• Archives of Metallurgy and Materials
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• v.64 no.3
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• pp.953-957
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• 2019

U-10wt.%Zr metallic fuel slugs containing rare-earth (RE: a rare-earth alloy comprising 53% Nd, 25% Ce, 16% Pr and 6% La) elements for a sodium-cooled fast reactor were fabricated by modified injection casting as an alternative method. The distribution, size and composition of the RE inclusions in the metallic fuel slugs were investigated according to the content of the RE inclusions. There were no observed casting defects, such as shrunk pipes, micro-shrinkage or hot tears formed during solidification, in the metallic fuel slugs fabricated by modified injection casting. Scanning electron micrographs and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) showed that the Zr and RE inclusions were uniformly distributed in the matrix and the composition of the RE inclusions was similar to that of a charged RE element. The content and the size of the RE inclusions increased slightly according to the charge content of the RE elements. RE inclusions in U-Zr alloys will have a positive effect on fuel performance due to their micro-size and high degree of distribution.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.507-517
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• 1998

Unlike conventional fuel types, fuel constituent redistribution and sodium intrusion into the fuel slug are the unique phenomena of the irradiated metallic fuel. A thermal calculation model on metallic U-10 wt.%Zr fuel rod for LMRs is developed with considerations given to these phenomena. The amount of constituent redistribution is estimated based on the thermotransport process. The temperature profile of fuel slug is predicted by taking into account of Zr redistribution, porosity formation and sodium logging effects. A sample calculation is performed and compared to experimental data in literature. As a result, the predicted redistribution and temperature profile are well agreed with experimental data, assuming that 15 times increment of ex-reactor diffusivity, $Q_{r}$ $^{*}$ is -50 kJ/mole and sodium is infiltrated only outside of the fuel slug. Furthermore, the redistribution effects on fuel integrity and fuel temperature profile are discussed.d.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.330-338
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• 2016

The U-Zr or U-TRU-Zr cylindrical metallic fuel slug used in fast reactors is known to swell significantly and to grow during irradiation. In neutronics simulations of metallic-fueled fast reactors, it is assumed that the slug has swollen and contacted cladding, and the bonding sodium has been removed from the fuel region. In this research, a realistic burnup-dependent fuel-swelling simulation was performed using Monte Carlo code McCARD for a single-batch compact sodium-cooled breed-and-burn reactor by considering the fuel-swelling behavior reported from the irradiation test results in EBR-II. The impacts of the realistic burnup-dependent fuel swelling are identified in terms of the reactor neutronics performance, such as core lifetime, conversion ratio, axial power distribution, and local burnup distributions. It was found that axial fuel growth significantly deteriorated the neutron economy of a breed-and-burn reactor and consequently impaired its neutronics performance. The bonding sodium also impaired neutron economy, because it stayed longer in the blanket region until the fuel slug reached 2% burnup.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.256.2-256
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• 2002

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.148-148
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• 2003

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1997.05b
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• pp.207-213
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• 1997

The computational scheme on a irradiation temperature of U-10Zr fuel was established considering porosity formation, bond sodium infiltration and constituent redistribution. Thermotransport theory was adapted to model the redistribution phenomenon. As a results, the bond sodium seems to be logged in the outer region of fuel slug. The main driving force for constituent redistribution appears to be the Zr solubility change along to radial position of the fuel. It is evident that the heat of transport also has some contribution to the redistribution.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.683-688
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• 2013

Candidate coating materials for re-usable metallic nuclear fuel crucibles, TaC, TiC, ZrC, $ZrO_2$, and $Y_2O_3$, were plasmasprayed onto a niobium substrate. The microstructure of the plasma-sprayed coatings and thermal cycling behavior were characterized, and U-Zr melt interaction studies were carried out. The TaC and $Y_2O_3$ coating layers had a uniform thickness, and high density with only a few small closed pores showing good consolidation, while the ZrC, TiC, and $ZrO_2$ coatings were not well consolidated with a considerable amount of porosity. Thermal cycling tests showed that the adhesion of the TiC, ZrC, and $ZrO_2$ coating layers with niobium was relatively weak compared to the TaC and $Y_2O_3$ coatings. The TaC and $Y_2O_3$ coatings had better cycling characteristics with no interconnected cracks. In the interaction studies, ZrC and $ZrO_2$ coated rods showed significant degradations after exposure to U-10 wt.% Zr melt at $1600^{\circ}C$ for 15 min., but TaC, TiC, and $Y_2O_3$ coatings showed good compatibility with U-Zr melt.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 1998.05a
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• pp.52-57
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• 1998

In this paper, we performed a design study of a thorium fueled reactor according to the design concept of the Radkowsky Thorium Reactor (RTR) and evaluated its overall performance. To enhance its performance and alleviate its problems, we introduced a new metallic uranium fuel, uranium-zirconium hydride (U-Zr $H_{1.6}$), as a seed fuel. For comparison, typical ABB/CE-type PWR based on SYSTBM 80+ and standard RTR-type thorium reactor were also studied. From the results of performance analysis, we could ascertain advantages of RTR-type thorium fueled reactor in proliferation resistance, fuel cycle economics, and back-end fuel cycle. Also, we found that enhancement of proliferation resistance and safer operating conditions may be achieved by using the U-Zr $H_{l.6}$ fuel in the seed region without additional penalties in comparison with the standard RTR's U-Zr fuelr fuelel

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.302.2-302
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• 2002

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2001.05a
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• pp.307.2-307
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• 2001