Removal of spent fuel sheared powder for decommissioning of Main Plant

Nishino, Saki; Okada, Jumpei; Watanabe, Kazuki; Furuuchi, Yuta; Yokota, Satoru; Yada, Yuji; Kusaka, Shota; Morokado, Shiori; Nakamura, Yoshinobu

JAEA-Technology 2023-011, 39 Pages, 2023/06

JAEA-Technology-2023-011.pdf:2.51MB

Tokai Reprocessing Plant (TRP) which shifted to decommissioning phase in 2014 had nuclear fuel materials such as the spent fuel sheared powder, the diluted plutonium solution and the uranium solution in a part of the reprocessing main equipment because TRP intended to resume reprocessing operations when it suspended the operations in 2007. Therefore, we have planned to remove these nuclear materials in sequence as Flush-out before beginning the decommissioning, and conducted removal of the spent fuel sheared powder as the first stage. The spent fuel sheared powder that had accumulated in the cell of the Main Plant (MP) as a result of the spent fuel shearing process was recovered from the cell floor, the shearing machine and the distributor between April 2016 and April 2017 as part of maintenance. Removing the recovered spent fuel sheared powder was conducted between June 2022 and September 2022. In this work, the recovered powder was dissolved in nitric acid at the dissolver in a small amount in order to remove it safely and early, and the dissolved solution was sent to the highly radioactive waste storage tanks without separating uranium and plutonium. Then, the dissolved solution transfer route was rinsed with nitric acid and water. Although about 15 years had passed since previous process operations, the removing work was successfully completed without any equipment failure because of the organization of a system that combines veterans experienced the operation with young workers, careful equipment inspections, and worker education and training. Removing this powder was conducted after revising the decommissioning project and obtaining approval from the Nuclear Regulation Authority owing to operating a part of process equipment.

Differential pressure rise event for filters of HTTR primary helium gas circulators, 1; Investigation of differential pressure rise event

Nemoto, Takahiro; Arakawa, Ryoki; Kawakami, Satoru; Nagasumi, Satoru; Yokoyama, Keisuke; Watanabe, Masashi; Onishi, Takashi; Kawamoto, Taiki; Furusawa, Takayuki; Inoi, Hiroyuki; et al.

JAEA-Technology 2023-005, 33 Pages, 2023/05

JAEA-Technology-2023-005.pdf:5.25MB

During shut down of the HTTR (High Temperature engineering Test Reactor) RS-14 cycle, an increasing trend of filter differential pressure for the helium gas circulator was observed. In order to investigate this phenomenon, the blower of the primary helium purification system was disassembled and inspected. As a result, it is clear that the silicon oil mist entered into the primary coolant due to the deterioration of the charcoal filter performance. The replacement and further investigation of the filter are planning to prevent the reoccurrence of the same phenomenon in the future.

Research plan on geosphere stability for long-term isolation of radioactive waste (Scientific program for fiscal year 2022)

Sasao, Eiji; Ishimaru, Tsuneari; Niwa, Masakazu; Shimada, Akiomi; Shimada, Koji; Watanabe, Takahiro; Sueoka, Shigeru; Yokoyama, Tatsunori; Fujita, Natsuko; Ogita, Yasuhiro; et al.

JAEA-Review 2022-022, 29 Pages, 2022/09

JAEA-Review-2022-022.pdf:0.97MB

This report is a plan of research and development (R&D) on geosphere stability for long-term isolation of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), in fiscal year 2022. The objectives and contents in fiscal year 2022 are described in detail based on the JAEA 4th Medium- and Long-term Plan (fiscal years 2022-2028). In addition, the background of this research is described from the necessity and the significance for site investigation and safety assessment, and the past progress. The plan framework is structured into the following categories: (1) Development and systematization of investigation techniques, (2) Development of models for long-term estimation and effective assessment, (3) Development of dating techniques

Estimation of flow field in natural convection with density stratification by local ensemble transform Kalman filter

Ishigaki, Masahiro*; Hirose, Yoshiyasu; Abe, Satoshi; Nagai, Toru*; Watanabe, Tadashi*

Fluids (Internet), 7(7), p.237_1 - 237_18, 2022/07

https://doi.org/10.3390/fluids7070237

Impact assessment for internal flooding in HTTR (High temperature engineering test reactor)

Tochio, Daisuke; Nagasumi, Satoru; Inoi, Hiroyuki; Hamamoto, Shimpei; Ono, Masato; Kobayashi, Shoichi; Uesaka, Takahiro; Watanabe, Shuji; Saito, Kenji

JAEA-Technology 2021-014, 80 Pages, 2021/09

JAEA-Technology-2021-014.pdf:5.87MB

In response to the new regulatory standards established in response to the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March 2011, measures and impact assessments related to internal flooding at HTTR were carried out. In assessing the impact, considering the characteristics of the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, flooding due to assumed damage to piping and equipment, flooding due to water discharge from the system installed to prevent the spread of fire, and flooding due to damage to piping and equipment due to an earthquake. The effects of submersion, flooding, and flooding due to steam were evaluated for each of them. The impact of the overflow of liquids containing radioactive materials outside the radiation-controlled area was also evaluated. As a result, it was confirmed that flooding generated at HTTR does not affect the safety function of the reactor facility by taking measures.

Thermally altered subsurface material of asteroid (162173) Ryugu

Kitazato, Kohei*; Milliken, R. E.*; Iwata, Takahiro*; Abe, Masanao*; Otake, Makiko*; Matsuura, Shuji*; Takagi, Yasuhiko*; Nakamura, Tomoki*; Hiroi, Takahiro*; Matsuoka, Moe*; et al.

Nature Astronomy (Internet), 5(3), p.246 - 250, 2021/03

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-020-01271-2

Here we report observations of Ryugu's subsurface material by the Near-Infrared Spectrometer (NIRS3) on the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Reflectance spectra of excavated material exhibit a hydroxyl (OH) absorption feature that is slightly stronger and peak-shifted compared with that observed for the surface, indicating that space weathering and/or radiative heating have caused subtle spectral changes in the uppermost surface. However, the strength and shape of the OH feature still suggests that the subsurface material experienced heating above 300 C, similar to the surface. In contrast, thermophysical modeling indicates that radiative heating does not increase the temperature above 200 C at the estimated excavation depth of 1 m, even if the semimajor axis is reduced to 0.344 au. This supports the hypothesis that primary thermal alteration occurred due to radiogenic and/or impact heating on Ryugu's parent body.

JENDL/ImPACT-2018; A New nuclear data library for innovative studies on transmutation of long-lived fission products

Kunieda, Satoshi; Furutachi, Naoya; Minato, Futoshi; Iwamoto, Nobuyuki; Iwamoto, Osamu; Nakayama, Shinsuke; Ebata, Shuichiro*; Yoshida, Toru*; Nishihara, Kenji; Watanabe, Yukinobu*; et al.

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 56(12), p.1073 - 1091, 2019/12

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2019.1647889

A new nuclear data library, JENDL/ImPACT-2018, is developed for an innovative study on the transmutation of long-lived fission products. Nuclear reaction cross- sections are newly evaluated for incident neutrons and protons up to 200 MeV for 163 nuclides including long-lived nuclei such as Se, Zr, Pd and Cs. Our challenge is an evaluation of cross-sections for a number of unstable nuclei over a wide energy range where the experimental data are very scarce. We estimated cross- sections based on a nuclear model code CCONE that incorporates an advanced knowledge on the nuclear structure theory and a model-parameterization based on a new experimental cross-sections measured by the inverse kinematics. Through comparisons with available experimental data on the stable isotopes, it is found that the present data give predictions of cross-sections better than those in the existing libraries.

Benchmark study of DFT with Eu and Np Mssbauer isomer shifts using second-order Douglas-Kroll-Hess Hamiltonian

Kaneko, Masashi; Watanabe, Masayuki; Miyashita, Sunao*; Nakashima, Satoru*

Hyperfine Interactions, 239(1), p.20_1 - 20_10, 2018/12

BB2017-0056.pdf:0.5MB

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10751-018-1495-1

We optimized a mixing ratio of exchange energy between pure DFT and exact Hartree-Fock using TPSS exchange-correlation functional to estimate the accurate coordination bonds in f-block complexes by numerically benchmarking with the experimental data of Mssbauer isomer shifts for Eu and Np nuclides. Second-order Douglas-Kroll-Hess Hamiltonian with segmented all-electron relativistically contracted basis set was employed to calculate the electron densities at Eu and Np nuclei, i.e. contact densities, for each five complexes for Eu(III) and Np(IV) systems. We compared the root mean square deviation values of their isomer shifts between experiment and calculation by changing the mixing ratio of Hartree-Fock exchange parameter from 0 to 100 % at intervals of 10 %. As the result, it was indicated that the mixing ratio of 30 and 60 % for Eu and Np benchmark systems, respectively, gives the smallest deviation values. Mulliken's spin population analysis indicated that the covalency in the metal-ligand bonds for both Eu and Np complexes decreases with increasing the Hartree-Fock exchange admixture.

SFCOMPO-2.0; An OECD NEA database of spent nuclear fuel isotopic assays, reactor design specifications, and operating data

Michel-Sendis, F.*; Gauld, I.*; Martinez, J. S.*; Alejano, C.*; Bossant, M.*; Boulanger, D.*; Cabellos, O.*; Chrapciak, V.*; Conde, J.*; Fast, I.*; et al.

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 110, p.779 - 788, 2017/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2017.07.022

Roles of d- and f-orbital electrons in the complexation of Eu(III) and Am(III) ions with alkyldithiophosphinic acid and alkylphosphinic acid using scalar-relativistic DFT calculations

Kaneko, Masashi; Watanabe, Masayuki; Miyashita, Sunao*; Nakashima, Satoru*

Journal of Nuclear and Radiochemical Sciences (Internet), 17, p.9 - 15, 2017/03

http://www.radiochem.org/en/paper/JN171/jn17102.pdf

Density functional calculations were applied to the complexation of Eu(III) and Am(III) ions with phosphinic acid (O-donor) and dihiophosphinic acid (S-donor) from the viewpoint of the bonding nature of valence orbitals in metal ion. Two and four conformers for S-donor and O-donor complexes, respectively were optimized. Their stabilization energies by complex formation toward [M(HO)] were estimated. As the result, the energies reproduced the experimental Am(III)/Eu(III) selectivity that O-donor ligand preferably coordinates to Eu(III) ion, whereas S-donor ligand selectively coordinates to Am(III) ion. Focused on the bonding natures of d and f-orbital electrons, it was indicated that the d-orbital electrons in both Eu and Am complexes participate in the covalency as bonding-type nature and have the almost same contribution. Meanwhile, the contribution of the f-orbital electrons was different between Eu and Am complexes and indicated that in the case of S-donor complex, non-bonding type and bonding type contributions were observed for Eu and Am complexes, respectively and in the case of O-donor complex, bonding type and anti-bonding type contributions were observed for Eu and Am complexes, respectively. This result suggested that the bonding natures of d-orbital electrons contribute to the geometrical similarity of molecular structures for Eu and Am complexes and the bonding natures of f-orbital electrons contribute to the difference in the selectivity of Eu and Am ions.