Title:
Evaluation of the Mechanical Behavior of a Metal-Matrix Dispersion Fuel for Plutonium Burning

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisor Abdel-Khalik, Said I.
dc.contributor.author Van Duyn, Lee B. en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMember Lackey, Jack
dc.contributor.committeeMember Sitaraman, Suresh
dc.contributor.department Mechanical Engineering en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2005-03-08T14:58:02Z
dc.date.available 2005-03-08T14:58:02Z
dc.date.issued 2003-11-25 en_US
dc.description.abstract Recent nuclear proliferation concerns and disarmament agreements have encouraged the U.S. to decrease the excess amount of weapons-grade and reactor-grade plutonium. Continued use of nuclear power without a permanent solution for waste disposition has also led to the need for a reliable method by which the waste products, specifically plutonium, can be utilized or destroyed. One possible solution to plutonium destruction is achieved by manufacturing it into small microspheres and embedding it within an inert metal matrix, then placing it inside a conventional nuclear reactor. This process would burn some of the plutonium while producing electricity. PuO2Zr dispersion fuel has been proposed for such a purpose. Prior to its use, however, this non-fertile metal matrix dispersion fuel must be shown to be mechanically stable in the reactor environment. The internal mechanical interactions of dispersion fuel were modeled using finite element analysis. The results were used to assess the stability of PuO2Zr dispersion fuel inside a reactor. Several parameters, including fuel particle size, volumetric loading, temperature, and burnup, were varied to determine the maximum amount of plutonium that can be burned while maintaining fuel integrity. Earlier experiments using UO2 stainless steel dispersion fuels were used to validate the model and establish a failure criterion. The validated model was then used to determine the parameter space over which PuO2Zr dispersion fuel can be successfully used. These results show that PuO2Zr dispersion fuel is robust and may offer a reliable method for plutonium disposal in current reactors. en_US
dc.description.degree M.S. en_US
dc.format.extent 5121951 bytes
dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1853/5303
dc.language.iso en_US
dc.publisher Georgia Institute of Technology en_US
dc.subject Nuclear fuel en_US
dc.subject Cermet
dc.subject Nuclear engineering
dc.subject Uranium
dc.subject Plutonium dioxide
dc.subject Zirconium
dc.subject.lcsh Radioactive waste disposal en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Plutonium en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Nuclear fuels en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Nuclear engineering en_US
dc.title Evaluation of the Mechanical Behavior of a Metal-Matrix Dispersion Fuel for Plutonium Burning en_US
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre Thesis
dspace.entity.type Publication
local.contributor.advisor Abdel-Khalik, Said I.
local.contributor.corporatename George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename College of Engineering
relation.isAdvisorOfPublication 196f5fb4-8c6b-4b41-add5-06b1d33b971c
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication c01ff908-c25f-439b-bf10-a074ed886bb7
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 7c022d60-21d5-497c-b552-95e489a06569
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
vanduyn_lee_b_200312.pdf
Size:
4.88 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
Collections
Theses and Dissertations