BWR lower head penetration failure test focusing on eutectic melting

Yamashita, Takuya; Sato, Takumi; Madokoro, Hiroshi; Nagae, Yuji

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 173, p.109129_1 - 109129_15, 2022/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2022.109129

LIVE-J1 experiment on debris melting behavior toward understanding late in-vessel accident progression of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station

Madokoro, Hiroshi; Yamashita, Takuya; Sato, Ikken; Gaus-Liu, X.*; Cron, T.*; Fluhrer, B.*; Stngle, R.*; Wenz, T.*; Vervoortz, M.*; Mizokami, Shinya

Proceedings of 19th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-19) (Internet), 16 Pages, 2022/03

Chemical composition of artificial seawater after leaching tests of irradiated fuel

Tanaka, Kosuke; Suto, Mitsuo; Onishi, Takashi; Akutsu, Yoko; Yoshitake, Tsunemitsu; Yamashita, Shinichiro; Sekioka, Ken*; Ishigamori, Toshio*; Obayashi, Hiroshi; Koyama, Shinichi

JAEA-Research 2013-036, 31 Pages, 2013/12

JAEA-Research-2013-036.pdf:3.31MB

In the accident of Fukushima Daiichi NPPs, the water ingress was performed in order to decrease the reactor temperature. At that time, sea water was temporarily used as a coolant and the water contacted with nuclear fuel directly. It can be supposed that fission products (FP) were easily migrated from the fuel to sea water in this situation and that affect the water quality. The knowledge of leaching behavior, therefore, is necessary for evaluating the integrity of reactor component materials such as steels for pressure containment vessel and for reactor vessel. In order to obtain the fundamental knowledge for leaching behavior of FP in the hot sea water, the leaching tests of irradiated fuel were performed and the leachates were subjected to chemical analysis. It is found that he leaching rate of each nuclides obtained in this study were similar to that of the leaching results simulating the underground water.

Disorder and flux pinning in superconducting pnictide single crystals

Van der Beek, C. J.*; Rizza, G.*; Konczykowski, M.*; Fertey, P.*; Monnet, I.*; Okazaki, Ryuji*; Kato, Tomonari*; Hashimoto, Kenichiro*; Shimozawa, Masaaki*; Shishido, Hiroaki*; et al.

Physica C, 470(Suppl.1), p.S385 - S386, 2010/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physc.2009.11.089

Crystalline disorder in the pnictide superconductor PrFeAsO is studied using magneto-optical visualisation of flux penetration, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction using synchrotron radiation. Critical-state like flux distributions and the magnitude and temperature dependence of the critical current demonstrate bulk vortex pinning by oxygen vacancies at all temperatures.

Annual report of Nuclear Emergency Assistance and Training Center (April 1, 2009 - March 31, 2010)

Kanamori, Masashi; Shirakawa, Yusuke; Yamashita, Toshiyuki; Okuno, Hiroshi; Terunuma, Hiroshi; Ikeda, Takeshi; Sato, Sohei; Terakado, Naoya; Nagakura, Tomohiro; Fukumoto, Masahiro; et al.

JAEA-Review 2010-037, 60 Pages, 2010/09

JAEA-Review-2010-037.pdf:3.11MB

When a nuclear emergency occurs in Japan, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) provides technical support to the National government, local governments, police, fire station and license holder etc. They are designated public organizations conforming to the basic law on emergency preparedness and the basic plan for disaster countermeasures. The Nuclear Emergency Assistance & Training Center (NEAT) of JAEA provides a comprehensive range of technical support activities to an off-site center in case of a nuclear emergency. Specifically, NEAT gives technical advice and information, provides for the dispatch of specialist as required, supplies emergency equipments and materials to the national government and municipal office. NEAT provide various lectures and training course concerning nuclear disaster prevention for those personnel taking an active part in emergency response organizations at normal time. And NEAT researches on nuclear disaster prevention and also cooperate with international organizations. This annual report summarized the activities of JAEA/NEAT in the fiscal year 2009.

Degradation of methylene blue by RF plasma in water

Maehara, Tsunehiro*; Miyamoto, Ippei*; Kurokawa, Kenya*; Hashimoto, Yukio*; Iwamae, Atsushi; Kuramoto, Makoto*; Yamashita, Hiroshi*; Mukasa, Shinobu*; Toyota, Hiromichi*; Nomura, Shinfuku*; et al.

Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, 28(4), p.467 - 482, 2008/08

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-008-9142-2

Synthesis and optical properties of EB induced refractive index lithography materials based on aliphatic polyimides

Yamashita, Takashi*; Ogawa, Mutsuki*; Koshikawa, Hiroshi; Maekawa, Yasunari

Journal of Photopolymer Science and Technology, 20(5), p.739 - 742, 2007/00

https://doi.org/10.2494/photopolymer.20.739

Electron beam (EB) induced refractive index change of several polyimide films, which are one of the most thermally stable polymers. Introducing aliphatic amine into polyimide makes the polymer transparent and colorless in the visible wavelength region due to restriction of charge transfer, as well as increase in the sensitivity to EB induced reaction. One of the aliphatic poyimide, PI(HPMDA/mix-DCHM), prepared from cyclohexane tetracarboxylic anhydride and bis(4-aminocyclohexyl)methane, change the refractive index as large as 10 for both TE and TM modes. Chemical reaction during the EB irradiation was also determined as EB induced aromatization occurred.

Irradiation behavior of rock-like oxide fuels

Yamashita, Toshiyuki; Kuramoto, Kenichi; Shirasu, Noriko; Nakano, Yoshihiro; Akie, Hiroshi; Nagashima, Hisao; Kimura, Yasuhiko; Omichi, Toshihiko*

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 320(1-2), p.126 - 132, 2003/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3115(03)00178-8

Two irradiation tests on the rock-like oxide (ROX) fuels, small disk-shape fuel targets and pellet-type fuels, were performed in order to clarify in-pile irradiation stabilities. Swelling, fractional fission gas release (FGR) and phase change were examined by puncture test, profilometry and ceramography. YSZ single-phase fuel showed an excellent irradiation behavior, ie. low fission gas release (less than 3%), negligible swelling and no appreciable restructuring. The particle dispersed fuels showed lower swelling and higher fission gas release than those of mechanically blended fuels. Spinel decomposition and subsequence restructuring in the spinel matrix fuels was observed for the first time in the present investigation. It would be possible to reduce the FGR of the spinel matrix fuels, if the maximum fuels temperature is limited below 1700 K where neither spinel decomposition nor restructuring was observed. Damaged area of spinel matrix due to fission fragment irradiation seemed to be confined to thin layers around the surface of YSZ particles.

Behavior of YSZ based rock-like oxide fuels under simulated RIA conditions

Nakamura, Takehiko; Kusagaya, Kazuyuki*; Sasajima, Hideo; Yamashita, Toshiyuki; Uetsuka, Hiroshi

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 40(1), p.30 - 38, 2003/01

https://doi.org/10.3327/jnst.40.30

Pulse irradiation tests of three types of ROX fuel, i.e. YSZ single phase, finely mixed two phase composite of YSZ and spinel, and the other composite of larger YSZ particles dispersed in spinel matrix, were conducted in the NSRR to investigate their behavior under RIA conditions. Owing to their lower melting temperatures than that of UO fuel, melting of ROX fuel occurred while the cladding was still solid and intact in the accident conditions. Therefore, consequence of the ROX fuel failure was quite different from that of UO fuel. When the ROX fuels failed, a considerable amount of the molten fuel was released out to the surrounding coolant water. In spite of the release, no significant mechanical energy generation due to fuel/coolant thermal interaction was observed in the tested enthalpy range below 12 GJ/m. In terms of the failure threshold, on the other hand, the ROX fuels failed at fuel volumetric enthalpies above 10 GJ/m, which was comparable to that of UO fuel. The results highlighted controlling parameters on the fuel behavior under the RIA conditions.

Rock-like oxide fuels and their burning in LWRs

Yamashita, Toshiyuki; Kuramoto, Kenichi; Akie, Hiroshi; Nakano, Yoshihiro; Shirasu, Noriko; Nakamura, Takehiko; Kusagaya, Kazuyuki*; Omichi, Toshihiko*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 39(8), p.865 - 871, 2002/08

https://doi.org/10.3327/jnst.39.865

Research on the plutonium rock-like oxide (ROX) fuels and their once-through burning in light water reactors has been performed to establish an option for utilizing and disposing effectively the excess plutonium. The ROX fuel is a sort of the inert matrix fuels and consists of mineral-like compounds such as yttria stabilized zirconia, spinel and corundum. A particle-dispersed fuel was devised to reduce damage by heavy fission fragments. Some preliminary results on swelling, fractional gas release and microstructure change for five ROX fuels were obtained from the irradiation test and successive post-irradiation examinations. Inherent disadvantages of the Pu-ROX fuel cores could be improved by adding 238U or 232Th as resonant materials, and all improved cores showed a nearly the same characteristics as the conventional UO2 core during transient conditions. The threshold enthalpy of the ROX fuel rod failure was found to be comparable to the fresh UO2 rod by pulse-irradiation tests simulating reactivity initiated accident conditions.