Our recent attempt to determine ultratrace-level 236U and 233U in small-volume seawater samples was challenged by high unstable procedure blanks our environmental radioactivity laboratory, w...

Abstract The molten salt reactor (MSR) concept is among the Generation IV designs considered feasible for providing clean, safe, sustainable, and economical energy supplies to world's population. depletion of fuel a small modular fluoride (sm-FMSR) with closed cycle based on integral (IMSR) has been investigated using Serpent. Three fueling schemes control Serpent cycles have simulated compared...

During the Manhattan Project, a simple formula was developed by Bethe and Feynman in 1943 to estimate yield of fission-only nuclear explosion uniformly dense bare sphere supercritical fissile material. We have not found any evidence that knew first obtained Frisch Peierls contained within their famous March 1940 memorandum. Similarly, we technical documents compare Bethe-Feynman earlier works o...

This is a feasibility study of a new measurement technique for spent nuclear fuel. The technique combines gamma emission tomography with neutron activation analysis. The idea is to measure high-energy characteristic gamma from short-lived fission products and thereby verify the fissile material content in spent nuclear fuel assemblies. Simulations using MCNP were done to estimate the expected d...

The direct measurement of plutonium in spent reactor fuel is an unmet challenge in international safeguards. In this simulation study, we investigate the use of the delayed gamma rays from fission product nuclei to determine the amount of fissile isotopes (Pu-239, Pu-241, and U-235) in irradiated light water reactor fuel assemblies. Fission is stimulated with an interrogating neutron source, an...

The proliferation of nuclear weapons poses great threat to international peace and security. How to strengthen the non-proliferation regime has become a central question. In May 1997, the IAEA Board of Governors adopted the Additional Safeguards Protocol to improve its ability to detect the undeclared production of fissile material. This new strengthened safeguards system has opened the door fo...

India's nuclear power program is based on indigenous materials and technology, with the potential for providing energy security for many centuries. This paper examines the technical validity of this plan, specifically the role of breeder reactors for extending the domestic uranium supplies. Our study shows breeding is unlikely to occur at anywhere near the rates envisioned, leading to a slow gr...