Study on water stopping, repair and stabilization of lower PCV by geopolymer, etc. (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; The University of Tokyo*

JAEA-Review 2024-021, 126 Pages, 2024/11

JAEA-Review-2024-021.pdf:6.51MB

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 FY2022. 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 FY2021, this report summarizes the research results of the "Study on water stopping, repair and stabilization of lower PCV by geopolymer, etc" conducted in FY2022. The present study aims to propose a construction method to stop jet deflectors by improved geopolymer and ultra-heavy muddy water, and to repair the lower part of the dry well. In addition, in order to increase the options for on-site construction in unknown situations such as deposition conditions, we will examine a wide range of construction outside the pedestal, and evaluate the feasibility of the construction method by the latest thermal flow simulation method.

Study on degradation of fuel debris by combined effects of radiological, chemical, and biological functions (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tokyo Institute of Technology*

JAEA-Review 2024-026, 80 Pages, 2024/10

JAEA-Review-2024-026.pdf:1.96MB

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 FY2022. 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 "Study on degradation of fuel debris by combined effects of radiological, chemical, and biological functions" conducted from FY2019 to FY2022. In the project, radiochemists, nuclear chemists, nuclear physicists, material scientists, and environmental biologists are teamed to elucidate the mechanism of the degradation of fuel debris by combined effects of radiological, chemical, and biological functions.

Investigation of effects of nano interfacial phenomena on dissolution aggregation of alpha nanoparticles by using micro nano technologies (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tokyo Institute of Technology*

JAEA-Review 2024-022, 59 Pages, 2024/09

JAEA-Review-2024-022.pdf:4.27MB

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 FY2022. 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 FY2022, this report summarizes the research results of the "Investigation of effects of nano interfacial phenomena on dissolution aggregation of alpha nanoparticles by using micro nano technologies" conducted in FY2022. To ensure the safety of retrieval and storage management of nuclear fuel debris generated by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident, understanding of dissolution-denaturation behavior of the fuel debris alpha particles is one of the most crucial issues. This research aims to create novel microfluidic real-time measurement device for elucidating dissolution, aggregation, and denaturation processes of metal oxide nanoparticles under various solution environments, and clarify their nano-size and interfacial effects.

Uncertainty reduction of the FPs transport mechanism and debris degradation behavior and evaluation of the reactor contamination of debris state on the basis of the accident progression scenario of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 and 3 (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tokyo Institute of Technology*

JAEA-Review 2024-010, 112 Pages, 2024/08

JAEA-Review-2024-010.pdf:6.49MB

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 FY2022. 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 FY2021, this report summarizes the research results of the "Uncertainty reduction of the FPs transport mechanism and debris degradation behavior and evaluation of the reactor contamination of debris state on the basis of the accident progression scenario of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2 and 3" conducted in FY2022. The present study aims to elucidate the cause of the high dosage under shield plug by clarification of to the cesium behavior of migration, adhesion to structure and deposition as well as evaluate the properties of metal-rich debris predeceasing melted through the materials science approach based on the most probable scenario of accident progression of Unit 2 and 3. In this fiscal year, the followings were achieved.

Challenge to advancement of debris composition and direct isotope measurement by microwave-enhanced LIBS (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; i-Lab*

JAEA-Review 2023-029, 77 Pages, 2024/05

JAEA-Review-2023-029.pdf:3.98MB

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 FY2022. 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 FY2020, this report summarizes the research results of the "Challenge to advancement of debris composition and direct isotope measurement by microwave-enhanced LIBS" conducted from FY2020 to FY2022. The present study aims to increase the emission intensity of LIBS (laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy) by superimposing MW (microwave) and apply it to uranium isotope measurement. In FY2022, we improved the cooling method and reduce unnecessary functions in of the semiconductor microwave oscillator, and apply the optimized conditions obtained from simulations to the LIBS experiment for the microwave antenna gave better results.

Development of extremely small amount analysis technology for fuel debris analysis (Contract research); FY2022 Nuclear Energy Science & Technology and Human Resource Development Project

Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science; Tohoku University*

JAEA-Review 2023-025, 117 Pages, 2024/03

JAEA-Review-2023-025.pdf:7.29MB

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 FY2022. 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 in FY2022. 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 develop 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.

Progress status and future issues of development of analysis and estimation technology for fuel debris characterization, 3; Activities toward enhanced analysis accuracy of fuel debris

Ikeuchi, Hirotomo; Koyama, Shinichi

Nihon Genshiryoku Gakkai-Shi ATOMO, 66(2), p.74 - 78, 2024/02

https://doi.org/10.3327/jaesjb.66.2_74

For the steady removal of fuel debris from the TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), it is an urgent issue to establish analysis technology and systems for fuel debris samples with unknown properties (unknown samples). For this purpose, through analysis tests using samples with known properties (simulated fuel debris) and discussions among experts, the validity of analysis results and the factors that cause errors has been identified. In addition to knowing the current level of analysis accuracy, studies are being conducted to understand and improve the influencing factors. This paper introduces a part of the development of infrastructure for analysis and evaluation technology of "nuclides and element content."

Effect of fuel particle size on consequences of criticality accidents in water-moderated solid fuel particle dispersion system

Fukuda, Kodai; Yamane, Yuichi

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 60(12), p.1514 - 1525, 2023/12

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2023.2224327

This study aims to clarify the effect of fuel particle radius on the criticality transient behavior and the total number of fissions in water-moderated solid fuel dispersion systems. Neutronics/thermal hydraulics-coupled kinetics analysis was performed in a hypothetical fuel debris system, where small fuel particles aggregate in water and become supercritical. Results showed that the number of fissions is 10 times larger when the fuel particle radius is reduced by one order of magnitude under conditions where heat transfer, i.e. from fuel to water, is emphasized. Moreover, there is a possibility that lower reactivity could give a larger number of fissions when the fuel particle size is very small. In addition, the number of fissions may be overestimated or underestimated to an unexpected extent unless appropriate fuel particle size is set on the analysis.

Critical assemblies in JAEA and the role of new STACY

Sono, Hiroki; Izawa, Kazuhiko; Yoritsune, Tsutomu; Suyama, Kenya; Tonoike, Kotaro

Proceedings of 12th International Conference on Nuclear Criticality Safety (ICNC2023) (Internet), 7 Pages, 2023/10

https://doi.org/10.11484/jaea-conf-2024-001

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has constructed and operated nine critical assemblies. Of these nine facilities as of 2023, four have already been dismantled, four are under decommissioning, and only STACY is active but under temporally shutdown. STACY is scheduled to restart in 2024 after core modification from a "critical assembly using uranium nitrate solution fuel" to a "general-purpose critical assembly using uranium fuel rods and light-water moderator." The immediate objective of new STACY is to acquire criticality data for fuel debris removal from the damaged reactors in Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. After the critical experiment program regarding fuel debris, the new STACY is expected to be used for various R&D on next-generation power reactors and others. In addition, the new STACY will serve as an educational and training reactor. These activities are useful not only for Japan but also for international collaborative research and joint use.

Elemental analysis and radioactivity evaluation of aerosols generated during heating of simulated fuel debris; The Urasol project in the framework of Fukushima Daiichi fuel debris removal

Tsubota, Yoichi; Porcheron, E.*; Journeau, C.*; Delacroix, J.*; Suteau, C.*; Lallot, Y.*; Bouland, A.*; Roulet, D.*; Mitsugi, Takeshi

Proceedings of International Conference on Environmental Remediation and Radioactive Waste Management (ICEM2023) (Internet), 6 Pages, 2023/10

https://doi.org/10.1115/ICEM2023-110064

In order to safely remove fuel debris from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (1F), it is necessary to quantitatively evaluate radioactive airborne particulate generated by the cutting of nuclear fuel debris. We fabricated Uranium-bearing simulated fuel debris (SFD) with In/Ex-Vessel compositions and evaluated the physical and chemical properties of aerosols generated by heating the SFDs. Based on these results, we estimated the isotopic composition and radioactivity of aerosols produced when 1F-Unit2 fuel debris is laser cut, which is a typical example of a heating method. Plutonium, mainly Pu,Am, and Cm were found to be the alpha nuclide, and Pu, Cs-Ba, and Sr-Y were found to be the beta nuclide of interest.