Maintenance of Module for TRU High Temperature Chemistry

Tagami, Susumu; Sano, Naruto; Otobe, Haruyoshi  ; Akabori, Mitsuo; Kurobane, Shiro

An experimental facility called the Module for TRU High Temperature Chemistry (TRU-HITEC) was installed in the Back-end Cycle Key Elements Research Facility (BECKY) of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Safety Engineering Research Facility (NUCEF) in February, 2003. The main purpose of this facility is to perform the basic studies of the behavior the transuranium elements (TRU) in pyrochemical reprocessing and oxide fuels. Hot-experiment started in December, 2004. TRU-HITEC consists of three / cells and a glove box. This is the only facility in the country as large-scale facilities maintained a high purity argon gas atmosphere. The experience gained through the maintenance and improvement is useful also for the maintenance of similar designed facility. This report describes the maintenance method and improvement for the purpose of keeping the performance of TRU-HITEC.