Fission and Explosive Energy Releases of PuO₂, PuO₂-UO₂, UO₂, and UO₃ Assemblies

The critical masses and fission and explosive energy releases of PuO₂, PuO₂-U₂, UO₂, and UO₃ assemblies have been calculated. The parameters selected for the model are conservative. They were chosen after review of appropriate plants that have been and are proposed for construction in the future. The resulting data envelopes are intended to include any conceivable set of circumstances that could ultimately lead to a nuclear incident. All energy release analysis was performed for initial fission spikes only: recriticality mechanisms were not considered.