Irradiated fuel behavior under power oscillation conditions

Nakamura, Takehiko ; Nakamura, Jinichi ; Sasajima, Hideo ; Uetsuka, Hiroshi

In order to examine high burnup fuel performance and to confirm its integrity under unstable power oscillation conditions arising during an ATWS in BWRs, two tests of irradiated fuels under simulated power oscillation conditions were conducted in the NSRR. Irradiated fuels at burnups of 25 and 56GWd/tU were subjected to four to seven power oscillations, which peaked at 50 to 95kW/m with intervals of 2s. The power oscillation was simulated by quick withdrawal and insertion of six regulating rods of the NSRR with a computerized control. Deformation of the fuel cladding of the test rods was comparable to those observed in shorter transient tests, which simulated RIAs, at the same fuel enthalpy level up to 368J/g. The fuel deformation was mainly caused by PCMI and was roughly proportional to the fuel enthalpy. Enhanced cladding deformation due to ratcheting by the cyclic load was not observed. Fission gas release, on the other hand, was considerably smaller than in the RIA tests, suggesting different release mechanisms in the two types of transients.