Corrosion behavior of extra-high-purity Type 316 austenitic stainless steel in a liquid lead-bismuth eutectic with oxygen saturation or low oxygen concentrations

Irisawa, Eriko; Kato, Chiaki

Corrosion Science, 256, p.113173_1 - 113173_16, 2025/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2025.113173

Elemental composition analysis of main structural materials of JMTR

Nagata, Hiroshi; Kochiyama, Mami; Chinone, Marina; Sugaya, Naoto; Nishimura, Arashi; Ishikawa, Joji; Sakai, Akihiro; Ide, Hiroshi

JAEA-Data/Code 2024-016, 44 Pages, 2025/03

JAEA-Data-Code-2024-016.pdf:3.54MB

The elemental composition of the structural materials of nuclear reactor facilities is used as one of the important parameters in activation calculations that are evaluated when formulating decommissioning plans. Regarding the elemental composition of aluminum alloys and other materials used as structural materials for test and research reactors, sufficient data is not available regarding elements other than the major elements. For this reason, samples were collected from aluminum alloy, beryllium, hafnium, and other materials that have been used as the main structural materials of JMTR (Japan Materials Testing Reactor), and their elemental compositions were analyzed. This report summarizes the elemental composition data of 78 elements obtained in FY2023.

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

Katano, Ryota; Oizumi, Akito; Fukushima, Masahiro; Pyeon, C. H.*; Yamamoto, Akio*; Endo, Tomohiro*

Nuclear Science and Engineering, 198(6), p.1215 - 1234, 2024/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2023.2246779

In this study, we have demonstrated that data assimilation using lead and bismuth sample reactivities measured in the Kyoto University Critical Assembly A-core can successfully reduce the uncertainty of the coolant void reactivity in accelerator-driven systems derived from inelastic-scattering cross-sections of lead and bismuth. We re-evaluated and highlighted the experimental uncertainties and correlations of the sample reactivities for the data assimilation formula. We used the MCNP6.2 code to evaluate the sample reactivities and their uncertainties, and performed data assimilation using the reactor analysis code system MARBLE. The high-sensitivity coefficients of the sample reactivities to lead and bismuth allowed us to reduce the cross-section-induced uncertainty of the void reactivity of the accelerator-driven system from 6.3% to 4.8%, achieving a provisional target accuracy of 5% in this study. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the uncertainties arising from other dominant factors, such as minor actinides and steel, can be effectively reduced by using integral experimental data sets for the unified cross-section dataset ADJ2017.

Development of numerical analysis method of oxygen concentration near wall of lead-bismuth eutectic channel

Watanabe, Nao; Yamashita, Susumu; Uesawa, Shinichiro; Nishihara, Kenji; Yoshida, Hiroyuki

Proceedings of 20th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-20) (Internet), p.3522 - 3534, 2023/08

Accelerator-driven system (ADS), the coolant of which is lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE), has been designed by Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Estimating corrosion rate at the wall surface of LBE channel is an important issue in considering safety and the life of the entire structure. The corrosion rate depends on state of oxygen layers forming at the material surface. Therefore, this study aims to develop a method to evaluate the corrosion rate in ADS for the design study by estimation of the oxide layer growth and dissolution (OLGD) rates by means of numerical analysis. The OLGD rates, mass transfer rates of oxygen and iron between the material and LBE and advection-diffusion rates of them in LBE depend on each other. Therefore, in order to estimate OLGD rates, the three numerical analysis models should be coupled. For the advection-diffusion calculation, to use CFD code should be reasonable approach to analyze complex flow in ADS, while for the OLGD and the mass transfer calculation, to use some correlation equations should be reasonable because their scales are much smaller than the advection-diffusion. The present work has developed the analysis method of OLGD rates by using JUPITER code, which is CFD code developed in JAEA. In terms of the correlation equations of OLGD and mass transfer rates, existing models used in a previous study were used with modified.

Development of a miniature electromagnet probe for the measurement of local velocity in heavy liquid metals

Ariyoshi, Gen; Obayashi, Hironari; Sasa, Toshinobu

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 59(9), p.1071 - 1088, 2022/09

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2022.2030824

Electromagnetic induction method is one of the effective techniques for local velocity measurement in heavy liquid metals. Ricou and Vives' probe and Von Weissenfluh's probe are famous instrumentations using a permanent magnet. However, sensitivity and measurement volume of the probes show unexpected variation since demagnetization of the magnet is occurred by temperature increase up to the Curie temperature. In this study, electromagnetic probe incorporating a miniature electromagnet was newly developed to overcome such unexpected variation. The diameter and the length of the sensor was 6 mm and 155 mm, respectively. The sensitivity and the measurement volume of the probe were assessed by measurement of local velocity of flowing mercury in a square channel. To clarify the validity for the measured velocity profiles, numerical velocity profiles were calculated and compared with experiment. And the validity for the measured velocity profiles were confirmed by calculated result.

R&D on Accelerator Driven Nuclear Transmutation System (ADS) at J-PARC, 3; Lead-bismuth target technology

Sasa, Toshinobu

Purazuma, Kaku Yugo Gakkai-Shi, 98(5), p.211 - 215, 2022/05

Lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) alloy is promising as a spallation target for next-generation reactor coolants and accelerator drive systems (ADS) due to its nuclear and chemical properties. LBE is a heavy metal, and it has good properties both as a spallation target and as a coolant for nuclear transmutation systems of long-lived radioactive nuclei. On the other hand, to improve compatibility with structural materials is one of the major issues in its utilization. The latest research results such as high-temperature operation of LBE and oxygen concentration control to ensure corrosion resistance with the aim of early commercialization of nuclear conversion technology by ADS is introduced.

Neutronic analysis of beam window and LBE of an Accelerator-Driven System

Nakano, Keita; Iwamoto, Hiroki; Nishihara, Kenji; Meigo, Shinichiro; Sugawara, Takanori; Iwamoto, Yosuke; Takeshita, Hayato*; Maekawa, Fujio

JAEA-Research 2021-018, 41 Pages, 2022/03

JAEA-Research-2021-018.pdf:2.93MB

Neutronic analysis of beam window of the Accelerator-Driven System (ADS) proposed by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has been conducted using PHITS and DCHAIN-PHITS codes. We investigate gas production of hydrogen and helium isotopes in the beam window, displacement per atom of beam window material, and heat generation in the beam window. In addition, distributions of produced nuclides, heat density, and activity are derived. It was found that at the maximum 12500 appm H production, 1800 appm He production, and damage of 62.1 DPA occurred in the beam window by the ADS operation. On the other hand, the maximum heat generation in the beam window was 374 W/cm. In the analysis of LBE, Bi and Po were found to be the dominant nuclides in decay heat and radioactivity. Furthermore, the heat generation in the LBE by the proton beam was maximum around 5 cm downstream of the beam window, which was 945 W/cm.

Uncertainty quantification of lead and bismuth sample reactivity worth at Kyoto University Critical Assembly

Pyeon, C. H.*; Yamanaka, Masao*; Fukushima, Masahiro

Nuclear Science and Engineering, 195(8), p.877 - 889, 2021/08

https://doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2020.1870861

Uncertainty quantification of lead (Pb) and bismuth (Bi) sample reactivity worth is numerically determined using the SCALE6.2 code system and experimental results obtained from the solid-moderated and solid-reflected core at the Kyoto University Critical Assembly (KUCA) to demonstrate the sensitivity coefficients of aluminum (Al) and Bi scattering reactions. From the results of the numerical analyses, the impact of Al and Bi scattering cross sections obtained using SCALE6.2/TSAR is disclosed on the Bi sample reactivity worth using Al reference and Bi test samples, although the uncertainty itself is small in the Bi sample reactivity worth.

Incorporation of U, Pb and rare earth elements in calcite through crystallisation from amorphous calcium carbonate; Simple preparation of reference materials for microanalysis

Miyajima, Yusuke*; Saito, Ayaka*; Kagi, Hiroyuki*; Yokoyama, Tatsunori; Takahashi, Yoshio*; Hirata, Takafumi*

Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research, 45(1), p.189 - 205, 2021/03

https://doi.org/10.1111/ggr.12367

Uncertainty for elemental and isotopic analyses of calcite by LA-ICP-MS is largely controlled by the homogeneity of the reference materials (RMs) used for normalization and validation. In order to produce calcite RMs with homogeneous elemental and isotopic compositions, we incorporated elements including U, Pb, and rare earth elements into calcite through heat- and pressure-induced crystallization from amorphous calcium carbonate that was precipitated from element-doped reagent solution. X-ray absorption spectra showed that U was present as U(VI) in the synthesized calcite, probably with a different local structure from that of aqueous uranyl ions. The uptake rate of U by our calcite was higher in comparison to synthetic calcite of previous studies. Variations of element mass fractions in the calcite were better than 12% 2RSD, mostly within 7%. The Pb/Pb ratio in the calcite showed 1% variations, while the U/Pb ratio showed 3-24% variations depending on element mass fractions. Using the synthetic calcite as primary RMs, we could date a natural calcite RM, WC-1, with analytical uncertainty as low as 3%. The method presented can be useful to produce calcite with controlled and homogeneous element mass fractions, and is a promising alternative to natural calcite RMs for U-Pb geochronology.

Estimation of oxygen consumption amount in LBE-cooled accelerator-driven system

Sugawara, Takanori; Komatsu, Atsushi

JAEA-Research 2020-016, 44 Pages, 2021/01

JAEA-Research-2020-016.pdf:2.94MB

It is required to control the oxygen concentration in lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) to prevent the corrosion of structures in LBE-cooled nuclear system. This study estimated the oxygen consumption amount in the LBE-cooled accelerator-driven system (ADS). We used the evaluation formula for the oxide layer thickness, which were derived by various experiments, to estimate the oxygen consumption amount. It was found that the maximum oxide layer thicknesses for the fuel assembly and the beam window were about 35 [m] and 20 [m], respectively. Based on these results, the oxygen consumption amount for the ADS plant was estimated as 30 [kg] during one cycle (one year). Through this study, it was indicated that an oxygen supply device which could supply 3-4 [g/h] oxygen in the normal operation, 150 [g/h] in the peak and about 30 [kg] during one cycle was necessary.