Development of Decladding Device for the Spent Fuel Pellet and Experiment

사용후핵연료 소결체 인출장치의 개발 및 실험

The recycling process for reuse of uranium in the spent fuels consists various unit processes and the decladding process to extract the spent fuel pellet from the zirconium-based cladding is the beginning process of the recycling. There are two methods - mechanical and chemical - in the decladding process. In this paper, the mechanical decladding device by using a motor as a driving part and a press pin to separate the pellets from tube has been developed. This device was automated and modularized to make the remote operation and maintenance easy.