Development of analytical approach of source term for accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of reprocessed high level liquid waste

Yoshida, Kazuo; Tamaki, Hitoshi; Hiyama, Mina*

JAEA-Research 2023-001, 26 Pages, 2023/05

JAEA-Research-2023-001.pdf:1.61MB

An accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of high-level radioactive liquid waste (HLLW) is postulated as one of the severe accidents caused by the loss of cooling function at a fuel reprocessing plant. In this case, volatile radioactive materials, such as ruthenium (Ru) are released from the tanks with water and nitric-acid mixed vapor into the atmosphere. Accurate quantitative estimation of released Ru is one of the important issues for risk assessment of those facilities. To resolve this issue, an analytical approach has been developed using computer simulation programs to assess the radioactive source term from those facilities. The proposed approach consists analyses with three computer programs. At first, the simulation of boiling behavior in the HLLW tank is conducted with SHAWED code. Next step, the thermal-hydraulic behavior in the facility building is simulated with MELCOR code based on the results at the first step simulation such as flowed out mixed steam flow rate, temperature and volatilized Ru from the tank. The final analysis step is carried out for estimating amount of released radioactive materials with SCHERN computer code which simulates chemical behaviors of nitric acid, nitrogen oxide and Ru based on the condition also simulated MELCOR. Series of sample simulations of the accident at a hypothetical typical facility are presented with the data transfer between those codes in this report.

Analysis of risk reduction effect of supposed steam condenser implementation as accident measure for accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of reprocessed high level liquid waste

Yoshida, Kazuo; Tamaki, Hitoshi; Hiyama, Mina*

JAEA-Research 2021-013, 20 Pages, 2022/01

JAEA-Research-2021-013.pdf:2.35MB

An accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of high level liquid waste (HLLW) is postulated as one of the severe accidents caused by the loss of cooling function at a fuel reprocessing plant. In this case, volatile radioactive materials, such as ruthenium (Ru) are released from the tanks with water and nitric-acid mixed vapor into atmosphere. An idea has been proposed to implement a steam condenser as an accident countermeasure. This measure is expected to prevent nitric acid steam diffusing in facility building and to increase gaseous Ru trapping ratio into condensed water. A simulation study has been carried out with a hypothetical typical facility building to analyze the efficiency of steam condenser. In this study, SCHERN computer code simulates chemical behaviors of Ru in nitrogen oxide, nitric acid and water mixed vapor based on the conditions obtained from simulation with thermal-hydraulic computer code MELCOR. The effectiveness of steam condenser has been analyzed quantitively in preventing mixed vapor diffusion and gaseous Ru trapping effect. Some issues to be solved in analytical model has been also clarified in this study.

Analysis of behavior of Ru with nitrogen oxide chemical behavior in accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of reprocessed high level liquid waste

Yoshida, Kazuo; Tamaki, Hitoshi; Hiyama, Mina*

JAEA-Research 2021-005, 25 Pages, 2021/08

JAEA-Research-2021-005.pdf:2.91MB

An accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of high level liquid waste (HLLW) is postulated as one of the severe accidents caused by the loss of cooling function at a fuel reprocessing plant. In this case, volatile radioactive materials, such as ruthenium (Ru) are released from the tanks with water and nitric-acid mixed vapor into atmosphere. Accurate quantitative estimation of released Ru is one of the important issues for risk assessment of those facilities. To resolve this issue, an empirical correlation equation of Ru mass transfer coefficient across the vapor-liquid surface, which can be useful for quantitative simulation of Ru mitigating behavior, has been obtained from data analyses of small-scale experiments conducted to clarify gaseous Ru migrating behavior under steam-condensing condition. A simulation study has been also carried out with a hypothetical typical facility building successfully to demonstrate the feasibility of quantitative estimation of amount of Ru migrating in the facility using the obtained correlation equation implemented in SCHERN computer code which simulates chemical behaviors of nitrogen oxide based on the condition also simulated thermal-hydraulic computer code.

Analysis of chemical behavior of nitrogen oxide formed by thermal decomposition of FP nitrates in accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of reprocessed high-level liquid waste

Yoshida, Kazuo; Tamaki, Hitoshi; Yoshida, Naoki; Yoshida, Ryoichiro; Amano, Yuki; Abe, Hitoshi

Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai Wabun Rombunshi, 18(2), p.69 - 80, 2019/06

https://doi.org/10.3327/taesj.J18.019

An accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of high level liquid waste (HLLW) is postulated as one of the severe accidents at a fuel reprocessing plant. In this case, volatile radioactive materials, such as ruthenium (Ru) are released from the tanks with water and nitric-acid mixed vapor into atmosphere. In addition to this, nitrogen oxides are also released formed by the thermal decomposition of metal nitrates of fission products (FP) in HLLW. It has been observed experimentally that nitrogen oxide affects strongly to the transport behavior of Ru. Chemical reactions of nitrogen oxide with water and nitric acid are also recognized as the complex phenomena to undergo simultaneously in the vapor and liquid phases. An analysis method has been developed with coupling two types of computer codes to simulate not only thermo-hydraulic behavior but also chemical reactions in the flow paths of carrier gases. A simulation study has been also carried out with a typical facility building.

Effect of nitrogen concentration on nano-structure and high-temperature strength of 9Cr-ODS steel

Oka, Hiroshi; Tanno, Takashi; Otsuka, Satoshi; Yano, Yasuhide; Kaito, Takeji

Nuclear Materials and Energy (Internet), 16, p.230 - 237, 2018/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nme.2018.05.010

Verification of alternative dew point hygrometer for CV-LRT in MONJU; Short- and long-term verification for capacitance-type dew point hygrometer (Translated document)

Ichikawa, Shoichi; Chiba, Yusuke; Ono, Fumiyasu; Hatori, Masakazu; Kobayashi, Takanori; Uekura, Ryoichi; Hashiri, Nobuo*; Inuzuka, Taisuke*; Kitano, Hiroshi*; Abe, Hisashi*

JAEA-Research 2017-001, 40 Pages, 2017/03

JAEA-Research-2017-001.pdf:5.19MB

In order to reduce the influence on a plant schedule of the MONJU by the maintenance of dew point hygrometers, The JAEA examined a capacitance type dew point hygrometer as an alternative dew point hygrometer for a lithium-chloride type dew point hygrometer which had been used at the CV-LRT in the MONJU. As a result of comparing a capacitance type dew point hygrometer with a lithium-chloride type dew point hygrometer at the CV-LRT (Atmosphere: nitrogen, Testing time: 24 hours), there weren't significant difference between a capacitance type dew point hygrometer and a lithium-chloride type dew point hygrometer. As a result of comparing a capacitance dew point hygrometer with a high-mirror-surface type dew point hygrometer for long term verification (Atmosphere: air, Testing time: 24 months), the JAEA confirmed that a capacitance type dew point hygrometer satisfied the instrument specification (2.04C) required by the JEAC4203-2008.

Atom-photon coupling from nitrogen-vacancy centres embedded in tellurite microspheres

Ruan, Y.*; Gibson, B. C.*; Lau, D. W. M.*; Greentree, A. D.*; Ji, H.*; Ebendorff-Heidepriem, H.*; Johnson, B. C.*; Oshima, Takeshi; Monro, T. M.*

Scientific Reports (Internet), 5, p.11486_1 - 11486_7, 2015/06

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep11486

Nanodiamond in tellurite glass, 2; Practical nanodiamond-doped fibers

Ruan, Y.*; Ji, H.*; Johnson, B. C.*; Oshima, Takeshi; Greentree, A. D.*; Gibson, B. C.*; Monro, T. M.*; Ebendorff-Heidepriem, H.*

Optical Materials Express (Internet), 5(1), p.73 - 87, 2015/01

https://doi.org/10.1364/OME.5.000073

Extraction separation of Am(III) and Eu(III) with TPEN isomers and decanoic acid

Matsumura, Tatsuro; Takeshita, Kenji*

ACS Symposium Series, 933, p.261 - 273, 2006/07

https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2006-0933.ch017

Three TPEN isomers with different positon of nitrogen donor in pyridyl groups, t2pen, t3pen and t4pen, were synthesized and the extraction separation of Am(III) and Eu(III) with these ligands and a fatty acid, decanoic acid, was investigated. All isomers were similar in the complexation in the aqueous phase, such as the protonation and the formation of metal complex, however, they showed different extraction behavior of Am and Eu. The synergistic extraction effect for Am was observed for t2pen and the high separation factor about 100 was measured, when 1:2. The value is comparable to that for the extraction system with a famous nitrogen-donor extractant, BTP. On the other hand, the extractability of other isomers was very low and no separation of Am and Eu was observed. Only t2pen, in which nitrogen donor in pyridyl groups is positioned in the vicinity of the skeletal structure (N-C-C-N structure) of ligand, is available for the extraction separation of Am.

Evolved gases from organic materials used in the superconducting magnets irradiated by gamma rays at liquid nitrogen temperature

Idesaki, Akira; Morishita, Norio; Ito, Hisayoshi; Kamiya, Tomihiro; Nakamoto, Tatsushi*; Kimura, Nobuhiro*; Makida, Yasuhiro*; Ogitsu, Toru*; Ohata, Hirokatsu*; Yamamoto, Akira*

AIP Conference Proceedings 824, p.330 - 334, 2006/03

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2192368

Polyimide films and glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRPs) are used as insulating or structural materials for superconducting magnets in a neutrino beam line of the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). It is indispensable to evaluate radiation resistance of these materials, because they are required to keep their electrical and mechanical properties in a high radiation field of 30 kGy/year at low temperature of 4 K. In this work, the gas evolution resulting from chemical reactions induced in the polyimide films and GFRPs by ray irradiation at 77 K was investigated. It was found that the main component of the evolved gas is hydrogen. The amount of hydrogen evolved from the superconducting magnet system used in the neutrino beam line was estimated to be 0.37 mol/year (0.01 L/year as the volume of liquid hydrogen). It indicates that the hydrogen evolved from the organic materials does not influence on the operation of the helium purifying system.