍组件和3.2%富集度的铀组件进行中子学计算和分析.模拟并分析了大亚湾压水堆12个月换料从初始循环到铀钚平衡循环的换料过程.再从平衡铀堆芯出发,逐步加入含钍组件代替铀组件,对铀钚平衡循环到钍铀平衡循环的换料过程进行了模拟与分析.计算结果表明:钍铀平衡循环比铀钚平衡循环每天节省裂变核素质量约18.4%,并减少了长寿命放射性核废料的产生.不利因素是使得循环长度减少90EFPD,缩短了换料周期,增加运行费用,并给燃料管理、安全控制以及乏燃料的处理带来困难.建议提高组件的235U富集度,在压水堆上进行钍利用研究.     

应用于压水堆的钍铀燃料循环经济性分析

以大亚湾1号机组为参考堆型,使用经验证的程序计算分析20年运行中,分别采用铀燃料循环和钍铀燃料循环所对应的燃料循环成本。计算结果表明:如果采用后处理模式,则钍铀燃料循环经济性优于铀燃料循环。若天然铀价格高于120$/磅U3O8,则钍铀燃料循环一次通过模式下的燃料循环成本高于后处理模式下对应的成本,因此,若天然铀价格持续处于高位,采用后处理模式的钍铀燃料循环将更具经济优势。     

高温气冷堆(HTGR)釷、鈾燃料元件后处理萃取流程实验研究

针对HTGR钍、铀燃料元件高燃耗、~(232)U含量高的特点提出了酸式进料的单循环溶剂萃取流程,并进行了串级实验。钍、铀收率达到>99.6％,钍、铀产品对Cs,Sr,Zr—Nb,Ru的去污满足远距离操作条件下再制造核燃料元件的要求。     

使用离散钍铀燃料组件的CANDU6堆物理特性初步研究

为研究钍铀燃料在CANDU6堆中的应用,采用DRAGON/DONJON程序,对使用离散型钍铀燃料37棒束组件的CANDU6堆进行时均堆芯分析。结果表明,组件采用235U富集度为2.5%的铀棒以及第1、2、3圈布置钍棒的37棒束组件,堆芯在8棒束换料、3个燃耗分区的方案下,组件的冷却剂空泡反应性较使用天然铀的37棒束组件（NU-37组件）与采用混合钍铀元件棒的37棒束组件更负;堆芯最大时均通道/棒束功率满足小于6700?kW/860?kW的限值;燃料转化能力比采用NU-37组件时更高;卸料燃耗可到达13400?MW·d/t(U)。研究表明,所设计的离散型钍铀燃料37棒束组件可用于现有CANDU6堆芯,且无需对堆芯结构及控制机构作重大改造;燃料组件和堆芯设计方案可为钍铀燃料在CANDU6堆芯的应用提供参考。      

钍资源及其利用

钍是一种赋存在自然界中的天然放射性元素，在地壳中比铀更丰富，其丰度约为铀的3～4倍。广泛分布在各种不同的地质环境中。世界各国现已查明可经济回收的钍资源量达数百万吨。钍可广泛应用于光学、无线电、航空、航天、冶金、化工、材料等领域，更重要的是它可用作核燃料。随着核电发展对铀需求的不断增加，钍基燃料循环的研发工作业已引起广泛关注，通过大量的研究证实，钍在核能方面的应用具有广阔的前景，未来可有效地补充铀资源的不足。结合钍的物理、化学性质，以及近年世界各国对钍基燃料循环的研发成果，简要介绍世界钍资源的分布、钍资源量、钍资源的地质类型和产出地质背景，以及钍在核能中的应用潜力。     

混合堆增殖钍基燃料组件中子学分析

采用压水堆17×17燃料组件模型,用燃料组件参数计算程序DRAGON分别对混合堆增殖钍燃料组件和全铀组件的中子学特性进行了研究,分析组件的燃料温度系数、慢化剂温度系数及其与燃耗的关系。计算结果表明,混合堆增殖钍燃料组件和全铀组件的中子特性相似,但钍燃料组件中的乏燃料组件中的次锕系核素(MA)的含量明显减少。     

Comparison of thorium-based fuels with different fissile components in existing boiling water reactors

With the aim of investigating the technical feasibility of fuelling a conventional BWR (Boiling Water Reactor) with thorium-based fuel, computer simulations were carried out in a 2D infinite lattice model using CASMO-5. Four different fissile components were each homogenously combined with thorium to form mixed oxide pellets: Uranium enriched to 20% U-235 (LEU), plutonium recovered from spent LWR fuel (RGPu), pure U-233 and a mixture of RGPu and uranium recovered from spent thorium-based fuel. Based on these fuel types, four BWR nuclear fuel assembly designs were formed, using a conventional assembly geometry (GE14-N). The fissile content was chosen to give a total energy release equivalent to that of a UOX fuel bundle reaching a discharge burnup of about 55 MWd/kgHM. The radial distribution of fissile material was optimized to achieve low bundle internal radial power peaking. Reactor physical parameters were computed, and the results were compared to those of reference LEU and MOX bundle designs. It was concluded that a viable thorium-based BWR nuclear fuel assembly design, based on any of the fissile components, can be achieved. Neutronic parameters that are essential for reactor safety, like reactivity coefficients and control rod worths, are in most cases similar to those of LEU and MOX fuel. This is also true for the decay heat produced in irradiated fuel. However when Th is mixed with U-233, the void coefficient (calculated in 2D) can be positive under some conditions. It was concluded that it is very difficult to make savings of natural uranium by mixing LEU (20% U-235) homogenously with thorium and that mixing RGPu with thorium leads to more efficient consumption of Pu compared to MOX fuel.     

Nuclear and materials aspects of the thorium fuel cycle

This paper is an attempt to assess and review the materials aspects of the thorium fuel cycle. It starts with an examination of the nuclear aspects of the thorium fuel cycle, meant as an introduction for materials scientists and engineers who may not normally be familiar with the concepts and terms involved. After defining and describing the thorium and uranium fuel cycles, the reasons for the resurgence of interest in the thorium fuel cycle and the technical and economic considerations that support its early adoption are examined. The reactor physics and fissile economics aspects of the thorium and uranium cycles are then compared. The specific reactor types suitable for the adoption of the thorium cycle are briefly examined and described. Subsequent sections of the paper are devoted to a detailed discussion of the materials aspects of the thorium fuel cycle. Available information on fabrication, refabrication and irradiation performance of thorium-based fuels for light water reactors, heavy water reactors, high temperature gas-cooled reactors, molten salt breeder reactors and fast breeder reactors is critically reviewed and analysed. Materials problems related to cladding and structural materials are also discussed whenever these are unique to the thorium cycle.     

Neutron excess method for performance assessment of thorium-based fuel in a breed-and-burn reactor with various coolants

Fertile fuel, such as thorium or depleted uranium, can be bred into fissile fuel and burnt in a breed-andburn(BB) reactor. Modeling a full core with fertile fuel can assess the performance of a BB reactor with exact quantitative estimates, but costs too much computation time. For simplicity, performing the recently developed neutron balance method with a zero-dimensional(0-D)model can also provide a reasonable result. Based on the0-D model, the feasibility of the BB mode for thorium fuel in a fast reactor cooled by sodium was investigated by considering the(n, 2n) and(n, 3n) reaction rates of fuel and coolant in this work, and compared with that of depleted uranium fuel. Afterward, the performance of the same thorium-based fuel core, but cooled by helium, lead-bismuth, and FLi Be, respectively, is discussed. It is found that the(n, 2n) and(n, 3n) reactions should not be neglected for the neutron balance calculation for thorium-based fuel to sustain the BB mode of operation.     

棒状氢化锆慢化钍基熔盐堆中子学性能优化

氢化锆(ZrH)由于具有耐高温、抗辐照和慢化能力强等优点,是反应堆常用的慢化剂。本工作研究具有钍铀转换能自持运行和较低次锕系核素（MA）产量的ZrH慢化熔盐堆的堆芯物理设计方案。采用MOC程序分析了不同燃料盐对于启堆和增殖性能的影响,为提高钍铀转换性能,对堆芯结构和慢化棒设计进行了优化与分析。结果表明：当熔盐体积比处于0.5~0.9时,ZrH慢化剂可将临界所需要的²³³U浓度降低至2%附近;采用含增殖层设计与FLi燃料盐装载的ZrH慢化熔盐堆,50 a平均钍铀转换比（CR）可达到1.028;移动式ZrH慢化棒堆芯设计可实现38 a的自持运行,且堆芯寿期末的MA产量比慢化棒不移动条件下采用FLi燃料盐和FLiBe燃料盐的MA产量分别减少约43%和8%,低于相同能量输出下石墨慢化熔盐堆的MA产量。     

What is the potential use of thorium in the future energy production technology?

Today's nuclear technology has principally been based on the use of fissile U-235 and Pu-239. While the natural thorium isotope Th-232 can finally be transformed to a fissile U-233 nucleus following a thermal neutron capture reaction, the existence of thorium in the nature and its potential use in the nuclear technology were not unfortunately into account with a sufficient importance. This was probably because of the geological availability of natural resources of thorium and uranium. Global distributions of thorium and uranium reserves clearly indicate that in general some developed countries such as the USA, Canada, Australia have considerable uranium reserves and contrarily only some developing countries such as Brazil, Turkey, India, Egypt have considerable thorium reserves as being totally about 70 % of the global reserve. All technical parameters obtained from the studies on thorium fuel cycle during the last 50 years indicate that thorium fuel cycle can be used in most of reactor types already operated. In addition, accelerated-driven hybrid systems promise to use the thorium based nuclear fuels. So, thorium will probably be a nuclear material much more valuable than uranium in the future. For this reason, all developing countries having thorium reserves should focus their technological attentions to the evaluation of their national thorium resources like in the case of India. In this paper a brief story on the studies of thorium and its potential use in the future energy production technology have been summarized.     

Design and development of the AHWR—the Indian thorium fuelled innovative nuclear reactor

India has chalked out a nuclear power program based on its domestic resource position of uranium and thorium. The first stage started with setting up the Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) based on natural uranium and pressure tube technology. In the second phase, the fissile material base will be multiplied in Fast Breeder Reactors using the plutonium obtained from the PHWRs. Considering the large thorium reserves in India, the future nuclear power program will be based on thorium–²³³U fuel cycle. However, there is a need for the timely development of thorium-based technologies for the entire fuel cycle. The Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) has been designed to fulfill this need. The AHWR is a 300 MW_e, vertical, pressure tube type, heavy water moderated, boiling light water cooled natural circulation reactor. The fuel consists of (Th–Pu)O₂ and (Th–²³³U)O₂ pins. The fuel cluster is designed to generate maximum energy out of ²³³U, which is bred in situ from thorium and has a slightly negative void coefficient of reactivity. For the AHWR, the well-proven pressure tube technology has been adopted and many passive safety features, consistent with the international trend, have been incorporated. A distinguishing feature which makes this reactor unique, from other conventional nuclear power reactors is the fact that it is designed to remove core heat by natural circulation, under normal operating conditions, eliminating the need of pumps. In addition to this passive feature, several innovative passive safety systems have been incorporated in the design, for decay heat removal under shut down condition and mitigation of postulated accident conditions. The design of the reactor has progressively undergone modifications and improvements based on the feedbacks from the analytical and the experimental R&D. This paper gives the details of the current design of the AHWR.     

Comparative Studies of JENDL-3.3, JENDL-3.2, JEFF-3, JEF-2.2 and ENDF/B-6.8 Data Libraries on the Monte Carlo Continuous Energy Modeling of the Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor Operating with Thorium Fuels

One of the major benefits of the Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor is the capability to operate with several different types of fuel; either Light Water Reactors waste, military plutonium or thorium represent valid candidates as possible types of fuel. In the present studies, we performed a comparison of various nuclear data libraries by the Monte Carlo Continuous Energy Burnup Code MCB applied to the Gas Turbine-Modular Helium Reactor operating on a thorium fuel. A thorium fuel offers valuable attractive advantages: low fuel cost, high reduction of actinides production and the possibility to enable the reactor to act as a breeder of fuel by the neutron capture of fertile ²³²Th. We evaluated the possibility to mix thorium with small quantities, about 3% in atomic composition, of ²³⁹Pu, ²³³U and ²³⁵U. The mass of thorium must be much larger than that one of plutonium or uranium because of the low capture cross section of thorium compared to the fission one of the fissile nuclides; at the same time, the quantity of the fissile isotopes must grant the criticality condition. These two simultaneous constraints force to load a huge mass of fuel in the reactor; consequently, we propose to allocate the fuel in TRISO particles with a large radius of the kernel. For each of the three different fuels we calculated the evolution of the fuel composition by the MCB code equipped with five different nuclear data libraries: JENDL-3.3, JENDL-3.2, JEFF-3, JEF-2.2 and ENDF/B.     

用于铀微粒年龄测量的铀钍氧化物混合微粒SIMS测量研究

放射性材料的年龄信息是一项重要的溯源指纹特征,铀微粒年龄测量研究对于核取证技术应用具有重要意义。本工作通过使用二次离子质谱（SIMS）、电感耦合等离子体质谱（ICP-MS）测量自制单分散铀钍氧化物混合微粒获得了单个微米级微粒中铀钍比值的相对灵敏度因子（RSF_Th/U）,结合扫描电子显微镜（SEM）等常规分析技术,确定了最佳测量条件,探索了微米级铀钍混合微粒的SIMS测量方法。测量结果表明,对于粒径为2~3 μm的混合微粒,不同微粒间²³²Th/²³⁸U比值的相对标准偏差小于3%(n=12),平均RSF_Th/U为1.259±0.032。通过测量年龄已知的铀同位素固体标准物质CRM970对RSF_Th/U进行了验证。结果表明,对于粒径为5~10 μm的CRM970铀粉末样品,年龄测量结果准确,相对标准偏差为3%(n=16)。该方法受干扰信号影响较小,测量结果稳定,可用于微米级铀微粒年龄的测量。