Corrosion Science and Technology

The Corrosion Science Society of Korea (한국부식방식학회)
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Investigation of Pellet-Clad Mechanical Interaction in Failed Spent PWR Fuel

  • Received : 2019.09.18
  • Accepted : 2019.10.23
  • Published : 2019.10.31
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Abstract

A failed spent fuel rod with 53,000 MWd/tU from a nuclear power plant was characterized, and the fission products and oxygen layer in the pellet-clad mechanical interaction region were observed using an EPMA (Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer). A sound fuel rod burned under similar conditions was used to compare and analyze, the results of the failed fuel rod. In the failed fuel rod, the oxide layer represented $10{\mu}m$ of the boundary of the cladding, and $35{\mu}m$ of the region outside the cladding. By comparison, in the sound fuel rod, the oxide layer was $8{\mu}m$, observed in the cladding boundary region. The cladding inner surface corrosion and the resulting fuel-cladding bonding were investigated using an EPMA. Zirconium existed in the bonding layer of the (U, Zr)O compound beyond the pellet cladding interaction gap of $20{\mu}m$, and composition of UZr2O3 was observed in the failed fuel rod. This paper presents the results of the EPMA examination of a spent fuel specimen, and a technique to analyze fission products in the pellet-clad mechanical interaction region.

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References

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