Estimating the corrosion rate of stainless steel R-SUS304ULC in nitric acid media under concentrating operation

Irisawa, Eriko; Kato, Chiaki

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 591, p.154914_1 - 154914_10, 2024/04

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnucmat.2024.154914

The amount of corrosion of austenitic stainless-steel R-SUS304ULC was evaluated considering the changes in solution composition and boiling during actual concentration operations. Austenitic stainless-steel R-SUS304ULC is the structural material of the highly radioactive liquid waste concentrator in Japanese spent fuel reprocessing plant, which treats highly corrosive nitric acid solutions during enrichment operations. The study results show that it is necessary to focus on nitric acid concentrations, oxidizing metal ion concentrations, and decompression boiling as factors that accelerate the corrosion rate of stainless steel because of cathodic reaction activation.

Development of a surrogate system of a plant dynamics simulation model and an abnormal situation identification system for nuclear power plants using deep neural networks

Seki, Akiyuki; Yoshikawa, Masanori; Nishinomiya, Ryota*; Okita, Shoichiro; Takaya, Shigeru; Yan, X.

Nuclear Technology, 12 Pages, 2024/00

https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2023.2273566

Two types of deep neural network (DNN) systems have been constructed with the intent to assist safety operation of a nuclear power plant. One is a surrogate system (SS) that can estimate physical quantities of a nuclear power plant in a computational time of several orders less than a physical simulation model. The other is an abnormal situation identification system (ASIS) that can estimate the state of the disturbance causing an anomaly from physical quantities of a nuclear power plant. Both systems are trained and tested using data obtained from the analytical code for incore and plant dynamics (ACCORD), which reproduces the steady and dynamic behavior of the actual high Temperature engineering test reactor (HTTR) under various scenarios. The DNN models are built by adjusting, the main hyperparameters. Through these procedures, these systems are shown able to perform with a high degree of accuracy.

Soil dust and bioaerosols as potential sources for resuspended Cs occurring near the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant

Ota, Masakazu; Takahara, Shogo; Yoshimura, Kazuya; Nagakubo, Azusa; Hirouchi, Jun; Hayashi, Naho; Abe, Tomohisa; Funaki, Hironori; Nagai, Haruyasu

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 264, p.107198_1 - 107198_15, 2023/08

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvrad.2023.107198

One of the current major radiation exposure pathways from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident-fallout is inhalation of the re-suspended Cs occurring in air. While wind-induced soil particle resuspension has been recognized as a primary mechanism of Cs resuspension, studies following the FDNPP accident suggested that fungal spores can be a significant source of the atmospheric Cs particularly in the rural areas such as difficult-to-return zone (DRZ). To elucidate the relative importance of the two resuspension phenomena, we propose a model simulating resuspension of Cs as soil particles and fungal spores, and applied it to DRZ. Our model's calculation showed that soil particle resuspension was responsible for the surface-air Cs observed during winter-spring, but could not account for the higher Cs concentrations observed in summer-autumn. The higher concentrations in the summer-autumn were in general reproduced by implementing fungal spore Cs emission, that replenished low soil particle Cs resuspension in that period. According to our model's concept, Cs accumulation in fungal spores and high spore emission rate characterized by the rural environment were likely responsible for the abundance of spore Cs in the air. It was inferred that the influence of the fungal spores on the atmospheric Cs would last longer since un-decontaminated forests still exist in DRZ.

Establishing an evaluation method for the aging phenomenon by physical force in fuel debris

Suzuki, Seiya; Arai, Yoichi; Okamura, Nobuo; Watanabe, Masayuki

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 60(7), p.839 - 848, 2023/07

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2159559

The fuel debris, consisting of nuclear fuel materials and reactor structural materials, generated in the accident of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant can become deteriorated like rocks under the changes of environmental temperature. Although the fuel debris have been cooled by water for 10 years, they are affected by seasonal and/or day-and-night temperature changes. Therefore, in evaluating the aging behavior of the fuel debris, it is essential to consider the changes in environmental temperature. Assuming that the fuel debris are deteriorated, radioactive substances that have recently undergone micronization could be eluted into the cooling water, and such condition may affect defueling methods. We focused on the effect of repeated changes in environmental temperature on the occurrence of cracks, and an accelerated test using simulated fuel debris was carried out. The length of the crack increases with increasing number of heat cycle; therefore, the fuel debris become brittle by stress caused by thermal expansion and contraction. In conclusion, it was confirmed that the mechanical deterioration of the fuel debris is similar to that of rocks or minerals, and it became possible to predict changes in the length of the crack in the simulated fuel debris and environmental model.

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.

Applicability of differential die-away self-interrogation technique for quantification of spontaneous fission nuclides for fuel debris at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plants

Nagatani, Taketeru; Sagara, Hiroshi*; Kosuge, Yoshihiro*; Nomi, Takayoshi; Okumura, Keisuke

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 60(4), p.460 - 472, 2023/04

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2114958

Origin of Cs-bearing silicate glass microparticles observed during Fukushima accident and recommendations on nuclear safety

Hidaka, Akihide

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 332, p.1607 - 1623, 2023/03

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-08846-z

no abstracts in English

Consideration on roles and relationship between observations/measurements and model predictions for environmental consequence assessments for nuclear facilities

Togawa, Orihiko; Okura, Takehisa; Kimura, Masanori

JAEA-Review 2022-049, 76 Pages, 2023/01

JAEA-Review-2022-049.pdf:3.74MB

Before construction and after operation of nuclear facilities, environmental consequence assessments are conducted for normal operation and an emergency. These assessments mainly aim at confirming safety for the public around the facilities and producing relief for them. Environmental consequence assessments are carried out using observations/ measurements by environmental monitoring and/or model predictions by calculation models, sometimes using either of which and at other times using both them, according to the situations and necessities. First, this report investigates methods, roles, merits/demerits and relationship between observations/measurements and model predictions which are used for environmental consequence assessments of nuclear facilities, especially holding up a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Rokkasho, Aomori as an example. Next, it explains representative examples of utilization of data on observations/measurements and results on model predictions, and considers points of attention at using them. Finally, the report describes future direction, for example, improvements of observations/measurements and model predictions, and fusion of both them.

Development of simulation program; SHAWED for analysis of accident of evaporation to dryness by boiling of reprocessed high level liquid waste in tank

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

JAEA-Research 2022-011, 37 Pages, 2022/12

JAEA-Research-2022-011.pdf:2.88MB

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. Two major mechanisms are expected for fission products (FPs) transfer from liquid to vapor phase. One is non-volatiles FPs transfer in the form of mists to the vapor phase in the tank, the other is volatilization of such as Ruthenium. These FPs transferred to the vapor phase in the tank could be released with water and nitric-acid mixed steam and NO gas flow to the environment. NO is generated from denitration of nitrate fission products during dry out phase. These phenomena occurred in this accident originate from the liquid waste boiling in the tank. It is essential for the risk assessment of this accident to simulate thermo-hydraulic and chemical behaviors in the waste tank quantitatively with a versatile computer program. The SHAWED (imulation of igh-level radioctive aste vaporation and ryness) has been developed to realize these requirements. In this report, detailed description of major analytical models is explained based on the features of this accident, and some simulation examples are also described for the use in an actual risk assessment.

Reactivity estimation based on the linear equation of characteristic time profile of power in subcritical quasi-steady state

Yamane, Yuichi

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 59(11), p.1331 - 1344, 2022/11

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2053221

The reactivity was estimated from a time profile of neutron count rate or a simulated data in a quasi-steady state after sudden change of reactivity or external neutron source strength. The estimation was based on the equation of power in subcritical quasi-steady state. The purpose of the study is to develop the method of timely reactivity estimation from complicated time profile of neutron count rate. The developed method was applied to the data simulating neutron count rate created by using one-point kinetics code, AGNES, and Poisson-distributed random noise and to the transient subcritical experiment data measured by using TRACY. The result shows that the difference of the estimated and reference value was within about 5% or less for ( -1) for simulated data and within about 7% or less for -1.4 and -3.1 for the experimental data. It was also shown that the possibility of the reactivity estimation several ten seconds after the status change.