搜索

x
中国物理学会期刊

关于压水堆产武器级钚的模拟计算

CSTR: 32037.14.aps.66.082801

Simulation calculation of weapon-grade plutonium production in pressurized water reactor

CSTR: 32037.14.aps.66.082801
PDF
导出引用
  • 防止核扩散是国际社会共同努力的目标,其中武器级核材料的防扩散是重中之重. 钚是反应堆的副产品,如果不计较经济效益,利用铀为核燃料的反应堆都可以生产武器级钚. 本文基于日本Takahama-3压水堆建立了五个模型,并进行中子和燃耗计算,得到两种燃料棒产武器级钚的条件、燃料棒轴向的燃耗分布、组件内燃料棒燃耗的变化区间和全堆芯燃料棒径向燃耗分布. 基于上述模型和计算数据给出压水堆堆芯内含有武器级钚的准确位置和UO2燃料棒中武器级钚的产量. 这种低燃耗的乏燃料给国际核不扩散带来了巨大风险,国际社会应该加强对此类乏燃料的监管.

     

    The nuclear nonproliferation is a common objective for the international society, of which one of the most important issues is the nonproliferation of weapon-grade nuclear material. Plutonium is a by-product when nuclear reactors are operated. If a commercial power nuclear reactor operates without counting its economic benefits, it is possible that weapon-grade plutonium (WGPu) would be produced in the nuclear reactor with using uranium as nuclear fuel. In the paper, we quantitatively study the plutonium isotopic composition and yield of the WGPu produced in a pressurized water reactor (PWR), and thereby investigate the proliferation risk of commercial nuclear reactors. The properties of plutonium produced in the PWR are calculated by MCORGS, which is developed by us to link MCNP and ORIGENS for calculating the transport-burnup. For evaluating the changing behavior of plutonium isotopic ratio dependent on the cooling time after being discharged from a PWR, we add the model of calculating the depletion and decay properties of nuclear fuel into the MCORGS code system. In order to calculate the yield of WGPu produced in the PWR, we carry out the neutron and burnup calculations by using five reactor models. The simulation models and operation history are based on the configuration and parameters of Japanese Takahama-3 unit. According to the positions and proportions of UO2 fuel rods, burnable poison rods and guide tubes in Takahama-3 PWR, we build a PWR model of an infinite heterogeneous 66 pin cell lattice, carry out simulation calculation and explore the condition for WGPu existing in the two kinds of fuel rods. When the burnup of a UO2 fuel rod is no more than 4.7 MWd/kgU, it contains WGPu. When the burnup of a burnable poison rod is no more than 2.7 MWd/kgU, it contains WGPu. Therefore, the issue of WGPu production in PWR is transformed into the research of the spatial distribution of PWR burnup. In order to obtain the axial PWR burnup, we build an infinite fuel pin cell model in which the PWR is divided into 20 equal zones in the axial direction, and calculate PWR axial burnup distribution when it is operated at 9 typical powers of Takahama-3 PWR. It is found that the burnup value of the two ends of 1/20 section is worth 1/3 of the two middle ones. Based on the principle of neutron leakage in a PWR and the simulation results of a fuel assembly, we build a special PWR mode, in which the PWR is divided into 10 zones in radial direction, and obtain the radial distribution of PWR burnup after the first, the second and the third fuel cycle. Based on the WGPu existing condition and the spatial distribution of a PWR burnup, in this paper we present the exact position of WGPu contained in PWR core and the yield of WGPu in UO2 fuel rods. The calculation results indicate that the spent nuclear fuel with low burnup brings huge proliferation risk, of which the supervision should be strengthened.

     

    目录

    /

    返回文章
    返回