The Preliminary tests of the plasma melting treatment for homogenization of low-level radioactive wastes

Nakashio, Nobuyuki*; Osugi, Takeshi; Kurosawa, Shigenobu; Ishikawa, Joji; Hemmi, Ko; Iketani, Shotaro; Yokobori, Tomohiko

JAEA-Technology 2022-016, 47 Pages, 2022/08

JAEA-Technology-2022-016.pdf:2.23MB

The Nuclear Science Research Institute (NSRI) of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) started operation of the Advanced Volume Reduction Facilities (AVWF) for production of waste packages for disposal of low-level radioactive solid wastes (LLW). To clarify the operating conditions for homogenization of non-metallic LLW, preliminary tests were carried out using the plasma melting furnace of the non-metal melting unit. The fluidity of molten waste influences homogenization conditions of solidified products. It was clarified that the viscosity, which is determined by the chemical composition and the melting temperature, influence the fluidity of molten waste greatly through previous literature review and the small-scale melting tests. In the preliminary tests, the simulated waste with a cold tracer loaded in 200 L drums were melted. Using the waste chemical components (basicity, iron oxide concentration) as an experimental parameter, the homogeneity of the chemical components of the solidified product was investigated and the homogenization conditions of melting tests were examined. The retention ratio of the tracer in the molten bath was also confirmed. The viscosity of the molten wastes was measured and the correlation with homogeneity was examined. In addition, the technical requirements that should be concerned in advance for future actual operation were discussed.

Consideration on modeling of Nb sorption onto clay minerals

Yamaguchi, Tetsuji; Ohira, Saki; Hemmi, Ko; Barr, L.; Shimada, Asako; Maeda, Toshikatsu; Iida, Yoshihisa

Radiochimica Acta, 108(11), p.873 - 877, 2020/11

https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2020-0006

Analysis on the effect of forest decontamination on reducing the air dose rate using the three-dimensional transport code MCNP

Hemmi, Ko; Yamaguchi, Tetsuji; Takeda, Seiji; Kimura, Hideo

Genshiryoku Bakkuendo Kenkyu (CD-ROM), 24(1), p.3 - 14, 2017/06

https://doi.org/10.3327/jnuce.24.1_3

Conditions of contaminated sources and ranges of forest decontamination that significantly reduce the air dose rate in residential areas were investigated by means of a sensitivity analysis related to the decontamination of the forest contaminated by radiocesium deriving from the accident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The contaminated sources including Cs and Cs were assumed to be a layer of sedimented organic matter (the A layer) and surface soils (the A layer). The air dose rates were calculated using the three-dimensional Monte Carlo transport code MCNP. A slope number of the forest, angles, state of contaminant distribution, radiocesium content in the forest soils, decontamination ranges, distance from the forest boundary to an evaluation point, and height at the evaluation point were adopted as the parameters. The decontamination of a litter (A) layer within the distance of 20 m from the forest boundary was revealed to be effective in reducing the air dose rate when the source distribution was homogeneous. The air dose rates were significantly reduced by the decontamination of the A layer within a distance of 40 m from the forest boundary on condition that the radiocesium content of the A layer was larger than that of the A layer and the source distribution was non-homogeneous, such as the forest areas beyond 20 m from the forest boundary, which were more heavily contaminated than those within 20 m.

Sorption behavior of thorium onto granite and its constituent minerals

Iida, Yoshihisa; Yamaguchi, Tetsuji; Tanaka, Tadao; Hemmi, Ko

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 53(10), p.1573 - 1584, 2016/10

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2016.1138901

The sorption behavior of thorium (Th) onto granitic rock and its major constituent were investigated by batch sorption experiments. Experiments were carried out under variable pH and carbonate concentrations. Distribution coefficients decreased with increased carbonate concentrations and showed the minimal value at pH 9-10. This sorption tendency was likely due to forming the hydroxide-carbonate complexes of Th in the solutions. The order of sorbability for Th was mica feldspar quartz = granite. The sorption behaviors of Th onto these minerals were analyzed by the triple-layer surface complexation model with the Visual Minteq computer program. The model calculations assuming the inner-sphere surface complexation of Th were able to explain the experimental results reasonably well. It was shown that the sorption behavior of Th onto granite can be explained primarily by the complexation with the surface sites of feldspar.

On accepting award for emerging technology of Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Environment, Atomic Energy Society of Japan

Hemmi, Ko

Genshiryoku Bakkuendo Kenkyu (CD-ROM), 23(1), P. 113, 2016/06

http://nuce.aesj.or.jp/jnuce/vol23/Jnuce-Vol23-1-p111-116.pdf

no abstracts in English

Accuracy of prediction method of cryogenic tensile strength for austenitic stainless steels in ITER toroidal field coil structure

Sakurai, Takeru; Iguchi, Masahide; Nakahira, Masataka; Saito, Toru*; Morimoto, Masaaki*; Inagaki, Takashi*; Hong, Y.-S.*; Matsui, Kunihiro; Hemmi, Tsutomu; Kajitani, Hideki; et al.

Physics Procedia, 67, p.536 - 542, 2015/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phpro.2015.06.072

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has developed the tensile strength prediction method at liquid helium temperature (4K) using the quadratic curve as a function of the content of carbon and nitrogen in order to establish the rationalized quality control of the austenitic stainless steel used in the ITER superconducting coil operating at 4K. ITER is under construction aiming to verify technical demonstration of a nuclear fusion generation. Toroidal Field Coil (TFC), one of superconducting system in ITER, have been started procurement of materials in 2012. JAEA is producing materials for actual product which are the forged materials with shape of rectangle, round bar, asymmetry and etc. JAEA has responsibility to procure all ITER TFC Structures. In this process, JAEA obtained many tensile strength of both room temperature and 4K about these structural materials, for example, JJ1: High manganese stainless steel for structure (0.03C-12Cr-12Ni-10Mn-5Mo- 0.24N) and 316LN: High nitrogen containing stainless steel (0.2Nitrogen). Based on these data, accuracy of 4K strength prediction method for actual TFC Structure materials was evaluated and reported in this study.

Non-destructive examination of jacket sections for ITER central solenoid conductors

Takahashi, Yoshikazu; Suwa, Tomone; Nabara, Yoshihiro; Ozeki, Hidemasa; Hemmi, Tsutomu; Nunoya, Yoshihiko; Isono, Takaaki; Matsui, Kunihiro; Kawano, Katsumi; Oshikiri, Masayuki; et al.

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 25(3), p.4200904_1 - 4200904_4, 2015/06

https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2014.2364632

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) is responsible for procuring all amounts of Central Solenoid (CS) Conductors for ITER, including CS jacket sections. The conductor is cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) with a central spiral. A total of 576 NbSn strands and 288 copper strands are cabled around the central spiral. The maximum operating current is 40 kA at magnetic field of 13 T. CS jacket section is circular in square type tube made of JK2LB, which is high manganese stainless steel with boron added. Unit length of jacket sections is 7 m and 6,300 sections will be manufactured and inspected. Outer/inner dimension and weight are 51.3/35.3 mm and around 90 kg, respectively. Eddy Current Test (ECT) and Phased Array Ultrasonic Test (PAUT) were developed for non-destructive examination. The defects on inner and outer surfaces can be detected by ECT. The defects inside jacket section can be detected by PAUT. These technology and the inspected results are reported in this paper.

Nuclear energy (Technical topic); Development of ITER toroidal field (TF) coil

Hemmi, Tsutomu; Kajitani, Hideki; Takano, Katsutoshi; Matsui, Kunihiro; Koizumi, Norikiyo

Yosetsu Gakkai-Shi, 83(6), p.497 - 502, 2014/09

https://doi.org/10.2207/jjws.83.497

JAEA, serving as the Japan Domestic Agency (JADA) in the ITER project, is responsible for the procurement of 9 TF coils. In the TF coil, the radial plate (RP) structure is selected to improve electrical and mechanical reliability of the electrical insulation. Since the superconductor is degraded by the bending strain of 0.1% after the reaction heat-treatment, the conductor is inserted into the RP after winding to D-shape and the heat-treatment. To insert the conductor into the RP, the winding and RP groove length must be controlled with accuracy of 0.02% (7 mm on the 1 turn of 34 m). Accordingly, the targets for solving this issue are as follows: (1) Development of manufacturing procedure of the RP; (2) Development of winding head to achieve highly accurate winding; (3) Estimation of the conductor elongation after the heat-treatment. Therefore, JAEA can establish manufacturing plan for the TF coil as a result of the R&D for these targets.

Investigation of strand bending in the He-inlet during reaction heat treatment for ITER TF Coils

Hemmi, Tsutomu; Matsui, Kunihiro; Kajitani, Hideki; Okuno, Kiyoshi; Koizumi, Norikiyo; Ishimi, Akihiro; Katsuyama, Kozo

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 24(3), p.4802704_1 - 4802704_4, 2014/06

https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2013.2297685

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), as Japan Domestic Agency, has responsibility to procure nine ITER Toroidal Field (TF) coils. The TF coil winding consists of a NbSn Cable-In-Conduit conductor, a pair of joints and a He-inlet. The current capacity of 68 kA is required at the magnetic field of 7 T around the He-inlet region in the TF coil winding. During reaction heat-treatment, the compressive residual strain in NbSn cable is induced by the difference in the thermal expansion coefficients between the NbSn cable and stainless steel jacket. The strands bending in the NbSn cable of the He-inlet is anticipated since there is the compressive residual strain and a gap between the NbSn cable and the He-inlet to introduce SHE flow. If the strand is bent, the variation of mechanical behaviors, such as the elongation of He-inlet during the reaction heat-treatment and the thermally induced residual strain on the jacket around the He-inlet, are expected. To investigate the strands bending in the NbSn cable of the He-inlet, the following items are performed; (1) elongation measurement during reaction heat-treatment, (2) residual longitudinal strain measurement using strain gauges by sample cuttings, (3) nondestructive inspection on the cable and strands using high resolution X-ray CT, Detail of test results and investigation of the strands bending in the NbSn cable of the He-inlet are reported and discussed.

Progress of manufacturing trials for the ITER toroidal field coil structures

Iguchi, Masahide; Morimoto, Masaaki; Chida, Yutaka*; Hemmi, Tsutomu; Nakajima, Hideo; Nakahira, Masataka; Koizumi, Norikiyo; Yamamoto, Akio*; Miyake, Takashi*; Sawa, Naoki*

IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity, 24(3), p.3801004_1 - 3801004_4, 2014/06

https://doi.org/10.1109/TASC.2013.2294422

no abstracts in English