The U.S. RERTR Program Status and Progress

The U.S. RERTR Program Status and Progress PDF Author:
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Languages : en
Pages : 12

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The progress of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program since its inception in 1978 is described. A brief summary of the results which the RERTR Program had achieved by the end of 1996 in collaboration with its many international partners is followed by a detailed review of the major events, findings, and activities of 1997. Significant progress has been made during the past year. In the area of U.S. acceptance of spent fuel from foreign research reactors, several shipments have taken place and additional are being planned. Intense fuel development activities are in progress, including procurement of equipment, screening of candidate materials, and production of microplates. Irradiation of the first series of microplates began in August 1997 in the Advanced Test Reactor, in Idaho. Progress has been made in the Russian RERTR program, which aims to develop and demonstrate within five years the technical means needed to convert Russian-supplied research reactors to LEU fuels. The study of an alternative LEU core for the FRM-II design has been extended to address, with favorable results, controversial performance issues which were raised at last year's meeting. Progress was also made on several aspects of producing molybdenum-99 from fission targets utilizing LEU instead of HEU. Various types of targets and processes are being pursued, with FDA approval of an LEU process projected to occur within two years. The feasibility of LEU Fuel conversion for three important DOE research reactors (BMRR, HFBR, and HFIR) has been evaluated by the RERTR program. In spite of the many momentous events which have occurred during the intervening years, and the excellent progress achieved, the most important challenges that the RERTR program faces today are not very different in type from those that were faced during the first RERTR meeting. Now, as then, the most important task is to develop new LEU fuels satisfying requirements which cannot be satisfied by any existing fuel. These new advanced fuels will enable conversion of the reactors which cannot be converted today, ensure better efficiency and performance for all research reactors, and allow the design of more powerful new advanced LEU reactors. As in the past, the success of the RERTR program will depend on free exchange of ideas and information, and on the international friendship and cooperation that have been a trademark of the RERTR program since its inception.

The U.S. RERTR Program Status and Progress

The U.S. RERTR Program Status and Progress PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 12

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Book Description
The progress of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program since its inception in 1978 is described. A brief summary of the results which the RERTR Program had achieved by the end of 1996 in collaboration with its many international partners is followed by a detailed review of the major events, findings, and activities of 1997. Significant progress has been made during the past year. In the area of U.S. acceptance of spent fuel from foreign research reactors, several shipments have taken place and additional are being planned. Intense fuel development activities are in progress, including procurement of equipment, screening of candidate materials, and production of microplates. Irradiation of the first series of microplates began in August 1997 in the Advanced Test Reactor, in Idaho. Progress has been made in the Russian RERTR program, which aims to develop and demonstrate within five years the technical means needed to convert Russian-supplied research reactors to LEU fuels. The study of an alternative LEU core for the FRM-II design has been extended to address, with favorable results, controversial performance issues which were raised at last year's meeting. Progress was also made on several aspects of producing molybdenum-99 from fission targets utilizing LEU instead of HEU. Various types of targets and processes are being pursued, with FDA approval of an LEU process projected to occur within two years. The feasibility of LEU Fuel conversion for three important DOE research reactors (BMRR, HFBR, and HFIR) has been evaluated by the RERTR program. In spite of the many momentous events which have occurred during the intervening years, and the excellent progress achieved, the most important challenges that the RERTR program faces today are not very different in type from those that were faced during the first RERTR meeting. Now, as then, the most important task is to develop new LEU fuels satisfying requirements which cannot be satisfied by any existing fuel. These new advanced fuels will enable conversion of the reactors which cannot be converted today, ensure better efficiency and performance for all research reactors, and allow the design of more powerful new advanced LEU reactors. As in the past, the success of the RERTR program will depend on free exchange of ideas and information, and on the international friendship and cooperation that have been a trademark of the RERTR program since its inception.

The RERTR Program Status and Progress

The RERTR Program Status and Progress PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 15

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Book Description
The progress of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program is described. The major events, findings, and activities of 1995 are reviewed after a brief summary of the results which the RERTR Program had achieved by the end of 1994. The revelation that Iraq was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon at the time of the Gulf War, and that it was planning to do so by extracting HEU from the fuel of its research reactors, has given new impetus and urgency to the RERTR commitment of eliminating HEU use in research and test reactors worldwide. Development of advanced LEU research reactor fuels is scheduled to begin in October 1995. The Russian RERTR program, which aims to develop and demonstrate within the next five years the technical means needed to convert Russian-supplied research reactors to LEU fuels, is now in operation. A Statement of Intent was signed by high US and Chinese officials, endorsing cooperative activities between the RERTR program and Chinese laboratories involved in similar activities. Joint studies of LEU technical feasibility were completed for the SAFARI-I reactor in South Africa and for the ANS reactor in the US. A new study has been initiated for the FRM-II reactor in Germany. Significant progress was made on several aspects of producing 99Mo from fission targets utilizing LEU instead of HEU. A cooperation agreements is in place with the Indonesian BATAN. The first prototypical irradiation of an LEU metal-foil target for 99Mo production was accomplished in Indonesia. The TR-2 reactor, in Turkey, began conversion. SAPHIR, in Switzerland, was shut down. LEU fuel fabrication has begun for the conversion of two more US reactors. Twelve foreign reactors and nine domestic reactors have been fully converted. Approximately 60 % of the work required to eliminate the use of HEU in US-supplied research reactors has been accomplished.

Status of the US RERTR Program

Status of the US RERTR Program PDF Author:
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 11

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Book Description
The progress of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program is described. The major events, findings, and activities of 1994 are reviewed after a brief summary of the results which the RERTR Program had achieved by the end of 1993 in collaboration with its many international partners. The RERTR Program has moved aggressively to support President Clinton's nonproliferation policy and his goal {open_quotes}to minimize the use of highly-enriched uranium in civil nuclear programs{close_quotes}. An Environmental Assessment which addresses the urgent-relief acceptance of 409 spent fuel elements was completed, and the first shipment of spent fuel elements is scheduled for this month. An Environmental Impact Statement addressing the acceptance of spent research reactor fuel containing enriched uranium of U.S. origin is scheduled for completion by the end of June 1995. The U.S. administration has decided to resume development of high-density LEU research reactor fuels. DOE funding and guidance are expected to begin soon. A preliminary plan for the resumption of fuel development has been prepared and is ready for implementation. The scope and main technical activities of a plan to develop and demonstrate within the next five years the technical means needed to convert Russian-supplied research reactors to LEU fuels was agreed upon by the RERTR Program and four Russian institutes lead by RDIPE. Both Secretary O'Leary and Minister Michailov have expressed strong support for this initiative. Joint studies have made significant progress, especially in assessing the technical and economic feasibility of using reduced enrichment fuels in the SAFARI-I reactor in South Africa and in the Advanced Neutron Source reactor under design at ORNL. Significant progress was achieved on several aspects of producing 99Mo from fission targets utilizing LEU instead of HEU to the achievement of the common goal.

Status and Progress of the RERTR Program

Status and Progress of the RERTR Program PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 13

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Book Description
The progress of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program is described. The major events, findings, and activities of 1996 are reviewed after a brief summary of the results which the RERTR Program had achieved by the end of 1995 in collaboration with its many international partners.

Status of the RERTR Program

Status of the RERTR Program PDF Author:
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Languages : en
Pages :

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The status of the US Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program is reviewed. After a summary of the accomplishments which the RERTR Program had achieved by the end of 1984 with its many international partners, emphasis is placed on the progress achieved during 1985 and on current plans and schedules. A new miniplate series, concentrating on U3Si2-Al and U3Si-Al fuels, was fabricated and is well into irradiation. The whole-core ORR demonstration is scheduled to begin in November 1985, with U3Si2-Al fuel at 4.8 g U/cm3. Altogether, 921 full-size test and prototype elements have been ordered for fabrication with reduced enrichment and the new technologies. Qualification of U3Si-Al fuel with approx. 7 g U/cm3 is still projected for 1989. This progress could not have been achieved without the close international cooperation which has existed since the beginning, and whose continuation and intensification will be essential to the achievement of the long-term RERTR goals.

US RERTR Program

US RERTR Program PDF Author:
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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The status of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program is reviewed. After a brief review of the accomplishments which the RERTR Program, in cooperation with its many international partners, had achieved by the end of 1983 in the area of LEU research reactor fuels development and application, emphasis is placed on the RERTR Program developments which took place during 1984 and on current plans and schedules. The RERTR progress in 1984 has been significant, with solid accomplishments and few surprises. Most LEU U3Si2-Al irradiation tests with 4.8 g U/cm3 have been successfully completed, and contract negotiations are under way for the procurement of a whole-core demonstration of this fuel in the ORR. The demonstration is to begin in mid-1985 and to last for approximately eighteen months. Qualification of U3Si2-Al fuel with 7 g U/cm3 is scheduled for 1989. International cooperation among fuel developers, commercial vendors, and reactor operators has been essential to the progress which has been achieved. With continued international cooperation, it will be feasible to significantly reduce HEU usage in research reactors in the next few years.

Status and Progress of the RERTR Program in the Year 2000

Status and Progress of the RERTR Program in the Year 2000 PDF Author:
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 11

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This paper describes the progress achieved by the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors (RERTR) Program in collaboration with its many international partners during the year 2000 and discusses the main activities planned for the year 2001. The past year was characterized by important accomplishments and events for the RERTR program. Four additional shipments containing 503 spent fuel assemblies from foreign research reactors were accepted by the U.S. Altogether, 3,740 spent fuel assemblies from foreign research reactors have been received by the U.S. under the acceptance policy. Postirradiation examinations of three batches of microplates have continued to reveal excellent irradiation behavior of U-MO dispersion fuels in a variety of compositions and irradiating conditions. h-radiation of two new batches of miniplates of greater sizes is in progress in the ATR to investigate me swelling behavior of these fuels under prototypic conditions. These materials hold the promise of achieving the program goal of developing LEU research reactor fuels with uranium densities in the 8-9 g /cm3 range. Qualification of the U-MO dispersion fuels is proceeding on schedule. Test fuel elements with 6 gU/cm3 are being fabricated by BWXT and are scheduled to begin undergoing irradiation in the HFR-Petten in the spring of 2001, with a goal of qualifying this fuel by the end of 2003. U-Mo with 8-9 gU/cm3 is planned to be qualified by the end of 2005. Joint LEU conversion feasibility studies were completed for HFR-Petten and for SAFARI-1. Significant improvements were made in the design of LEU metal-foil annular targets that would allow efficient production of fission 99Mo. Irradiations in the RAS-GAS reactor showed that these targets can formed from aluminum tubes, and that the yield and purity of their product from the acidic process were at least as good as those from the HEU Cintichem targets. Progress was made on irradiation testing of LEU UO2 dispersion fuel and on LEU conversion feasibility studies in the Russian RERTR program. Conversion of the BER-11reactor in Berlin, Germany, was completed and conversion of the La Reins reactor in Santiago, Chile, began. These are exciting times for the program. In the fuel development area, the RERTR program is aggressively pursuing qualification of high-density LEU U-Mo dispersion fuels, with the dual goal of enabling fi.uther conversions and of developing a substitute for LEU silicide fuels that can be more easily disposed of after expiration of the FRR SNF Acceptance Program. The 99Mo effort has reached the point where it appears feasible for all the 99Mo producers of the world to agree jointly to a common course of action leading to the elimination of HEU use in their processes. As in the past, the success of the RERTR program will depend on the international friendship and cooperation that has always been its trademark.

The RERTR Program

The RERTR Program PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 12

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Book Description
The progress of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program is described. The major events, findings, and activities of 1991 are reviewed after a brief summary of the results which the RERTR Program had achieved by the end of 1990 in collaboration with its many international partners.

Cattle and Calves and Sheep and Lambs on Feed, Selected States, 1955/59

Cattle and Calves and Sheep and Lambs on Feed, Selected States, 1955/59 PDF Author:
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 22

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RERTR Program Progress in Qualifying Reduced-enrichment Fuels

RERTR Program Progress in Qualifying Reduced-enrichment Fuels PDF Author:
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Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
In order to provide the technical means for reducing the enrichment of uranium used to fuel research and test reactors, the US Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) Program has been engaged in the development and testing of higher-uranium-density fuels than had been used previously. The main characteristics to be considered in evaluating the performance of a fuel are its swelling, its blister-threshold temperature, and its metallurgical appearance. Data for the qualification of the reduced-enrichment fuels being developed by the RERTR Program are obtained from examination of minature fuel plates (miniplates) which successfully pass the irradiation screening tests and from examinations of full-sized fuel elements. This paper will summarize the miniplate data and will give the status of full-sized element irradiations. Finally, the current status of qualification of the various fuel types will be discussed and some projections of the future will be given.