Even Mass Plutonium Effect On Plutonium Proliferation Evaluation For Delta Phase

Ismail Humolungo; Muhamad Irfan; Imam Ghazali Yasmint; Sidik Permana; Sparisoma Viridi; Dwi Irwanto; Abdul Waris

Ismail Humolungo Graduate Program in Nuclear Engineering, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bandung Institute of Technology Ganesha No. 10 Bandung, Indonesia
Muhamad Irfan
Imam Ghazali Yasmint Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bandung Institute of Technology, Ganesha No. 10 Bandung, Indonesia
Sidik Permana Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bandung Institute of Technology, Ganesha No. 10 Bandung, Indonesia
Sparisoma Viridi Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bandung Institute of Technology, Ganesha No. 10 Bandung, Indonesia
Dwi Irwanto Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bandung Institute of Technology, Ganesha No. 10 Bandung, Indonesia
Abdul Waris Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Bandung Institute of Technology, Ganesha No. 10 Bandung, Indonesia

Keywords: Bare Critical Mass, Decay Heat, Isotopic Plutonium Barrier, Plutonium Doping, Rossi-Alpha, Spontaneous Fission Neutron

Abstract

Plutonium isotopes are one of the most popular sources used for making nuclear weapons. This is because the production of plutonium isotopes is quite a lot in nuclear reactors and has characteristics suitable for nuclear weapons. The resulting plutonium can exist in different phases depending on temperature. The delta phase is one of the phases most similar to metal, so it is easily forged and used as a nuclear weapon. The isotope of plutonium most often used as a nuclear weapon is the odd-numbered isotope because it has fissile capabilities, especially Pu-239, which is produced the most. One way to protect the isotope Pu-239 from being misused is to set up a plutonium isotope barrier. The regulation in question is adding (doping) and changing the composition of Pu-239 with an even-numbered isotope of plutonium. In this research, an analysis of the doping effect of even-numbered plutonium isotopes on Pu-239 will be carried out by focusing on the isotopic barrier parameters of plutonium, such as decay heat (DH), spontaneous fission neutron (SFN), bare critical mass (BCM) and Rossi-Alpha. These parameters were obtained by simulating a plutonium isotope fission event using a 4C MCNP with JENDL 3.3 library. Based on the simulation, the highest increase in decay heat was obtained by doping Pu-238. In the case of spontaneous fission of neutrons, it was found that Pu-238 doping gave high growth. Doping Pu-242 gives the highest increase in bare critical mass compared to other even-numbered isotopes. So for the decay heat and spontaneous fission neutron parameters, Pu-238 doping is the most effective doping. For bare critical mass and Rossi-alpha parameter, Pu-242 doping is the most effective.

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