• Title/Summary/Keyword: Failed fuel

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Methodology for Estimating the Number of Failed Fuel Rods in Operating PWRs Using Diffusion and Kinetic Models

  • Lee, Sang-Kyu;Tak, Nam-IL;Kim, Yang-Seok;Chun, Moon-Hyun;Sung, Ki-Bang;Kang, Duck-Won
    • Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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    • 1996.11a
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    • pp.97-102
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    • 1996
  • A methodology for estimating the number of failed fuel rods bused on the primary coolant activity in operating PWRs has been developed. This method deals with both the diffusion and the kinetic models. In case of small or medium cladding failures, the diffusion model which can consider different sizes of failure is used, whereas for large cladding failures the kinetic model is used. From the kinetic model, the release-to-birth rate ratio (R/B) is represented as a linear function of the number of failed fuel rods. This has been done by expressing the escape rate coefficient in terms of the slope of log(R/B) versus $log\;{\lambda}$. The present method has been applied to the cases of 26 cycles of several nuclear power plants for which ultrasonic testings were performed. The results show that the present method gives better predictions than the existing computer codes such as IODYNE and CADE.

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Evaluation of Fuel Cladding Failures from the Fission Product Activities in the Reactor Coolant (원자로 냉가수내의 핵분열생성물 방사에 의한 핵연료피복관 파손 평가)

  • Ho Ju Moon;Sung Ki Chae
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.16 no.3
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    • pp.169-179
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    • 1984
  • An efficient procedure of evaluating the fuel cladding failures occurring in the normal operations of typical PWR's has been investigated through the analysis of fission product(FP) activities in the reactor coolant using an analytical model, FIPREL code. Performed by this code is an extensive study on the sensivities of FP activities to such physical parameters as enrichment, turnup, and operation temperature of failed fuel rod as well as the effective failure size quantified in terms of the magnitude of gap release coefficient. The results of study are generally in agreement with those by PROFIP method. In the presence of tramp uranium the portion of activities released from failed rod is separated by an iterative calculation based on the activity ratios of fission nuclides chemically more stable than iodines. Obtained are the linear power density and the number of failed rods, the effective failure size, and the mass of tramp uranium. The operation experiences of 4 cycles of Kori Unit 1 are analyzed and the results show that the model is highly reliable for the survey and evaluation of fuel rod conditions during reactor operations.

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A Vibration Test of Fuel Tanks for LNG Vehicles (액화천연가스 차량용 연료탱크의 진동시험)

  • Choi, Myung-Jin;Cho, Tae-Jung
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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    • v.19 no.6
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    • pp.67-71
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    • 2015
  • Natural frequencies of a cryogenic fuel tank of LNG vehicle were computed to check the safety related to the resonances, and tests were performed to confirm the vibrational durability of a cryogenic fuel tank. There were 3 tests. The first test started at excitation frequency of 31.9Hz, and the test was performed reducing the excitation frequencies. Failure took place at 22.1Hz. The second test was performed with the frequencies to be increased. At 12.7 Hz, failure took place and nitrogen gas was exhausted. In the third test, the excitation frequencies were continuously changed, and the vibration port was failed in the range between 8 Hz and 19.3 Hz. Detailed research on the failed parts of the tank in this study is recommended to enhance the safety of the cryogenic fuel tanks of LNG vehicles.

Comparison of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell performance obtained by 1D and CFD simulations (1D와 CFD(Computational fluid dynamic) 시뮬레이션을 통한 PEMFC(Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell) 성능 비교)

  • Wonwoo Jeon;Sehyeon An;Jaewan Yang;Jiwon Lee;Hyunbin jo;Eunseop Yeom
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.49-56
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    • 2023
  • The Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) operates at ambient temperature as a low-temperature fuel cell. During its operation, voltage losses arise due to factors such as operating conditions and material properties, effecting its performance. Computational simulations of fuel cells can be categorized into 1D simulation and CFD, chosen based on their specific application purposes. In this study, we carried out an analysis validation using 1D geometry and compared its performance with the results from 2D geometry analysis. CFD allows for the representation of pressure, velocity distribution, and fuel mass fraction according to the geometry, enabling the analysis of current density. However, the 1D simulation, simplifying governing equations to reduce time cost, failed to accurately account for fuel distribution and changes in fuel concentration due to fuel cell operations. As a result, it showed unrealistic results in the cell voltage region dominated by concentration loss compared to CFD.

Effect of Cooling Rate on the Behavior of the Embrittlement in Zircaloy-4 Cladding (냉각속도가 지르칼로이-4 피복관의 취성에 미치는 영향)

  • Kim, Jun Hwan;Lee, Myoung Ho;Choi, Byoung Kwon;Jeong, Yong Hwan
    • Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.112-118
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    • 2005
  • Study was focused on the effect of the cooling rate on the embrittlement behavior of Zircaloy-4 cladding simulated Loss Of Coolant Accident (LOCA) environment. Claddings were oxidized at given temperature and given time followed by various water quenching in the range of $0.6^{\circ}C$ and $100^{\circ}C$ per second. Cladding failed after water quenching above the threshold oxidation. Threshold oxidation was decreased as the cooling rate increased, which is due to the matensite structure formed during fast cooling rate.

Development and Evaluation of Gasket for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Stacks (고분자 전해질 연료전지 가스켓 설계 및 성능 평가)

  • Seo, Hakyu;Han, In-Su;Jung, Jeehoon;Kim, Minsung;Shin, Hyungil;Hur, Taeuk;Cho, Sungbaek
    • 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 2010.11a
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    • pp.90.1-90.1
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    • 2010
  • The design and fabrication of a metallic bipolar plate-gasket assembly for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEMFCs) is defined. This bipolar plate-gasket assembly was prepared by inserting a previously prepared bipolar plate in the specially designed gasket mold. For this aim, a proprietary fluoro-silicone based rubber was injected directly into the bipolar plate borders. Gaskets obtained like this showed the chemically / physically stable and the good sealibilty in typically operating PEM fuel cell conditions. And also, this bipolar plate-gasket assembly shows lots of advantages with respect to traditional PEMFCs stack assembling systems: useful application to automative stacking due to easy handling, reduced fabrication time, possibility of quality control and failed elements substitution. This bipolar plate-gasket assembly was evaluated in the short fuel cell stack and met the leakage requirement for normal operation both in short-term and in long-term operation. Especially, it was confirmed that this gasket could be applied successfully even in the high pressure FEM fuel cell systems(over 2.0 bar in absolute pressure).

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Study on the effect of long-term high temperature irradiation on TRISO fuel

  • Shaimerdenov, Asset;Gizatulin, Shamil;Dyussambayev, Daulet;Askerbekov, Saulet;Ueta, Shohei;Aihara, Jun;Shibata, Taiju;Sakaba, Nariaki
    • Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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    • v.54 no.8
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    • pp.2792-2800
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    • 2022
  • In the core of the WWR-K reactor, a long-term irradiation of tristructural isotopic (TRISO)-coated fuel particles (CFPs) with a UO2 kernel was carried out under high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR)-like operating conditions. The temperature of this TRISO fuel during irradiation varied in the range of 950-1100 ℃. A fission per initial metal atom (FIMA) of uranium burnup of 9.9% was reached. The release of gaseous fission products was measured in-pile. The release-to-birth ratio (R/B) for the fission product isotopes was calculated. Aspects of fuel safety while achieving deep fuel burnup are important and relevant, including maintaining the integrity of the fuel coatings. The main mechanisms of fuel failure are kernel migration, silicon carbide corrosion by palladium, and gas pressure increase inside the CFP. The formation of gaseous fission products and carbon monoxide leads to an increase in the internal pressure in the CFP, which is a dominant failure mechanism of the coatings under this level of burnup. Irradiated fuel compacts were subjected to electric dissociation to isolate the CFPs from the fuel compacts. In addition, nondestructive methods, such as X-ray radiography and gamma spectrometry, were used. The predicted R/B ratio was evaluated using the fission gas release model developed in the high-temperature test reactor (HTTR) project. In the model, both the through-coatings of failed CFPs and as-fabricated uranium contamination were assumed to be sources of the fission gas. The obtained R/B ratio for gaseous fission products allows the finalization and validation of the model for the release of fission products from the CFPs and fuel compacts. The success of the integrity of TRISO fuel irradiated at approximately 9.9% FIMA was demonstrated. A low fuel failure fraction and R/B ratios indicated good performance and reliability of the studied TRISO fuel.