Development of Precision Drilling Machine for the Instrumentation of Nuclear Fuels

When a new nuclear fuel is developed, an irradiation test needs to be carried out in the research reactor to analyze the performance of the new nuclear fuel. In order to check the performance of a nuclear fuel during the irradiation test in the test loop of a research reactor, sensors need to be attached in and out of the fuel rod and connect them with instrumentation cables to the measuring device located outside of the reactor pool. In particular, to check the temporary temperature change at the center of a nuclear fuel during the irradiation test, a thermocouple should be instrumented at the center of the fuel rod. Therefore, a hole needs to be made at the center of fuel pellet to put in the thermocouple. However, because the hardness and the density of a sintered $UO_2$ pellet are very high, it is difficult to make a small fine hole on a sintered $UO_2$ pellet using a simple drilling machine even though we use a diamond drill bit made by electro deposition. In this study, an automated drilling machine using a CVD diamond drill has been developed to make a fine hole in a fuel pellet without changing tools or breakage of workpiece. A sintered alumina ($Al_2O_3$) block which has a higher hardness than a sintered $UO_2$ pellet is used as a test specimen. Then, it is verified that a precise hole can be drilled off without breakage of the drill bit in a short time.

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