Experimental study on transport behavior of cesium iodide in the reactor coolant system under LWR severe accident conditions

Miyahara, Naoya; Miwa, Shuhei; Goullo, M.*; Imoto, Jumpei; Horiguchi, Naoki; Sato, Isamu*; Osaka, Masahiko

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 57(12), p.1287 - 1296, 2020/12

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1782281

In order to clarify the cesium iodide (CsI) transport behavior with a focus on the mechanisms of gaseous iodine formation in the reactor coolant system of LWR under a severe accident condition, a reproductive experiment of CsI transport behavior was conducted using a facility equipped with a thermal gradient tube. Various analyses on deposits and airborne materials during transportation could elucidate two mechanisms for the gaseous iodine formation. One was the gaseous phase chemical reaction in Cs-I-O-H system at relatively high-temperature region, which led to gaseous iodine transport to the lower temperature region without any further changes in gas species due to the kinetics limitation effects. The other one was the chemical reactions related to condensed phase of CsI, namely those of CsI deposits on walls with surface of stainless steel to form CsCrO compound and CsI aerosol particles with steam, which were newly found in this study.

Main findings, remaining uncertainties and lessons learned from the OECD/NEA BSAF Project

Pellegrini, M.*; Herranz, L.*; Sonnenkalb, M.*; Lind, T.*; Maruyama, Yu; Gauntt, R.*; Bixler, N.*; Morreale, A.*; Dolganov, K.*; Sevon, T.*; et al.

Nuclear Technology, 206(9), p.1449 - 1463, 2020/09

https://doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2020.1724731

Study on eutectic melting behavior of control rod materials in core disruptive accidents of sodium-cooled fast reactors, 2; Thermophysical properties of eutectic mixture containing of high concentration boron in a solid state

Takai, Toshihide; Furukawa, Tomohiro; Yamano, Hidemasa

Proceedings of 2020 International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE 2020) (Internet), 6 Pages, 2020/08

https://doi.org/10.1115/ICONE2020-16091

Chemical forms of uranium evaluated by thermodynamic calculation associated with distribution of core materials in the damaged reactor pressure vessel

Ikeuchi, Hirotomo; Yano, Kimihiko; Washiya, Tadahiro

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 57(6), p.704 - 718, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2020.1720844

To suggest efficient process of the fuel debris treatment after the retrieval from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (1F), thorough investigation is indispensable on potential source of U in the fuel debris. Estimation on the fuel debris accumulated in the reactor pressure vessel is specifically important due to its limited accessibility. The present study aims to estimate the chemical forms of U in the in-vessel fuel debris, especially in the minor phases such as metallic phases, by performing the thermodynamic calculation considering the material relocation and changing environment during the accident progression in the 1F Unit 2. Input conditions for the thermodynamic calculation such as composition, temperature, and oxygen amount were assumed mainly based on the results of severe accident analysis. The chemical form of U varied depending on the local amount of Fe and O. In regions of low steel content, the U-containing metallic phase was dominated by -(Zr,U)(O), while regions of high steel content were dominated by Fe(Zr,U) (Laves phase). A few percent of U was transferred to the metallic phases under reducing conditions, raising challenging issues on the chemical removal of nuclear material from fuel debris.

Fission product chemistry database ECUME version 1.1

Development Group for LWR Advanced Technology

JAEA-Data/Code 2019-017, 59 Pages, 2020/03

JAEA-Data-Code-2019-017.pdf:3.26MB
JAEA-Data-Code-2019-017-appendix(CD-ROM).zip:0.09MB

ECUME (ffective hemistry database of fission products nder ultiphase raction) is the database for the analyses of FP chemistry which strongly affects all the FP behaviors in a severe accident (SA) of nuclear facility like LWR. ECUME consists of three kinds of datasets: CRK (dataset for hemical eaction inetics), EM (lemental odel set) and TD (hermoynamic dataset). The present version of ECUME is prepared especially for the more accurate evaluation of cesium and iodine distribution in a reactor and release amount into an environment which should be of crucial importance towards the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (1F) and the enhancement of LWR safety after the 1F SA.

Cesium chemisorbed species onto stainless steel surfaces; An Atomistic scale study

Miradji, F.; Suzuki, Chikashi; Nakajima, Kunihisa; Osaka, Masahiko

Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 136, p.109168_1 - 109168_9, 2020/01

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpcs.2019.109168

Outline of the OECD/NEA/ARC-F Project

Nakatsuka, Toru; Maeda, Toshikatsu; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki; Maruyama, Yu

Proceedings of 18th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-18) (USB Flash Drive), p.1650 - 1656, 2019/08

The OECD/NEA is launching a new project named "Analysis of Information from Reactor Buildings and Containment Vessels of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (ARC-F)" Project. This project will serve as the successor to the precedent NEA project, "Benchmark Study of the Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (BSAF) Phase II" which investigated the accident scenarios, associated fission products behavior in the damaged units and source term to the environment. The ARC-F project comprises three tasks: Task 1: Refinement of analysis for accident scenarios and associated fission product transportation and dispersion; Task 2: Compilation and management of data and information; and Task 3: Discussion for future long-term project. Japan Atomic Energy Agency is the operating agent, responsible to lead all the tasks. Duration of the project is from January 2019 to December 2021 and the final report is planned to be published in 2022.

An Interpretation of Fukushima-Daiichi Unit 3 plant data covering the two-week accident-progression phase based on correction for pressure data

Sato, Ikken

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 56(5), p.394 - 411, 2019/05

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2019.1588798

Water columns were adopted in the pressure measurement system of Fukushima-Daiichi Unit-3. Part of these water columns evaporated during the accident condition jeopardizing correct understanding on actual pressure. Through comparison of RPV (Reactor Pressure Vessel) and S/C pressures with D/W pressure, such water-column effect was evaluated. Correction for this effect was developed enabling clarification of slight pressure difference among RPV, S/C and D/W. This information was then integrated with other available data such as, water level, CAMS and environmental dose rate, into an interpretation of accident focusing on RPV and PCV pressurization/depressurization and radioactive material release to environment. It is suggested that dryout of in-vessel and ex-vessel debris was likely causing pressure decrease. S/C water poured into pedestal heated by relocated debris was the likely cause of pressurization. Cyclic reflooding of pedestal debris and dryout was likely.

Study on loss-of-cooling and loss-of-coolant accidents in spent fuel pool, 1; Overview

Kaji, Yoshiyuki; Nemoto, Yoshiyuki; Nagatake, Taku; Yoshida, Hiroyuki; Tojo, Masayuki*; Goto, Daisuke*; Nishimura, Satoshi*; Suzuki, Hiroaki*; Yamato, Masaaki*; Watanabe, Satoshi*

Proceedings of 27th International Conference on Nuclear Engineering (ICONE-27) (Internet), 8 Pages, 2019/05

https://doi.org/10.1299/jsmeicone.2019.27.1343

In this research program, cladding oxidation model in SFP accident condition, and numerical simulation method to evaluate capability of spray cooling system which was deployed for spent fuel cooling during SFP accident, have been developed. These were introduced into the severe accident codes such as MAAP and SAMPSON, and SFP accident analyses were conducted. Analyses using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code were conducted as well for the comparison with SA code analyses and investigation of detail in the SFP accident. In addition, three-dimensional criticality analysis method was developed as well, and safer loading pattern of spent fuels in pool was investigated.

Chemical reaction kinetics dataset of Cs-I-B-Mo-O-H system for evaluation of fission product chemistry under LWR severe accident conditions

Miyahara, Naoya; Miwa, Shuhei; Horiguchi, Naoki; Sato, Isamu*; Osaka, Masahiko

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 56(2), p.228 - 240, 2019/02

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2018.1544939

In order to improve LWR source term under severe accident conditions, the first version of a fission product (FP) chemistry database named "ECUME" was developed. The ECUME is intended to include major chemical reactions and their effective kinetic constants for representative SA sequences. It is expected that the ECUME can serve as a fundamental basis from which FP chemical models in the SA analysis codes can be elaborated. The implemented chemical reactions in the first version were those for representative gas species in Cs-I-B-Mo-O-H system. The chemical reaction kinetic constants were evaluated from either literature data or calculated values using ab-initio calculations. The sample chemical reaction calculation using the presently constructed dataset showed meaningful kinetics effects at 1000 K. Comparison of the chemical equilibrium compositions by using the dataset with those by chemical equilibrium calculations has shown rather good consistency for the representative Cs-I-B-Mo-O-H species. From these results, it was concluded that the present dataset should be useful to evaluate FP chemistry in Cs-I-B-Mo-O-H system under LWA SA conditions.