Topic
Ducrete
About: Ducrete is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 11 publications have been published within this topic receiving 40 citations.
Papers
1 Aug 1995
TL;DR: In this paper, a conceptual design for a spent fuel dry storage cask that employs depleted uranium concrete (DUCRETE) in place of ordinary concrete was developed for the purpose of reducing the cask weight and size.
Abstract: A conceptual design has been developed for a spent fuel dry storage cask that employs depleted uranium concrete (DUCRETE) in place of ordinary concrete. DUCRETE, which uses depleted uranium oxide rocks rather than gravel as the concrete`s heavy aggregate, is a more efficient overall radiation shield (gamma and neutron) than either steel or ordinary concrete. Thus, it allows the cask weight and size to be substantially reduced. Also, using DUCRETE as shielding avoids, or at least defers, disposal of the depleted uranium as waste. This report focuses on DUCRETE cask transportation issues. The approach studied involves placing the storage cask into a simple steel transportation overpack. Preliminary analyses were performed to demonstrate the transportation system`s ability to meet the structural, thermal, and shielding transportation criteria. Conservative manual calculations were performed to demonstrate the adequacy of the DUCRETE transportation overpack with respect to structural requirements. Two-dimensional thermal analyses were performed on the system (the DUCRETE storage cask inside the steel overpack) using the ANSYS thermal analysis code. Two-dimensional shielding analyses were performed on the system with the MCNP code. Effects of the fuel axial burnup profile and solar radiation are considered. The analyses show that the proposed system can meet the transportation structural criteria and can easily meet the transportation shielding criteria. The thermal criteria are not as easy to meet because when the storage cask is placed horizontally in the transportation overpack, the DUCRETE storage cask`s ventilation duct becomes an insulating dead air space. The maximum allowable temperature for the DUCRETE, which is not yet known, will be the limiting factor.
7 citations
1 Jan 2000
TL;DR: A consequence of uranium enrichment in the US has been the accumulation of nearly 740,000 metric tons of depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF6) tails as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A consequence of uranium enrichment in the US has been the accumulation of nearly 740,000 metric tons of depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF6) tails. 1 While this material was once considered a feed stock for the United States Breeder Reactor Program, it is no longer needed. Alternative uses of depleted uranium are few. Some have been used for medical isotope transport casks, some for industrial radioactive source shields, some for military anti-tank projectiles, some for tank armor, and other minor applications. However, the cumulative total of these uses has not made a dent in the overall inventory.
6 citations
1 Mar 1995
TL;DR: In this article, theoretical and experimental aspects of a series of scoping tests using depleted uranium oxide pieces as aggregate in portland cement to form concrete (DUCRETE) are discussed.
Abstract: This interim report covers theoretical and experimental aspects of a series of scoping tests using depleted uranium oxide pieces as aggregate in portland cement to form concrete (DUCRETE). DUCRETE is expected to provide a high integrity material suitable for shielding in spent nuclear fuel containers or for direct disposal in a low- level waste repository. The uranium oxide would produced by conversion of depleted UF{sub 6} stored by the Department of Energy.
6 citations
27 Feb 2003
TL;DR: In the early stages of these exposure tests, Oak Ridge National Laboratory preliminary results confirm that the surface reactions of this aggregate proceed more slowly than expected, which may indicate that DUAGG/DUCRETE (depleted uranium concrete) casks could have service lives sufficient to meet the projected needs of DOE and the commercial nuclear power industry.
Abstract: The depleted uranium (DU) inventory in the United States exceeds 500,000 metric tonnes. To evaluate the possibilities for reuse of this stockpile of DU, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has created a research and development program to address the disposition of its DU(1). One potential use for this stockpile material is in the fabrication of nuclear shielding casks for the storage, transport, and disposal of spent nuclear fuels. The use of the DU-based shielding would reduce the size and weight of the casks while allowing a level of protection from neutrons and gamma rays comparable to that afforded by steel and concrete. DUAGG (depleted uranium aggregate) is formed of depleted uranium dioxide (DUO2) sintered with a synthetic-basalt-based binder. This study was designed to investigate possible deleterious reactions that could occur between the cement paste and the DUAGG. After 13 months of exposure to a cement pore solution, no deleterious expansive mineral phases were observed to form either with the DUO2 or with the simulated-basalt sintering phases. In the early stages of these exposure tests, Oak Ridge National Laboratory preliminary results confirm that the surface reactions of this aggregate proceed more slowly than expected. This finding may indicate that DUAGG/DUCRETE (depleted uranium concrete) casks could have service lives sufficient to meet the projected needs of DOE and the commercial nuclear power industry.
6 citations
1 Jan 1999
TL;DR: In this paper, a concept for converting the depleted uranium hexafluoride into advanced high level waste and spent fuel storage and transportation casks using DUCRETE concrete is described.
Abstract: For future nuclear power deployment in the US, certain changes in the back end of the fuel cycle, i.e., disposal of high level waste and spent fuel, must become a real options. However, there exists another problem from the front end of the fuel cycle which has until recently, received less attention. Depleted uranium hexafluoride is a by-product of the enrichment process and has accumulated for over 50 years. It now represents a potential environmental problem. This paper describes a concept for converting the depleted uranium hexafluoride into advanced high level waste and spent fuel storage and transportation casks using DUCRETE concrete. The high density and efficient shielding of DUCRETE concrete enables small diameter, transportable casks to be produced with the low fabrication costs of concrete technology. In making DUCRETE casks, the otherwise unneeded depleted uranium is used in an environmentally responsible manner and one of nuclear power’s legacies is resolved.
5 citations
Performance Metrics
| Year | Papers |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 1 |
| 2005 | 1 |
| 2003 | 1 |
| 2000 | 1 |
| 1999 | 3 |
| 1995 | 4 |