Contribution to risk reduction in decommissioning works by the elucidation of basic property of radioactive microparticles (Contract Research); FY2020 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Ibaraki University*

JAEA-Review 2023-021, 112 Pages, 2024/02

JAEA-Review-2023-021.pdf:7.1MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2020. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2018, this report summarizes the research results of the "Contribution to Risk Reduction in Decommissioning Works by the Elucidation of Basic Property of Radioactive Microparticles" conducted from FY2018 to FY2021 (this contract was extended to FY2021). The present study aims to understand the basic properties (size, chemical composition, isotopic composition - including concentration of -emitters, electrostatic properties, and optical properties, etc.) of fine particles composed of silicate with insoluble properties which contain regions of highly concentrated radioactive cesium (Cs) released to the environment by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of TEPCO in 2011 March.

Extraction of Mo hot atoms made by a neutron capture method from -MoO to water

Quach, N. M.*; Ngo, M. C.*; Yang, Y.*; Nguyen, T. B.*; Nguyen, V. T.*; Fujita, Yoshitaka; Do, T. M. D.*; Nakayama, Tadachika*; Suzuki, Tatsuya*; Suematsu, Hisayuki*

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 332(10), p.4057 - 4064, 2023/10

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-09125-7

Technetium-99m (Tc) is the most widely used medical radioisotope in the world and is produced from molybdenum-99 (Mo). Production of Mo via the neutron capture method draws attention as an alternative to fission-derived Mo due to non-proliferation issues, but the specific radioactivity of Mo is extremely low. In this work, a porous -MoO wire was prepared as an irradiation target in order to improve the specific activity by extracting Mo. Porous -MoO wire is synthesized from Mo metal wire by a two-step heating procedure. The hot atom effect of Mo was confirmed by activity and isotope measurements of the porous -MoO wire after neutron irradiation and the water used for extraction. In term of the extraction effectiveness, the effectiveness of Mo extraction in the porous -MoO wire was comparable to that of commercial -MoO powder.

High-density nanoprecipitates and phase reversion via maraging enable ultrastrong yet strain-hardenable medium-entropy alloy

Kwon, H.*; Sathiyamoorthi, P.*; Gangaraju, M. K.*; Zargaran, A.*; Wang, J.*; Heo, Y.-U.*; Harjo, S.; Gong, W.; Lee, B.-J.*; Kim, H. S.*

Acta Materialia, 248, p.118810_1 - 118810_12, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2023.118810

Development of a new corrosion mitigation technology using nanobubbles toward corrosion mitigation in PCV system under the influence of //-rays radiolysis (Contract research); FY2021 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

JAEA-Review 2022-069, 114 Pages, 2023/03

JAEA-Review-2022-069.pdf:5.91MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2021. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2020, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development of a new corrosion mitigation technology using nanobubbles toward corrosion mitigation in PCV system under the influence of //-rays radiolysis" conducted in FY2021. In this work, in order to ensure the long-term reliability of steel structures that ensure important confinement functions in the debris removal process, such as existing PCVs and newly constructed negative pressure maintenance systems and piping, corrosion phenomena in wet environments where - and -ray emitting nuclides come into contact with steel are clarified for the first time.

Effect of extrusion ratio in hot-extrusion on kink deformation during compressive deformation in an Mg/LPSO dual-phase magnesium alloy monitored by neutron diffraction

Harjo, S.; Gong, W.; Aizawa, Kazuya; Kawasaki, Takuro; Yamasaki, Michiaki*; Mayama, Tsuyoshi*; Kawamura, Yoshihito*

Materials Transactions, 64(4), p.766 - 773, 2023/02

https://doi.org/10.2320/matertrans.MT-MD2022004

Numerical study of initiating phase of core disruptive accident in small sodium-cooled fast reactors with negative void reactivity

Ishida, Shinya; Fukano, Yoshitaka; Tobita, Yoshiharu; Okano, Yasushi

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 13 Pages, 2023/00

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2023.2243949

Measurement of fragments of a wall-impinging liquid jet in a shallow pool

Horiguchi, Naoki; Yoshida, Hiroyuki; Kaneko, Akiko*; Abe, Yutaka*

Proceedings of 12th Japan-Korea Symposium on Nuclear Thermal Hydraulics and Safety (NTHAS12) (Internet), 6 Pages, 2022/10

For safety evaluation of nuclear reactors in severe accidents, it is important to estimate physical quantities of fragments generated from the molten fuel jet, which falls in a pool and breaks up. The evaluation method has been developed for the behavior as liquid jet with hydrodynamic interaction including fuel coolant interaction (FCI). In case of a shallow pool assumed in ex-vessel, the molten fuel jet is assumed to behave as wall-impinging liquid jet and to form liquid film flow spreading on the floor with/without fragmentation. In our research, focusing on hydrodynamic interaction and the transient 3-dimensional spreading on the floor, we have developed the evaluation method by numerical simulation using the two-phase flow simulation code with interface tracking method (TPFIT) developed by JAEA and, the experimental method using the 3D-LIF method in liquid-liquid system for the validation data. In our previous studies, we investigated the wall-impinging liquid jet behavior with fragmentation and observed that the liquid film flow had some characteristic parts transiently. Since it indicates that the quantities change depending on the parts and affect the safety evaluation, it is important to measure the quantities of the fragments generated from each part. This paper explains the measurement of the physical quantities of the fragments generated from each part of the wall-impinging liquid jet in a shallow pool for the validation of the numerical simulation. We conducted an experiment with the 3D-LIF method and segmented the experimental data based on the fragmentation point over the liquid film flow using the dispersed phase tracking method, developed by JAEA. Then, we measured the diameter and amount of the fragments from the segmented experimental data and investigated their changing trend.

Study on the discharge behavior of the molten-core materials through the control rod guide tube; Investigations of the effect of an internal structure in the control rod guide tube on the discharge behavior

Kato, Shinya; Matsuba, Kenichi; Kamiyama, Kenji; Akaev, A.*; Vurim, A.*; Baklanov, V.*

Proceedings of 13th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal-Hydraulics, Operation and Safety (NUTHOS-13) (Internet), 12 Pages, 2022/09

The In-Vessel Retention (IVR) of molten-core in Core Disruptive Accidents (CDAs) is of prime importance in enhancing the safety of sodium-cooled fast reactors. One of the main subjects in ensuring IVR is to design the Control Rod Guide Tube (CRGT) which allows effective discharge of molten core materials from the core region. The effectiveness of the CRGT design is assessed through CDA analyses, and it is reasonable for these analyses to develop a computer code collaborated with experimental researches. Thus, experiments addressing the discharge behavior of the molten-core materials through the CRGT have proceeded as one of the subjects in the collaboration research named the EAGLE-3 project, and the obtained experimental results are reflected in the development of the SIMMER code. In this project, a series of out-of-pile tests using molten-alumina as the fuel simulant was conducted to understand the discharge behavior of molten-core materials through the CRGT. In this study, in order to investigate the effect of an internal structure in the CRGT on the discharge behavior of the molten-core materials, the data of an out-of-pile test in which the molten-alumina penetrated to a duct with the internal structure were analyzed. In addition, the post-test analysis using the SIMMER code was conducted and the results were compared with the test results.

Development of a new corrosion mitigation technology using nanobubbles toward corrosion mitigation in PCV system under the influence of //-rays radiolysis (Contract research); FY2020 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

JAEA-Review 2022-002, 85 Pages, 2022/06

JAEA-Review-2022-002.pdf:3.39MB

The Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science (CLADS), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), had been conducting the Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project (hereafter referred to "the Project") in FY2020. The Project aims to contribute to solving problems in the nuclear energy field represented by the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). For this purpose, intelligence was collected from all over the world, and basic research and human resource development were promoted by closely integrating/collaborating knowledge and experiences in various fields beyond the barrier of conventional organizations and research fields. The sponsor of the Project was moved from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to JAEA since the newly adopted proposals in FY2018. On this occasion, JAEA constructed a new research system where JAEA-academia collaboration is reinforced and medium-to-long term research/development and human resource development contributing to the decommissioning are stably and consecutively implemented. Among the adopted proposals in FY2020, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development of a new corrosion mitigation technology using nanobubbles toward corrosion mitigation in PCV system under the influence of //-rays radiolysis" conducted in FY2020. In this work, in order to ensure the long-term reliability of steel structures that ensure important confinement functions in the debris removal process, such as existing PCVs and newly constructed negative pressure maintenance systems and piping, corrosion phenomena in wet environments where - and -ray emitting nuclides come into contact with steel are clarified for the first time.

Development of an continuous air monitor for the measurement of highly radioactive alpha-emitting particulates (-aerosols) under high humidity environment

Tsubota, Yoichi; Honda, Fumiya; Tokonami, Shinji*; Tamakuma, Yuki*; Nakagawa, Takahiro; Ikeda, Atsushi

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 1030, p.166475_1 - 166475_7, 2022/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2022.166475

In the long-lasting decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), the dismantling of nuclear fuel debris (NFD) remaining in the damaged reactors is an unavoidable but significant issue with many technical difficulties. The dismantling is presumed to involve mechanical cutting, generating significant concentrations of particulates containing -radionuclides (-aerosols) that pose significant health risk upon inhalation. In order to minimize the radiation exposure of workers with -aerosols during the dismantling/decommissioning process at 1F, it is essential to monitor the concentration of -aerosols at the point of initial generation, i.e. inside the primary containment vessels (PCV) of the damaged reactors. Toward this end, an monitoring system for -aerosols ( alpha air monitor: IAAM) was developed and its technical performance was investigated under the conditions expected for the actual environments at 1F. IAAM was confirmed to fulfill four technical requirements: (1) steady operation under high humidity, (2) operation without using filters, (3) capability of measuring a high counting rate of -radiation, and (4) selective measurement of -radiation even under high radiation background with /-rays. IAAM is capable of selectively measuring -aerosols with a concentration of 3.3 10 Bq/cm or higher without saturation under a high humid environment (100%-relative humidity) and under high background with /-radiation (up to 100 mSv/h of -radiation). These results demonstrate promising potential of IAAM to be utilized as a reliable monitoring system for -aerosols during the dismantling of NFD, as well as the whole long-lasting decommissioning of 1F.