Inspection and repair techniques in the reactor vessel of the experimental fast reactor Joyo; Replacement of upper core structure

Ito, Hiromichi*; Ota, Katsu; Kawahara, Hirotaka; Kobayashi, Tetsuhiko; Takamatsu, Misao; Nagai, Akinori

JAEA-Technology 2016-008, 87 Pages, 2016/05

JAEA-Technology-2016-008.pdf:18.11MB

In the experimental fast reactor Joyo, as a part of the restoration work of a partial dysfunction of fuel handling, the replacement of the upper core structure (UCS) was started from March 2014, and was completed in December 2014. In the jack-up test, the UCS was jacked-up to 1000 mm without significant sodium shearing resistance and interference. In the replacement of the UCS, a procedure was prepared with the use of wire-jack equipment assuming the interference. As a result, with the procedure and wire-jack were effectively functioned, the work was successfully completed.

Replacement of upper core structure in experimental fast reactor Joyo, 1; Existing damaged upper core structure jack-up test

Ito, Hiromichi; Suzuki, Nobuhiro; Kobayashi, Tetsuhiko; Kawahara, Hirotaka; Nagai, Akinori; Sakao, Ryuta*; Murata, Chotaro*; Tanaka, Junya*; Matsusaka, Yasunori*; Tatsuno, Takahiro*

Proceedings of 2015 International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants (ICAPP 2015) (CD-ROM), p.1058 - 1067, 2015/05

In the experimental fast reactor Joyo (Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR)), it was confirmed that the top of the irradiation test sub-assembly had bent onto the in-vessel storage rack as an obstacle and had damaged the upper core structure (UCS). There is a risk of deformation of the UCS and guide sleeve (GS) caused by interference between them unless inclination is controlled precisely. To mitigate the risk, special jack-up equipment for applying three-point suspension was developed. The existing damaged UCS (ed-UCS) jack-up test using the jack-up equipment was conducted on May 7, 2014. As a result of this test, it was confirmed that the ed-UCS could be successfully jacked-up to 1000 mm without consequent overload. The experience and knowledge gained in the ed-UCS jack-up test provides valuable insights and prospects not only for UCS replacement but also for further improving and verifying repair techniques in SFRs.

Current status of restoration work for obstacle and upper core structure in reactor vessel of experimental fast reactor "Joyo", 2-2

Okuda, Eiji; Ito, Hiromichi; Yoshihara, Shizuya

UTNL-R-0486, p.6_1 - 6_10, 2014/03

An accident occurred in experimental fast reactor "Joyo" in 2007 which is obstruction of fuel change equipment caused by contacting rotating plug and MARICO-2. In addition, we confirmed two happenings in the reactor vessel that (1) Deformation of MARICO-2 subassembly on the in vessel storage rack together with a transfer pot, (2) Deformation of the Upper core structure of "Joyo" caused by contacting MARICO-2 subassembly and the UCS. We do the restoration work for restoring it. This time, we describe current status of Replacement work of the UCS.

Inspection and repair techniques in reactor vessel of sodium cooled fast reactor, 9-2; Existing damaged UCS jack-up test

Suzuki, Nobuhiro; Ito, Hiromichi; Sasaki, Jun; Okawa, Toshikatsu; Kawahara, Hirotaka; Kobayashi, Tetsuhiko; Sakao, Ryuta*; Murata, Chotaro*; Tanaka, Junya*; Matsusaka, Yasunori*; et al.

no journal, , 

no abstracts in English

Current status of restoration work for obstacle and upper core structure in reactor vessel of experimental fast reactor "JOYO", 3-2; Replacement of upper core structure

Ushiki, Hiroshi; Ito, Hiromichi; Okuda, Eiji; Suzuki, Nobuhiro; Sasaki, Jun; Ota, Katsu; Kawahara, Hirotaka; Takamatsu, Misao; Nagai, Akinori; Okawa, Toshikatsu

no journal, , 

In the experimental fast reactor Joyo, it was confirmed that the top of the irradiation test sub-assembly of MARICO-2 (material testing rig with temperature control) had bent onto the in-vessel storage rack as an obstacle and had damaged the upper core structure (UCS) in 2007. As a part of the restoration work, UCS replacement was begun at March 24, 2014 and was completed at December 17. In-vessel repair (including observation) for sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs) is distinct from that for light water reactors and necessitates independent development. Application of developed in-vessel repair techniques to operation and maintenance of SFRs enhanced their safety and integrity. There is little UCS replacement experience in the world and this experience and insights, which were accumulated in the replacement work of in-vessel large sturucture (UCS) used for more than 30 years, are expected to improve the in-vessel repair techniques in SFRs.