• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• 제27권6호
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• pp.797-805
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• 2003

This paper describes experimental investigations of helium-air exchange flow through single opening and partitioned opening. Such exchange flows may occur following rupture accident of stand pipe in high temperature gas cooled reactor. A test vessel with a small opening on top of test cylinder is used for experiments. An estimation method of mass increment is developed and applied to measure the exchange flow rate. A technique of flow visualization by Mach-Zehnder interferometer is provided to recognize the exchange flows. Flow measurements are made with the opening, for partition ratios H_p/H$_1$$ in the range 0 to 1. where H_p$ and H$_1$ are partition length and height of the opening. respectively. In the case of H_p/H$_1$$ of 0, flow passages of upward flow of the helium and downward flow of the air within the opening are unseparated (bidirectional), and the two flows interfere within the opening. The unseparated flow increases strength of flow resistance and therefore, the exchange flow rate is minimum through range of the partition ratios. Two flow zones, i.e., separated (unidirectional) flow zone and unseparated (bidirectional) flow zone, exist with increasing the partition length. The exchange flow rate increases with increasing the separated flow zone. It is found that a maximum exchange flow rate exists at H_p/H$_1$$ of 1. As a result of comparison of the exchange flow rates by changing the partition ratio, the fluids Interference in the unseparated zone is found to be an important factor on the helium-air exchange flow rate.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.192-200
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• 1999

This paper describes experimental investigations of helium-air exchange flow through parti-tioned opening. Such exchange flow may occur following rupture accident of stand pipe in high temperature gas cooled reactor. A test vessel with a opening on top of test cylinder is used for experiments. An estimation method of mass increment is developed and applied to measure the exchange flow rate. A technique of flow visualization by Mach-Zehnder interferometer is provided to recognize the exchange flows. Flow measurements are made with partitioned opening for parti-tion rations $H_p/H_1$ in the range 0 to 1 where $H_p$ and $H_1$ are partition length and height of the open-ing respecticely. In the case of $H_p/H_1$ of 0 flow passages of upward flow of the helium and down-ward flow of the air within the opening are unseparated (bidirectional) and the two flows interact exchange flow rate is minimum through range of the partition ratios, Two flow zones i.e. separat-ed(unidirectional)flow zone and unseparated(bidirectional) flow zone exist with increasing the partition. length, The exchange flow rate increases with increasing the separated flow zone. It is found that a maximum exchange flow rate exists at $H_p/H_1$ of 1. As a result fo comparison of the exchange flow rates by changing the partition ration the fluids interaction in the unseparated zone is found to be an important factor on the helium-air exchange flow rate.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제54권8호
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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.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제39권5호
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• pp.603-616
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• 2007

Roy Huddle, having invented the coated particle in Harwell 1957, stated in the early 1970s that we know now everything about particles and coatings and should be going over to deal with other problems. This was on the occasion of the Dragon fuel performance information meeting London 1973: How wrong a genius be! It took until 1978 that really good particles were made in Germany, then during the Japanese HTTR production in the 1990s and finally the Chinese 2000-2001 campaign for HTR-10. Here, we present a review of history and present status. Today, good fuel is measured by different standards from the seventies: where $9*10^{-4}$ initial free heavy metal fraction was typical for early AVR carbide fuel and $3*10^{-4}$ initial free heavy metal fraction was acceptable for oxide fuel in THTR, we insist on values more than an order of magnitude below this value today. Half a percent of particle failure at the end-of-irradiation, another ancient standard, is not even acceptable today, even for the most severe accidents. While legislation and licensing has not changed, one of the reasons we insist on these improvements is the preference for passive systems rather than active controls of earlier times. After renewed HTGR interest, we are reporting about the start of new or reactivated coated particle work in several parts of the world, considering the aspects of designs/ traditional and new materials, manufacturing technologies/ quality control quality assurance, irradiation and accident performance, modeling and performance predictions, and fuel cycle aspects and spent fuel treatment. In very general terms, the coated particle should be strong, reliable, retentive, and affordable. These properties have to be quantified and will be eventually optimized for a specific application system. Results obtained so far indicate that the same particle can be used for steam cycle applications with $700-750^{\circ}C$ helium coolant gas exit, for gas turbine applications at $850-900^{\circ}C$ and for process heat/hydrogen generation applications with $950^{\circ}C$ outlet temperatures. There is a clear set of standards for modem high quality fuel in terms of low levels of heavy metal contamination, manufacture-induced particle defects during fuel body and fuel element making, irradiation/accident induced particle failures and limits on fission product release from intact particles. While gas-cooled reactor design is still open-ended with blocks for the prismatic and spherical fuel elements for the pebble-bed design, there is near worldwide agreement on high quality fuel: a $500{\mu}m$ diameter $UO_2$ kernel of 10% enrichment is surrounded by a $100{\mu}m$ thick sacrificial buffer layer to be followed by a dense inner pyrocarbon layer, a high quality silicon carbide layer of $35{\mu}m$ thickness and theoretical density and another outer pyrocarbon layer. Good performance has been demonstrated both under operational and under accident conditions, i.e. to 10% FIMA and maximum $1600^{\circ}C$ afterwards. And it is the wide-ranging demonstration experience that makes this particle superior. Recommendations are made for further work: 1. Generation of data for presently manufactured materials, e.g. SiC strength and strength distribution, PyC creep and shrinkage and many more material data sets. 2. Renewed start of irradiation and accident testing of modem coated particle fuel. 3. Analysis of existing and newly created data with a view to demonstrate satisfactory performance at burnups beyond 10% FIMA and complete fission product retention even in accidents that go beyond $1600^{\circ}C$ for a short period of time. This work should proceed at both national and international level.