High-temperature rupture failure of high-burnup LWR-MOX fuel under a reactivity-initiated accident condition

谷口 良徳; 三原 武; 垣内 一雄; 宇田川 豊

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 195, p.110144_1 - 110144_11, 2024/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2023.110144

A reactivity-initiated accident (RIA)-simulated test CN-1 on a high-burnup 64 GWd/t mixed-oxide fuel rod sheathed with M5 cladding was conducted at the Nuclear Safety Research Reactor, resulting in fuel failure. A small opening with slight ballooning deformation characterized the post-test visual appearance of the test fuel rod. Simulation using fuel performance codes FEMAXI-8/RANNS predicted rod survival under early phase loading induced by pellet-cladding mechanical interaction and subsequent boiling transition, and the cladding surface temperature measured online confirmed the occurrence of boiling transition. The experimental observation and simulation indicate that the failure was caused by a high-temperature rupture following increased rod-internal pressure. The RANNS sensitivity analysis revealed that a mechanical state parameter dedicated to predicting plastic instability might be an effective index for evaluating the risk of rupture failure during RIAs.

Evaluation of thermal expansion reactivity feedback effect in water-moderated fuel-particle-dispersion system

福田 航大

Proceedings of 4th Reactor Physics Asia Conference (RPHA2023) (Internet), 4 Pages, 2023/10

水減速燃料粒子分散体系(例:燃料デブリ体系)における熱膨張フィードバックが即発超臨界時の出力ピーク値や放出エネルギーに与える影響を定量的に明らかにすることを目的とした解析を行った。熱膨張を考慮する場合/しない場合の燃料温度反応度係数を仮想的な体系に対して計算し、Nordeheim-Fuchモデルを用いた評価を行った。その結果、熱膨張の影響を無視することで出力ピーク値や放出エネルギーに数十パーセントの誤差が生じうることが明らかとなった。この誤差は臨界事故解析の多くの場面では問題となる大きさではないものの、解析の目的によっては(例えば、事故後の被ばく量やRI放出量の検証のため精度よく結果を得たい場合)熱膨張反応度フィードバックの影響を考慮すべきであることが示された。

Validation of feedback reactivity evaluation models for plant dynamics analysis code during unprotected loss of heat sink event in sodium-cooled fast reactors

吉村 一夫; 堂田 哲広; 井川 健一*; 田中 正暁; 山野 秀将

Journal of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Science, 9(2), p.021601_1 - 021601_9, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4055328

高速炉の固有安全として知られているものの1つとして、炉心が径方向に膨張することにより自動で添加されるフィードバック反応度がある。プラント動特性解析コードSuper-COPDに組み込まれた炉心支持板反応度評価手法の妥当性確認のため、高速実験炉EBR-IIで行われた、炉停止失敗と2次主循環ポンプ停止を重畳させたULOHS模擬試験(BOP-302R及びBOP-301試験)のベンチマーク解析を実施し、実測データとの比較から、フィードバック反応度評価手法のULOHS事象への適用性を確認した。

TRU oxide sample reactivity worths measured in the FCA-IX assemblies with systematically changed neutron energy spectra

福島 昌宏; 岡嶋 成晃*; 向山 武彦*

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 20 Pages, 2023/00

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2023.2240872

1980年代に高速炉臨界実験装置FCAにおいてTRU核種断面積積分実験の一環として7つのウラン炉心(FCA-IX炉心)が構築され、マイナーアクチノイドを含む超ウラン(Np, Pu, Pu, Am、およびAm)の酸化物サンプルを用いた反応度価値が各炉心中心で測定された。FCA-IX炉心では、燃料プレート及び希釈材プレート(グラファイト又はステンレス)の単純な組合せにより燃料領域が構成され、その混合割合を調整することで炉心中心の中性子スペクトルが系統的に変化しているのが特徴である。本論文では、超ウラン酸化物サンプルの反応度価値実験に関する実験手法の詳細とともに、最新の知見を反映して再評価した実験値及びその誤差評価を報告する。また、本積分実験を活用して、汎用評価済核データライブラリJENDL-5の積分評価も併せて報告する。

Impact of uncertainty reduction on lead-bismuth coolant in accelerator-driven system using sample reactivity experiments

方野 量太; 大泉 昭人; 福島 昌宏; Pyeon, C. H.*; 山本 章夫*; 遠藤 知弘*

Nuclear Science and Engineering, 20 Pages, 2023/00

https://doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2023.2246779

京都大学臨界集合体A架台で測定された鉛ビスマスサンプル反応度を用いたデータ同化によって加速器駆動システムの冷却材ボイド反応度の鉛ビスマス非弾性散乱断面積に起因した不確かさを低減できることを実証した。サンプル反応度について、データ同化の式中に現れる実験不確かさと相関を再評価し、結果を明示した。不確かさ評価に用いる感度係数はMCNP6.2で評価し、データ同化はMARBLEを用いて実行した。鉛ビスマスに対してサンプル反応度は感度係数が大きいため、加速器駆動システムの冷却材ボイド反応度の断面積起因不確かさを6.3%から4.8%まで減少させ、本研究で設定した暫定的な目標精度5%を達成できることを示した。さらに、ADJ2017に使用された積分実験データを用いることで、マイナーアクチニドや鉄など他の支配的な核種に起因する不確かさを効果的に低減できることを示した。

Evaluation of fuel reactivity worth measurement in the prototype fast reactor Monju

大釜 和也; 竹越 淳*; 片桐 寛樹; 羽様 平

Nuclear Technology, 208(10), p.1619 - 1633, 2022/10

https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2022.2045532

In the prototype fast breeder reactor Monju, fuel reactivity worth was measured at six positions as the reactivity corresponding to the differences of critical control rod positions between cores with and without a dummy fuel subassembly. In this paper, the measurements are evaluated in detail, and their reliability and usefulness as the validation data for fast reactor neutronics design methodologies are investigated through a comparison with calculations by using the latest methodology developed in Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Calculated-to-experiment values (C/Es) and their uncertainties of fuel reactivity worth were 0.97 to 1.02 and 4% to 6%. Through this study, the measurements and calculations were found consistent and reliable.

Fission gas release from irradiated mixed-oxide fuel pellet during simulated reactivity-initiated accident conditions; Results of BZ-3 and BZ-4 tests

垣内 一雄; 宇田川 豊; 天谷 政樹

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 155, p.108171_1 - 108171_11, 2021/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2021.108171

In order to investigate fission gas release behavior of high-burnup mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel pellet for LWR under reactivity-initiated accident (RIA), the tests called BZ-3 and BZ-4 were conducted at the Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR) in Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). Electron probe microanalysis and rod-puncture tests were performed on the fuel pellets before and after pulse irradiation tests, and from the comparison between the puncture test results and the results evaluated from EPMA, it was suggested that fission gas release from not only the Pu-spot but also the Pu-spot-excluded region.

Fracture-mechanics-based evaluation of failure limit on pre-cracked and hydrided Zircaloy-4 cladding tube under biaxial stress states

Li, F.; 三原 武; 宇田川 豊; 天谷 政樹

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 57(6), p.633 - 645, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2019.1709996

To better understand the failure limit of fuel cladding during the pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) phase of a reactivity-initiated accident (RIA), pre-cracked and hydrided cladding samples with base metal final heat-treatment status of cold worked (CW) and recrystallized (RX) were tested under biaxial stress conditions (axial to hoop strain ratios of 0 and 0.5). Displacement-controlled biaxial-expansion-due-to-compression (biaxial-EDC) tests were performed to obtain the hoop strain at failure (failure strain) of the samples. The conversion of the failure strains to J-integral at failure by finite-element analysis involving data of stress-relieved (SR) cladding specimens from our previous study revealed that the failure limit in the dimension of J-integral at failure unifies the effects of pre-crack depth. About 30 to 50 percent reduction in the J-integral at failure was observed as the strain ratio increased from 0 to 0.5 irrespective of the annealing type, pre-crack depth, and hydrogen content. the rate of fractional decreases of J-integral at failure with increase of hydrogen content are in the order of CWSRRX, which are essentially independent of strain ratio for the CW and SR samples. The results were incorporated into the failure prediction model of the JAEA's fuel performance code in the form of a correction factor that considers the biaxial loading effect.

The Effect of base irradiation on failure behaviors of UO and chromia-alumina additive fuels under simulated reactivity-initiated accidents; A Comparative analysis with FEMAXI-8

宇田川 豊; 三原 武; 谷口 良徳; 垣内 一雄; 天谷 政樹

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 139, p.107268_1 - 107268_9, 2020/05

AA2019-0372.pdf:0.81MB

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2019.107268

This paper reports a computer-code analysis on the base-irradiation behavior of the chromia-and-alumina-doped BWR rod irradiated to 64 GWd/t in Oskarshamn-3, Sweden, and subjected to the reactivity-initiated-accident (RIA) test OS-1, which resulted in a fuel failure due to pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) at the lowest fuel-enthalpy increase in all the BWR tests ever performed. The inverse calculation which utilized post-irradiation examination data as its constraint conditions revealed that the OS-1 rod had very likely experienced more intense PCMI loading due to higher swelling rate during base irradiation than other BWR rods subjected to previous RIA tests and thus had been prone to experience enhanced radial-hydride formation. The significant difference in the cladding hoop-stress more than 50 MPa discriminates the OS-1 rod from other BWR rods and supports the interpretation that enhanced radial-hydrides formation differentiated the PCMI-failure behavior observed in the test OS-1 from the previous BWR-fuel tests.

Behavior of high-burnup LWR-MOX fuel under a reactivity-initiated accident condition

谷口 良徳; 宇田川 豊; 三原 武; 天谷 政樹; 垣内 一雄

Proceedings of International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference / Light Water Reactor Fuel Performance Conference (Global/Top Fuel 2019) (USB Flash Drive), p.551 - 558, 2019/09

A pulse-irradiation test CN-1 on a high-burnup MOX fuel with M5 cladding was conducted at the Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR) of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). Although the transient signals obtained during the pulse-irradiation test did not show any signs of the occurrence of PCMI failure, the failure of the test fuel rod was confirmed from the visual inspection carried out after test CN-1. Analyses using fuel performance codes FEMAXI-8 and RANNS were also performed in order to investigate the fuel behavior during normal operation and pulse-irradiation regarding the test fuel rod of CN-1, and the results were consistent with this observation result. These experimental and calculation results suggested that the failure of test fuel rod of CN-1 was not caused by hydride-assisted PCMI but high-temperature rupture following the increase in rod internal pressure. The occurrence of this failure mode might be related to the ductility remained in the M5 cladding owing to its low content of the hydrogen absorbed during normal operation.