Safeguards and instrumentation for Generation IV

Within the PhD project Safeguards evaluations and instrumentation of a Generation IV reprocessing facility we were part of a national collaboration called Genius, where we studied safeguards aspects of a future lead-cooled Generation IV energy system. We evaluated the proliferation resistance and investigated measurement techniques to be used in the verification of nuclear material.

In the ongoing project Nuclear safeguards verification of spent fuel in MYRRHA we are studying the MYRRHA system, which couples a proton accelerator and a subcritical reactor in the so-called accelerator driven system (ADS) concept. The reactor will be cooled by lead-bismuth eutectic, the fuel will have a high fissile content, and the planned fuel manufacture and waste separation activities will require substantial fuel reprocessing. All these factors pose considerable challenges from a safeguards point of view. In order to ensure that nuclear safeguards inspectorates are able to verify non-diversion of nuclear material, it is of utmost importance to develop new safeguards verification methodologies for MYRRHA fuel.

Selected publications

S. Grape, S. Jacobsson Svärd, C. Hellesen, P. Jansson, M. Åberg Lindell, New perspectives on nuclear power – Generation IV nuclear energy systems to strengthen nuclear non-proliferation and support nuclear disarmament, Energy Policy, Volume 73, pp 815-819 (2014)

M. Åberg Lindell, Nuclear safeguards evaluation and analysis techniques for application to nuclear fuel material in Generation IV nuclear energy systems, Doctoral thesis, Uppsala University, ISBN: 978-91-513-0202-7 (2018)

M. Åberg Lindell, P. Andersson, S. Grape, A. Håkansson, M. Thulin, Estimating irradiated nuclear fuel characteristics by nonlinear multivariate regression of simulated gamma-ray emissions, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, A, Volume 897, pp 85-91 (2018)

M. Åberg Lindell, P. Andersson, S. Grape, C. Hellesen, A. Håkansson, M. Thulin, Discrimination of irradiated MOX fuel from UOX fuel by multivariate statistical analysis of simulated activities of gamma-emitting isotopes, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, A, 885, pp 67–78 (2018)

S. Grape, C. Hellesen, Nonproliferation and safeguards aspects of the MSR fuel cycle. Part of Molten Salt Reactors and Thorium Energy. Edited by Thomas J. Dolan. Woodhead publishing (2017)

M. Åberg Lindell, S. Grape, A. Håkansson, S. Jacobsson Svärd, Assessment of proliferation resistances of aqueous reprocessing techniques using the TOPS methodology, Annals of Nuclear Energy, Volume 62, pp 390-397 (2013)

M. Åberg-Lindell, S. Grape, A. Håkansson, S. Jacobsson Svärd, Proliferation resistance assessments during the design phase of a fuel recycling facility as a means of reducing proliferation risks. Global 2013, Salt Lake City, USA, September 29-October 3 (2013).