WISE Uranium Project offers a unique choice of 40+ interactive calculators covering a wide range of problems encountered with the nuclear fuel industry:
scientific phenomena:
nuclear: the decay and ingrowth of radionuclides in a decay series, neutron activation, alpha-neutron reactions,
biological: the biokinetics (transport and deposition) of ingested or inhaled uranium inside the human body,
geotechnical: stability of tailings deposits,
material flow, energy consumption, and waste arisings of the various stages of nuclear fuel production, including also special processes, such as tails re-enrichment, and downblending of highly enriched uranium,
economics of nuclear fuel production, such as feasibility of uranium mines, cost of once-through vs. recycled nuclear fuel, enrichment cost optimization, depleted uranium value realization by re-enrichment,
radiation releases from uranium mine, mill, and tailings sites, and resulting radiation doses for miners and residents.
The complexity of the problems solved varies widely, as well: while some of the calculators just perform calculations that can be done with a pocket calculator (e.g. unit conversion), others deal with problems that usually are solved with spread sheet software (e.g. nuclear fuel material balance), or even expensive commercial software packages (e.g. radiation decay, radiation shielding, biokinetics, tailings flow slide).
The calculation procedure and the parameters used, as well as any assumptions and simplifications made are described in the Help file accompanying each calculator.
Features:
Task-specific calculators for each purpose
This concept ensures that you have to deal only with those parameters actually needed for the specific task - so no hassle with unneccessary parameter ballast, but, you have to make sure that you pick the exact calculator that solves your problem. The brief descriptions below will assist you in making the correct choice.
Everything under control on a single page
For most of the calculators, input and output is completely contained on a single web page - eliminating the worries about any parameter values forgotten in some sub-sub-sub menu. Note: if you want to capture an image of the complete calculator page (not only the part visible in the browser window), including the graphics generated by the calculator, try the Fireshot extension (available for various browsers).
Simple normalization
Where applicable, the calculators offer the possibility to produce the required results for any given amount and type of raw material or intermediate product in the nuclear fuel chain: so, it is possible to calculate the results per tonne of ore mined, per tonne of uranium milled, per tonne fresh fuel, or per unit electricity produced in the power plant, for example.
Quick first results
Most of the calculators produce an output already after a simple click on the "Calculate" button, since the parameters are preset to reasonable values.
Note: the results obtained with the initial parameter values are not meant to represent the ultimate solution; they rather just are an example for this specific parameter set.
User-alterable parameters
The impacts of parameter variations can be studied by modifying one or more parameters of interest, followed by a "Calculate"-click. In the same way, generic data can be replaced by site-specific data, where available.
Note: detailed descriptions of the parameters are found in the Help file associated with each calculator.
Inherent privacy
As the calculators run completely on the client computer, no transfer of user data to the server takes place.
As the calculators run completely on the client computer, you may store the calculator files on your local disk for offline use (save page as complete Web page).
Note: you should, however, check from time to time whether your local copy is still up to date, as there may have been any errors eliminated or additional features added without notice.
Requirements:
All you need to run the calculators is to load them into your Internet browser window.
JavaScript must be enabled in the browser options.
For optional graphical output, the browser must be HTML 5-capable.
The calculators were tested on Firefox and Internet Explorer.
☞ If you experience any problems, please drop a line.
Caution:
International users: make sure to use decimal points rather than decimal commas, when entering numbers!
These calculators are for educational purposes only. There is no warranty whatsoever - you are using the calculators at your own risk. And again (is anybody listening?):
⚠ Do not use for safety-related tasks! ⚠
We are not able to test the calculators for any conceivable circumstances, so caution is mandatory.
Any error corrections and improvements may be carried out without further notice.
☞ If you detect any errors, please drop a line (...before publishing a paper about them 😬︎).
Copyright:
The calculators are subject to the general copyright notice of the WISE Uranium Project website.
These were the days when JavaScript was at the most considered useful for tasks such as generating moving letters for a ticker in a web page and therefore was not regarded as a real programming language by real computer scientists, when the size of a JavaScript source text in a Netscape browser window was limited to 30kB, and when the display of any computed graphics required the unnervingly slow start-up of the Java runtime package then coming with the browser.
This calculator answers questions such as: How much uranium ore has to be mined to supply the fuel for a nuclear power plant? What amounts of wastes are produced at the front end of the nuclear fuel chain? What amount of electricity is consumed during the enrichment process? The calculator covers the Light Water Reactor (BWR and PWR) fuel chain.
This calculator is an enlarged version of the Nuclear Fuel Material Balance Calculator, also allowing for calculation of an energy consumption and CO2 emission balance.
This calculator is a modified version of the Nuclear Fuel Energy Balance Calculator. It provides a material, energy, and CO2 emission balance for the front end of the nuclear fuel chain, assuming that the uranium feed is generated from re-enrichment of depleted uranium tails.
Calculate activities and radioactive decay of the wastes arising from nuclear fuel production and power plant operation: uranium mine waste rock, uranium mill tailings, depleted uranium, and spent fuel.
Calculate the official and the hidden cost of nuclear fuel: The market price for nuclear fuel does not necessarily include the future waste management costs linked to its production. The hidden costs may reach a multiple of the nominal costs!
Calculate and compare the material balance of nuclear fuel from enriched natural uranium, re-enriched depleted uranium tails, enriched recycled uranium, recycled plutonium (MOX), and downblended highly enriched uranium (HEU).
Calculate and compare the material balance and nominal cost of nuclear fuel from enriched natural uranium, re-enriched depleted uranium tails, enriched recycled uranium, recycled plutonium (MOX), and downblended highly enriched uranium (HEU).
Performs detailed calculations for the enrichment of natural and reprocessed uranium: mass balance, concentrations of minor isotopes, the additional enrichment required to compensate for the presence of the neutron-absorbing isotopes U-234 and/or U-236, cost, and optimum tails assay for minimum fuel cost.
Calculate collective doses and health risks from the production of nuclear fuel. The release of radioactive radon gas from mines, mills, and mill tailings is of major concern.
Typical computations:
t U3O8 GWae
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man Sv excess cancers
Nuclear Fuel Processing Calculators
Calculate material and/or cost balance of mining, enrichment or downblending of uranium, and fuel production.
This calculator determines the mass balance of uranium ore sorting, a process performed in some cases to remove low-grade material from mined uranium ore before sending it to a uranium mill for further processing. The results can be used for entry in the Uranium Mine Feasibility Calculator, for example.
Re-enrichment of depleted uranium - a mystery? No longer with this calculator. How much uranium can be recovered? How does this affect the volume of the depleted uranium stockpiles?
Determine the monetary value of depleted uranium tails, here defined as the value that can be realized (in times of high uranium market prices) by re-enrichment to natural-equivalent uranium.
Calculate the material balance for downblending of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) - the process being used to make weapons-grade uranium suitable for use as fuel in nuclear power plants.
Calculate the official and the hidden cost of nuclear fuel: The market price for nuclear fuel does not necessarily include the future waste management costs linked to its production. The hidden costs may reach a multiple of the nominal costs!
Calculate and compare the material balance and nominal cost of nuclear fuel from enriched natural uranium, re-enriched depleted uranium tails, enriched recycled uranium, recycled plutonium (MOX), and downblended highly enriched uranium (HEU).
Performs detailed calculations for the enrichment of natural and reprocessed uranium: mass balance, concentrations of minor isotopes, the additional enrichment required to compensate for the presence of the neutron-absorbing isotopes U-234 and/or U-236, cost, and optimum tails assay for minimum fuel cost.
Determine the monetary value of depleted uranium tails, here defined as the value that can be realized (in times of high uranium market prices) by re-enrichment to natural-equivalent uranium.
Radiation Activity Calculators
Calculate radioactive decay, ingrowth of decay products, neutron activation, and neutron production.
Calculate radioactive decay and ingrowth of uranium and its decay products for a variety of nuclide mixes found in the nuclear fuel industry. Covers the natural U-238 and U-235 series, and the artificial U-236 and U-232 series.
Calculate and compare activities and radioactive decay of the wastes from nuclear fuel production: uranium mine waste rock, uranium mill tailings, depleted uranium, and spent fuel.
Calculate neutron production in uranium compounds, as caused from alpha-neutron reactions and from spontaneous fission. Particularly of interest for uranium hexafluoride (UF6).
Calculate the depleted uranium fraction in a sample containing a mix of natural and depleted uranium, or the enriched uranium fraction in a sample containing a mix of natural and enriched uranium.
Calculate the health risk for a uranium miner with a known radiation exposure history, and, in case he has contracted cancer, the probability of this cancer being caused by the radiation exposure. Covers lung cancer and a number of other cancers.
What is the radiation dose for an individual that is exposed to a known amount of uranium and/or its decay products? For a variety of nuclide mixes found in the nuclear fuel industry, this calculator covers ingestion, inhalation, external exposure from contaminated soil, and external exposure from a point source. Calculations can not only be performed for actual exposure situations, but also for future scenarios, taking decay and ingrowth of decay products into account.
Calculate the age-specific radiation dose caused from ingestion or inhalation of a certain amount of uranium. Determine situations where the standard adult is not the receiver of the highest dose.
Calculate the organ-specific radiation dose caused from uptake of a certain amount of uranium. This allows to determine the risk of contracting a certain type of cancer.
Calculate the biokinetic behaviour of uranium in the human body after intakes by inhalation, ingestion, or embedded shrapnel. Determine the uranium excretion in urine associated with a given intake, or, the other way round, estimate a prior intake from a given uranium concentration in urine, for example.
For another version of this calculator enlarged by compartment for hair, go to Uranium Biokinetics Calculator Vers. B.
Calculate the radiation dose from a shielded gamma source.
Examples for calculations include: Gamma radiation on a bare or covered uranium mill tailings pile, Gamma radiation near transport containers carrying uranium ore, U3O8, UF6, or the like, and Gamma radiation from a depleted uranium penetrator lying on the ground, or buried in the ground.
Calculate the radiation dose and risk for an individual living on soil contaminated from uranium and/or in a home built from such contaminated material (residential exposure scenario). It covers the following pathways: ingestion of soil, inhalation of fugitive dusts, external exposure, ingestion of produce grown in the soil, ingestion of contaminated groundwater, and inhalation of radon.
Calculate individual dose and health risk from inhalation of radon and uranium dust for a person living nearby a uranium mine, mill and associated tailings pile.
Calculate collective doses and health risks from the production of nuclear fuel. The release of radioactive radon gas from mines, mills, and mill tailings is of major concern.
Calculate the depleted uranium fraction in a sample containing a mix of natural and depleted uranium, or the enriched uranium fraction in a sample containing a mix of natural and enriched uranium.
extension (available for various browsers).