Remote Fabrication of DUPIC Fuel Pellets in a Hot Cell under Quality Assurance Program

The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has been developing the Direct Use of Spent Pressurized Water Reactor (PWR) Fuel in the CANada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) Reactors (DUPIC) fuel fabrication technology since 1992, and the basic DUPIC fuel fabrication process was established in 2002. In order to demonstrate the robustness of the DUPIC fuel fabrication process through the irradiation test, it is important that a Quality Assurance (QA) program should be in place before a fabrication of the DUPIC fuel. Therefore, the Quality Assurance Manual (QM) for the DUPIC fuel was developed on the basis of the Canadian standard, CAN3-Z299.2-85. This manual describes the quality management system applicable to the activities performed for the DUPIC fuel fabrication at KAERI. In order to demonstrate the DUPIC fuel fabrication technology and produce qualified DUPIC fuel pellets, the process qualification tests were performed, which include three pre-qualification tests and three qualification tests. The characteristics of the DUPIC fuel pellets such as the sintered density, grain size, and surface roughness were measured and evaluated in accordance with the QA procedures. The optimum fabrication process of the DUPIC fuel pellet was also established based on the qualification results. Finally a production campaign was carried out to fabricate the DUPIC fuel pellets at a batch size of 1 kg following the QA program. As a result of the production campaign, qualified DUPIC fuel pellets were successfully produced and, therefore, the remote fuel fabrication technology of the DUPIC fuel pellet was demonstrated.     

Utilization of spent PWR fuel-advanced nuclear fuel cycle of PWR／CANDU synergism

High neutron economy, on line refueling and channel design result in the unsurpassed fuel cycle flexi-bility and variety for CANDU reactors. According to the Chinese national conditions that China has both PWR and CANDU reactors and the closed cycle policy of reprocessing the spent PWR fuel is adopted, one of the advanced nu-clear fuel cycles of PWR/CANDU synergism using the reprocessed uranium of spent PWR fuel in CANDU reactor is proposed, which will save the uranium resource (-22.5%), increase the energy output (-41%), decrease the quantity of spent fuels to be disposed (-2/3) and lower the cost of nuclear poower, Because of the inherent flexibility of nuclearfuel cycle in CANDU reactor, and the low radiation level of recycled uranium(RU), which is acceptable for CANDU reactor fuel fabrication, the transition from the natural uranium to the RU can be completed without major modifica-tion of the reactor core structure and operation mode.It can be implemented in Qinshan Phase Ⅲ CANDU reactors with little or no requirement of big investment in new design. It can be expected that the reuse of recycled uranium of spent PWR fuel in CANDU reactor is a feasible and desirable strategy in China.     

压水堆核电厂乏燃料冷却系统设计比较研究

比较了4种典型核电厂乏燃料冷却系统的主要设计特点,通过对系统功能的分析,从方法论角度讨论了系统的设计方法,并提出了乏燃料冷却系统设计改进与优化的基本原则。     

应用ORIGEN2估算300#反应堆乏燃料元件活度

介绍了ORIGEN2向windows平台的移植与调试,描述了运行历史数据处理程序、原始成分数据处理程序、截面库数据修正程序和结果数据提取程序的流程图及使用方法,给出了几盒元件的计算结果,并与γ射线测量实验和累积释能估算燃耗数据进行了比较分析.     

FRAPCON-2程序改进和校验

通过改进FRAPCON-2程序中的燃料导热系数模型和裂变气体释放模型,使之能对高燃耗的燃料进行性能分析计算。并利用Halden堆IFA 597.3 ROD8的试验数据对程序进行了验证。结果表明,改进后的程序所计算出的参数（如燃料温度和裂变气体释放份额）均与实测值符合很好,对程序的改进是成功的。     

Core performance of new concept passive-safety reactor “kamado” - safety, burn-up and uranium resource problem -

New concept of a passive-safety reactor “KAMADO” has a negligible possibility of core melting and flexibility of total reactor power. The reactor core of KAMADO consists of fuel elements of graphite blocks, which have UO₂ fuel rods and cooling water holes. These fuel elements are located in a reactor water pool of atmospheric pressure (1 atm) and low temperature (< 60°C). In case of LOCA, decay heat from fuel rods is removed by conduction heat transfer to the reactor water pool. Since the cooling water does not contact a fuel rod directly, core design has much flexibility without considering dry-out limitation and Minimum Critical Power Ratio (MCPR). Additionally an effective use of spent fuel is expected.     

Corrosion of high burn-up structured UO2 fuel in presence of dissolved H2

The influence of high burn-up structured material on UO₂ corrosion has been studied in an autoclave experiment. The experiment was conducted on spent fuel fragments with an average burn-up of 67 GWd/tHM. They were corroded in a simplified groundwater containing 33 mM dissolved H₂ for 502 days. All redox sensitive elements were reduced. The reduction continued until a steady-state concentration was reached in the leachate for U at 1.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ M and for Pu at 7 × 10⁻¹¹ M. The instant release of Cs during the first 7 days was determined to 3.4% of the total inventory. However, the Cs release stopped after release of 3.5%. It was shown that the high burn-up structure did not enhance fuel corrosion.     

压水堆燃料元件制造设施安全相关事件的统计和分析

描述了我国压水堆燃料制造设施1987～2005年安全相关事件的统计和分析。结果表明,事件主要包括与安全相关的系统和重要设备故障、导致密封屏障失效或损坏事件、可能导致临界的事件和其他事件,它们占事件总数的68.9%。对事件原因和事件后果作了统计分析。最后,为减少事件的发生提出了一些建议。     

Impact of PWR spent fuel variations on back-end features of advanced fuel cycles with tru-fueled VHTR

Alternative strategies are being considered as management option for current spent nuclear fuel transuranics (TRU) inventory. Creation of transmutation fuels containing TRU for use in thermal and fast reactors is one of the viable strategies. Utilization of these advanced fuels will result in transmutation and incineration of the TRU. The objective of this study is to analyze the impact of conventional PWR spent fuel variations on TRU-fueled very high temperature reactor (VHTR) systems. The current effort is focused on prismatic core configuration operated under a single batch once-through fuel cycle option. IAEA’s nuclear fuel cycle simulation system (VISTA) was used to determine potential PWR spent fuel compositions. Additional composition was determined from the analysis of United States legacy spent fuel that is given in the Yucca Mountain Safety Assessment Report. A detailed whole-core 3-D model of the prismatic VHTR was developed using SCALE5.1 code system. The fuel assembly block model was based on Japan’s HTTR fuel block configuration. To establish a reference reactor system, calculations for LEU-fueled VHTR were performed and the results were used as the basis for comparative studies of the TRU-fueled systems. The LEU fuel is uranium oxide at 15% ²³⁵U enrichment. The results showed that the single-batch core lifetimes ranged between 5 and 7 years for all TRU fuels (3 years in LEU), providing prolonged operation on a single batch fuel loading. Transmutation efficiencies ranged between 19% and 27% for TRU-based fuels (13% in LEU). Total TRU material contents for disposal ranged between 730 and 808 kg per metric ton of initial heavy metal loading, reducing TRU inventory mass by as much as 27%. Decay heat and source terms of the discharged fuel were also calculated as part of the spent fuel disposal consideration. The results indicated strong potential of TRU-based fuel in VHTR.     

乏燃料贮存格架的试制

简要介绍了乏燃料贮存格架实体模型试制过程中的生产准备、材料要求、关键零部件的加工、组焊、检验以及抽插试验的过程,为乏燃料贮存格架产品的制造和国产化提供了经验。     

Estimation of the Grain Boundary Gas Inventory in MIMAS/AUC MOX Fuel and Consistency with REP-Na Test Results

In the frame of its research activities on fuel safety, the French “Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire” performed the REP-Na program in the CABRI reactor devoted to the study of Reactivity Initiated Accidents. Focused on high burn-up UO2 and MOX fuel behaviour, twelve tests (8 UO2 and 4 MOX) were realized from 1993 to 2000. In all these tests, the influence of grain boundary gas was evidenced and it appeared necessary to perform some estimation of its inventory in irradiated fuel. Such evaluations are presented for the MOX MIMAS/AUC fuel, based on two different approaches: “experimental” and “theoretical.” The fission gas amount located at the grain boundaries increases with burn-up in correlation with the production, but also with the initial Pu enrichment, as soon as the agglomerates have reached the full restructuring threshold for the High Burn-up Structure. The consistency with the REP-Na test results is checked, showing that a significant cladding deformation is needed, clearly higher than for UO2 fuel in order to release all the grain boundary gas in RIA. Furthermore, to the fission gas effect, adds the helium's occluded in the irradiated fuel whose amount increases with burn-up, Pu enrichment and ²⁴¹Pu and ²⁴¹Am initial content.     

Current status of spent fuels and the development of computer programs for the PWR spent fuel management in Korea

Nuclear power has supplied the national electric power demand for three decades in the Republic of Korea, which has resulted in the accumulation of a large amount of spent fuels. The government has a policy on the temporary storage of these at nuclear power plants at present. In order to establish a proper policy for spent fuel management in the near future, the characteristics and amount of spent fuels should be figured out properly. In this paper, the current status of spent fuels in the Republic of Korea is outlined focusing on the major characteristics of spent fuels such as initial enrichment and discharge burnup. According to the current trend, the average burnup of PWR spent fuels will reach 55 GWd/MtU by the middle of 2010s. Three different kinds of computer programs were developed to supply crucial data regarding spent fuels. The first one was developed to project the amount of spent fuels in the future based on three different projection models. The projection was verified with real spent fuel data. The second Database program was prepared for the analysis of statistics regarding PWR spent fuels. Each PWR spent fuel assembly was specified with 18 items of data such as fuel type, initial enrichment, and discharge burnup. The usefulness of the Database program was illustrated through an analysis of the geological disposal density and cooling time of PWR spent fuels. Disposal area could be reduced by 50% through a proper analysis of the cooling time of PWR spent fuels. Finally, A-SOURCE program was developed to easily calculate source-terms such as decay heat and radionuclide concentration after the pyro-processing of PWR spent fuel assemblies. Linked to the Database program, the A-SOURCE program selected PWR spent fuel assemblies and could calculate the source-terms for any combination of them. An illustration of the usage of the program was demonstrated.     

加拿大乏燃料处置的研发工作

论述了加拿大从1974年至今的乏燃料地质处置的研发工作,并对2002年以后研发工作中的某些问题进行了较详细的介绍:加拿大核废物管理机构、加拿大第4个乏燃料处置方案——可调整的分期管理(APM)方案的产生、APM方案的特点及其实施的技术路线,以及今后5 a(2011～2015年)的战略计划.     

某型乏燃料运输容器中子辐射屏蔽性能检测

中子辐射水平测量的可靠性是辐射屏蔽性能检测的难点。本文采用便携式中子测量仪和多球谱仪对某型乏燃料运输货包外部中子辐射水平进行了测量,并基于SCALE程序计算得到的乏燃料中子源项,采用MCNP程序模拟计算得到货包外部中子辐射水平。对测量结果和计算结果进行比较,分析相关影响因素,提出了优化测量方案的建议。     

Behavior of 60 to 78MWd/kgU PWR Fuels under Reactivity-Initiated Accident Conditions

To provide a data base for the regulatory guide of light water reactors, behavior of reactor fuels during off-normal and postulated accident conditions such as reactivity-initiated accident (RIA) is being studied in the Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR) program of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). The paper presents recent results obtained from the NSRR power burst experiments with high burnup fuels, and discusses effects of pellet expansion as PCMI (Pellet-Cladding Mechanical Interaction) loading and cladding embrittlement primarily due to hydrogen absorption. Results from the recent four experiments on high burnup (about 60 to 78 MWd/kgU) PWR UO₂ rods with advanced cladding alloys showed that the fuel rods with improved corrosion resistance have larger safety margin against the PCMI failure than conventional Zircaloy-4 rods. The tests also suggested that the smaller inventory of inter-granular gas in the pellets with the large grain could reduce the fission gas release during the RIA transient; and high burnup structure in pellet periphery (so-called rim structure) does not have strong effect on reduction of the failure threshold because the PCMI load is produced primarily by solid thermal expansion.     

300#反应堆乏燃料元件转运屏蔽吊筒的放射性屏蔽校核计算

介绍了根据300#堆乏燃料元件组件的实测剂量数据,对初步设计的乏燃料元件转运屏蔽吊筒的放射性屏蔽进行的详细校核计算。给出了乏燃料元件屏蔽前后不同距离处的剂量率。计算结果与实际验证表明屏蔽吊筒所选取的屏蔽厚度是合适的。     

Cost comparisons of wet and dry interim storage facilities for PWR spent nuclear fuel in Korea

As a part of an effort to determine the ideal storage solution for pressurized water reactor (PWR) spent nuclear fuel, a cost assessment was performed to better quantify the competitiveness of several storage types. Several storage solutions were chosen for comparison, including three dry storage concepts and a wet storage concept. The net present value (NPV) and the levelized unit cost (LUC) of each solution were calculated, taking into consideration established scenarios and facility size. Wet storage was calculated to be the most expensive solution for a 1700 MTU facility, and metal cask storage marked the highest cost for a 5000 MTU facility. Sensitivity analyses on discount rate, metal cask price, operation and maintenance cost, and facility size revealed that the system price is the most decisive factor affecting competitiveness among the storage types.     

The study on a statistical methodology for PWR fuel rod internal pressure evaluation

The most limiting design criteria for high Burnup PWR fuel are known to be rod internal pressure and cladding oxidation. Some fuel vendors have been increasing the design margin of rod internal pressure by increasing fuel rod plenum volume or optimizing fuel pellet grain size. In this study, a sophisticated statistical methodology that employs the response surface method and Monte Carlo simulation has been proposed to increase the design margin of rod internal pressure and subsequently a simplified statistical methodology has been developed to simplify the sophisticated statistical methodology. The simplified statistical methodology utilizes the system moment method combined with a deterministic approach for calculating a maximum variance of rod internal pressure. This simplified statistical methodology may be more efficient in the reload core fuel rod performance analyses than the sophisticated statistical methodology since the former eliminates numerous calculations needed for the evaluation of power history-dependent variances. It is found that this simplified methodology also generates more conservative rod internal pressure than the typical statistical methodology.