Study on the effect of long-term high temperature irradiation on TRISO fuel

Shaimerdenov, A.*; Gizatulin, S.*; Dyussambayev, D.*; Askerbekov, S.*; Ueta, Shohei   ; Aihara, Jun ; Shibata, Taiju ; Sakaba, Nariaki 

In the core of the WWR-K reactor, a long-term irradiation of tri-structural isotopic (TRISO)-coated fuel particles (CFPs) with a UO kernel was carried out under normal operating conditions of the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR). This TRISO fuel was attained at the temperature of 950 to 1,100 C, and the uranium burnup of 9.9% FIMA (fission per initial metal atom) during the irradiation. The release of the gaseous fission product from the fuel was measured in-pile, and its release-to-birth (R/B) ratio was evaluated using the model developed in the High-Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) project. After the irradiation test, fuel compacts were subjected to electric dissociation and nondestructive inspections such as X-ray radiography and gamma spectrometry. Finally, it was concluded that integrity of the TRISO fuel irradiated at approximately 9.9% FIMA was demonstrated, and a low fuel failure fraction and a low R/B measured with krypton-88 indicated good performance and reliability of the high burnup TRISO fuel.