Coal reserves of Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and principal lines of their use

The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) has the largest reserves of lignites and coals in the Far East owing to three coal basins—Southern Yakutia, Lena, and Zyryanskii—in the republican territory and the eastern part of the Tunguska basin. Main deposits, their resources, clay type composition, and lines of use are discussed.     

Analysis of the Possibility of Using Fuel Based on Reclaimed Uranium in VVÉR Reactors

A current problem is to show that reclaimed uranium can be, in principle, brought into the VVÉR fuel cycle. The possibility of using fuel based on reprocessed uranium in VVÉR is analyzed. The requirements for the initial isotopic composition of test batches of fuel pellets with 4% effective enrichment are determined, the compensation coefficient is calculated, the requirements for monitoring the isotopic composition are determined, and the technlogy for fabricating fuel pellets from relaimed fuel is determined. It is shown that the basic neutron-physical characteristics satisfy the restrictions adopted in the VVÉR-440 and -1000 designs. The effect of radiation on the public and the environment as a result of switching to fuel fabricated from reclaimed uranium is the same as for the standard oxide fuel.     

Producing a compact long-lived plasma formation

A method of producing compact long-lived plasma formations (plasmoids) is described. The method is based on the effect of capture of a high-current relativistic electron beam under conditions of significant overcompensation of space charge of the beam by positive background ions. Requirements are formulated which are placed on the parameters of a plasma-beam system for the realization of this method, and numerical estimates are given of the overall electric charge and energy content of the electron component of a plasmoid. The dynamics of forming a plasmoid are investigated experimentally.Translated from Teplofizika Vysokikh Temperatur, Vol. 42, No. 6, 2004, pp. 843–849.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by B. V. Alekhin, A. E. Dubinov, V. S. Zhdanov, V. G Kornilov, K. E. Mikheev, V. D. Selemir, N. V. Stepanov, V. I. Chelpanov, and O. A. Shamro.     

Behavior of radioaerosols formed by evaporation of 137Cs131I and 137CsOH from the metal surface in an electrostatic field

The behavior of radioaerosols formed by condensation of supersaturated ¹³⁷Cs¹³¹I and/or ¹³⁷CsOH vapor in an electrostatic field was studied. Supersaturated ¹³⁷Cs¹³¹I and/or ¹³⁷CsOH vapor was generated by evaporation of salt crystals from a metal surface heated to high temperatures owing to ohmic resistance. By applying additional potential to the aerosol generator, it is possible to control the behavior of ¹³⁷Cs¹³¹I, ¹³⁷CsOH, or ¹³⁷Cs¹³¹I + ¹³⁷CsOH aerosols in an electrostatic field.