Evaluating Advanced Fuel Cycle Proliferation Resistance Dynamics Using Isotopic Characterization Coupling

A method for enhancing nuclear fuel cycle proliferation resistance (PR) assessment through the direct coupling of nuclear materials depletion and decay analysis is presented in this paper. This direct coupling of nuclear materials analysis with PR evaluation affords new avenues of PR evaluation, including the evaluation of the cycle-level sensitivity to factors such as reactor type, fuel enrichment,and fuel burnup, all of which result in changes to materialsproperties that cascade throughout the system. This  analysis canbe useful to identifying the conditions under which nuclear energysystems show a heightened PR sensitivity and warranted furthercharacterization. This paper extends prior work in the couplingtechnique; in addition to making use of a more sophisticated materialattractiveness evaluation and a stage weighting sensitive tothe material mass flow of the system, further categories of systemsare evaluated. A demonstration analysis is applied to three classesof fuel cycles across varying parameters: open cycles consisting ofno actinide recycle, modified open cycles with limited actiniderecycling, and fully closed cycles in which all actinides are recycledas fuel. While the Fuzzy Logic Barrier Model developed atNorth Carolina State University shall be used as a demonstrationplatform for this effort, this technique can be applied to enhancemany models for fuel cycle PR assessment.