Development of a formulation to predict molten core spreading in an LWR severe accident

Sahboun, N. F.; Matsumoto, Toshinori; Iwasawa, Yuzuru; Wang, Z.; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 195, p.110145_1 - 110145_12, 2024/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2023.110145

Validation of the fast reactor plant dynamics analysis code Super-COPD using FFTF loss of flow without scram test #13

Hamase, Erina; Ohgama, Kazuya; Kawamura, Takumi*; Doda, Norihiro; Tanaka, Masaaki; Yamano, Hidemasa

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 195, p.110157_1 - 110157_14, 2024/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2023.110157

To validate the fast reactor plant dynamics analysis code Super-COPD for the loss of flow without scram (LOFWOS) event, we participated in the IAEA benchmark for the LOFWOS test No.13 performed at the FFTF as one of the passive safety demonstration test. In the blind phase, there were challenges to reproduce outlet temperatures of fuel assemblies and the total reactivity. To improve the evaluation accuracy of them, the whole core model considering the radial heat transfer and interwrapper flow and the simplified assembly bowing reactivity model were introduced. As a result of the final phase, the second peak of outlet temperatures was reproduced successfully, and the total reactivity could generally follow the measured data. Super-COPD was validated for the LOFWOS event.

Scalability of inertial particle deposition in bubbles with internal circulation

Motegi, Kosuke; Shibamoto, Yasuteru; Kukita, Yutaka

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 184, p.109679_1 - 109679_10, 2023/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2022.109679

Feasibility study on reprocessing of HTGR spent fuel by existing PUREX plant and technology

Fukaya, Yuji; Goto, Minoru; Ohashi, Hirofumi

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 181, p.109534_1 - 109534_10, 2023/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2022.109534

Feasibility of reprocessing of High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) spent fuel by existing Plutonium Uranium Redox EXtraction (PUREX) plant and technology has been investigated. The spent fuel dissolved solution includes approximately 3 times amount of uranium-235 and 1.5 times amount of protonium because of the 3 times higher burnup compared with that of Light Water Reactor (LWR). Then, the heavy metal of the spent fuel is planned to be diluted to 3.1 times by depleted uranium to satisfy the limitation of Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant (RRP) plant. In the present study, recoverability of uranium and plutonium with the dilution is confirmed by a simulation with a reprocessing process calculation code. Moreover, the case without the dilution from the economic perspective is investigated. As a result, the feasibility is confirmed without the dilution, and it is expected that the reprocessed amount is reduced to 1/3 compared with a diluted case even though the facility should be optimized from the perspective of mass flow and criticality.

Improvement of JASMINE code for ex-vessel molten core coolability in BWR

Matsumoto, Toshinori; Kawabe, Ryuhei*; Iwasawa, Yuzuru; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki; Maruyama, Yu

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 178, p.109348_1 - 109348_13, 2022/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2022.109348

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency extended the applicability of their fuel-coolant interaction analysis code JASMINE to simulate the relevant phenomena of molten core in a severe accident. In order to evaluate the total coolability, it is necessary to know the mass fraction of particle, agglomerated and cake debris and the final geometry at the cavity bottom. An agglomeration model that considers the fusion of hot particles on the cavity floor was implemented in the JASMINE code. Another improvement is introduction of the melt spreading model based on the shallow water equation with consideration of crust formation at the melt surface. For optimization of adjusting parameters, we referred data from the agglomeration experiment DEFOR-A and the under-water spreading experiment PULiMS conducted by KTH in Sweden. The JASMINE analyses reproduced the most of the experimental results well with the common parameter set, suggesting that the primary phenomena are appropriately modelled.

Evaluation of power distribution calculation of the very high temperature reactor critical assembly (VHTRC) with Monte Carlo MVP3 code

Simanullang, I. L.*; Nakagawa, Naoki*; Ho, H. Q.; Nagasumi, Satoru; Ishitsuka, Etsuo; Iigaki, Kazuhiko; Fujimoto, Nozomu*

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 177, p.109314_1 - 109314_8, 2022/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2022.109314

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

An Experimental study related to axial constraint of fuel rod under LOCA conditions

Nagase, Fumihisa

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 171, p.109052_1 - 109052_8, 2022/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2022.109052

The fracture threshold of the fuel decreases if the oxidized Zr alloy cladding is strongly constrained by the spacer grid during quenching in a loss-of-coolant accident. Therefore, the estimation of realistic levels of the axial constraint has been a subject of significant interest on fuel safety. In this study, a test assembly consisting of a PWR-type simulated fuel segment and a 33 grid piece was heated in steam, cooled, and quenched, and the axial constraint force on the fuel segment was measured. The constraint force of the Zircaloy grid gradually decreased with temperature. Once the Zircaloy grid was heated to 1060 K, the reduced constraint force had difficulty recovering, and thus the maximum constraint force during cooling and quenching was 10 N. The constraint force was clearly reduced at 1070 K during the tests with the Inconel grid. However, the reduced constraint force partially recovered during cooling. As a result, the maximum constraint force during cooling and quenching was 20 to 50 N for the Inconel grid. In conclusion, oxidation, ballooning, rupture, or eutectic formation would not generally cause an extremely strong constraint, as predicted by previous studies, at the grid position.

Material attractiveness evaluation of fuel assembly of accelerator-driven system for nuclear security and non-proliferation

Oizumi, Akito; Sugawara, Takanori; Sagara, Hiroshi*

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 169, p.108951_1 - 108951_9, 2022/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2021.108951

Research and development of the partitioning and transmutation (P&T) cycle with accelerator-drive systems (ADSs) transmuting minor actinides separated from the commercial cycles have been continuously conducted to reduce the amount of high-level radioactive waste contained in spent fuel discharged from nuclear power plants. Because the chemical form and composition of the fuels are different from those of the current commercial cycles, it is necessary to examine the inspection goal of the safeguards (SGs) and the design level of physical protections (PPs) that are required for the P&T cycle. In this study, the material attractiveness was evaluated assuming the theft or diversion of fuel assemblies from the fuel storage pool of the ADS facility in terms of nuclear security and non-proliferation. According to the results, quantitative components based on the fundamental fuel property were created as an important factor to decide the inspection goal for SGs and the design level for PPs required for the ADS facility. Additionally, the attractiveness of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies stored in the commercial boiling water reactor (BWR) facility was compared with that of the ADS. With regard to nuclear security, the ADS fuel was less attractive than the BWR MOX in every cycle. Regarding nuclear non-proliferation, the ADS fuel assembly had less attractive plutonium (Pu) than the BWR MOX, and the uranium (U) in the ADS fuel assembly was as attractive as (or slightly more attractive than) that of the BWR MOX owing to low spontaneous fission neutron. Furthermore, new issues were identified through this evaluation. With the current regulations, it was difficult to decide whether the ADS fuel before irradiation should be treated as fresh or spent, because the ADS fresh fuel contained more transuranium and rare earth than U and contained U whose main component was U-234 instead of U-238.

Problems on neutron production data of Be-9 in TENDL-2017 and -2019 deuteron sub-libraries

Kwon, Saerom*; Konno, Chikara; Ota, Masayuki*; Sato, Satoshi*

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 169, p.108932_1 - 108932_7, 2022/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2021.108932

Recently, it was reported that one of three ENDF files of Be-9 in the TENDL-2017 alpha sub-library included strange neutron production data. Thus we have tested three ENDF files of Be-9 in the TENDL-2017 deuterium sub-library for nuclear designs of a new fusion neutron source A-FNS. As a result, we found out that neutron production cross sections and secondary neutron spectra were different among three ENDF files and specified reasons. We confirmed that the latest TENDL, TENDL-2019, still had some of the issues.