RIA- and LOCA-simulating experiments on high burnup LWR fuels

Fuketa, Toyoshi; Nagase, Fumihisa ; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki 

To provide a data base for the regulatory guide of light water reactors, behaviors of reactor fuels during off-normal and postulated accident conditions such as reactivity-initiated accident (RIA) and loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) are being studied at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). A series of RIA-simulating experiments with high burnup fuel rods is being performed by using pulse-irradiation capability of the Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR). Fuel behaviors during a LOCA are also examined in an extensive program comprising of integral thermal shock tests and separate tests for oxidation rate and mechanical properties of fuel cladding.