JOSE ANTONIO BATISTA DE SOUZA

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  • Artigo IPEN-doc 29863
    Manufacturing high-uranium-loaded dispersion fuel plates in Brazil
    2024 - DURAZZO, MICHELANGELO; SOUZA, JOSE A.B.; CARVALHO, ELITA F.U. de; RESTIVO, THOMAZ A.G.; GENEZINI, FREDERICO A.; LEAL NETO, RICARDO M.
    The Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN-CNEN/SP) has developed and made available for routine production the technology for manufacturing dispersion-type fuel elements for research reactors. However, the fuel produced is limited to a uranium loading of 2.3 gU/cm3 (U3O8) or 3.0 gU/cm3 (U3Si2). To reduce Brazil’s dependence on foreign sources of Mo-99, the Brazilian government plans to construct a new research reactor, the 30 MW open pool Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (RMB), which will mainly produce domestic Mo-99. Low-enriched uranium fuel will be used in the RMB, and increasing uranium loading will be important to increase the reactor core’s reactivity and fuel life. Uranium loadings of 3.2 gU/cm3 for the U3O8-Al and 4.8 gU/cm3 for the U3Si2-Al are considered the technological limit and have been well demonstrated worldwide. This work aimed to study the manufacturing process of these two highly uranium-loaded dispersion fuels and redefine current procedures. Additionally, UMo-Al dispersion fuel has been extensively studied globally and is likely to be the next commercially available technology. This new fuel utilizes a dispersion of UMo alloy with 7–10 wt% Mo, resulting in a uranium loading between 6 and 8 gU/cm3. We also studied this fuel type for potential use in the RMB research reactor. This work outlines the primary procedures for manufacturing these three types of fuels and the necessary adjustments to IPEN-CNEN/SP current technology. The manufacturing process proved to be well adapted to these new fuels, requiring only minor modifications. A comparison was made of the microstructures of fuel plate meat using three types of uranium compounds. The microstructures of U3Si2-Al and U10Mo-Al dispersions were found to be adequate, while that of U3O8-Al meat deviated significantly from the concept of an ideal dispersion.
  • Artigo IPEN-doc 28427
    Manufacturing LEU-foil annular target in Brazil
    2022 - DURAZZO, MICHELANGELO; SOUZA, JOSE A.B.; IANELLI, RICARDO F.; TAKARA, ERIKI M.; GARCIA NETO, JOSE S.; SALIBA-SILVA, ADONIS M.; CARVALHO, ELITA F.U. de
    Molybdenum-99 is the most important isotope because its daughter isotope, technetium-99m, has been the most used medical radioisotope. The primary method used to produce Mo-99 derives from the fission of U-235 incorporated in so-called irradiation targets. Two routes are being developed to make Mo-99 by fissioning with low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. The first adopts UAlx-Al dispersion plate targets. The second uses uranium metal foil annular targets. The significant advantage of uranium foil targets over UAlx-Al dispersion targets is the high density of uranium metal. This work presents the experience obtained in the development of the uranium metal annular target manufacturing steps. An innovative method to improve the procedure for assembling the uranium foil on the tubular target was presented. The experience attained will help the future production of Mo-99 in Brazil through the target irradiation in the Brazilian Multipurpose Reactor (RMB).