Estimate of radiation-induced steel embrittlement in the BWR core shroud and vessel wall from reactor-grade MOX/UOX fuel for the nuclear power plant at Laguna Verde, Veracruz, Mexico

The government of Mexico has expressed interest to utilize the Laguna Verde boiling water reactor (BWR) nuclear power plant for the disposition of reprocessed spent uranium oxide (UOX) fuel in the form of reactor-grade mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel. MOX fuel would replace spent UOX fuel as a fraction in the core from 18--30% depending on the fuel loading cycle. MOX fuel is expected to increase the neutron fluence, flux, fuel centerline temperature, reactor core pressure, and yield higher energy neutrons.;There is concern that a core with a fraction of MOX fuel (i.e., increased 239Pu wt%) would increase the radiation-induced steel embrittlement within the core shroud and vessel wall as compared to only conventional, enriched UOX fuel in the core. The evaluation of radiation-induced steel embrittlement within the core shroud and vessel wall is a concern because of the potentially adverse affect to plant and public safety, environment, and operating life of the reactor.;This dissertation provides computational results of the neutron fluence, flux, energy spectrum, and radiation damage displacements per atom per second (dpa-s-1) in steel within the core shroud and vessel wall of the Laguna Verde Unit 1 BWR. The results were computed using the nuclear data processing code NJOY99 and the continuous energy Monte Carlo Neutral Particle transport code MCNP4B. The MCNP4B model of the reactor core was for maximum core loading fractions of ⅓ MOX and ⅔ UOX reactor-grade fuel in an equilibrium core.;The primary conclusion of this dissertation was that the addition of the maximum fraction of ⅓ MOX fuel to the LV1 BWR core did significantly accelerate the radiation-induced steel embrittlement such that without mitigation of steel embrittlement by periodic thermal annealing or reduction in operating parameters such as, neutron fluence, core temperature and pressure, it posed a potentially adverse affect to the plant and public safety, environment, and operating life of the reactor.