Heavy component of spent nuclear fuel: Efficiency of model-substance ionization by electron-induced discharge

Abstract

The method of plasma separation of spent nuclear fuel can be tested with a model substance which has to be transformed from the condensed to plasma state. For this purpose, electron-induced discharge in lead vapor injected into the interelectrode gap is simulated using the kinetic approach. The ionization efficiency, the electrostatic-potential distribution, and those of the ion and electron densities in the discharge gap are derived as functions of the discharge-current density and concentration of the vapor of the model substance. Given a discharge-current density of 3.5 A/cm² and a lead-vapor concentration of 2 × 10¹² cm^–3, the simulated ionization efficiency proves to be nearly 60%. The discharge in lead vapor is also investigated experimentally.