Uraniumu-Plutoniumu Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrcation for the Deuterium Critical Assembly "DCA" in JAPAN

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安久津 英男*; 武藤 正*; 川島 喜一*; 成木 芳

Akutsu, Hideo*; not registered; not registered; Naruki, Kaoru

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The construction of the prototype heavywater reactor "FUGEN" is currentlyprogressing on the schedule to be criticalin 1976. Prior to this reactor operation,the reactor physics examination are carringout with the Deuterium Critical Assembly "DCA" since 1973. A new facility, thePlutonium Fuel Fabrication Facility (PFFF)of PNC which is mainly devoted to mass-production, was constructed to meet theplutonium fuel fabrication requirement forPNC's FBR and ATR projects. At the "ATR line" of this PFFF, thefabrication of the plutomium fuel elementsfor DCA had been carried out since Mar. 1972, and 92 fuel assemblies with the totalmixed-oxide amounting to as much as 10tons were completed in Feb. 1973. It was the first experience in Japanthat,such a large amounts of mixed-oxidewas fabricated as the fuel assembliescomposed of three kinds of fuel rodsaccording to both the isotopic charactor and the plutonium enrichment, totaling about2600 fuel rods.