INVESTIGATION OF NUCLEAR FUEL CHARACTERISTICS BASED ON URANIUM ISOTOPES

Abstract

This article analyzes the application areas of natural uranium isotopes — uranium-238, uranium-235, uranium-234 — as well as thorium-232, and examines the main characteristics of nuclear fuel isotopes — plutonium-239, plutonium-240, and uranium-233 — which are produced through nuclear reactions in reactors. The reasons for the fission of uranium-238 and thorium-232 under fast neutrons, and of uranium-235, uranium-233, and plutonium-239 under thermal (slow) neutrons, are explained. Furthermore, reactions for the production of uranium dioxide (UO2), which is used as nuclear fuel in power reactors, are proposed. The article also evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of this compound as a nuclear fuel and provides explanations for these properties.