Development of hydrogen behavior integrated analysis system

Terada, Atsuhiko; Thwe Thwe, A.; Hino, Ryutaro*; Harai, Yasutaka*; Sasaki, Gaku*; Shingeya, Hideshi*; Yamashita, Toshiyuki*; Yoneda, Jiro*; Okabayashi, Kazuki*; Sakamoto, Hiroyuki*; et al.

JAEA-Data/Code 2025-012, 151 Pages, 2025/12

JAEA-Data-Code-2025-012.pdf:9.69MB

Based on the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident, we have highly paid attention to the advancement of the fundamental technologies which are indispensable in timely response to hydrogen safety measures and assessments especially in both nuclear reactors and decommissioning. Focusing on this attention, we developed an analysis system that predicts the behavior of hydrogen from generation to diffusion, combustion and explosion. The system utilizes the commercial computational fluid dynamics software (FLUENT, AUTODYN), and incorporates new modules and pre/post-processors in order to withstand the general practical use. We also developed a system by utilizing open-source code (OpenFOAM) that can be used in hydrogen disaster prevention plans for nuclear facilities. So far, we have expanded the system to deal with the phenomena that should be considered from the practical point of view for PWR (Pressurized Water Reactor) in nuclear power plants. This report summarizes the overview of the integrated analysis system for hydrogen behavior, the handling method, and real scale analysis examples.

Long-term changes in the chemical, microstructural, and transport properties of a low-pH cement shotcrete during operation of the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory, Japan

Mochizuki, Akihito; Matsui, Hiroya; Nakayama, Masashi; Sakamoto, Ryo*; Shibata, Masahito*; Motoshima, Takayuki*; Jo, Mayumi*

Case Studies in Construction Materials, 22, p.e04648_1 - e04648_20, 2025/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2025.e04648

The properties of low-pH cement used in the geological disposal of radioactive waste may change through atmospheric carbonation and degradation caused by groundwater during the long-term operation of a repository. In this study, we investigated the effects of atmospheric carbonation and groundwater contact on the chemical, microstructural, and transport properties of shotcrete made from low-pH, high-fly-ash silica-fume cement (HFSC) over a period of 16 years in an underground research laboratory. In both carbonated and degraded zones of the HFSC shotcrete, capillary porosity increased for pores of 300 nm in diameter, and the total porosity was higher than in undegraded zones. These changes in porosity may be associated with the decalcification of calcium-silicate-hydrate and decomposition of ettringite. Such changes were minor in altered zones of OPC shotcrete, indicating that HFSC shotcrete is less resistant to atmospheric carbonation and groundwater leaching under the studied conditions. However, the hydraulic conductivity in HFSC was low enough to fulfill the specific functional requirements of low-pH cements for geological disposal.

Achievements and status of the STRAD project for radioactive liquid waste management

Arai, Yoichi; Watanabe, So; Nakahara, Masaumi; Funakoshi, Tomomasa; Hoshino, Takanori; Takahatake, Yoko; Sakamoto, Atsushi; Aihara, Haruka; Hasegawa, Kenta; Yoshida, Toshiki; et al.

Progress in Nuclear Science and Technology (Internet), 7, p.168 - 174, 2025/03

https://doi.org/10.15669/pnst.7.168

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been conducting a project named "Systematic Treatment of RAdioactive liquid waste for Decommissioning (STRAD)" project since 2018 for fundamental and practical studies for treating radioactive liquid wastes with complicated compositions. Fundamental studies have been conducted using genuine liquid wastes accumulated in a hot laboratory of the JAEA called the Chemical Processing Facility (CPF), and treatment procedures for all liquid wastes in CPF were successfully designed on the results obtained. As the next phase of the project, new fundamental and practical studies on primarily organic liquid wastes accumulated in different facilities of JAEA are in progress. This paper reviews the representative achievements of the STRAD project and introduces an overview of ongoing studies.

Practical development of accident tolerant FeCrAl-ODS fuel claddings for BWRs in Japan

Sakamoto, Kan*; Sakaguchi, Chisato*; Miura, Yusuke*; Yokoyama, Hironori*; Matsunaga, Junji*; Kasahara, Hideyuki*; Miyata, Hajime*; Ioka, Ikuo; Yamashita, Shinichiro; Osaka, Masahiko

Proceedings of 2023 Water Reactor Fuel Performance Meeting (WRFPM 2023), p.20 - 28, 2024/00

An oxide-dispersion-strengthened FeCrAl (FeCrAl-ODS) has been continuously developed in Japan as a promising candidate alloy for the accident tolerant fuel cladding of BWRs (boiling water reactors). This paper will introduce the progress in practical development of accident tolerant FeCrAl-ODS fuel claddings for BWRs in the program fully or partially supported and organized by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan. The experimental studies have been conducted to obtain and accumulate key material properties of FeCrAl-ODS fuel claddings to support the evaluations in the analytical studies. For the evaluation at normal operation condition, fatigue test of unirradiated fuel cladding and tensile test of irradiated sheet specimen were conducted. In the fatigue test, a tensile-compressive bending strain was loaded on the C-shaped specimens by cyclic movement of a push-pull rod. Test temperature was 623 K, frequency was 1 Hz, and strain amplitude were 0.27, 0.34 and 0.55 %. The results of fatigue tests demonstrated that cycles to failure of the FeCrAl-ODS cladding were higher than that of the O'Donnell and Langer fatigue curve of Zr-based alloy. The tensile test was conducted in a hot cell using the SS-J2 type specimens at ambient temperature, 573 K and 623 K at a strain rate of 10-3 s-1. The specimens were irradiated up to 7.8 and 13 dpa at 573 K in the High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL. The irradiation hardening and ductility loss obtained at 7.8 and 13 dpa were comparable to those at 3.9 dpa.

Axial variations of oxide layer growth and hydrogen uptake of BWR fuel claddings under steam starvation conditions

Sakamoto, Kan*; Adachi, Mika*; Tokushima, Kazuyuki*; Aomi, Masaki*; Shibata, Hiroki; Nagae, Yuji; Kurata, Masaki

Zirconium in the Nuclear Industry; 20th International Symposium (ASTM STP 1645), p.411 - 432, 2023/11

https://doi.org/10.1520/STP164520220043

Proposal on how to proceed with Verification and Validation of radiation shielding analyses

Okumura, Keisuke; Sakamoto, Yukio*; Tsukiyama, Toshihisa*

Shahei Kaiseki No V&V Gaidorain Sakutei Ni Mukete, p.4 - 8, 2023/03

https://www.aesj.net/uploads/com_vvshieldingcalc20230428_sup.pdf

no abstracts in English

Evaluation of doped potassium concentrations in stacked two-Layer graphene using real-time XPS

Ogawa, Shuichi*; Tsuda, Yasutaka; Sakamoto, Tetsuya*; Okigawa, Yuki*; Masuzawa, Tomoaki*; Yoshigoe, Akitaka; Abukawa, Tadashi*; Yamada, Takatoshi*

Applied Surface Science, 605, p.154748_1 - 154748_6, 2022/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.154748

Immersion of graphene in KOH solution improves its mobility on SiO/Si wafers. This is thought to be due to electron doping by modification with K atoms, but the K atom concentration C in the graphene has not been clarified yet. In this study, the C was determined by XPS analysis using high-brilliance synchrotron radiation. The time evolution of C was determined by real-time observation, and the C before irradiation of synchrotron radiation was estimated to be 0.94%. The C 1s spectrum shifted to the low binding energy side with the desorption of K atoms. This indicates that the electron doping concentration into graphene is decreasing, and it is experimentally confirmed that K atoms inject electrons into graphene.

Development of accident tolerant FeCrAl-ODS fuel cladding for BWRs in Japan

Sakamoto, Kan*; Miura, Yusuke*; Ukai, Shigeharu; Ono, Naoko*; Kimura, Akihiko*; Yamaji, Akifumi*; Kusagaya, Kazuyuki*; Takano, Sho*; Kondo, Takao*; Ikegawa, Tomohiko*; et al.

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 557, p.153276_1 - 153276_11, 2021/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2021.153276

A FeCrAl-oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloy is a promising candidate alloy for the accident tolerant fuel (ATF) cladding of light water reactors (LWRs) and being developed in Japan recently. This paper will introduce the progress of development of accident tolerant FeCrAl-ODS fuel claddings for boiling water reactors (BWRs) in Japan. Both the experimental and the analytical studies have been performed to evaluate the influence of implementation of the FeCrAl-ODS fuel claddings to the current BWRs. The experimental studies have been conducted to obtain and accumulate key material properties of FeCrAl-ODS fuel claddings by using bar, sheet and tube-shaped materials to support the evaluations in the analytical studies. At the end of paper, the challenges and prospects found in the program are highlighted to enhance international collaborations to accelerate the development of FeCrAl-ODS fuel cladding.

Study on the evaluation method to determine the radioactivity concentration in radioactive waste on Oarai Research and Development Institute (FY2020)

Asakura, Kazuki; Shimomura, Yusuke; Donomae, Yasushi; Abe, Kazuyuki; Kitamura, Ryoichi; Miyakoshi, Hiroyuki; Takamatsu, Misao; Sakamoto, Naoki; Isozaki, Ryosuke; Onishi, Takashi; et al.

JAEA-Review 2021-020, 42 Pages, 2021/10

JAEA-Review-2021-020.pdf:2.95MB

The disposal of radioactive waste from the research facility need to calculate from the radioactivity concentration that based on variously nuclear fuels and materials. In Japan Atomic Energy Agency Oarai Research and Development Institute, the study on considering disposal is being advanced among the facilities which generate radioactive waste as well as the facilities which process radioactive waste. This report summarizes a study result in FY2020 about the evaluation method to determine the radioactivity concentration in radioactive waste on Oarai Research and Development Institute.

Oxidation of anatase TiO(001) surface using supersonic seeded oxygen molecular beam

Katsube, Daiki*; Ono, Shinya*; Takayanagi, Shuhei*; Ojima, Shoki*; Maeda, Motoyasu*; Origuchi, Naoki*; Ogawa, Arata*; Ikeda, Natsuki*; Aoyagi, Yoshihide*; Kabutoya, Yuito*; et al.

Langmuir, 37(42), p.12313 - 12317, 2021/10

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c01752

We investigated the oxidation of oxygen vacancies at the surface of anatase TiO(001) using supersonic seeded molecular beam (SSMB) of oxygen. The oxygen vacancies at the top-surface and sub-surface could be eliminated by the supply of oxygen using an SSMB. These results indicate that the interstitial vacancies can be mostly assigned to oxygen vacancies, which can be effectively eliminated by using an oxygen SSMB. Oxygen vacancies are present on the surface of anatase TiO(001) when it is untreated before transfer to a vacuum chamber. These vacancies, which are stable in the as-grown condition, could also be effectively eliminated using the oxygen SSMB.