OVERVIEW OF RECENT PU-238 PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES AT IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY

Andrew John Zillmer, William Spencer Green, Craig R Tyler, Brian J Gross, Erik S Rosvall, Austen D Fradeneck, Joshua David Fishler, Jagoda Urban-Klaehn, Michael A Reichenberger, Mark A Hill, Richard Harmon Howard, David F Reeder, Ryan L Marlow

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

The Plutonium Fuel Services (PFS) program at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is active in the qualification of irradiation targets containing Np-237 for irradiation in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) to produce Pu-238 for future NASA missions. INL qualified and loaded 7 targets in ATR’s South Flux Trap (SFT) for cycle 169A, which occurred in Spring 2021. This program was reinitiated after two baseline production targets in three positions validated significant production of Pu-238 [ref.1]. The validation model was followed by the PFS-1 experimental test in the ATRC (Critical) facility [ref.2]. This paper outlines the progress and status of the PFS program. The qualification effort, safety analysis, hardware status, and future activities for qualification of an updated target design for use in the ATR will be discussed.
Original languageEnglish
StatePublished - Apr 29 2021

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