Nuclear Fission

Segrè Distribution of fission energy

a
Lost … ! b
c

• How much is recoverable?

• What about capture gammas? (produced by -1 neutrons)
• Why c < (a+b) ?
Nuclear Reactors, BAU, 1st Semester, 2007-2008 1
(Saed Dababneh).
 Nuclear Fission
•  and 
emissions from
radioactive fission
products carry part
of the fission
energy, even after
shut down.
• On approaching end of the chain, the decay energy decreases
and half-life increases. Long-lived isotopes constitute the main
hazard.
• Can interfere with fission process in the fuel. Example? (poisoning).
• Important for research.
• -decay favors high energy  ~20 MeV compared to ~6 MeV for .
• Only ~8 MeV from -decay appears as heat. Why?
Nuclear Reactors, BAU, 1st Semester, 2007-2008 2
(Saed Dababneh).
 Nuclear Fission
• Thermal neutron fission of 235U forms compound
nucleus that splits up in more than 40 different ways,
yielding over 80 primary fission fragments (products).
235 U + 1 n ► 90 Rb + 144 Cs + 21 n
92 0 37 55 0

235 U
92 + 10n ► 8735Br + 14657La + 310n
235 U + 1 n ► 72 Zn + 160 Sm + 41 n
92 0 30 62 0
• The fission yield is defined as the proportion
(percentage) of the total nuclear fissions that form
products of a given mass number. Revisit thermal and look
for fast.
Nuclear Reactors, BAU, 1st Semester, 2007-2008 3
(Saed Dababneh).
 Nuclear Fission
f -
A-1, Z (n,) A, Z A, Z-1
j i k
(n,) -

A+1, Z A, Z+1

dNi/dt = Formation Rate - Destruction rate - Decay Rate

dN i
  i N f  f   N j j  k N k  N i i  i N i
dt
Ni saturates and is higher with higher neutron flux, larger “fission yield” and
longer half-live.
Nuclear Reactors, BAU, 1st Semester, 2007-2008 4
(Saed Dababneh).
 Nuclear Fission
HW 7
Investigate the activity, decay and gamma
energies of fission products as a function of time.
Comment on consequences (e.g. rod cooling).
dN i
• Shutdown  k N k  i N i
dt
HW 8
Investigate both k N k  i Ni and k N k  i N i
giving full description for the buildup and decay of
fission fragment i.

Nuclear Reactors, BAU, 1st Semester, 2007-2008 5

(Saed Dababneh).
 Nuclear Fission
P(t )  4.1x10 t 11
 0.2
 (t  T ) 0.2
MeV / s
per watt of original operating power.
T = time of operation.

Fission
product
activity
after
reactor
shutdown?

Nuclear Reactors, BAU, 1st Semester, 2007-2008 6

(Saed Dababneh).
 Nuclear Fission
• The fission gamma radiation
 Prompt within 0.1 s and with average
energy of 0.9 MeV.
  delayed gammas.
HW 9
• Investigate how prompt
gammas interact with
water, uranium and lead.

Nuclear Reactors, BAU, 1st Semester, 2007-2008 7

(Saed Dababneh).
 Nuclear Fission
HW 10  ( E )  0.453e 1.036E sinh 2.29 E
The experimental
spectrum of prompt
neutrons is fitted by
the above equation.
Calculate the mean
and the most
probable neutron
energies.

Nuclear Reactors, BAU, 1st Semester, 2007-2008 (Saed 8

Dababneh).
 Nuclear Fission
• Recoverable energy release  200 MeV per 235U fission.
• Fission rate = 2.7x1021 P fissions per day. P in MW.

• Burnup rate: 1.05 P g/day. P in MW.

  (E)
• Capture-to-fission ratio:  ( E ) 
 f (E)
• Consumption rate: 1.05(1+) P g/day.
• 1000 MW reactor.
• 3.1x1019 fissions per second, or 0.012 gram of 235U per second.
• Two neutrinos are expected immediately from the decay of the
two fission products, what is the minimum flux of neutrinos
expected at 1 km from the reactor.
Nuclear Reactors, BAU, 1st Semester, 2007-2008 9
(Saed Dababneh). 4.8x1012 m-2s-1
 Nuclear Fission
• 3.1x1010 fissions per second per W.
• In thermal reactor, majority of fissions occur in
thermal energy region,  and  are maximum.
• Total fission rate in a thermal reactor of volume V

V f
• Thermal reactor power (quick calculation)

V f
Pth  10
3.1x10
Nuclear Reactors, BAU, 1st Semester, 2007-2008 10
(Saed Dababneh).
 Nuclear Fission
• It is necessary to evaluate the potential hazards
associated with an accidental release of fission
products into the environment.
• It is required to determine a proper cooling time of the
spent fuel (before it becomes ready for reprocessing)
that depends on the decay times of fission products.
• It is necessary to estimate the rate at which the heat is
released as a result of radioactive decay of the fission
products after the shut down of a reactor.
• The poisoning is needed to be calculated (the parasitic
capture of neutrons by fission products that accumulate
during the reactor operation).
Nuclear Reactors, BAU, 1st Semester, 2007-2008 11
(Saed Dababneh).