Bonn 2020 – scientific programme

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AGA: Arbeitsgruppe Physik und Abrüstung

AGA 2: Fissile Material Production and Nuclear Reactors

AGA 2.2: Talk

Wednesday, April 1, 2020, 14:45–15:10, H-HS XVII

Assessing a state's fissile material production using the nuclear fuel cycle simulator Cyclus — •Max Schalz, Madalina Wittel, and Malte Göttsche — RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

The field of nuclear archaeology aims to reconstruct the fissile material production of a state. While this could apply in a verification context, it is also suited for independent assessments in absence of a formal verification regime using available information on the nuclear programme's history and simulation tools. To this end, we examine the use of Cyclus, a flexible, agent-based nuclear fuel cycle simulator. It provides an easy-to-use framework allowing the simulation of fissile and other material streams throughout numerous different nuclear facilities. By recreating a country's nuclear complex in Cyclus, we determine the maximum production capacity of fissile materials. The results of such simulations could be used to check the consistency of available information, including records that would be provided in a formal verification context. As a case study, the Pakistani uranium enrichment and plutonium production programme is simulated and the results are compared to the available literature.