Development of methodology combining chemical analysis technology with informatics technology to understand perspectives property of debris and tie-up style human resource development (Contract research); FY2023 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Fukushima University*

JAEA-Review 2025-002, 108 Pages, 2025/07

JAEA-Review-2025-002.pdf:5.25MB

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 FY2023. 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 FY2019, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development of methodology combining chemical analysis technology with informatics technology to understand perspectives property of debris and tie-up style human resource development" conducted from FY2019 to FY2023. The present study aims to Goal of this study is to implement a research plan relate to a development of combinational technology of new chemical analysis with informatics, and the aim is to develop new system for whole image estimation system using small quantities of information. Conducting the collaboration study with JAEA researchers (tie-up style) make connect to the development of human resource from master's course student to post-doctoral researchers who are progress in the local-based and/or many academics fields research. We are in progress to grow international-minded human resources.

Development of extremely small amount analysis technology for fuel debris analysis (Contract Research); FY2023 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

JAEA-Review 2024-064, 118 Pages, 2025/06

JAEA-Review-2024-064.pdf:6.73MB

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 FY2023. 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 FY2019, this report summarizes the research results of the "Development of extremely small amount analysis technology for fuel debris analysis" conducted from FY2019 to FY2023. Understanding the properties of fuel debris is necessary for handling, criticality control, storage control, etc. A key technique is the chemical analysis of actinide nuclides. We developed sample pretreatment technology and separation / analysis process required for chemical analysis. The purpose of this study is to streamline future planned fuel debris analysis. To promote 1F decommissioning, we will train human resources through on-the-job training. In particular, we applied the extremely small amount analysis (ICP-MS/MS), which has recently been successful in the fields of analytical chemistry and radiochemistry, to the nuclear field. This method allows high-accuracy analysis without pretreatment to isolate the nuclide to be measured. The separation pretreatment can be skipped and a rapid analysis process can be established.

Input data preparation for PWR large-break LOCA analysis with RELAP5/MOD3.3 code

Takeda, Takeshi

JAEA-Data/Code 2025-005, 106 Pages, 2025/06

JAEA-Data-Code-2025-005.pdf:2.93MB

JAEA has been creating input data for pressurized water reactor (PWR) analysis with RELAP5/MOD3.3 code, mainly based on design information for the four-loop PWR's Tsuruga Power Station Unit-2 as the reference reactor of the Large Scale Test Facility (LSTF). The cold leg large-break loss-of-coolant accident (LBLOCA) calculation in the flamework of the BEMUSE program is cited as a representative OECD/NEA activity related to the PWR analysis. The new regulatory requirements for PWRs in Japan include the event of loss of recirculation functions from emergency core cooling system (ECCS) in the cold leg LBLOCA. This event should be evaluated the effectiveness of measures against severe core damage. The input data for this study were made preparations to analyze the PWR LBLOCA, which is one of the design basis accidents that should be postulated in the safety design. This report describes the main features of the input data for the PWR LBLOCA analysis. The PWR model comprised a reactor vessel, pressurizer (PZR), hot legs, steam generators (SGs), SG secondary-side system, crossover legs, cold legs, and ECCS. A four-loop PWR was simulated by two loops in the LBLOCA calculation. Specifically, loop-A attached with the PZR corresponded to three loops, and loop-B mounted with the break was equal to one loop. The nodalization schemes of the PWR components were referred to those of the LSTF components. Moreover, interpretations were added to the main input data for the PWR LBLOCA analysis, and further information such as the basis for determining the input data was provided. In addition, transient analysis was performed employing the prepared input data for the loss of ECCS recirculation functions event. The present transient analysis was confirmed to be appropriate generally by comparing with the calculation in the previous study using the RELAP5/MOD3.3 code. Furthermore, sensitivity analyses were executed exploiting the RELAP5/MOD3.3 code to clarify the effects of a discharge coefficient through the break and water injection flow rate of the alternative recirculation on the fuel rod cladding surface temperature. This report explains the results of the sensitivity analyses within the defined ranges, which complement some of the content of the previous study's calculation for the loss of ECCS recirculation functions event.

Nacre-like MXene/polyacrylic acid layer-by-layer multilayers as hydrogen gas barriers

Auh, Y. H.*; Neal, N. N.*; Arole, K.*; Regis, N. A.*; Nguyen, T.*; Ogawa, Shuichi*; Tsuda, Yasutaka; Yoshigoe, Akitaka; Radovic, M.*; Green, M. J.*; et al.

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 17(21), p.31392 - 31402, 2025/05

https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c03632

Monte Carlo and experimental assessment of the optimal geometry of the source and collimator for a table-top NRTA system for small nuclear material measurement

Guembou Shouop, C. J.; Tsuchiya, Harufumi

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A, 1072, p.170189_1 - 170189_14, 2025/03

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2024.170189

Summaries of research and development activities by using supercomputer system of JAEA in FY2023 (April 1, 2023 - March 31, 2024)

HPC Technology Promotion Office, Center for Computational Science & e-Systems

JAEA-Review 2024-044, 121 Pages, 2025/01

JAEA-Review-2024-044.pdf:7.42MB

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) conducts research and development (R&D) in various fields related to nuclear power as a comprehensive institution of nuclear energy R&Ds, and utilizes computational science and technology in many activities. Over the past 10 years or so, the publication of papers utilizing computational science and technology at JAEA has accounted for about 20 percent of the total publications each fiscal year. The supercomputer system of JAEA has become an important infrastructure to support computational science and technology. In FY2023, the system was utilized in R&D activities that were prioritized in the Fourth Medium- to Long-Term Plan, including contributing to carbon neutrality through the development of innovative technologies such as improving safety, creating innovation by promoting diverse R&D related to nuclear science and technology, promoting R&D in response to the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, steadily implementing technological developments for the treatment and disposal of high-level radioactive waste, and supporting nuclear safety regulatory administration and nuclear disaster prevention by promoting safety research for these purposes. This report presents a great number of R&D results accomplished by using the system in FY2023, as well as user support, operational records and overviews of the system, and so on.

Development of analysis methods for SFR severe accidents in JAEA and assessment of applicability to safety analysis

Tobita, Yoshiharu; Tagami, Hirotaka; Ishida, Shinya; Onoda, Yuichi; Sogabe, Joji; Okano, Yasushi

IAEA-TECDOC-2079, p.72 - 84, 2025/00

https://doi.org/10.61092/iaea.xpz1-gu7q

Since the fast reactor core is not in the maximum reactivity configuration, a hypothetical core disruptive accident could lead to the prompt criticality due to a change in the core material configuration, and the resulting energy generation has been one of the issues in fast reactor safety, and therefore appropriate measures are needed to mitigate and contain the effect of energy generated in the accident. In order to assess the effectiveness of these mitigative measures, a set of computer codes to analyze the event progressions and energy generation behavior in the ATWS of fast reactors have been developed, maintained, and improved under international collaboration in JAEA. Since the important physical phenomena, which govern the event progression, vary along with the progression of the accident, the whole accident process is divided into several phases in the analysis of accident, and dedicated analysis methods for each phase are provided to analyze the event progression in each phase. The organization and overview of these analysis methods are described in this paper. As a representative example of the validation approaches in applying these analysis methods to the reactor safety assessment in licensing procedure in Japan, the validation studies to confirm the applicability to reactor analysis of the SIMMER code for analyzing core material movement and reactor power, which is important to analyze the energy generation in the accident, are presented in the paper. The validation studies of the SIMMER code confirmed the applicability of SIMMER to the reactor analysis, while the critical phenomena that the effect of their uncertainty in the reactor analysis should be checked were also recognized.

Detectability of pump/diagrid link rupture in pool-type sodium-cooled fast reactor

Onoda, Yuichi; Uchita, Masato*; Tokizaki, Minako*; Okazaki, Hitoshi*

Nuclear Technology, 20 Pages, 2025/00

https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2025.2462367

Possible criticality scenario and its mechanism of the Windscale Works criticality accident in 1970 analyzed by computational fluid dynamics and Monte Carlo neutron transport

Fukuda, Kodai

Annals of Nuclear Energy, 208(1), p.110748_1 - 110748_10, 2024/12

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anucene.2024.110748

Application of indentation technique to material degradation evaluation in the mercury target vessel for spallation neutron sources

Wakui, Takashi; Saito, Shigeru; Futakawa, Masatoshi

Jikken Rikigaku, 24(4), p.212 - 218, 2024/12

Irradiation damage is one of the main factors determining the lifetime of the mercury target vessel for spallation neutron source in J-PARC. To understand material degradation of the used vessels, it is planned to conduct an evaluation using inverse analyses with indentation tests on the structural materials of the used vessels and numerical experiments. This evaluation technique was applied to two kinds of ion-irradiated materials with different displacement damage doses, in which the irradiation condition was simulated. It could be confirmed that the ultimate strength increased, and the total elongation decreased with increasing irradiation. These trends are like the material degradation behaviors which have been reported by using small specimen's tensile tests.