振動滴下装置を用いたウラン粒子燃料製造に係る外部ゲル化試験

Study of uranium particle fuel fabrication with the external gelation process with the vibration dropping Method

西村 一久; 庄司 修一*; 羽成 章*; 佐藤 誠一*; 木原 義之; 遠藤 秀男

Nishimura, Kazuhisa; Shoji, Shuichi*; not registered; Sato, Seiichi*; not registered; Endo, Hideo

先進的リサイクルシステムのMOX燃料製造法の有力な候補として外部ゲル化法がある。MOX試験の実施に先立ちウランを用いて基本的な機器の把握・製造条件の確認を行った。製造試験では基本的な条件の調査を行い、1)原料となる硝酸ウラニルの調製とPVA水溶液の調製試験を行い、適切な調製条件を調査した。2)液滴を生成するための滴下原液の調製、振動滴下装置による液滴生成に関する試験を行い、適切な振動数、送液速度を調査した。3)ゲル化反応の際の、原液組成、アンモニア濃度の影響を調査した。4)ゲル球の熟成・洗浄・乾燥条件について試験を行い、不純物の除去効果などを調査した。5)乾燥ゲル球の示差熱分析及び焙焼試験を行い、酸化物粒子を得た。このことで最終的な焼結粒子が得られる見通しがついた。また、特性評価などを行い、粒子直径の高い制御性や物質収支に関して技術的な問題がないことを確認した。本試験の結果、振動滴下装置を用いたゲル化法についてのMOX粒子製造試験を行う準備がほぼ整った。しかし、ゲル球の表面ひび割れなどの未解決課題については引き続きウラン試験を行い解決する必要がある。

The external gelation process is one of the candidates of MOX particle fuel fabrication for advanced recycle system. It was necessary to perform preliminary fuel fabrication with uranium before starting MOX tests. As the result of the preliminary examination, Basics conditions of the fabrication were obtained: (1)Optimized uranyl nitrate solution and PVA solution, as raw materials were prepared. (2)The frequency of vibration and the amount of flow were obtained with optimized broth (mixture) in the vibration dropping process. (3)The influence of composition of broth and concentration of ammonia solution on gelation process was obtained. (4)Impurities after aging, washing and drying spHerical gel were surveyed, (5)The spherical gel were calcined to oxide particles and the particles were characterized by TG-DTA, therefore it is certain that outlook on the sintered particles as final products is very clear. On the top of that, there were no fatal technicalities of the external gelation process through material balance and a diameter dispersion of spherical gel and oxide particles. It is necessary to perform uranium examination to solve some new problems, for instant, surface crack of spherical gel. Although almost of all the preparations are completed and fabrication examination of MOX particles with vibration dropping equipment are ready for starting.