Thermal conductivity evaluation of Am-doped oxide fuels

Yokoyama, Keisuke; Watanabe, Masashi; Onishi, Takashi; Yano, Yasuhide; Tokoro, Daishiro*; Sugata, Hiromasa*; Kato, Masato*

JAEA-Research 2025-002, 18 Pages, 2025/05

JAEA-Research-2025-002.pdf:1.73MB

It is advocated as a development target of fast reactors (FRs) to allow for the of use of mixed oxide (MOX) fuels containing minor actinide (MA) separated and recovered from spent fuels with the aim of reducing the volume and toxicity of high-level radioactive waste generated from nuclear reactors. In the development of MAMOX fuels, it is important behavior to understand the thermal properties such as thermal conductivity for fuel design and analysis of the irradiation. However, there are only a few reports on the thermal properties of MA-MOX fuels, and neither the effects of MA contents nor of oxygen non-stoichiometry in MOX fuels on their thermal conductivities have been fully understood. In this study, the thermal conductivities of MOX fuels with up to 15% Am content were measured at near-stoichiometric composition and the relationship between thermal conductivity and Am content was evaluated. Moreover, the thermal conductivities of Am-doped UO fuels were also measured and evaluated by comparison with Am-MOX to evaluate the effect of Am content. The fuel samples used in this study were three types of MOX with a Pu content of 30% and different Am contents (5%, 10%, and 15%), and UO containing 15% Am. The thermal conductivities of specimens were calculated from the thermal diffusivities measured by the laser flash method, the density of the specimens and, the heat capacity at constant pressure. The oxygen partial pressure during the measurement was controlled at that of the targeted near-stoichiometric composition. The thermal conductivities of all specimens exhibited a decline with increasing temperature and Am content, with a particularly pronounced reduction observed below 1,173 K. The results of the classical phonon scattering model analysis of the measured thermal conductivities showed that the effect of lattice strain due to the Am addition was significant on the thermal resistivity change, and the effect was comparable for both MOX and UO.

Spontaneous magnetic field and disorder effects in BaPtAsSb with a honeycomb network

Adachi, Tadashi*; Ogawa, Taiki*; Komiyama, Yota*; Sumura, Takuya*; Saito-Tsuboi, Yuki*; Takeuchi, Takaaki*; Mano, Kohei*; Manabe, Kaoru*; Kawabata, Koki*; Imazu, Tsuyoshi*; et al.

Physical Review B, 111(10), p.L100508_1 - L100508_6, 2025/03

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.111.L100508

Electron transfer capability in atomic hydrogen reactions for imidazole groups bound to the insulating alkanethiolate layer on Au(111)

Kato, Hiroyuki S.*; Muroyama, Mizuho*; Kobayakawa, Nano*; Muneyasu, Riku*; Tsuda, Yasutaka; Murase, Natsumi*; Watanabe, Seiya*; Yamada, Takashi*; Kanematsu, Yusuke*; Tachikawa, Masanori*; et al.

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (Internet), 15(43), p.10769 - 10776, 2024/10

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c02306

Circular polarization measurement for individual gamma rays in capture reactions with intense pulsed neutrons

Endo, Shunsuke; Abe, Ryota*; Fujioka, Hiroyuki*; Ino, Takashi*; Iwamoto, Osamu; Iwamoto, Nobuyuki; Kawamura, Shiori*; Kimura, Atsushi; Kitaguchi, Masaaki*; Kobayashi, Ryuju*; et al.

European Physical Journal A, 60(8), p.166_1 - 166_10, 2024/08

https://doi.org/10.1140/epja/s10050-024-01392-6

Development of the buckling evaluation method for large scale vessels in fast reactors made of grade 91 steel and austenitic stainless steel with large initial imperfections

Okafuji, Takashi*; Miura, Kazuhiro*; Sago, Hiromi*; Murakami, Hisatomo*; Watakabe, Tomoyoshi; Ando, Masanori; Miyazaki, Masashi

Proceedings of ASME 2024 Pressure Vessels & Piping Conference (PVP 2024) (Internet), 8 Pages, 2024/07

We have developed the buckling strength equations of vessels for fast reactors with seismic isolation system. The applicability of the buckling equations was confirmed by a series of buckling tests and analyses under monotonic or cyclic axial compressive load accompanied with constant horizontal load in the previous reports. In this report, we proposed a correction factor to reduce the buckling strength calculated by the buckling equations for large initial imperfections. A series of elastic-plastic buckling analyses considering large displacement and large strain theories was conducted to Grade 91 steel and austenitic stainless steel vessels which has a wide range of dimensions, initial imperfection amplitude, and vertical/horizontal load ratio. The simulation results showed that the correction factor generally shows a reduction tendency of buckling strength corresponding to initial imperfection amplitude, and the modified buckling equations are applicable to the vessels in fast reactors even for large initial imperfection amplitude which exceeds half the wall thickness.

Development of safety design technologies for sodium-cooled fast reactor coupled to thermal energy storage system with sodium-molten salt heat exchanger, 2; Study on heat exchanger performance

Hayashi, Masaaki*; Nakahara, Hirotaka*; Abe, Takashi*; Matsunaga, Suhei*; Miyata, Hajime*; Shirakura, Shota*; Yamano, Hidemasa

Dai-28-Kai Doryoku, Enerugi Gijutsu Shimpojiumu Koen Rombunshu (Internet), 5 Pages, 2024/06

This paper describes the study of the performance evaluation technology of a heat exchanger between sodium and molten salt and the confirmation of heat transfer improvement measures effects up to FY2023.

Crystallization processes of quartz in a granitic magma; Implications for the magma chamber processes of Okueyama granite, Kyushu, Japan

Yuguchi, Takashi*; Kato, Takenori*; Ogita, Yasuhiro; Watanabe, Minori*; Yamazaki, Hayato*; Kato, Asuka*; Ito, Daichi*; Yokoyama, Tatsunori; Sakata, Shuhei*; Ono, Takeshi*

Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 265, p.106091_1 - 106091_13, 2024/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2024.106091

Spin dependence in the -wave resonance of +

Okudaira, Takuya*; Nakabe, Rintaro*; Auton, C. J.*; Endo, Shunsuke; Fujioka, Hiroyuki*; Gudkov, V.*; Ide, Ikuo*; Ino, Takashi*; Ishikado, Motoyuki*; Kambara, Wataru*; et al.

Physical Review C, 109(4), p.044606_1 - 044606_9, 2024/04

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.109.044606

Simulation of a jet flow rectified by a grating-type structure using immersed boundary methods

Hirose, Yoshiyasu; Abe, Satoshi; Ishigaki, Masahiro*; Shibamoto, Yasuteru; Hibiki, Takashi*

Progress in Nuclear Energy, 169, p.105085_1 - 105085_13, 2024/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnucene.2024.105085

Unstable stress-triaxiality development and contrasting weakening in two types of high-strength transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steels; Insights from a new compact tensile testing method

Matsuno, Takashi*; Fujita, Taiki*; Matsuda, Tomoko*; Shibayama, Yuki; Hojo, Tomohiko*; Watanabe, Ikumu*

Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 322, p.118174_1 - 118174_16, 2023/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2023.118174

The impact of high stress triaxiality on work hardening in transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel has been widely acknowledged, particularly through measurements of the austenite fraction. Understanding this TRIP behavior is crucial for predicting material fracture in press-forming processes. However, the actual flow stresses under high-stress-triaxiality conditions remain largely undetermined. To address this gap, we developed a new tensile testing method using tiny notched round bars to investigate stress-triaxiality-induced work hardening in TRIP steels. The specimens were analyzed using two-dimensional micrometry to allow finite element analyses to identify the flow stress. Additionally, we conducted in situ tensile tests in which their crystal lattice stresses were monitored using synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) to realize mechanism analyses of the unexpected work-hardening behavior identified by the developed tensile testing method. Our combined approach revealed a mutual, unstable increase in the flow stress and stress triaxiality in the TRIP-aided bainitic ferrite steel, which reduced the hardening exponent coefficients and thus induced a higher stress triaxiality. In contrast, the TRIP-aided martensitic steel exhibited a weakening behavior, characterized by a significant decrease in the hardening exponent coefficients in the case of the sharpest notch. XRD analyses showed that microstructural heterogeneity led to an extraordinarily high hydrostatic stress in the austenite phase, accounting for these contrasting behaviors. This finding challenges the established consensus on TRIP steels and suggests the need for a revised framework for their application in press-forming, taking into account stress-triaxiality conditions.