• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.301-310
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• 2006

Destructive methods were used for the burnup determination of U-Zr alloy nuclear fuel irradiated in the High-flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor (HANARO) at KAERI. The dissolution rate of unirradiated U-Zr alloy fuel in $HNO_3$/HF mixtures was investigated for the experimental conditions of a different temperature, and initial concentrations of HF and $HNO_3$. The irradiated U-Zr alloy fuel specimen was dissolved in a mixed acid condition of 3 M HNO3 and 1 M HF at $90^{\circ}C$ for 8 hours under reflux. The total burnup was determined from measurement of the Nd isotope burnup monitors. The method includes U, Pu, $^{148}Nd,\;^P{145}Nd+^{146}Nd,\;^{144}Nd+^{143}Nd$ and total Nd isotopes determination by the isotope dilution mass spectrometric method (IDMS) using triple spikes $(^{233}U,\;^{242}Pu\;and\;^{150}Nd)$. The effective fission yield was calculated from the weighted fission yields averaged over the irradiation period. The results are compared with that obtained by the destructive -spectrometric measurement of the $^{137}Cs$ monitor.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제41권2호
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• pp.179-186
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• 2009

This paper presents a thermal creep test under internal pressure and post-test characterization performed on high burnup (68 MWd/kgU) ZIRLO. This research has been done by the CSN, ENRESA, and ENUSA in order to investigate the behavior of advanced cladding materials in contemporary PWRs at higher burnup under dry cask storage conditions. Also, to investigate the hydride reorientation, the cool-down of the samples after the test has been done in a coordinated manner with the internal pressure. The creep results obtained are consistent with the expected behavior from reference CWSR material, Zr-4. During the test, the material retained significant ductility: one specimen leaked during the test at an engineering strain of the tube section of 17%; remarkably, the crack closed due to de-pressurization. Although significant hydride reorientation occurred during the cool-down under pressure, no specimen failed during the cool-down.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제41권2호
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• pp.163-170
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• 2009

In order to evaluate high-temperature oxidation behavior of the advanced alloy cladding under LOCA conditions, isothermal oxidation tests in steam were performed with cladding specimens prepared from high burnup PWR fuel rods that were irradiated up to 79 MWd/kg. Cladding materials were $M5^{(R)}$ and $ZIRLO^{TM}$, which are Nb-containing alloys. Ring-shaped specimens were isothermally oxidized in flowing steam at temperatures from 1173 to 1473 K for the duration between 120 and 4000s. Oxidation rates were evaluated from measured oxide layer thickness and weight gain. A protective effect of the preformed corrosion layer is seen for the shorter time range at the lower temperatures. The influence of pre-hydriding is not significant for the examined range. Alloy composition change generally has small influence on oxidation in the examined temperature range, though $M5^{(R)}$ shows an obviously smaller oxidation constant at 1273 K. Consequently, the oxidation rates of the high burnup $M5^{(R)}$ and $ZIRLO^{TM}$ cladding are comparable or lower than that of unirradiated Zircaloy-4 cladding.

• 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.

• 한국재료학회지
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.126-133
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• 2005

Mechanical properties of zirconium cladding were evaluated by ring tension test to simulate Reactivity-Initiated Accident (RIA) at high burnup situation as an out-reactor test. Zircaloy-4 cladding was hydrided up to 1000 ppm as well as oxidized up to $100\;{\mu}m$ to simulate high-burnup situation. After simulated high-burnup treatment, ring tension test was carried out from 0.01 to 1/sec to correlate with actual RIA event. The results showed that ductility and circumferential toughness decreased with the hydrogen content and oxide thickness. Hydride generated inside cladding acted as brittle failure. Oxygen influenced cladding tube by the reduction of load bearing area, oxygen embrittlement, and thermal aging. Correlation between in-reactor RIA parameter like fuel enthalpy and out-reactor toughness was performed and showed a reasonable result.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제41권1호
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• pp.99-106
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• 2009

The contents of transuranic elements ($^{237}Np$, $^{238}Pu$, $^{239}Pu$, $^{240}Pu$, $^{241}Am$, $^{244}Cm$, and $^{242}Cm$) in high-burnup spent fuel samples ($35.6{\sim}53.9\;GWd/MtU$) were determined by alpha spectrometry. Anion exchange chromatography and diethylhexyl phosphoric acid extraction chromatography were applied for the separation of these elements from the uranium matrix. The measured values of the nuclides were compared with ORIGEN-2 calculations. For plutonium, the measurements were higher than the calculations by about $2.6{\sim}32.7%$ on average according to each isotope, and those for americium and curium were also higher by about $35.9{\sim}63.1%$. However, for $^{237}Np$, the measurements were lower by about 52% on average for the samples.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.55-63
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• 2003

Threshold porosity above which fission gas release channels would be formed in the rim egion of high burnup UO$_2$ fuel was estimated by the Monte Carlo method and Hoshen-Kopelman algorithm. With the assumption that both rim pore and rim grain can be represented by cube, pore distribution in the rim was simulated 3-dimensionally by the Monte Carlo method according to porosity and pore size distribution. Then, using the Hoshen-Kopelman algorithm, the fraction of open rim pores interlinked to the outer surface of a fuel pellet was derived as a function of rim porosity. The simulation showed that porosity of 24-25% is the threshold above which the number of rim pores forming release channels increases very rapidly. On the other hand, channels would not be formed if the porosity is less than about 23.5%. This is consistent with the observation that, for porosity less than 23.5%, almost no fission gas is released in the rim. However, once the rim porosity reaches beyond 25%, extensive open paths would be developed and considerable fission gas release would start in the rim.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제51권5호
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• pp.1333-1344
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• 2019

An integrated approach of model simplification for high burnup spent nuclear fuel is proposed based on material calibration using optimization. The spent fuel rods are simplified into a beam with a homogenous isotropic material. The proposed approach of model simplification is applied to fuel rods with two kinds of interfacial configurations between the fuel pellets and cladding. The differences among the generated models and the effects of interfacial bonding efficiency are discussed. The strategy of model simplification adopted in this work is to force the simplified beam model of spent fuel rods to possess the same compliance and failure characteristics under critical loads as those that result in the failure of detailed fuel rod models. It is envisioned that the simplified model would enable the assessment of fuel rod failure through an assembly-level analysis, without resorting to a refined model for an individual fuel rod. The effective material properties of the simplified beam model were successfully identified using the integrated optimization process. The feasibility of using the developed simplified beam models in dynamic impact simulations for a horizontal drop condition is examined, and discussions are provided.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제41권2호
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• pp.155-162
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• 2009

Since the 90's, EDF and AREVA-NP have irradiated, up to very high burnups, lead assemblies housing $M5^{(R)}$ cladded fuels. Post-irradiation examination of high burnup $UO_2$ pellets show an increase in the fission-gas release rate, an increase in fuel swelling, and formation of fission-gas bubbles throughout the pellets. Xenon abundances were quantified, and phenomena leading to this bubble formation were identified. All examinations provided valuable data on the complex state of the fuel during irradiation. They show the good behavior of these fuels, exhibiting various microstructures at very high burnups, none of which is likely to lead to problems during irradiation.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제46권2호
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• pp.169-182
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• 2014

High-performance research reactors require fuel that operates at high specific power to high fission density, but at relatively low temperatures. Research reactor fuels are designed for efficient heat rejection, and are composed of assemblies of thin-plates clad in aluminum alloy. The development of low-enriched fuels to replace high-enriched fuels for these reactors requires a substantially increased uranium density in the fuel to offset the decrease in enrichment. Very few fuel phases have been identified that have the required combination of very-high uranium density and stable fuel behavior at high burnup. U-Mo alloys represent the best known tradeoff in these properties. Testing of aluminum matrix U-Mo aluminum matrix dispersion fuel revealed a pattern of breakaway swelling behavior at intermediate burnup, related to the formation of a molybdenum stabilized high aluminum intermetallic phase that forms during irradiation. In the case of monolithic fuel, this issue was addressed by eliminating, as much as possible, the interfacial area between U-Mo and aluminum. Based on scoping irradiation test data, a fuel plate system composed of solid U-10Mo fuel meat, a zirconium diffusion barrier, and Al6061 cladding was selected for development. Developmental testing of this fuel system indicates that it meets core criteria for fuel qualification, including stable and predictable swelling behavior, mechanical integrity to high burnup, and geometric stability. In addition, the fuel exhibits robust behavior during power-cooling mismatch events under irradiation at high power.